Naira Closes Week N365/$ at Parallel Market

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, has called for collective efforts to shape the energy sector in Nigeria, noting that no meaningful economic growth can be achieved without it. Mr Adelabu said this at the Nigeria Energy 2023 leadership summit recently held in Lagos, with the theme Unlocking new value with reforms, investments, and technology which saw in attendance industry leaders. The Minister said, “Energy is the lifeblood of any modern economy of which Nigeria is no exception. No meaningful economic growth or industrial development can be achieved without energy. “We can be talking of potential

By Adedapo Adesanya The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, to clear the backlog of foreign exchange as well as guarantee another recapitalisation in the banking sector. “The clearance of the backlog of forex obligations should be accorded high priority to restore the confidence of domestic and foreign investors,” the Managing Director of CPPE, Mr Muda Yusuf said in a press statement titled Ten Point Agenda For The CBN Governor, released over the weekend. Mr Cardoso and four new deputies on

By Adedapo Adesanya The new leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) signalled no confidence to traders and investors as the Naira was further dealt a heavy blow at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) arms of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Monday, September 25, though it maintained stability against the United States Dollar in the parallel market. In the official market, the Naira lost 3.41 per cent or N25.49 against the greenback to finish at N773.25/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing rate of N747.76/$1, as the value of forex transactions went down by 58.3

By Precious Olisa This news may not be palatable to developers and Nigerians planning to start a building project, as the Cement Producers Association of Nigeria has warned that the price of a 50kg bag of cement may start selling for N9,000 when the dry season begins in November. At the moment, the product is sold at over N5,000. In a statement jointly signed on Sunday by the National Chairman of the group, Mr David Iweta, and its National Secretary, Mr Ufomba, the manufacturers said the rise in the price of cement would be caused by the decision of the

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited sank deeper into the domain of the bears by 0.27 per cent on Friday in the absence of positive news to trigger buying interest in local equities amid a rising appetite for risk-free investment tools. Only nine stocks appreciated in price during the final trading session of this week compared with the 18 shares that depreciated in value. The market was busy yesterday but it was mainly on the sell side, especially in the banking, industrial goods and energy sectors, which had their respective indices down by 2.74 per cent, 0.54 per

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The deadline for the swapping of the old Naira notes for the redesigned currency denominations has been extended by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced the extension on Sunday in a chat with journalists in Daura, Katsina. Mr Emefiele was in Daura for a crucial meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on the currency swap policy, which has put many citizens under untold hardships. The central bank announced on October 26, 2022, that it was redesigning the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes and gave Nigerians till January 31, 2023,

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The federal government has promised to continue to support and implement policies aimed at accelerating the emergence of Nigeria as a top 20 global economy by 2025. The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, made this known in Abuja on Monday when she received the Revised Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan (2021-2025) from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She explained that the review of the plan underscores the fact that capital market growth resonates with the current administration’s unwavering commitment to deepening and re-positioning the country’s financial markets as a key anchor

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh At the last international parliamentary conference, Russia – Africa in a Multipolar World, held on March 20 under the auspices of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated in his speech that the partnership between Russia and African countries has gained additional momentum and is reaching a whole new level, and further added that “Russia would continue helping African countries with electricity production, which so far covers only a quarter of the continent’s needs.” According to the transcript made available on the Kremlin website, Russia is offering new environmentally friendly

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira extended gains into a second day on Thursday, December 10, appreciating by N2 against the US Dollar at the black market to close the day at N476/$1 in contrast to the N478/$1 it traded on Wednesday. However, the Naira wasn’t lucky against the Pound and the Euro. The domestic currency lost N4 on the British currency to close at N624/£1 versus N620/£1 and depreciated by N7 on the Euro to close at N577/€1 versus N570/€1. At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the Nigerian currency had a positive outcome against the Dollar on Thursday, gaining

By Adedapo Adesanya President Bola Tinubu has expressed his administration’s commitment to breaking the cycle of overreliance on borrowing for public spending that results in the burden of debt servicing. Inaugurating the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms on Tuesday in Abuja, the President charged the team to improve the country’s revenue profile and business environment. He also said that the federal government was moving towards achieving an 18 per cent Tax-to-GDP ratio within three years. Mr Tinubu directed the group to achieve its one-year mandate, divided into three main areas: fiscal governance, tax reforms, and growth facilitation.

By Ahmed Rahma An expert in subsea engineering and director at the National Oilwell Varco based in Houston, Texas, USA, Dr Babajide Agunbiade, has highlighted three-point agenda that could drive the US president-elect, Mr Joe Biden’s energy policy. Mr Agunbiade, while responding to the question of what will be the future of US oil and gas industry with Mr Biden at the helm of affairs, stated that clean energy innovation and the pursuit of zero-emission are expected to form the pivot of the incoming US government’s energy policy. He listed the three key focus of the incoming president as an

By Dipo Olowookere The Benin Enterprise and Industrial Park project in Edo State has attracted about $250 million from an investor who wants to do business on the facility. Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, made this disclosure when a World Bank Team led by Gloria Joseph-Raji paid him a courtesy at the Government House, in Benin City, on Tuesday. The governor said his administration has continued to make considerable progress on the Benin Enterprise and Industrial Park project, adding that the plan is to commence construction at the site before the end of the year. “We have made