Nigeria, Others Start 10% Oil Output Cut Friday

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 is targeting to grow Nigeria’s economy by 3.76 per cent next year and moderate the country’s inflation to 21.4 per cent. Speaking at his first budget speech to lawmakers on Wednesday, President Tinubu also projected higher oil production and tax collection, noting that this will boost government revenues and cut down on reliance on borrowing to finance budget deficits. Nigeria plans on spending N27.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year, with priorities on security, infrastructure and easing the high cost-of-living crisis. The country will borrow around N9 trillion and N18.5 billion generated from internally

By Adedapo Adesanya A hybrid solar power solutions provider, Daystar Power, has signed an agreement with Nigerian Breweries to install and operate a 4.2MWp solar plant and 2MWh battery storage system that will help the firm reduce its high energy costs. The installation will be one of the largest solar and battery storage projects for an industrial manufacturer in Nigeria. The hybrid solar solution will generate 5,249 MWh of electricity – 42 per cent of its daytime power consumption – every year at Nigerian Breweries’ Lagos brewery. According to a statement, the integration of solar into the factory’s energy mix

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The N3.52 billion commercial paper issued to capital market investors by DLM Capital Group a few months ago has been redeemed. The funds, sourced by the organisation from various investors, including Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), asset managers, insurance companies and banks, were repaid after the commercial paper sold in three series matured recently. DLM Capital approached the Nigerian capital market earlier in 2022 to get funds for its business operations, and due to the confidence investors had in the company, they bought the notes. The firm had issued N1.24 billion Series 1, N1.01 billion Series 2 and

By Dipo Olowookere Renowned economist, Mr Bismarck Rewane, has retired from the board of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc. The Nigerian financial institution announced the retirement of Mr Rewane in a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday. In the statement signed by the Company Secretary, Mrs Olufunmilayo Adedibu, it was disclosed that the board has accepted his retirement. The board and management also expressed their gratitude to the foremost financial expert, wishing him well in his retirement. “FCMB Group Plc hereby announces the retirement of Mr Bismarck Rewane from the board of directors of the company.

By Dipo Olowookere Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country have been ordered to close all Naira accounts operated by International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs). This directive was given to the commercial banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a circular jointly signed by the Director of Banking Supervision and the Director of Payments System Management. The apex bank explained that the reason for this action was to ensure that all the IMTOs make diaspora remittances to beneficiaries in foreign currency. Recently, the central bank directed banks and IMTOs to allow recipients of offshore transfers make cash withdrawals

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The appointment of Mr Mauricio Alarcon as the new Managing Director of Nestle Nigeria has been announced by the company. Business Post learnt that Mr Alarcon is replacing Mr Dharnesh Gordhon, who has taken up a new position at Nestle Indonesia. Mr Alarcon, Nestle Nigeria Plc disclosed, will take over the position from October 1, 2016. The new MD joined Nestle Mexico in 1999 as an Area Sales Manager in the company’s Ice Cream business. He was later move from there to the position of Marketing Advisor at Nestlé’s Strategic Business Unit in Switzerland; then Marketing Manager

By Dipo Olowookere Operations of Yuan Dong (YDEC), which claimed to be an investment company in Nigeria, have been declared illegal by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has subsequently sealed up the business premises of the firm. The agency disclosed that on Thursday, February 23, 2017, pursuant to its non-tolerance policy of unhealthy practices in the market, and in exercise of its powers enshrined in Section 13 (w) of the ISA 2007, it “sealed up” the premises of Yuan Dong in order to completely put an end to the unlawful activities of the company against unsuspecting investors. A

By Adedapo Adesanya Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) has scored another first in the electricity sector, after bagging three latest International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications; ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 in recognition of its effective implementation of Occupational Safety & Health, Environment Management and Quality Management processes. In addition, the DisCo also emerged as one of the runners-up for the Most Responsive Organization to COVID-19 Crisis at the Nigeria Risk Awards 2020, and also bagged the AfriSAFE Merit Award 2020. The management of Ikeja Electric, last week, was presented the ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001:2015

By Dipo Olowookere The subsidiaries of FBN Holdings have been rebranded in line with the objectives to deliver a consistent customer experience and drive increased stakeholder value. As a result, FBN Holdings Plc has announced the renaming of all entities under its Merchant Banking and Asset Management group. These include FBNQuest Merchant Bank, FBNQuest Asset Management, FBNQuest Securities; FBNQuest Capital, FBNQuest Trustees and FBNQuest Funds. The Merchant Banking and Asset Management group is set to close the year on a positive note, having successfully delivered several landmark transactions in the course of the year. In 2017, FBNQuest Merchant Bank was

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB) has directed all licensed Microfinance Banks (MFBs) nationwide to update it on their recapitalisation status for assessment and follow-up actions with the regulatory authorities. This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the association, Mr Shikir Caleb, after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the licences of 179 banks for not adhering to regulations. The central bank had said that it revoked the MFBs licences due to failure to fulfil or comply with the conditions subject to which their licences were granted. The apex bank said the banks were