Economy
IMF Retains 2.9% GDP Growth Forecast for Nigeria in 2024, 3.2% in 2025
By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that growth in Nigeria will remain unchanged at 2.9 per cent this year and 3.2 per cent in 2025 due to weaker-than-expected activity in the first half of the year.
This is as the wider Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which includes Nigeria, will remain unchanged at 3.6 per cent this year, rising to 4.2 per cent in 2025 as weather shocks abate and supply constraints ease.
In its new World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the Bretton Wood institution also estimates that global growth is expected to ease slightly to 3.2 per cent this year and remain at that level in 2025.
The report noted that global inflation will continue to ease, hitting 5.8 per cent this year, before falling further to 4.3 per cent in 2025.
The report finds that the United States has remained an engine of global growth — in sharp contrast with the euro area, where expansion remains slow.
The world’s largest economy is now expected to grow by 2.8 per cent this year, down ever-so-slightly from the 2.9 per cent seen in 2023, but still a shade better than the Fund’s previous estimate in July.
It is then expected to ease somewhat to 2.2 per cent in 2025 — up 0.3 percentage points from July — as fiscal policy is “gradually tightened and a cooling labour market slows consumption,” the IMF said.
In Europe, growth is still trending higher but remains low by historical standards, and is on track to be at 0.8 per cent this year, rising slightly to 1.2 per cent in 2025.
While France and Spain saw upgrades in their outlook for 2024, the IMF cut its projections for German growth by 0.2 percentage points this year, and by half a percentage point next year, citing its “persistent weakness in manufacturing.”
In the United Kingdom, the IMF says growth is projected to accelerate in both 2024 and 2025, “as falling inflation and interest rates stimulate domestic demand.”
Growth in Japan is expected to slow sharply to just 0.3 per cent this year, before accelerating to 1.1 per cent next year boosted by private consumption as real wage growth strengthens, according to the IMF.
The lender expects the growth in economic output in China to continue to cool, easing from 5.2 per cent last year to 4.8 per cent this year, and then falling further to 4.5 per cent in 2025.
“Despite persisting weakness in the real estate sector and low consumer confidence, growth is projected to have slowed only marginally,” the IMF said, pointing to better-than-expected net exports from the world’s second-largest economy.
The slowdown in India was put at a growth of 7.0 per cent this year, down from 8.2 per cent in 2023.
The IMF expects growth in the Middle East and Central Asia to pick up slightly to 2.4 per cent this year, before jumping to 3.9 per cent in 2025 as the temporary effect of oil and shipping disruptions fade.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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