Nigeria internet penetration rises 2.6 pct on GSM platform

Nigeria's telecommunication regulator, NCC has said internet subscriptions stood at 94.8 million in November last year, representing 2.6 percent year-on-year growth. According to the latest data by the regulator, the figure implies a density of 51 percent in a population estimated at 185 million, placing Nigeria well above the African average of around 16 percent as estimated by McKinsey.  The data showed that in November there were 931,000...

Read More

Nigeria drops to 90 place on budget transparency index, says BudgIT

Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy has slipped to 90th place on the Open Budget Index (OBI), according to a report, putting the country behind Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. The Open Budget Index assesses the comprehensiveness and timeliness of budget information that governments make publicly available.According to BudgIT, which expressed dismay at the West African country’s current position on fiscal transparency and public participation in the budget...

Read More

Rich folks are fleeing London and Lagos

Wealthy Londoners are leaving the city as new taxes make it expensive to inherit and invest, and as Brexit prompts rich Europeans living in the U.K. capital to return home.This puts the British financial hub in the same category as Lagos and Istanbul, which are also seeing net outflows of rich people, according to the Global Wealth Migration Review published this month. About 5,000 high net-worth individuals left the U.K. during 2017 and only...

Read More

Nigeria's SEC chief suspension was to protect market – Finmin

Nigeria's finance minister, Kemi Adeosun on Tuesday insisted that suspension of  Director-General of Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Munir Gwazo was valid and meant to protect the integrity of the country's capital market.Adeosun told lawmakers in Abuja the suspension was in line with public service rules.She said that the action became necessary in order to sustain the confidence of investors and safeguard the integrity of the Nigerian...

Read More

Prolonged premium draws more West African cocoa to United States

There has been a surge of West African cocoa beans being shipped to the United States, as exporters rush to capture an unusual premium that has emerged in the New York futures market.Industry sources say prices in New York have been boosted by a reduced flow of supplies from Ecuador while the London market has been depressed by aggressive speculative selling coupled with an abundance of old or low-quality cocoa from Cameroon.London’s cocoa futures...

Read More

Nigeria's fx reserves rise $40.33 bln by Jan 25, contradicts CBN earlier report

Nigeria’s external reserves rose to $40.33billion as of Jan. 25, representing an increase of about $1.42 billion year-to-date, latest data from the central bank showed on Tuesday. Although a central statement on Jan 22 has indicated the reserves were at $40.78 billion as at January 18, data published on its website showed contrary position. Data published on the bank's website http://www.cenbank.gov.ng/IntOps/Reserve.asp indicated that...

Read More

Political parties too many, may cause problems in 2019 –INEC

Nigeria's electoral body, INEC has said that the growing number of political parties in the country could pose problem for the conduct of the forthcoming 2019 general election. According to an aide to the chairman of INEC, Bolade Eyinla, so far, 68 political parties had been registered.He said with over 100 political associations seeking registration, the number might increase before the elections which could cause logistical problems, including...

Read More

Nigeria's Southwest cocoa belt hit by fungal disease

Cocoa farms in southwestern Nigeria, the country’s main growing region, have been bit by outbreaks of a fungal disease identified as dieback, which causes plants to wither and die.“The trees are drying off from their tops and progressively through the stems and down to the roots,” said Sola Akingbade, a farmer based near the city of Abeokuta, adding that about 125 neighboring plots were also affected. “Most of them have now turned black with their...

Read More

Nigeria to building $5.8 Billion power plant in 2018

Nigeria plans to start building a $5.8 billion hydro-power plant in the eastern Mambila region this year, after it agrees on loan terms with China’s Export-Import Bank.“We hope to break ground this year if we can conclude the financing,” Power, Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Fashola said in a Jan. 23 interview in the capital, Abuja. “Contracts are in place. We are good to go.”Fashola told reporters in August that the Chinese lender would finance...

