Economy
MTN Expresses Confidence in Tinubu’s Economic Reforms
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of the leading telecommunications providers in Africa, MTN Group, has said the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu would boost its operations in Nigeria, noting that the country will overcome the short-term “pain” of the policies by the middle of next year.
The chief executive of the South African telco, Mr Ralph Mupita, said this in an interview with Bloomberg Television aired on Thursday.
Though he said the firm was not insulated from the effect of the policies, it was very necessary for the country to undergo structural reforms to move forward.
“With the removal of the subsidy and liberalization of the naira, we always knew it was going to take us a couple of quarters for those shocks to work through the system,” he said, adding that, “And beyond that — we see our business being able to pick up growth and repair the profit and earnings profile of the group.”
When President Tinubu took office in late May, he first instituted the removal of fuel subsidies and within two weeks, it came up with the exchange rate unification which saw the Naira plunge.
Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market by subscribers and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) listed coy contributes more than 30 per cent of the group’s total revenue.
As a result of the new administration’s rate devaluation, the earnings of companies were affected, while the removal of fuel subsidies contributed to inflation.
MTN said it was “very constructive” on Nigeria in the medium-to-long term and that the policy reforms underpinned the investment case for the company in the country.
“Nigeria drives growth in digital adoption and financial inclusion. MTN has Nigeria as a big growth vector for the company,” he said.
Despite the environment, MTN delivered solid financial results in the third quarter ended September 30.
MTN reported a nine-month earnings increase to $3.84 billion, marking an improvement during the same period last year. This growth was achieved even amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and inflationary pressures.
According to Mr Mupita, forex markets remained volatile in the period, with local currencies under pressure against the US dollar and constrained availability of forex, particularly in Nigeria.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira witnessed a N1.76 or 0.11 per cent depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, April 16.
During the trading session, the local currency was exchanged with the greenback at N1,603.16/$1, in contrast to the N1,601.40/$1 it was traded a day earlier, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Also, the Nigerian currency weakened against the British Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N6.71 to quote at N2,121.97/£1 compared with the previous day’s value of N2,115.26/£1 and tumbled against the Euro by N9.28 to sell for N1,818.17/€1 versus Tuesday’s exchange rate of N1,808.89/€1.
In the parallel market, the Naira lost N5 against the Dollar to finish at N1,620/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,615/$1.
The pressure on the domestic currency came as the central bank sold over $30.00 million at rates between N1,590.00/$ and N1,601.50/$ this week to authorised forex dealers.
At the cryptocurrency market, things turned bullish as the US Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr Jerome Powell, dashed hopes for early rate cuts, citing the need to assess the impact of US tariffs on the global economy.
The Federal Reserve chair also mentioned that the US central bank needed more time to see the effects of tariffs play out in the global economy. The same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.
Market analysts noted that the remarks disappointed rate cuts optimist by stressing focus on protecting against tariff-driven price hikes from driving a long-term rise in inflation expectations.
Solana (SOL) jumped by 7.2 per cent to trade at $134.28, Cardano (ADA) added 2.8 per cent to close at $0.6209, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 2.5 per cent to $0.1570, Ethereum (ETH) rose by 2.1 per cent to $1,602.70, Ripple (XRP) gained 1.9 per cent to close at $2.09, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.5 per cent to $84,749.46, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.7 per cent to $583.08.
But Litecoin (LTC) declined by 0.7 per cent to finish at $75.38, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The further reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, from N865 to N835, effective from Wednesday, April 16, 2025, by Dangote Petroleum Refinery has been applauded by Nigerians.
The price slash was the second by the company in a week and it was in reaction to the decline in the price of crude oil in the global market due to the trade war between the United States and China.
In a statement yesterday by the Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer of Dangote Group, Mr Anthony Chiejina, it was stated that key partners, including MRS, AP (Ardova), Heyden, Optima Energy, Hyde and Techno Oil, will sell petrol to customers at N890 per litre, down from N920 in Lagos, while in the other South-West states, the price will be N900 per litre versus the previous N930.
In addition, Nigerians living in the North-West and North-Central will get the high-quality Dangote petrol at N910 per litre compared with the former price of N940, and those in the South-East, South-South, and North-East will buy at N920 per litre, down from N950 per litre.
Dangote expressed hopes that this latest reduction in PMS prices would generate a positive ripple effect throughout various sectors of the economy, providing much-needed relief to consumers and contributing to broader economic growth, particularly during the Easter season.
It stated that the slash in price reaffirmed its “commitment to providing high-quality petrol at affordable rates, benefiting consumers across the nation. In addition, we are working collaboratively with our partners to ensure equitable reflection of this price reduction.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has consistently worked to reduce the prices of petrol and other refined petroleum products, ensuring the continued benefit of Nigerian consumers.
For example, in February, the refinery reduced prices twice by N125. In addition, products such as diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) have also experienced significant price reductions due to the refinery’s sustained efforts.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered a 0.68 per cent loss on Wednesday as profit-taking in the banking space continued.
Data showed that the banking index went down by 4.67 per cent and the energy sector depreciated by 0.05 per cent.
The duo overpowered the gains recorded by the other sectors.
The insurance counter improved by 0.80 per cent, and the consumer goods sector appreciated by 0.34 per cent, while the industrial goods and commodity indices remained flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 708.14 points to 103,851.88 points from 104,560.02 points and the market capitalisation declined by N444 billion to N65.260 trillion from N65.704 trillion.
There were 25 price gainers and 20 price losers yesterday, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Industrial and Medical Gases lost 10.00 per cent to sell for N34.20, Guinea Insurance dropped 9.52 per cent to trade at 57 Kobo, UPDC REIT shed 8.20 per cent to close at N5.60, DAAR Communications depleted by 7.94 per cent to 58 Kobo, and C&I Leasing slumped by 7.89 per cent to N3.50.
On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank gained 9.99 per cent to quote at N8.15, Sovereign Trust Insurance improved by 7.69 per cent to 98 Kobo, NGX Group rose by 7.30 per cent to N33.80, Fidelity Bank grew by 6.74 per cent to N18.20, and Deap Capital increased by 6.67 per cent to 96 Kobo.
During the session, 351.7 million stocks valued at N13.7 billion exchanged hands in 12,141 deals compared with the 368.8 million stocks worth N10.9 billion traded in 13,228 deals the preceding session, indicating a decline in the trading volume and number of deals by 4.64 per cent and 8.22 per cent, respectively, and a rise in the trading value by 25.69 per cent.
Business Post reports that Access Holdings was the busiest equity at midweek with the sale of 68.2 million units valued at N1.5 billion, followed by GTCO with 36.8 million units for N2.2 billion.
Further, FCMB transacted 28.8 million units worth N261.9 million, UBA exchanged 26.4 million units valued at N830.9 million, and Chams traded 24.6 million units worth N53.3 million.
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