Nigeria interbank rates climb as central bank drains liquidity

Nigeria's interbank lending rates climbed 25 basis point to an average of 10.75 percent on Friday, after funding for forex purchase and issuance of treasury bills curbed market liquidity.The central bank retired about 198 billion naira ($1.22 billion) of matured open market operations (OMO) bills on Thursday, but rolled over 179 billion naira as fresh issuance, dealers said.Lenders have been unable to access their cash balance with the regulator for more than two months due to a system glitch. "The market is seen inching up next week as the...

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Nigeria interbank rates climb as central bank drains liquidity

Nigeria's interbank lending rates climbed 25 basis point to an average of 10.75 percent on Friday, after funding for forex purchase and issuance of treasury bills curbed market liquidity.The central bank retired about 198 billion naira ($1.22 billion) of matured open market operations (OMO) bills on Thursday, but rolled over 179 billion naira as fresh issuance, dealers said.Lenders have been unable to access their cash balance with the regulator for more than two months due to a system glitch. "The market is seen inching up next week as the...

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Africa needs to make agriculture create wealth not just food

Coffee plants Nancy Njeri lugs a sack of fresh coffee berries to a hilltop factory from her small farm, which produces one of Kenya's main cash crops yet earns barely enough for her family of seven children."We are toiling hard and the coffee does not give us good returns," she said, after reaching the processing plant where the berries from her 200 coffee trees are de-husked and the extracted beans are graded and dried ready for roasting.On big...

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Nigeria 2024 bond yield eases on JP Morgan index inclusion

Yields on Nigeria's 2024 bond shed 15 basis points to 11.89 percent on Friday, after JP Morgan added it to its Government Bond Index-Emerging Market (GBI-EM), attracting offshore funds, dealers said.The 10-year benchmark bond opened for trade at 12.04 percent. Last week JP Morgan said it add Nigeria's 2024 bond to its emerging market government bond index, in addition to five other bonds already listed, pushing its yield down 22 bps.[ID:nL5N0QR47I]Since then, some investors have taken profits, dealers said.The addition also lifted overall trading...

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IMF says Ebola having 'acute' impact on W. African economies

A medical personnel attending to an ebola victim The worst ever outbreak of the Ebola disease is likely to lead to "sharply" lower growth in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and raise financing needs in all three West African countries, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesman said on Thursday.At least 1,500 people have died of the deadly hemorrhagic virus since it was detected in the remote jungles of southeast Guinea in March and spread...

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High stakes for high reward? Real estate funds come to Africa

Providing decent accommodations in Africa High stakes for high return, if you can stick it out for the long term - investors are buying into a boom in sub-Saharan African real estate.Forecasts for 20 percent net annual returns from investing in shopping malls, office blocks or industrial complexes in countries from Zambia to Kenya is drawing in new investors, despite more immediate concerns in some countries about Ebola, terrorism or political...

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Nigerian naira seen rangebound on oil firms dlr sales, offshore inflows

Naira and dollar Nigeria's naira is seen rangebound against the dollar as more oil firms sell dollars and offshore investors buy local debt in the wake of Nigerian 2024 bonds being included in JP Morgan's Government Bond Index. The naira was trading at 162.16 to the dollar at 1421 GMT, from 162.05 at Wednesday's close. The 2024 bond is due to be added to JP Morgan's Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) on Aug. 29, potentially triggering...

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OPEC oil output rises in August as Libyan recovery holds

OPEC members flags The Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC's) oil production has risen in August from July, a Reuters survey found on Thursday, as a recovery in Libyan supply held up and Angola and Iran boosted supplies, outweighing a further decline in Iraq.The survey also found Saudi Arabia and other core Gulf OPEC producers kept output largely flat and have not cut back to prop up prices, which in August dipped to a 14-month...

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Nigeria naira gains as oil firms sell dollars

The Nigerian naira firmed against the greenback on Wednesday, lifted by dollar sales from local units of foreign oil companies seeking to fund their month-end obligations.The local unit closed at 162.05 naira to the U.S. dollar, stronger than Tuesday's close of 162.20 naira.Dealers said the local units of ExxonMobil sold $50 million and Italy's Eni sold $5 million on Wednesday to boost dollar liquidity, in addition to Total and Chevron which both sold a combined $117 million on Tuesday."We expect the naira to stay within this range this week as...

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Nigeria's Access Bank sees 20 pct loan growth in 2014

Nigeria's Access Bank expects loan growth of 20 percent in 2014, after a 17 percent rise in the first half, driven by increased lending to its corporate and investment banking customers, its chief executive said on Wednesday.Access Bank's loan book stood at 811 billion naira ($5 billion) in 2013, up 33 percent from a year ago, CEO Herbert Wigwe, told a conference call presenting its half-year results."We would see some payoff from the state governments...

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Nigerian cocoa grower's shipments halt over levy dispute

Cocoa pods Cocoa shipments from Nigeria's second-largest grower Cross Rivers halted this week after merchants and the state government disagreed over the payment of an export levy, a trade body said.Godwin Ukwu, spokesman for the Cocoa Association of Nigeria, said on Wednesday about 600 tonnes of cocoa due for export had been delayed since Monday after the local government refused to issue certificates to enable buyers ship the beans.The state...

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United Bank of Africa returns Elumelu as board chairman

Tony Elumelu Chairman of Heirs Holdings and ex chief executive of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Tony Elumelu has been appointed as the bank's chairman, replacing elsewhere occupier of the position ambassador Joe Keshi. Elumelu retired as Group Managing Director and CEO of UBA in 2010, following the introduction by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of 10-year tenure limits for bank CEOs. He had served as CEO of the UBA Group for 13 years,...

