The Unspectacular Growth of RSAs

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Strong inflationary pressures in November further negatively impacted companies in Nigeria, with new orders and output both falling as customers were either reluctant or unable to pay higher charges. Purchase prices rose at the fastest pace in almost two years amid exchange rate weakness and higher costs for fuel and materials. According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from Stanbic IBTC, business conditions remained under pressure, scoring 48.0 points last month compared with the 49.1 points it garnered in October 2023. Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions, while readings below 50.0 show deterioration.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Business owners in Lagos have been assured of more incentives by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who added that this is part of his administration’s commitment to reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing investment opportunities. Speaking at the commissioning of the newly-built wet hair production factory of Godrej Nigeria Limited, the Governor said his government would continue to pursue actions that would eliminate red tapes and regulatory impediments hindering the growth of businesses in the state, thereby demonstrating his willingness for continued collaboration with the private sector to improve the livelihood

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Taxpayers, including organisations and individuals, who are yet to pay their outstanding taxes, will not pay penalties and interests if they make the payments on or before December 31, 2023. This tax default forgiveness was given by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which explained that it created this window in “recognition of the challenges that many taxpayers have faced in settling their outstanding tax liabilities.” However, it stressed that if the full principal payment is not done before the deadline, defaulters would be forced to pay the outstanding tax liabilities. The Chairman of the FIRS, Mr

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil fell on Monday as traders approached the market with caution over plans by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut production in the first quarter of 2024. Brent crude futures lost 85 cents or 1.08 per cent to finish at $78.03 a barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures depreciated by $1.03 or 1.39 per cent to sell at $73.04 per barrel. OPEC+ announced voluntary production cuts at its meeting last week and this has raised doubts about whether or not producers would fully implement them. Investors

Mideas, owners of News Ghana (newsghana.com.gh), one of the country’s leading online portals for news, has signed a one-year memorandum of cooperation with Russia’s state-owned Sputnik Information Agency to enable the two media entities to exchange news items from their respective countries. The memorandum of cooperation signed by Roger Agambire Agana, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for News Ghana and Vasily Pushkov, Director of International Cooperation for Sputnik has an option to be extended for another consecutive year by a written agreement of the two parties. As part of the agreement, News Ghana and Sputnik Information Agency have “agreed on cooperation

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has expressed its preparedness to assist the Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre (GFIC) in its efforts to effectively supervise and monitor Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBP) in Ghana. The offer of assistance came on August 14, 2018 through Head, Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), Bamanga Bello, who represented the acting EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, during a working visit by a delegate from the GFIC to the EFCC’s Head Office Complex, Abuja. Leader of the delegation and Head, GFIC’s Analysis Unit, Lucy Abebrese, noted that the visit was “to

By Adedapo Adesanya Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc sank the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.32 per cent on Friday, September 1. The downward trend in the stock price of the Nigerian securities depository company shrank the market capitalisation of the unlisted securities exchange by N3.55 billion to N1.109 trillion from the N1.112 trillion it quoted at the previous session. In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) went down by 2.53 basis points to end the day at 791.22 points as against 7931 points it recorded at the previous session. Yesterday, CSCS Plc lost 71

By Dipo Olowookere The secondary market for treasury bills was bearish on Wednesday, forcing the average yields to slightly rise by 0.08 percent to 14.12 percent. This was as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mopped up N66.02 billion from the financial system through the sale of the debt instruments via Open Market Operations (OMO). However, the exercise was not heavily subscribed to like in the previous session, where an oversubscription of 153 percent was recorded. But in the previous auctions, the apex bank offered the treasury bills in three maturities. Of the N10 billion worth of the 99-day bill

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Trading of equities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) resumed on Monday, however, bears still maintained their dominance at the market. At the close of business today, the stock market went down by 0.48 percent as sell pressure mounts, leaving the year-to-date return at 35.49 percent. The All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated on Monday by 175.58 points to close at 36,411.73 points, while the market capitalisation declined by N60.4 billion to settle at N12.5 trillion. But despite the bearish sentiment today, the volume and value of shares traded by investors appreciated with 253.5 million shares

By Adedapo Adesanya The revenue from the sale of white products – petrol, kerosene, diesel, cooking gas – rose by 24.7 per cent to N234.6 billion in the month of March from N188.2 billion sales recorded in February 2021. This was disclosed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) downstream subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), in the March 2021 edition of the NNPC Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR). According to a statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the corporation, Mr Kennie Obateru, the report indicated that total revenues generated from the sales

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has suspended train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route indefinitely in what Business Post understands is related to terrorist attacks on a train on Monday night. The NRC confirmed the suspension of the Abuja-Kaduna train operations in a post via its official Twitter handle @Official_NRC on Tuesday morning. In the statement, the NRC stated that the suspension was due to “unforeseen circumstances.” “Dear passengers, due to unforeseen circumstances, train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route has been temporarily suspended. Further communication would be given in due course.” Business Post had reported that persons suspected

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Tier-1 lender, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc on Wednesday released its audited financial results for the period ended June 30, 2018 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges. A review of the results showed positive performance across all financial indices, reaffirming the bank’s position as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Nigeria. In the results analysed by Business Post, GTBank reported gross earnings N226.6 billion versus N214.1billion reported in June 2017, indicating a 5.9 percent growth. Also profit before tax stood at N109.6 billion, representing a growth of 8.4 percent over N101.1