Read More

African states launch single aviation market to boost economic growth

Nearly two dozen African countries launched a single aviation market on Monday, a potential boon for the industry in a region where it is hampered by government protectionism, high taxes and stringent regulation.The Single African Air Transport Market would facilitate the free movement of flights between African countries by liberalizing frequencies, fares and capacities, breaking down barriers that have in the past increased costs.It is an updated...

Read More

Nigeria not keen on JP Morgan index, but improve economy -Finmin

Nigeria has said it was more concerned with improving its domestic economy by effective implementation of its various reforms agenda, rather than pursuing JP Morgan return of the country to its index list. Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said "the government is focusing on improving its economy," which will effectively attract the attention of the international community "and indexes will “naturally” return to Nigeria when they see adjustments in line...

Read More

Nigeria to target tax defaulters in bid to spur economy

Nigeria’s finance minister plans to drag tax defaulters who don’t make use of an amnesty to court as she seeks funds to plug the nation’s $25 billion infrastructure gap.In the nine months of reprieve ending March, some penitent taxpayers have said “you got me” and cleared arrears without paying interest and or penalties, Kemi Adeosun said in an interview on Tuesday in her office in the capital, Abuja. But some have said “we wish you luck with this,...

Read More

"Consistently cheaper" clean energy set to connect world's poor - power experts

With the costs of creating electricity from solar power and wind continuing to fall, electricity from renewable energy will soon be “consistently cheaper” than electricity from fossil fuels, according to the head of the world’s renewable energy agency. By 2020, most wind and solar power technology now being commercially used will be priced in the same range as fossil fuels, “with most at the lower end or even undercutting fossil fuels”, said Adnan...

Read More

Nigeria's Consumer Goods Sector in 2018

Outlook for the Consumer Goods sector appears bright on many fronts.  Pressure on revenue is expected to further subside as consumer spending recovers. Increased political spending is positive for consumption and revenue expansion.  FX availability and a stable input cost environment will ease pressure on the Cost-to-Sales margins, boosting operating profit.More importantly, the debt burden is expected to ease significantly in 2018, following...

Read More

Nigeria seeks $2.5 bln Eurobond bond in Q1, woos JP Morgan on index inclusion

Nigeria may kick-start its borrowing programme in the first quarter of the year with a proposed $2.5 billion Eurobonds in a bid to refinance a portion of its domestic treasury bill portfolio at lower cost, the head of the Debt Management Office has said. Patience Oniha also said the country is making mover to get back into the JP Morgan Government Bond Index (GBI-EM), as the domestic foreign exchange market continues to enjoy improved liquidity and...

Read More

Finally, Nigeria's ruling party backs resource control, state police

Finally, Nigeria's ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has succumbed to pressure to restructure the most populous country in Africa's politics and come out with wider reaching recommendations on state police, an amendment to Land Use Act, a merger of some states and states’ control of minerals.Nasir El-rufai, head of the committee set up by the party and also governor of Kaduna State, unveiled some of the recommendations when he submitted...

Read More

Yields rise at Nigerian bond auction in spite of delay MPC meet

A total of 110 billion naira worth of bonds were sold at an auction this week at rates higher than at its previous bond auction, the Debt Managment Office (DMO) has said. The bond auction, being the first days after Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) call-off its Monetary Policy Committee (MPCC) meeting to set interest rates due to a lack of quorum.According to the debt office, 45.12 billion naira worth in 5-year debt was sold at 13.38 percent, while...

Read More

A weaker dollar may not hurt Nigeria's economy, says Osinbajo

Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osinbajo has said a weaker U.S. dollar did not necessarily hurt his oil-producing nation.The comments by Osinbajo were made after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin welcomed a weaker dollar, saying it benefited U.S. trade balances in the short term.“A weaker dollar doesn’t necessarily hurt Nigeria,” said Osinbajo, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We are concerned most about ensuring that we...

Read More

Africa loses $148 bln to corruption yearly

As the issue of corruption in the continent of Africa takes a center stage, a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has shown that around $148 billion is lost to the scourage yearly. Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the UNECA said on Thursday that the money was lost through various fraudulent activities across the continent. $148 billion is drained out of the continent through various corrupt activities,...

