Economy
Nigeria’s Economy Gathers More Momentum
By FSDH Research
A review of the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the month of April 2017 suggests that the Nigerian economy is on the way out of recession.
However, we believe more policies are required to achieve sustainable growth. The PMI report shows that the Composite Manufacturing Index (CMI) expanded for the first time in the year 2017 and attained the highest level so far in the year 2017.
The CMI increased to 51.1points in April 2017 from 47.7 points in March 2017. Although the Composite Non-Manufacturing Index (CNMI) is slightly below 50 points level, it increased to 49.5 points in April 2017 from 47.1 points recorded in March 2017 to attain the highest level in 16 months.
This represents the first month-on-month (MoM) increase after 16 consecutive months of decline.
The PMI report also shows that the production level in the manufacturing sector expanded for the second consecutive month, increasing to 58.5 points in April 2017 from 50.8 points in March 2017. PMI below 50 points level suggests a decline in business activity, PMI higher than 50 points level suggests an expansion while PMI at the 50 point level suggests no change.
We believe the increase in PMI is sustainable in the short to medium-term provided policies that increase access to credit and create an enabling business environment are pursued.
The monetary aggregates in Nigeria as at March 2017 show that the annualised growth rate in the money supply is below the target the CBN sets for the year 2017.
In Nigeria, narrow money supply (M1) is the sum of demand deposits and currency in circulation less the cash currency held in deposit money banks’ vault.
Quasi money supply (QM) is the savings deposits plus time deposits. Broad money supply (M2) is the sum of M1 and QM (M2 = M1 + QM). The M2 decreased by 7.17% to N22trillion in March 2017 from N23.7trillion in December 2016.
The major drop is from M1 which dropped by 12.71% to N10trillion in March 2017 from N11.4trillion in December 2016. The QM also dropped marginally by 2.03% to N12.1trillion from N12.3trillion in December 2016. We attribute the drop in M1 to the drop in demand deposits which in turn can be linked to a drop in private sector deposits with the CBN.
Demand deposits dropped by 13.46% to N8.3trillion in March 2017 from N9.6trillion in December 2016. Private sector deposits dropped by 36.68% to N2.1trillion in March 2017 from N3.4trillion in December 2016. The CBN’s growth target for M2 in 2017 is 10.29%, thus the contraction in Q1 2017 is at variance with the growth target for the year.
The efforts to combat high inflation rate, increase the supply of foreign exchange through foreign investment in the fixed income securities, and to sustain investment from the domestic investors, are responsible for the drop in money supply in Q1 2017. Net domestic credit increased marginally by 1.17% to N27.45trillion in March 2017 from N27.15trillion in December 2016, much lower than the growth target of 17.93% for 2017. The annualised growth rate in net domestic credit in Q1 2017 is 4.7%, also significantly below the target growth rate of 17.93% for 2017.
While net credit to the Federal Government increased in Q1 2017, the net credit to the private sector dropped. Net domestic credit to the Federal Government increased by 8.17% to N5.29trillion in March 2017 from N4.81trillion in December 2016 but the net domestic credit to private sector dropped by 0.33% to N22.27trillion in March 2017 from N22.35trillion in December 2017. Policies to increase money supply will be required when there is stability in the foreign exchange market and the inflation rate is moderated.
Source: FSDH Research
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
