NDIC Insists Cryptocurrencies Illegal in Nigeria

By Adedapo Adesanya The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) on Thursday asked Nigeria to produce about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2024, lower than the 1.78 million barrels per day benchmark it proposed in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly on Wednesday for passage. The output ceiling was around 1.8 million barrels per day before it was cut down to 1.5 million barrels yesterday at the group’s virtual meeting, a huge blow to Nigeria’s revenue target for the fiscal year. OPEC had tasked three consultancies – IHS, Rystad

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil slumped by more than 2 per cent on Friday as traders showed scepticism about the depth of supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) as well as concerns about sluggish global manufacturing activity. Brent crude went down by $1.98 or 2.45 per cent to close at $78.88 a barrel as the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $1.89 or 2.49 per cent to sell for $74.07 a barrel. For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1 per cent, while WTI lost more than 1.9 per cent.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has announced the list of successful bidders for the 2017/2018 crude oil term contract. In a statement issued on Tuesday by the agency’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, it was disclosed that 39 bidders made the list. Mr Ughamadu also noted that out of the successful bidders, 18 are Nigerian companies, while 11 are international traders. He further said five foreign refineries made the list, three National Oil Companies (NOCs) and two NNPC trading arms. A total of 224 bids were submitted by companies seeking to

By Dipo Olowookere In the money market this week, interbank rates are anticipated to moderate as a result of huge inflows hitting the market. Business Post reports that during the week, specifically on Thursday, treasury bills worth N684.84 billion will mature via the secondary market. This, along with the effect of the N788.14 billion federally collected revenue distributed by FAAC, is expected boost financial system liquidity and according to Cowry Asset analysts, both inflows will “result in a corresponding downward trend in NIBOR.” With these anticipated inflows, we at Business Post expect the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be

By Adedapo Adesanya The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), Mr Volker Perthes, has condemned the eruption of fighting in Sudan. Clashes erupted on Saturday morning between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in many parts of the capital Khartoum and other areas outside the capital. The SRSG Perthes has reached out to both parties, asking them for an immediate cessation of fighting to ensure the safety of the Sudanese people and to spare the country from further violence. According to CNN,

By Adedapo Adesanya Leading retail store chain, Shoprite, has hinted that it could be exiting from the Nigerian market after 15 years of operations. The South African owned grocery retailer made the disclosure in a trading statement for the year ended June released on Monday, August 3, saying it is leaving one of its largest markets. The African biggest grocery retailer also announced that it has started a formal process to consider the potential sale of all or a majority stake in its supermarkets in Nigeria. In the statement, Shoprite said the results for the year do not reflect any

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of the major highlights of the recently-held annual Career Fair of the Nile University of Nigeria in Abuja was the focus on employability issues and the event afforded participants to learn from experts in the field. More than 3,000 students and others were present at the university campus in Abuja, with professional career advisors guiding graduates and interns on career strategies, skills development, CV writing techniques, setting up LinkedIn profiles, interview preps, and internship opportunities. Over 50 organisations including the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Providus Bank, Access Bank, Bank of Industry, Huawei Technologies, HP

By Afrinvest Research Given the challenges faced between H2:2014 and Q1:2017, investors constantly punished Nigerian equities, with sell-offs recorded across various sectors of the market. Consequently, Nigerian equities were undervalued, in comparison to peers, presenting ample opportunities for investors to take advantage of some of the companies, which turned out impressive results despite the economic challenges. Following the reforms in the FX market which resulted in increased FX liquidity and a restoration of investor confidence, massive gains were recorded in the market in 2017 and this has been sustained into 2018, up 12.2% (12/01/2018). With the market now at an

By Dipo Olowookere The federal government has emphasised that it is not planning to increase the value-added tax (VAT) by another 2.5 per cent next year. Last year, the central government announced that it was raising the value of the tax to 7.5 per cent from 5.0 per cent from 2020 and this action made businesses to increase the price of their products and services. While Nigerians are still trying to adjust to the harsh effect of this VAT increment, reports emerged on Wednesday that the government was planning to add another 2.5 per cent to the tax to make

By Dipo Olowookere Mrs Ajoritsedere Awosika has been announced as the new Chairman of Access Bank Plc. She will replace the present occupier of the position, Mrs Mosun Belo-Olusoga, who is expected to retire in January 2020. A statement issued by the lender explained that Mrs Belo-Olusoga will retire from the post on January 8, 2020 on completion of her maximum 12-year term limit allowed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Code of Corporate Governance for Banks and Discount Houses. In the statement, Access Bank said Mrs Belo-Olusoga, who became the Chairman of the board in July 2015, confirmed