Read More

Equity strategy for 2018

With a background projection that, the bullish momentum in the Nigerian equities market will be sustained in 2018 albeit, at a moderating pace. We advise investors to consider the following as they make equity investment decisions in 2018.Firstly, the outlook for 2018 favours pro-cyclical sector/stocks, by implication, we recommend investing in pro-cyclical sectors/stocks.  Accordingly, consumer and industrial goods names, which should benefit...

Read More

Bill Gates Says ‘America First’ Endangers U.S. Influence in Africa

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. and the second-richest person in the world, said there’s a danger that U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach could damage the U.S.’s influence in Africa in the long term.Other countries like China are continuing to push into the African continent, and the U.S. should not pull back, Gates said in an interview with Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait in Davos, Switzerland. The...

Read More

Think immigrants steal jobs? Think again - analysts

Contrary to fears that immigrants steal jobs and threaten security, a report released on Wednesday said newcomers boost developing economies and could be far more of an asset than a drain.“Most developing countries can benefit from immigrants,” said the joint report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Labour Organization.Developing countries, which host more than a third of the world’s international...

Read More

Ghana Dec producer price inflation rises to 8.9 pct

Ghana’s producer price inflation rose to 8.9 percent year-on-year in December from 7.1 percent in November as petroleum prices soared, the statistics office said on Wednesday.The major commodity exporter is seeking to cut spending and restructure its debt and aims to narrow consumer inflation to 8 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points, in the first half of 2018 under a credit deal with the International Monetary Fund.Petroleum inflation rose...

Read More

JP Morgan plans expansion into Ghana and Kenya

JP Morgan Chase & Co plans to expand its African presence into countries including Ghana and Kenya, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in an interview on Wednesday.“You’ll see us open in some countries we are not in, in Africa, you’ll be hearing about some of that stuff,” Dimon told Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.Dimon said the bank would target Ghana and Kenya, two countries in which...

Read More

Kenya central bank sees faster growth in 2018 despite rate cap "brake"

Kenya’s central bank governor said on Tuesday the country’s interest rate cap was holding back the economy, but the bank still forecast that growth would speed up to 6.2 percent in 2018 from around 5 percent last year.With a supportive fiscal policy, Governor Patrick Njoroge said, the forecast could go higher.The National Treasury said the fiscal deficit was likely to fall to 6 percent of gross domestic product in 2018/19 (July-June) from 7.2 percent...

Read More

Nigeria's stock market down on profit taking, price corrections

Nigeria's local bourse depreciated further on Tuesday on the back of profit taking by some investors and price corrections predominantly in the banking sector stocks. The main market index fell by 1.16 percent to close at 44,389 points as investors took profit from the stocks of three major commercial lenders, cement firm, and local behemoth. The stock of GTBank, FBN Holdings, and Zenith Bank fell against the closing figure the previous day...

Read More

Oxfam says rich people are getting richer

A report by Oxfam says 82 percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population. Oxfam is an international confederation of charitable organizations focused on the alleviation of global poverty.It added that the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth during the period.The report, titled “Reward Work, Not Wealth”, revealed how the global economy enabled...

Read More

Nigeria's manufacturing sector ready for foreign investors, says VP Osinbajo

Nigeria is working with the Private Sector to boost the manufacturing sector and will be engaging with international partners and friendly nations to realize that goal, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said. Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos while meeting with a delegation of the Japan External Trade Organization, JETRO, led by Hiroyuki Ishige, the organization’s Chairman, and CEO. “Nigeria and Japan should be...

Read More

Why Obasanjo wants President Buhari out of 2019 election

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari not to seek re-election in the forthcoming 2019 election, saying he has failed in his management of the economy, and the political diversity of the country.“I only appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point in time,” Obasanjo said on Tuesday in a special press release. He said President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice....

Read More