MTN Nigeria Joins MSCI Frontier Markets Index

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, has asked his counterpart in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ola Olukoyede, to support his agency to achieve the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, who appointed both of them. Speaking during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the anti-money laundering firm, Mr Adedeji said the EFCC has a role in ensuring that taxpayers’ funds are “judiciously utilised in line with the social contract with the people.” He assured that the FIRS would continue to strive to raise the revenue

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited retreated by 0.44 per cent on Tuesday due to selling pressure on some bellwether equities during the session. Shares of Dangote Cement, GTCO, Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, Oando, Lafarge Africa and others experienced a pullback yesterday as a result of profit-taking activities by traders. As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) receded by 312.76 points to 71,041.05 points from 71,353.81 points and the market capitalisation moderated by N165 billion to N38.875 trillion from N39.040 trillion. The level of activity at the market waned on the second trading session of the week, as

By Adedapo Adesanya The Supreme Court has ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes should continue to co-exist with the new banknotes beyond the earlier December 31, 2023, deadline. The apex court ruled on Wednesday that both old and new notes should continue to remain legal tender until the federal government puts a process in place for its replacement or redesign after due consultation with relevant stakeholders. The seven-man panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro gave the ruling following an application by the central government asking the court to grant an extension of time for old naira notes

By Adedapo Adesanya  President Bola Tinubu has written to the House of Representatives seeking the approval for an $8.6 billion and €100 million external borrowing plan for critical infrastructure in areas such as power, roads, water, railway, and health. The President also forwarded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Supplementary Budget to the lower chamber for consideration. Meanwhile, the President will present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly on Wednesday. This was after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion. The approval followed the review of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) earlier passed by the

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh A Mozambican geologist, Mr Antonio Pedro, has been appointed as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) with effect from Thursday, September 1, 2022. He is taking charge of the organisation after Ms Vera Songwe announced the end of her five years of dedicated service to ECA and its member states on August 22. “It has been a privilege to work with you and serve the whole UN system. I cannot express enough my appreciation for the support, encouragement, guidance, patience, and friendship I received throughout these years from you,” said

By Dipo Olowookere Renewed buying interest in consumer goods stocks saved the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited from collapsing on Tuesday, as it finished higher by 0.71 per cent at the close of trading activities. The trading session saw Ellah Lakes ending as the best-performing stock after its value rose by 10.00 per cent to N3.63, leading the gainers’ chart of 35 members. Berger Paints rose by 9.95 per cent to close at N11.60, eTranzact grew by 9.93 per cent to N8.08, Oando improved by 9.92 per cent to N13.30, and Chams also jumped by 9.92 per cent to N1.33. Business

By Dipo Olowookere The Samsung Smart School Project for teachers and students has moved to Calabar, the capital of Cross River State. The initiative, a brain child of Samsung Electronics West Africa, is an integral part of Samsung’s ‘Smart School Rollout’ scheme, which is aimed at digitising classrooms on the platform of mobile learning across unity schools in Nigeria. Launched across the country in partnership with the various state governments, the Samsung Smart School Project will ensure that secondary schools benefit from the Digital Classroom, which is equipped with mobile devices, electronic boards, thin client monitors, learning contents all from

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The second edition of Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton programme organised by Access Bank Plc has been launched. It is an initiative designed by the bank to continuously provide financial, business skills and mentoring to female entrepreneurs in Africa so as to grow their businesses. According to the leading retail bank in Nigeria, the Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa 2020 will provide up to N9 million financial grant and a unique capacity building program aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs. The programme is designed as a 3-month period incorporating pitching sessions and 8 weeks of mini-MBA training in collaboration with the IFC. Interested

By Dipo Olowookere Nigerian cashew producers are working on a four-year plan to cultivate more land and boost exports more than threefold to 500,000 metric tons a year to feed a growing export market. With about 160,000 hectares (395,000 acres) of land producing about 150,000 tons a year, farmers are seeking to bring an additional 340,000 hectares into cultivation to achieve industry targets, Tola Fasheru, president of the Nigerian Cashew Association, which groups farmers and traders, said in a January 12 interview in Lagos. That should raise annual export income from the product to at least $650 million from the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Last Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the sale of 69 million Chinese Yuan (CNY) to customers seeking foreign exchange in the agricultural and raw material sector. It was disclosed that the Chinese Yuan was made available only to customers with Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit for agriculture as well as raw materials and machinery. According to the acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mr Isaac Okorafor, the exercise was conducted through a combination of spot and 15-day tenor. Mr Okorafor disclosed that the availability of Renminbi would eventually ease pressure

By Dipo Olowookere The Primary Market Auction (PMA) for the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds earlier scheduled by the Debt Management Office (DMO) for Wednesday, July 21, 2021, has been fixed for Monday, July 19, 2021. Business Post reports that the rescheduling of the exercise was caused by the public holiday declared by the federal government on Tuesday and Wednesday. The debt office is planning to sell to investors tomorrow the government debt securities worth N150 billion at the primary market. The DMO is auctioning N50 billion worth of 10-year bond tagged 13.98% FGN FEB 2028, N50 billion worth

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices opened the week stronger as investors continued to bet on tight supply and rising vaccination rates and overlooking surging COVID-19 cases worldwide. Brent crude gained 39 cents or 0.52 per cent on Monday to settle at $74.89, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude moved up by 28 cents or 0.39 per cent to $72.19 per barrel. Investors continue to show support for the black gold as strong US demand and expectations of tight supplies prevail despite the surrounding factors. These factors helped both contracts to recover from a 7 per cent slump last week