CBN Moves To Boost Naira, Injects More Dollars
Barely three days after the naira weakened against the United States dollar, the Central Bank of Nigeria is set to boost the local unit with the injection of more dollars into the foreign exchange market this week. The CBN, it was learnt, was planning to increase dollar supply with a view to ensuring liquidity in the interbank market. This came barely one week after the apex bank promised to increase the sale of dollars to Bureaux de Change operators from $8,000 per week to $10,0000 twice a week. The CBN has been engaged in aggressive supply of forex into the market as it steps up efforts to save the naira from currency speculators. The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, on Sunday said the CBN was determined to sustain the provision of liquidity in the foreign exchange market in order to enhance accessibility and affordability for genuine endusers.
FX Sales: We’ll Sanction Erring Banks – CBN
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it will sanction severely any deposit money bank against whom legitimate forex denial to genuine customers has been established. The Acting Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, told journalists at the weekend that the CBN was only waiting for the bank that a customer would bring concrete evidence against that he or she had been denied access to forex, adding that that bank would be severely sanctioned. Mr. Okoroafor, who said the CBN had received information suggesting that banks were hoarding foreign exchange with the hope it would go up further, said such banks should desist or face the consequences when caught.
Nigeria’s Debt Burden To Hit N19.3tn By December
Analysts have cautioned the government against plunging the nation into another debt trap, even as there are plans to raise funds from external sources to finance critical infrastructure, IFEANYI ONUBA writes If the federal and state governments continue to rely heavily on debt instruments for the financing of the country’s infrastructure needs, then, Nigeria’s total debt burden will be hitting the N19tn mark by the end of this year. Based on figures obtained from the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the country’s total debt stock is expected to rise by N6.72tn this year from the 2016 figure of N12.58tn, making the total debt liability to rise to N19.3tn by the end of 2017.
NIPCO Takes Over ExxonMobil’s 60% Stake In Mobil Oil Nigeria
NIPCO Investments Limited, a subsidiary of NIPCO Plc, at the weekend took over the 60 per cent majority equity stake of ExxonMobil Oil Corporation in Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc. This is coming on the heels of the $301million acquisition approval by capital market regulators. The cross deal for the transfer of the 60 per cent equity stake from ExxonMobil to NIPCO was executed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend, with Cordros Securities Limited acting as execution stockbroker for the deal. The deal, worth N90 billion at current exchange rate, was one of the biggest transactions in the downstream sector in recent years. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and NSE as well as other Nigerian and relevant foreign regulators had approved the deal.
FG Meets Investor Over Modular Refinery
Federal government has assured American energy investors of security and enabling environment for the takeoff of a multi-billion-dollar modular refinery project in Gbaramatu Kingdom of Delta State. Petroleum minister Ibe Kachikwu was in talks with a delegation from Missouri American Energy at the weekend. He told the delegation, that President Mohammadu Buhari is deeply worried about the huge environmental degradation and environmental pollution that is associated with the unprofessional, unscientific and unconventional methods being adopted by local refinery operators in the country, hence the Federal government has taken a decision to encourage the establishment of modular refinery with serious encouragement to local refinery operators to key into the project.
58 Insurance Firms Generate N2.1trn Gross Premium
Despite low insurance adoption in the country, the 58 underwriting companies in insurance sector have generated a whopping N2.1 trillion as gross premium income from underwriting risks in the last seven years, LEADERSHIP checks have revealed. The premium income of the industry had steadily grown over time, showing increasing insurance appetite of Nigerians, even though penetration is still abysmally low, compared to the country’s huge population. LEADERSHIP investigations further revealed that from the N2.1 trillion gross premium generated, the insurers paid about N549billion claims to Nigerians, leaving the industry with an actual profit of N1.4trillion between 2010 and March, 2017.
Development Bank Takes Off With 20,000 MSMSEs
The newly-licensed Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) will soon take off with the first 20,000 Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMSEs), the managing director of the bank, Mr. Tony Okpanachi has said. Speaking at a media parley in Abuja at the weekend, Okpanachi said the bank will be different from other development financial institutions in the country by providing long term funding to small scale businesses across sectors between 10 to 12 years to enable businesses to grow. At the maiden press briefing of the bank attended by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and other management team of the bank in Abuja on Friday, Okpanachi said the bank which has earmarked $1.3 billion will be a wholesale bank that will lend directly to the micro-finance and other partnering banks who will in turn lend to MSMSEs.
8 Banks Earn N45bn For Maintaining Customers’ Account
For maintaining customers account in 2016, eight financial Institutions generated N45 billion upon the removal of Commission on Turnover (CoT) charges in the Banking Industry. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2016 indirectly reintroduced CoT fee as Current Account Maintenance (CAM) fee of not more than N1.00 per mille. Some banks in 2015 had commenced charges on CAM fee while some refunded those excess charges back to their customers.
Naira Down 8% As Investors Seek Dollars For Investment Repatriation
The value of the Naira nosedived last week at the parallel market, despite the continuous injection of Dollars at the official end of the foreign exchange market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Naira which had gained a substantial 30 per cent since the CBN’s efforts at boosting liquidity in late February, depreciated within five trading days by 7.95 per cent as demand rose at the parallel market. The Naira which opened the week at N370 had declined in value during the week to N394, further widening the spread between the interbank and parallel market rates.
FG, Shell, Agip To Sign FID For $13.5bn Zabazaba Deepwater Project In Q2 2017
The federal government, Shell and the Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) will sign the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the $13.5 billion Zabazaba Deepwater project located in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 in the second quarter of this year. This indication emerged as NAE begins this April to receive commercial proposals for the development of the multi-billion Deepwater oil field, which was planned a few years ago, but later suspended after cost projections made the project unviable. The Zabazaba Deepwater is a Greenfield offshore licence block located in the controversial OPL 245 in the eastern portion of the Niger Delta with water depths ranging from 1,200 to 2,400 metres.
