Nigerian Economy on Solid Path to Recovery with 5.01% Growth—FG

By Adedapo Adesanya Some Nigerians have expressed anger over the upward review in the foreign exchange (FX) rate, a move that could see imported goods and by extension, domestic products record surge in prices at a time when the country is battling a high cost of living. The federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has hiked the duties payable on imported goods at Nigerian ports. Business Post gathered that the upward review of prices showed the US Dollar equivalent had been put at N951.941/$1 while for the Euro, the rate was pegged at N1,030.762/€1 and the Pound

By Adedapo Adesanya African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced that the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) held in Cairo from November 9-15 witnessed the conclusion of business deals and transactions valued at $43.8 billion. The lender said in the final tallies released in Cairo, the organisers of the continental event said that the amount represented the value of 426 deals concluded in 21 sectors covering 52 countries. At a press conference to announce the results, Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President (Intra-African Trade Bank) at Afreximbank, also announced that 130 countries participated in the trade fair, which attracted 1,939 exhibitors

By Precious Olisa The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed their disappointment over the increasing exit of multinationals from the Nigerian market. The two organisations reacted to the planned exit of Procter & Gamble (P&G) from the country over economic headwinds. P&G announced its intention to close down its manufacturing operations in Nigeria and adopt an import-only business model due to the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country. This is coming some weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Unilever Nigeria, Equinor and others have also indicated their interest in quitting

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.49 per cent on Thursday, driven by selling pressure on banking equities, especially those in the tier-1 category. The likes of GTCO, FBN Holdings, Access Holdings witnessed sell-offs during the trading session, contributing to the weak investor sentiment observed at the Nigerian stock market. According to data obtained by Business Post, the NGX ended with 29 price losers and 24 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index. FBN Holdings ended as the heaviest price decliner after it shed 9.86 per cent to settle at N26.50, Secure Electronic Technology fell

By Dipo Olowookere In commemoration of the World Milk Day celebrated globally last Friday, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk, Onga, Top Tea, Loya Milk and other quality brands, donated products to five orphanages in Lagos. The beneficiaries were S.O.S. Children’s Village, Isolo; Bethlehem Charity and Orphanage Centre, Ikotun; Hearts of Gold Children’s Hospice, Surulere; Heritage Homes, Anthony Village; and Change a Life Foundation, Maryland. Receiving the items, which were Cowbell Milk and Cowbell Chocolate, General Manager of Heritage Homes, Mrs Vivian Osuntokun commended Promasidor for identifying with the less-privileged people in the society and assisting the organization to

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel **Calls for Participation in CVR in South-East The South-East Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ward-To-Ward Ambassadors (WWA), Mr Akunwata Ejoh Ojiba, has called on the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to stand over its latest policy of shutting down the South East every Monday. The party’s coordinator, speaking in Onitsha, Anambra State, said that the policy was detrimental to the sustainability of the population of the zone in Igboland and that there was no economic wisdom in shutting down the region. This followed a statement issued last Friday by the IPOB publicity

By Dipo Olowookere A leading cement company in Africa, Dangote Cement Plc, has completed the sale of the second tranche of its fixed rate senior unsecured bonds under its N300 billion multi-instrument issuance programme. In the series 2 bond issuance, the cement maker sold N116 billion to institutional investors including pension funds, asset managers, banks, insurance companies and high net-worth individuals. According to Dangote Cement, the proceeds will be used to finance its Nigerian expansion projects and implement its export strategy. It will also be used for its short-term debt refinancing and working capital requirements. Business Post reports that in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigeria’s National Pension Committee (PenCom) boss, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has disclosed that despite how people downgrade Africa, the continent was still very attractive to foreign investors. Mrs Anohu-Amazu said, “There is a lot of talk around retrenching from Africa but I’m not seeing this at all,” pointing out that, “Look at what the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are doing in the region for instance. If you look at the amount of money they are putting into Africa, I wouldn’t say this meant that investment was scaling back at all.” Her remarks come at a time when private

By Dipo Olowookere Skye Bank Plc has emerged ‘The Most Committed Watch Listing Bank in Nigeria’ out of four corporate awards that were up for grabs at the Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) Annual Dinner and Awards which held in Lagos recently. This was confirmed in an industry-wide survey administered by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in conjunction with NIBBS. The prestigious award, which is in recognition of efforts of the banking industry in the fight against electronic fraud, is presented to the institution “with the most efficient and robust system for tracking all forms of electronic fraud and arresting

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The consortium of 13 banks led by Access Bank, which reportedly took over operations of Etisalat Nigeria after talks on how to pay a $1.2 billion loan failed, has been told to maintain status quo for now. This directive was given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which waded into the issue. CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, was said to have spoken to CEOs of the affected banks on phone, where he called for calm pending outcome on further discussions. According Vanguard, industry sources revealed that the lenders have been directed to get approval from the

By Adedapo Adesanya Meta, the parent company for WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, has launched a digital non-profit training programme for 1,500 non-governmental organisation (NGO) personnel across Anglophone West Africa. Meta, in a statement, said the digital capacity-building programme is aimed at supporting the non-profit and social impact sector across West Africa. Speaking on this, Mrs Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa at Meta, said: “We know the value of digital skills and Meta is committed to helping non-profits and social enterprises across Nigeria acquire these skills.” She said the company would provide them with information to

**Insist Wale Tinubu Must Go By Modupe Gbadeyanka Shareholders of the embattled Oando Plc have maintained that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Mr Adewale Tinubu, must resign in the interest of all. The aggrieved shareholders, under the umbrella of Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria (TSA), said Mr Tinubu has overstayed in the position. Oando has been plunged into crisis lately, which resulted in it being suspended on the trading floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The oil company had run to a Federal High Court in Lagos to stop a