Economy
Osibajo Meets Small Business Owners in Ibadan Tomorrow
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibajo, will on Tuesday be in Ibadan for the Oyo State Edition of the national Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinic and town hall meeting with the youth.
Commissioner for Trade, Industry, Investment and Cooperatives, Princess Taibat Adeyemi-Agaba, disclosed at the weekend that the Vice President will inspect the MSMEs booth on Tuesday and also intimate the stakeholders on the efforts of Federal as well as the State Governments towards strengthening SMEs in the state and the country at large.
The MSMEs Clinic organized by the Office of the Vice President in collaboration with the Oyo State government will start on Monday June 25, 2018 at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Oyo State by 10am daily with an exhibition where locally made products and enterprise will be exhibited for inspection by the state governor, Mr Abiola Ajimobi, and an interactive session between the federal government agencies and members of MSMEs
Princess Adeyemi-Agaba said Mr Osibajo will also address youths in the state during a town hall meeting at the Prof Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, Opposite UCH Main Gate by 3pm on Tuesday.
She stated that federal and state government officials, members of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Manufacturers Association on Nigeria (MAN), Chambers of Commerce, Organised Private Sector, Informal Sector, beneficiaries of FG Social Investment Programmes and other stakeholders are expected to be part of the MSMEs Clinic while youth across the state will be the guests of the Vice President at the Town Hall meeting.
Princess Adeyemi-Agaba noted that the MSMEs Clinic is geared towards driving the economy out of recession and placing it on a sound and sustainable path, saying that the plan is designed to assist the 36,994,587 micro enterprises recognized by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Small Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on ease of doing business.
She explained that the Project is in partnership with various Regulatory Federal Government Agencies whose operations are critical to the activities and survival of MSMEs doing business in the Country, stressing “It is a collaborative effort with respective State Governments where conducive atmospheres are being created for all critical stakeholders to interact with each other with a view to getting feedback for resolving problems militating against the growth and sustainability of MSME space in Nigeria.
“This program is one of the socio-economic interventions of the Federal Government domiciled in the Office of the Vice President to assist businesses to thrive in Nigeria. Others being; N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer, Home Grown School Feeding Programme and Government Enterprise Empowerment Programme (GEEP),” Princess Adeyemi-Agaba said.
The Commissioner said that the program is to create enabling environments for critical stakeholders to interact with each other to enable Federal Government Agencies proffer on the spot solutions where possible to problems affecting MSMEs.
She said that the Oyo State Government has been strengthening MSME’s scheme in the State with the strategic partnership with Bank of Industry in instituting a 1 billion naira MSME Development funding Scheme for on-lending to manufacturing related MSME in the State at 5% annual interest rate.
Princess Adeyemi-Agaba stressed that 200 projects have been supported under the scheme in the sum of N800 million, noting that a total of 5000 direct jobs have been generated under the scheme throughout Oyo State.
Economy
Equity Market Gains 0.75% as Investors Mop up MTN, Others
By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rallied on Tuesday by 0.75 per cent after investors intensified their demand for local stocks.
It was a tough battle between the bulls and the bears during the session, but the former overcame by a whisker after the bourse recorded 29 appreciating equities and 28 depreciating equities, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The growth posted by Customs Street yesterday could be attributed to the appetite for MTN Nigeria shares, which chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N256.30.
SCOA Nigeria appreciated by 9.93 per cent to N2.99, Omatek grew by 9.88 per cent to 89 Kobo, Universal Insurance rose by 8.70 per cent to 75 Kobo, and CAP gained 8.52 per cent to trade at N47.75.
Conversely, Secure Electronic Technology lost 9.88 per cent to quote at 73 Kobo, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.30, Sunu Assurances tumbled by 8.21 per cent to N6.15, Deap Capital slumped by 7.08 per cent to N1.05, and C&I Leasing depreciated by 6.82 per cent to N4.10.
A total of 440.3 million equities valued at N12.0 billion exchanged hands in 13,087 deals compared with the 1.3 billion equities worth N17.7 billion transacted in 13,891 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 66.79 per cent, 32.20 per cent and 5.79 per cent, respectively.
Lasaco Assurance ended the session as the most traded stock after it sold 108.1 million units valued at N338.7 million, Access Holdings traded 44.0 million units for N1.1 billion, UBA exchanged 27.9 million units worth N945.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 26.7 million units for N1.3 billion, and Universal Insurance traded 22.7 million units valued at N16.7 million.
On Tuesday, the insurance, banking and industrial goods sectors jumped by 1.03 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.03 per cent, respectively, and the consumer goods and energy counters lost 0.38 per cent and 0.36 per cent apiece.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went up yesterday by 767.63 points to 103,137.99 points from 102,370.36 points and the market capitalisation increased by N472 billion to N63.333 trillion from N62.861 trillion.
Economy
Nigeria Led Africa’s Upstream Oil, Gas Investments in 2024
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
Economy
UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
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