Economy
World Bank Reaffirms Support for Nigeria’s Mining Sector
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Senior Mining Specialist, Energy and Extractive Industries (GEEDR) at the World Bank, Francisco Igualada, has reaffirmed the global bank’s support for the mining industry in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, we have managed to develop a real ‘partnership’ with the Federal Government of Nigeria and we are still working along with some of the States that have higher mining potentials,” Igualada declared.
As a featured speaker at the upcoming Nigeria Mining Week in October in Abuja, he will address the high-level industry gathering on ‘Establishing a strong foundation for mining sector development: Enhancing competitiveness and fostering domestic investment in Nigeria.’
In an exclusive interview with the organisers, Mr Igualada says, “The World Bank follows a kind of value chain that bring those countries we support from non-renewable resources to a stage in which sustainable development may take place. Each country has its own idiosyncrasy and characteristics.
“I am particularly excited about two projects; our critical involvement in DRC in support of the rationalization of the sector through nearly five years as well as my responsibility in managing our recently approved 150 million loan project (MinDiver) for developing the Nigerian mineral sector and diversifying it from its dependency on other sectors like oil & gas as President Buhari has clearly indicated in his inaugural speech; two sectors need continuous development in Nigeria, that are agriculture and mining.
“This is the reason why the Minister Dr Kayode Fayemi with his drive and strong determination has led the initiative to put Nigeria ‘on the African mining map again’ as, in my opinion, the country deserves.”
He adds, “from the Bank’s side, I am really looking forward to contribute to transforming their potential resources into some tangible exploration and exploitation mineral projects bringing economic prosperity and jobs. Nigeria is the first African economy and really needs the employment that mining and all types of value-chain including local content can bring.”
Mr Igualada says his message at Nigeria Mining Week in October in Abuja is “rather straightforward: ‘we need to get it right’ once for all and this means that a strong sector foundation is a must.
Afterwards facilitating downstream sector developments and the enhancement of competitiveness need to happen as a logical result. This cannot and should not be improvised and built on a piece-meal basis. Consequently, the only way to bring competitiveness… that obviously comes from competing with our external environment – is by building an integrated approach that would facilitate sharing information and resources with other development donors that are betting on Nigeria as well. Competing should be both internal and external even if nowadays such distinction is a bit blurred due to globalisation of economies.”
The upcoming Nigeria Mining Week, which is taking place again in Abuja from 16-19 October, is a successful partnership between PwC, the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN) and event organisers Spintelligent.
This high-level, strategic mining investment platform will link investors, project developers, financiers, technology providers and government to share best practices and demonstrate the latest strategies to evolve the sector successfully.
The programme at Nigeria Mining Week 2017, including new features, includes B2B International Expo: Featuring leading technology and innovative services covering the value chain of the mining industry.
In addition, it features Strategic Conference: Providing strategic insights into hot legal and regulatory issues, investment, finance as well as market access and community involvement; free Technical Workshops: Enhancing practical expertise to grow artisanal and small-scale operations with an A to Z mining toolkit; CEO Roundtable: Deep diving into the key challenges facing the private stakeholders, driven by MAN and PwC – new; investor Breakfast: Delivering all the necessary information and contacts required to invest in mining in Nigeria – new; – Dragons’ Den: Enabling project financing by pitching mining business plans to a panel of selected financiers – new; and Site Visit: Discovering first-hand the reality and best practice of a world-class operation – new.
As with previous years, the Nigeria Mining Week is enjoying strong support from the industry with confirmed sponsorships from Palladium Mining Limited, SBOG, Aelex, AG Vision Mining, Congo Energy Solutions, Kian Smith Trade & Co, Mantrac, Minelab, SMT and Wilbahi.
The Nigeria Mining Week organiser Spintelligent is a well-known trade conference and expo organiser on the continent. The company has particular expertise and experience in mining and infrastructure development events; including the long running flagship shows such as DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi, the Kenya Mining Forum in Nairobi and African Utility Week in Cape Town.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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