Nigerian interbank rates stable on budget, matured T-Bills

Nigeria interbank rates held steady at 6 percent on average on Thursday, unchanged from last week following an increase in cash flow to the banking system from budgetary allocations and retired Treasury bills.Traders said about 284 billion naira ($1 billion) was injected into the system from budgetary allocations to government agencies, while an additional 227 billion naira was paid out in matured government debt, boosting liquidity and keeping interest rates at a lower level."The system was very liquid and many banks had sufficient cash to support...

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Airtel’s CEO sees more growth in Nigerian telecoms industry

The chief executive officer (CEO) Airtel Nigeria unit, Segun Ogunsanya has said Africa's biggest economy's telecoms market offers multiple growth opportunities, giving its untapped pontentials and vast investment options available in the industry. He noted that with 78 per cent mobile penetration as at December last year, there was massive untapped market potential, saying broadband adoption is set to rise as demand for more stable Internet grows from the residential and business segments increases. Ogunsanya said additional 47 million growth...

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Our government will not witch-hunt anyone – Buhari

Nigeria's President Elect, General. Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated a 19-member transition committee with a charge to members not to engage in a witch hunt or fault finding. He also announced that his administration would not witch-hunt anybody because he was aware that government is a continuum. Buhari said this while inaugurating the Ahmed Joda-led transition committee in Abuja, on Wednesday. While expressing gratitude to members of the committee for accepting to serve at very short notice, he explained that the change from one government...

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IFC partners Zenith Bank Plc, boosts its lending portfolio with $100 million

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, on Tuesday signed an agreement to provide a $100 million loan facility to Zenith Bank, to increase its lending to a variety of important economic sectors, boosting economic growth and job creation in Nigeria. The $100 million loan facility will be provided from IFC’s own account and Zenith Bank Plc will use the facility to reduce the lending gap in critical sectors, the corporation said in a statement.  The facility will help reduce the...

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Lagos port still a bottleneck for Africa's top economy

Ruling party reforms improved Apapa port Shippers still face delays and corruption Buhari gov't will need to tackle extortion at port The road leading to the Lagos port, which handles nearly everything that Africa's biggest economy imports, is one of the most congested in a megacity whose traffic jams are legendary. Wide enough to accommodate only two lanes on either side, along it move the goods that Africa's top crude producer uses its huge oil receipts to buy -- everything from designer wear to dried fish, champagne and shampoo. The Apapa port...

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Continental Re sees huge growth as Africa's construction booms

Africa's Continental Re plans to double premium income from its property and engineering business to $80 million over the next five years, as it bets on the continent's infrastructure boom, its executive director said.Insurance companies are pushing for growth in Africa where many people are uninsured, banking on growing premiums as the continent develops its infrastructure and a consumer class demanding protection from risk.The property and engineering business contributed 44 percent of Continental Re's total revenue, but Executive Director ...

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Nigerian central bank orders lenders to get tough with bad debtors

Nigeria's central bank ordered banks on Friday to crack down on borrowers with non-performing loans (NPLs) in a move aimed at avoiding a repeat of a 2009 industry bailout that cost the government $4 billion.A sharp drop in the global price of oil, Nigeria's main export, has triggered a currency crisis in Africa's largest economy and strained government's finances, while also harming the cash flow of some companies with foreign currency loans.Ratings agency Fitch said in February it expects NPLs for Nigerian lenders to rise above a central bank...

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Nigerian interbank rates fall on matured bonds, T-bills

Nigeria's overnight lending rates halved to an average 6 percent on Friday from 12.25 percent last week after central bank retired large matured bonds and treasury bills in the week, boosting liquidity in the market, traders said.However, a technical glitch that hit the central bank's trading platform hindered major fund transfers and placement in the market."The market liquidity was boosted by repaid matured bonds and treasury bills worth about 806 billion naira ($4 billion), but because of the technical fault, many traders were unable to transfer...

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Technical glitch may affect Nigerian bond trade

Trade on local debt was stalled after the glitch affected central bank's trading platform, traders said, adding that they were concerned the problem that started on Wednesday could run into next week, threatening bond settlement in the interbank."(There is) no trading currently going on in the market as a result of the unresolved technical glitch on the central bank's platform," one dealer said. For the periods that the market traded normally this week, yields trended downward after a total of 570 billion naira ($3 billion) in matured bonds was...

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Buhari will release full audit reports on NNPC says Fayemi

Nigerian President-elect Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will publish the full audit of the state oil company Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and expects it will need to repay the government more than previously recommended, his party’s policy director said. Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) believes the NNPC may need to refund more than the $1.48 billion stated in the highlights of a PricewaterhouseCoopers report released by the auditor-general in February, policy director Kayode Fayemi said Tuesday in an interview at his...

