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Mining Sector to Contribute $27b to GDP by 2025—FG

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

It is no doubt that a lot has not been tapped from the mining industry in Nigeria, but the present government is focusing its attention to this just as it is doing with the agricultural sector.

At the moment, it is estimated that the contribution of the sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria is $13 billion.

But the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development says it hopes to push this to about $27 billion by 2025.

This was revealed in the Ministry’s Road Map released on Sunday in Abuja, which was posted on its website and analysed by Business Post.

According to the Ministry’s roadmap, the impact on GDP will be significant as industries are able to use the output of the sector better, substituting for imports.

It also noted that the successful execution of the mining plan with unlock significant value for Nigeria and the net outcome will be creation of thousands of direct jobs and potentially hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs.

The Ministry said it would execute this roadmap in stages with the first focused on bringing stability to the sector and rebuilding the country’s market confidence between 2016 and 2018.

The second phase will focus on establishing Nigeria as a competitive African mining and mineral processing centre from 2016 to 2020, while the third phase will enable Nigeria compete in the global market for refined metals and minerals from 2018 to 2030 in addition to selected ore exportation.

“To ensure effective execution of the roadmap, a committee has recommended the formation of a Mining Implementation and Strategy Team (MIST) that will be the process owner of the roadmap and will be accountable for its implementation.

“MIST, as an advisory team to the Minister, will work across multiple MDAs, stakeholders and private institutions to ensure that the full potential of the minerals, mining and metals sector is achieved,” the Ministry said.

Recall that in 2015, the sector contributed approximately 0.33 percent to the GDP of the country. This contribution is a reversal from the historically higher percentages (about 4-5% in the 1960s-70s).

However, following a decade of reforms starting in 1999, this contribution represents a cautiously optimistic restart of the development of the sector.

The decade of reform saw key changes including, the passage of a new Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act (2007), a Nigerian Mineral and Metals Policy (2008), the creation of a modern Mining Cadastre system, the refinement of the tax code, and the expansion in airborne mapping of the country to sharpen knowledge of the mineral endowments. As important as these progress steps have been, Nigeria can and should do more.

The sector faces several challenges with geosciences data and information, Industry participants, Stakeholders, Institutions, Governance and other enablers of the sector.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), gour sub-activities make up the Mining & Quarrying sector: Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas, Coal Mining, Metal ore and Quarrying and other Minerals.

On a nominal basis, the sector grew in the Fourth Quarter of 2016 by 54.68% (year on year). This was substantially above the growth rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2015, when a contraction of -35.12% was recorded.

This increase may be attributable in part to negotiations with militant groups in the Niger Delta region, who had been vandalizing oil infrastructure, but who reduced their attacks in the fourth quarter following these series of negotiations.

Coal mining and Metal ore activities in nominal terms, recorded growth rates of 14.16% and 24.24% respectively, significantly higher than the third quarter growth rates of 1.06% and 17.11% respectively.

The Mining & Quarrying sector contributed 7.10% to overall GDP during the fourth quarter of 2016, higher than the contribution recorded in same quarter of 2015 at 5.18%, and its contribution in the preceding quarter of 6.23%.

In real terms, Mining and Quarrying sector recorded a decline of -12.04% (year-on-year) in the fourth quarter of 2016. Although this is significantly smaller decline than that recorded in the previous quarter, of 21.64%, it is nevertheless 3.99% points lower than the growth rate recorded in the same Quarter of 2015 of –8.05.

The contribution of Mining and Quarrying to Real GDP in the fourth quarter of 2016 stood at 7.32%, representing a decline of 0.89% points relative to the corresponding quarter of 2015 and also a decline of 1.02% points relative to the third quarter of 2016.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

Economy

NGX Key Performance Indicators Rebound 0.04%

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NGX RegCo

By Dipo Olowookere

About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.

Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.

According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.

The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.

A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.

On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.

Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.

Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.

When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.

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Economy

Naira Trades N1,417/$1 at Official Market, N1,485/$1 at Black Market

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naira street value

By Adedapo Adesanya

It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.

The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.

Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.

Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.

Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.

Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.

Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.

Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Oil Prices Rise Amid Lingering Iran Worries

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oil prices cancel iran deal

By Adedapo Adesanya

Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.

Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.

The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.

Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.

The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.

Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.

Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.

The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.

According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.

Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.

Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.

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