Economy
Nigeria’s March 2017 PMI Drops to 47.7 points
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released its manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the month of March 2017.
From the data released by the central bank on Friday, the country’s manufacturing PMI declined to 47.7 index points from 44.6 index points a month earlier, indicating a change of 3.1 index points.
This is the third consecutive month the PMI was recording a loss, thought at a slower rate.
According to the report sighted by Business Post, 13 of the 16 sub-sectors reported declines in the review month in the order of primary metal; transportation equipment; plastics & rubber products; electrical equipment; paper products; printing & related support activities; petroleum & coal products; and non-metallic mineral products.
Others are furniture & related products; cement; fabricated metal products; computer & electronic products; and chemical & pharmaceutical products.
Also are the appliances & components; food, beverage & tobacco products; and textile, apparel, leather & footwear sub sectors reported expansion in the review period.
The CBN also said the production level index for manufacturing sector expanded in March 2017. The index at 50.8 points indicated an expansion in production level as compared to contraction in the previous month.
Seven manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level during the review month in the following order: appliances & components; petroleum & coal products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; food, beverage & tobacco products; cement; computer & electronic products; and furniture & related products.
The non-metallic mineral products sub-sector remained unchanged, while the primary metal; transportation equipment; electrical equipment; plastics & rubber products; paper products; chemical & pharmaceutical products; printing & related support activities; and fabricated metal products recorded declines in production in March 2017.
Furthermore, the employment level index in March 2017 stood at 43.6 points, indicating a decline in employment level for 25 consecutive months.
However, the index declined at a slower rate when compared with the level in the preceding month.
Also in the report, the central bank noted that the composite PMI for the non-manufacturing sector declined for the 15th consecutive month.
The index stood at 47.1 points, indicating a slower decline when compared to the 44.5 points in February 2017.
Of the 18 non-manufacturing sub-sectors, eleven recorded declines in the following order: construction; professional, scientific, & technical services; real estate, rental & leasing; management of companies; repair, maintenance/washing of motor vehicles; accommodation & food services; wholesale/retail trade; arts, entertainment & recreation; information & communication; utilities; and health care & social assistance.
The remaining seven sub-sectors: public administration; educational services; agriculture; water supply, sewage & waste management; electricity, gas, steam & air conditioning supply; transportation & warehousing; and finance & insurance reported growth in the review month.
The manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI Report on businesses is derived from the data compiled from purchasing and supply executives.
Survey responses indicate whether there is change or no change in the level of business activities in the current month compared with the previous month.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