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Nigerian naira eases after dollar inflows disappoint

Nigeria's naira eased against the U.S. currency on Monday, with last week's move by JP Morgan to include the country's 10-year bond in one of its indexes failing to stimulate strong dollar inflows.The local unit closed at 162.07 naira to the dollar, compared with Friday's close of 161.98 naira, the same level it closed on Thursday prior to JP Morgan's announcement.The 2024 bond is due to be added to JP Morgan's Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) on Aug. 29, in addition to five other bonds already listed, potentially triggering more...

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Nigerian bonds seen rallying next week

Demand for Nigeria's bonds is seen rallying next week across the board from both local and offshore investors, driven by the planned inclusion of Africa’s biggest economy’s 2024 bond in JP Morgan’s Government Bond Index.JP Morgan says its plans to include Nigeria's 2024 bond in its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) to be issued on August 29, in addition to three other bonds already listed.Traders said demand for the 2024 paper and other maturities has risen since Thursday when the news filtered into the market.“Yields have gone down...

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Nigerian interbank rates fall on budget inflows, OMO maturities

Nigeria's interbank lending rates eased to an average of 10.5 percent on Friday, compared with 12 percent last week, driven by increased cash inflows from budgetary allocations and retirement of matured Open Market operations (OMO) bills.Nigeria distributed revenue from oil exports among its three tiers of government - federal, state and local this week. Some 260 billion naira ($1.61 billion) making up the portion to states and local governments hit the money market this week.Traders said an additional 135 billion naira in matured OMO bills was...

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Nigeria interbank rates up on NNPC cash recall

Nigeria's interbank lending rates climbed to an average of 12 percent on Friday, from 10.37 percent last week, following withdrawal of cash from banking system by the state-owned energy company NNPC during the week.NNPC withdrew portion of its deposits with some lenders to its account with the central bank this week, after it sold about $400 million to some banks this week, draining liquidity from the system and raising on the cost of borrowing among banks.The Nigerian energy firm, which accounts for the bulk of dollars traded on the interbank...

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Nigeria to double cocoa output by 2015 from 2012 -cocoa body

Cocoa pods Nigeria is on track to increase cocoa output to 500,000 tonnes next year after distribution of new, higher-yielding seeds, rejuvenation of old farms and improvements in agricultural practices, the government's Cocoa Research Institute said. In 2012, the government of Africa's biggest economy announced plans to double output by 2015 from 250,000 tonnes in an effort to diversify exports away from oil. Lelia Dongo, a director at the institute,...

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Nigeria raises 100 bln naira in bonds at higher yields

Nigeria sold 100 billion naira ($616.90 million) worth of bonds with maturities ranging between three and 20 years at auction on Wednesday, fetching higher yields than previously, the Debt Management Office said on Thursday.The debt office said 15 billion naira of 3-year debt notes were sold, fetching 11.12 percent, higher than the 11 percent they got at the July auction, while 50 billion naira of 10-year debt was sold at 12.22 percent against 12.19 percent previously.A total of 35 billion naira of the 20-year note was sold at 12.38 percent, compared...

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Nigerian naira gains 0.19 pct on dlr sales by energy companies

Nigeria's naira currency gained 0.19 percent on the interbank market on Wednesday, driven by dollar sales by major energy companies, including state-owned NNPC.The currency closed at 161.80 to the dollar, from 162.12 the previous day.Chevron's unit sold $60.7 million, Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) sold an unspecified amount and NNPC asked lenders to bid for its usual dollar sale, prompting gains in the naira's value.Nigeria's currency touched a five-week low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, on renewed dollar demand, but the currency...

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Nigerian naira gains 0.18 pct on Shell dollar sales

Nigeria's naira currency gained 0.18 percent against the U.S dollar on the interbank market on Monday, supported by greenback sales by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell to some lenders.The local currency closed at 162.40 to the dollar, firmer than the 162.70 it closed at on Friday.Shell's local unit sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to some lenders, boosting dollar liquidity and easing pressure on the local currency.Nigeria's currency touched a five-week low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, on renewed dollar demand after a recent rally on the...

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Nigerian interbank rates ease on OMO bill maturity

CBN gov, Emefiele Nigeria's interbank lending rates eased to an average of 10.37 percent on Friday, from 11.12 percent last week, driven by retirement of matured Open Market Operation (OMO) bills of about 155 billion naira ($950 million) by the central bank.Traders said the increased liquidity outweighed cash outflow from the system, helping to bring down cost of borrowing among banks.But traders said rates are seen inching up next week with expected...

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Nigerian debt yields seen rising on tight liquidity

CBN Gov, Emefiele Tight liquidity and banks' lack of access to their credit balance at Nigeria's central bank could dampen demand next week at a debt auction where yields are seen climbing marginally higher than at the previous auction.Technical glitches at the central bank have denied banks' access to their balances with the regulator in the last four weeks, putting most dealers in the dark about the volume of liquidity available in the market...

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Inventors struggle to protect patents in Africa

Telcoms tools When Malagasy entrepreneur Andry Ravololonjatovo came up with the idea of a hi-tech translation service named after a local bird, the Drongo, he hesitated about registering the patent.In many countries in Africa, protection of intellectual property (IP) is still patchy or undeveloped, and many innovators are put off by the onerous and expensive affair of registering their products.Despite a wave of technological innovation washing...

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