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How the 'Godfather' of Lagos could shape Nigeria's government

Bola Tinubu alliance helped Buhari win presidential poll Ex-Lagos governor now one of the most powerful godfathers Seen as favouring technocrats who can solve problems "I am a talent hunter. I put talents in office, I help them," says former Lagos state governor and opposition alliance leader Bola Tinubu, being quite open about his role as one of Nigeria's most powerful political godfathers. "I use the best hand, the best brain, the best experience for the job," he told Reuters after voting this month in a governorship election in Nigeria's economic...

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Nigeria's First Bank, others may require fresh capital raise to remain stable

Nigeria's First Bank may be required to raise fresh capital or restructure its balance sheets in the next 18 months as part of measures to combat low oil price, top rating agency Standard & Poor’s has said. S&P increased its view of Nigeria’s Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment to nine from eight on April 15, in line with Kenya and one notch above the lowest level.  According to the latest report by the ratings agency, the more than 40 percent plunge in Brent crude prices since June is weakening the economy of Africa’s biggest...

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Yields on Nigeria's local debt seen falling

Yields on Nigeria's local debt are seen falling further next week, with renewed appetite from both local and offshore investors and increased liquidity from maturing bonds. Nigerian bonds market has seen increase demand after a peaceful general election spurring interest from local investors and foreign investors. "The market was all bullish from a range of interest by investors taking position after the successful election," one dealer said. Traders said market could get a liquidity boost from maturing April 2015 bonds next Thursday, raising...

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EXCLUSIVE-How Nigeria's 'smooth' election nearly went wrong- Reuters

Nigerian election came close to unravelling Plotters wanted to abduct election commissioner Aide alerted election monitors via text message Disruption could have ignited widespread violence As Muhammadu Buhari closed in on Nigeria's presidency, an aide to election commission chairman Attahiru Jega sent a text message to an independent voting monitor, warning of an imminent threat to the electoral process. The aide had unearthed a plot by supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan to disrupt the public announcement of the national election results...

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S.Africa power cuts persist, utility races to fix plants

South African power utility Eskom resumed widespread electricity cuts for the fifth straight day on Thursday in Africa's most advanced economy, as it battles to repair aging power plants.In one of its worst power outages in years, Eskom lost a quarter of its electricity supply on Tuesday in both scheduled maintenance and plant breakdowns. The power supply shortages compounded South Africa's worst electricity crisis since 2008, under which homes and businesses are subjected to frequent controlled blackouts implemented by Eskom to prevent the grid...

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Nigeria auctions 70 bln naira bond at lower yields

Nigeria raised 70 billion naira ($352 million) at lower yields across all tenors during a bond auction on Wednesday, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Thursday.The debt office said in a notice the total subscriptions stood at 184.72 billion naira, compared with 119.14 billion naira at the last auction. The office said it had sold 20 billion naira worth of the 5-year bond at 14.44 percent, down from 16.49 percent at its previous sale on March 11.The 10-year paper was sold at 14.22 percent against 16.84 percent previously, raising a total...

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Ghana's consumer inflation rises to 16.6 pct in March on weaker cedi

Ghana's annual consumer price inflation rose marginally to 16.6 percent in March from 16.5 percent in the previous month, driven by the depreciation of the local currency, the statistics office said on Wednesday.The West African nation started a three-year aid program worth $918 million with the International Monetary Fund this month to fix its economy, dogged by deficits, widening public debt and high inflation."The key drivers for the marginal rise are mainly imported goods whose prices are affected by the exchange rate," deputy government statistician...

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South Africa faces power cuts for 4th straight day

South African utility Eskom resumed widespread power cuts on Wednesday, leaving millions without electricity for a fourth day in a row but a government minister ruled out the chances of a total blackout.Africa's most advanced economy is in the middle of its worst electricity crisis since 2008 and South Africans are subjected to frequent controlled blackouts, which Eskom implements to prevent the grid from collapsing.South Africa on Tuesday lost a quarter of its power supply in one of its worst power outages in years in both scheduled maintenance...

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Buhari's Nigeria oil policy to focus on reform first, taxes last

New administration to root out corruption in NNPC Foreign oil companies critical of existing tax proposals Petroleum Industry Bill expected to be passed in parts Top management to be changed, state oil company split Oil firms keen to know how Nigeria's president elect Muhammadu Buhari plans to tax them could be waiting a long time as he makes ending corruption and reforming the opaque national oil company his most urgent sector priorities. Four party sources from Buhari's All Progressives Congress (APC) told Reuters the issue of fiscal terms,...

