Stakeholders to Discuss MSME Funding Gap at CIBN Forum

By Adedapo Adesanya Ultrasonic sensing technology company, Fluenta, has completed work on the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil refinery, installing 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the plant. This company is using its technology to aid Nigeria’s flare gas reduction efforts and with Dangote Refinery set to begin operations soon, according to its management recently, this could be a step to fix inaccurate measurements of gas flaring. Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products for its use, even though it is Africa’s biggest oil producer and with Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery capable of

By Dipo Olowookere The bears tightened their grip on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, chopping off 0.34 per cent from the local bourse despite assurances from Mr Yemi Cardoso he would endeavour to ensure the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restores its independence. Mr Cardoso was confirmed as the new CBN Governor by the Senate yesterday and he promised to formulate evidence-based monetary policies, a departure from his predecessor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was accused of romancing the President and coming up with trial-and-error policies. Business Post reports that investors were more interested in trimming their exposure to

By Dipo Olowookere The domestic currency had a breather in the peer-to-peer (P2P) and the parallel market segments of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday, with its value strengthening against the Dollar at the two windows. This was supported by the ease in the forex demand pressure during the trading session, which had the official market, the Investors and Exporters (I&E) arm of the market, non-operational yesterday due to the public holiday observed in the country for Eid el Maulud. Many customers who may have needed FX for their transactions stayed back to enjoy the work-free day, easing off

By Adedapo Adesanya A foreign oil company, Equinor ASA, has chosen a little-known Nigerian company, Chappal Energy, as the preferred buyer of its stake in one of the country’s largest deep-water oil fields, Agbami. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, the Norwegian energy giant is trying to sell its 20.2 per cent interest in the Agbami field – joining other international producers such as Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Eni SpA in looking to offload assets in Africa’s biggest crude producer, Nigeria. In January, Equinor launched the sale of its stake in an offshore Nigerian oilfield, joining

By Adedapo Adesanya Brent crude rose to the $41 levels on Tuesday, pushed by traders’ optimism despite concerns about a second wave in coronavirus cases. The international benchmark crude gained 38 cents or 0.93 percent to trade at $41.18 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 75 cents or 1.96 percent to settle at $38.94 per barrel. There have been worries about a resurgence of coronavirus cases in some parts of the US and some European countries which could offset recovering fuel demand. The market has made improvements from April’s collapse brought by lockdowns to control

Micron Waste Technologies has taken steps to advance its proprietary technology to treat the organic waste from medical cannabis cultivation on-site and in an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient manner. Micron is a developer of proprietary digester solutions for the treatment of food and organic waste. Speaking in a statement, the firm said it will develop an organic waste bioprocessing system targeted specifically towards handling medical cannabis organic waste materials, including leaves, twigs and stalk. Already, it is testing a new type of nanocrystal that would be used in its proprietary 4 cycle filtration process. The nanocrystals are expected to further

By Investors Hub Asian stocks rose for the third straight day on Tuesday as higher oil prices and optimism about the upcoming corporate earnings season helped investors brush aside trade and Brexit-related concerns. China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 12.33 points or 0.4 percent to 2,827.44 after official data showed consumer prices in China grew an annual 1.9 percent in June, matching expectations and up from 1.8 percent in May. The producer prices index jumped an annual 4.7 percent versus expectations for 4.5 percent and up from 4.1 percent a month earlier. Hong Hong’s Hang Seng Index gave up early gains

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of Dubai-based flydubai has disclosed that it would begin flights to Kilimanjaro from October 29, 2017. The relaunched service to the carrier’s third point in Tanzania, along with Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, will see flydubai’s network in Africa expand to 12 destinations. flydubai began operations to Tanzania in 2014 and has seen a steady growth in passenger numbers. Kilimanjaro will be served with six flights a week three of which are via a stop in the capital, Dar es Salaam. In addition, the carrier will increase direct flights to Zanzibar from three to eight

By Modupe Gbadeyanka In a bid to encourage swimming amongst Secondary School students in Nigeria, Loya Milk, a premium milk brand from the stable of Promasidor Nigeria Limited on Saturday, December 3, 2016, organised a swimming competition dubbed “Loya Swim Meet” for Secondary Schools in Lagos State where cash prizes of over N1 million and other consolation prizes were given to participants. The competition, which held at the Grange School, Harold Shodipo, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos, had 10 secondary schools in attendance with five boys and five girls each participating in the three categories of 25 metres freestyle, 50 metres freestyle

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has urged members of the public to inform it of any person or restaurant using paracetamol tablets to prepare food or soften meat during cooking. The agency, in a public alert issued on Tuesday, said the use of paracetamol for cooking was not only dangerous and toxic, but unfit for human consumption, warning those involved in such act to desist immediately. In the statement, NAFDAC said it was “seriously concerned” by what it described as not only “dangerous”, but also “illegal,” emphasising that members of the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new mobile application aimed at growing customer base to 100 million has been launched by Ecobank Group. The app called Masterpass QR is a mobile payment platform tagged ‘Ecobank Masterpass QR’. It is the first mobile-driven Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payment solution in the market. It was launched on Friday at a ceremony in Lagos. Speaking at the occasion, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank, Mr Ade Ayeyemi, noted that the bank’s customer base currently at 11 million, but hopes to grow it to 100 million by 2020 with help of the new mobile application. “This new

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A total of N3.95 trillion was shared among the federal, states and local government areas of the federation in the first half of 2018 from the Federation Account. A statement from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) signed by its Director of Communications and Advocacy, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed that the disbursements made by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) represented an increase of 41 percent when compared to the N2.79 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2017 and a 95 percent increase in the N2 trillion disbursed in the first half of 2016.