Naira Remains Stable at N516/$ Friday

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Mr Tokunbo Akande, the Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Ayodele Subair, has waded into the controversies surrounding stamp duty. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) have been at loggerheads at to which of them should collect the revenue charged on financial transactions in the country. Mr Akande, while commenting on the matter, described stamp duty as ‘a revenue stamp and not a postage stamp.’ While featuring as a guest on The Tax Talk programme on Channels Television recently, he emphasised that

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A new Code of Conduct for Approved Persons of Trading License Holders, otherwise known as stockbrokers, has been introduced by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo). It was disclosed that the ethical guideline was designed to ensure professionals dealing with the trading of shares at NGX Limited follow high standards. Furthermore, it highlights the expected standards and values that Approved Persons must display at all times when conducting their businesses at all times. The idea of the code of conduct for stockbrokers, according to the regulator, is to deepen the market and foster professionalism, integrity,

By Bliss Okperan The exchange rate instability in the country is already giving small business owners sleepless nights and it threatens their investments. This concern was raised recently by the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Mr Segun Kuti-George. He emphasised that business owners would have to increase their prices because of the unavoidable consequence of the current exchange rate crisis in Nigeria. According to him, if consumers are unable to meet up with the increase in the cost of goods and services, businesses would be forced to shut down their operations, which would, in turn,

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil sank by more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday after industry data showed that crude stockpiles in the United States rose more than expected. The price of Brent crude dipped by $2.16 or 2.3 per cent to $93.20 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by $2.44 or 2.7 per cent to $88.47 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a crude oil inventory build of 3.9 million barrels for the week, which ended on November 4, compared with a draw of 3.1 million barrels for the previous week, which followed

By Lekan Adetayo Shortly after I arrived at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday morning, I received a message that the Chief Security Officer to the President, Bashir Abubakar, would like to see me in his office. What came to my mind immediately was that it was the Presidency’s Media Office that interfaces with journalists and not the CSO. I felt I should inform the presidential spokesmen before honouring the strange invitation. I proceeded to the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, and informed him of the invitation. Adesina advised that

By Ahmed Rahma An agenda has been set for the female marketing professionals in Nigeria, who intend to advance their careers. This outline was set at the prestigious Women in Marketing and Communications Conference/Awards (WIMCA) held on November 13, 2020. The special edition themed Generation equality; imperatives of gender inclusion for the growth of brands and marketing communications had various experts and leaders in the Nigerian marketing communication industry as participant and resource persons who dissected the subject of the occasion. “The theme of the International Women’s Day (IWD) celebration commemorated every March has always informed the theme of WIMCA

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The United Bank for Africa Plc has announced its audited 2016 Half Year Financial Results for the period ended June 30, 2016. Business Post learnt the results showed that UBA recorded gross earnings of N166 billion, net operating income of N109 billion and profit before tax of N40 billion. Also, the bank recorded a significant growth in total assets, rising 20% to N3.3 trillion, crossing the three trillion mark. Following the sterling performance, Business Post gathered, the bank’s Board has recommended the payment of N0.20 interim dividend on every ordinary share of N0.50 each. Speaking on the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An entrepreneur, Ms Jumoke Akinsanya, has narrated how the collateral-free loans she obtained from an e-commerce giant, Jumia, influenced the expansion of her business. Ms Akinsanya, the owner of Deeski.com who also sells groceries and home essentials on Jumia, disclosed that the platform has helped her company achieve a lot in the last five years. According to her, she now has an opportunity for direct access to big companies, facilitated bulk purchase, and improved her business workforce from six to 12. Business Post reports that Jumia lending is a small business loan open to sellers on the

By Dipo Olowookere Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Raghunath Mandava, has hinted that the telecommunications company operating in Nigeria would soon commence offering some banking services to its customers and residents of the country. He dropped this hint while commenting on the company’s performance in the first half of 2019, where Airtel Africa reported a strong start to the financial year, in its first quarterly results since its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in June this year and its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in July 2019. According to Mr

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The National Long-Term’ AAA (nga)’ and National Short-Term’ F1+(nga)’ ratings on Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc have been reaffirmed by Fitch Ratings. In a statement issued recently, the globally renowned credit rating agency also stated that it reaffirmed the same ratings on Stanbic IBTC Bank, a subsidiary of the holdco. Both organisations retained their ratings as a result of the vital role they play in Standard Bank Group’s primary operations in West Africa as well as its size and high operational integration, the agency explained in the statement. Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc is a subsidiary of the Standard

By Adedapo Adesanya For the third consecutive quarter, Nigeria has recorded a negative trade balance or trade deficit, recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed. Business Post reports that the trade balance, also known as the balance of trade (BOT), is the difference between the value of imports and exports of a country in a period. According to the NBS, in the second quarter of 2020, the trade balance of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, recorded a deficit of N1.8 trillion. This was because, in the period under review, the total value of exports in Nigeria stood