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Nigeria in talks with Russia's Rosatom for nuclear power plants

Nigeria is in talks with Russia's state-owned Rosatom to build nuclear power plants, as Africa's most populous nation tries to end of decades of blackouts that has blighted its economy.Africa's biggest economy has no experience in developing and operating nuclear power plants but has a gamma facility and small reactors producing around 30 kilowatts for research, Franklin Erepamo Osaisai, chief executive of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission said on its website, adding that nuclear power will guarantee long-term energy supply."We have an intergovernmental...

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Nigerian interbank rates spike as central bank plans cash withdrawal

Nigeria's overnight lending rates rose sharply on Friday to 27 percent from 10.25 percent last week following a scramble for funds as lenders sought to meet a central bank cash reserve requirement.The central bank was expected to withdraw about 72 billion naira ($362 million) from commercial lenders to enforce its cash reserves requirements (CRR) on April 16, triggering a surge in demand for funds on the interbank market.The central bank requires commercial lenders to set aside 75 percent of public sector and 15 percent of private sector deposits...

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World rice trade to drop to 41.3 mln tonnes in 2015 -FAO

Global milled rice trade this year is forecast to drop 2.5 percent from 2014 to 41.3 million tonnes, due mainly to good stockpiles or higher production in Asia, the United Nations food agency said on Friday.Global paddy output in 2015 is forecast to edge up 1.1 percent from last year to 749.8 million tonnes, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in its rice market monitor report for April. Thailand is expected to be the world's largest rice exporter this year with shipments of 11.2 million tonnes, followed by 9.3 million tonnes from India...

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Nigeria raises 183 bln naira in T-bills at lower yields

Nigeria raised 183.64 billion naira ($923 million) in Treasury bills with yields falling compared with the previous sale last month, the central bank said on Thursday. The Treasury bill yields fell in tandem with declining yields on fixed assets on renewed investor interest in the local debt market after a peaceful presidential election in Africa's biggest economy and most populous country.The central bank said it raised 20.15 billion naira in the 3-month debt at 10.5 percent at the auction held on Wednesday compared with 10.69 percent at the March...

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Ghana's main oil refinery says shuts down due to breakdown

Ghana's main oil refinery has been shut down due to a mechanical fault at its and it will be closed for around a month, Tema Oil Refinery's spokeswoman Aba Lokko said on Tuesday.The underlying cause of the breakdown in March at the government-owned refinery is lack of maintenance linked to a lack of investment, coupled with unreliable power supply in a country facing a power crisis, she told Reuters."We were refining the (oil) residue and then a unit within that plant developed a fault so there was some serious issue with it and so we had to shut...

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Nigeria's naira soars on black market after smooth election

The naira firmed sharply on the black market on Tuesday as Nigerians who had stockpiled dollars ahead of last week's elections sold off their holdings when the feared violence and instability did not materialise, dealers said.Opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 vote which passed off largely without incident, to the relief of investors in Africa's biggest economy and most populous nation.The naira firmed more than 6 percent to 197 to the dollar on the unofficial market from 210 on Thursday, the...

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Nigerian interbank rates ease on increasing liquidity

Nigeria's overnight lending rates fell to an average of 9.6 percent on Thursday from 12.5 percent last week, after the central bank retired some matured treasury bills, increasing liquidity in the money market.Traders said a total of 148 billion naira ($744 million) in matured treasury bills was repaid by the bank."The market experienced a major liquidity boost today from matured treasury bills...rates on secured lending fell in tandem," one dealer said.Nigeria's money market is closed for business on Friday and will reopen on Tuesday after public...

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Nigerian markets extend rally after Buhari's election victory

Nigerian stocks leapt to an 18-week high on Thursday while the 5-year bond yield fell as investors snapped up assets in Africa's biggest economy after a peaceful presidential vote won by the opposition leader.Muhammadu Buhari's election victory marks the first time in Africa's most populous nation where a sitting government has been removed from power through the ballot box.Analysts said investors were hopeful that the scandals that undermined incumbent Goodluck Jonathan's popularity, including billions of dollars unaccounted for in missing oil...

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Nigerian markets rally after Buhari wins presidential vote

Nigeria's main shares index soared to its single biggest daily gain this year on Wednesday while bond yields fell sharply and the naira currency surged in the black market as investors cheered Muhammadu Buhari's presidential election victory. The main shares index rose 8.4 percent as financial markets in Africa's biggest economy welcomed the peaceful outcome of the closely-fought elections, marking the first time in Africa's most populous nation where a sitting president was voted out of power through the ballot box. Buhari takes charge...

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