Nigeria's Fidelity Bank says 3 executive directors to retire

Nigeria's Fidelity Bank has said three of its top directors would bow out of the institution at the end of June and July, the bank said on Tuesday. Fidelity Bank in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said the executive directors who will be retiring from the service of the bank are its Executive Directors Risk 2, Mrs. Onome Olaolu, Executive Director, Corporate 3, Mr. John Obi and Executive Director Lagos and South West, Mr. IK Mbagwu, Director.According to the Bank, Olaolu and Obi will retire today (June 30,), while Mbagwu has indicated...

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CBN says account holders can access cash as BVN deadline ends today

Contrary to the claims by Deposit Money Banks (DMB) that there would be total restriction on accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN), after the deadline today, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has clarified that account holders can still have access to cash transactions while the e-banking transactions would be restricted.The BVN is an initiative of the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee, launched on February 14, 2014. It is a unique identifier for each bank customer across the financial industry, making it possible to build and track customer...

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Nigeria's Oando sells 60 pct of downstream business to Vitol

Nigeria's Oando has agreed to sell a 60 percent stake in its downstream business to Vitol and Helios Investment Partners for $276 million, the energy company said on Tuesday.     Oando, which is shifting away from being a marketer of refined petroleum products into an oil and gas explorer, completed the acquisition of ConocoPhillips's upstream oil and gas business in Nigeria last year.     Its downstream business, with a market share of 12 percent in Nigeria, will be set up as an independent entity, but will retain the Oando...

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S.Africa's energy regulator rejects Eskom tariff increase request

South Africa's energy regulator rejected a tariff hike request by cash-strapped utility Eskom  because crucial information was missing in the firm's application. Eskom asked for power prices to be raised by 9.58 percent to help it run gas turbines and pay for power provided by independent electricity producers. Jacob Modise, the chairman of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) chairman said crucial information was missing in the application and that Eskom could submit a new application for a tariff increase. The hike Eskom...

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Nigeria plans to sell 180-240 bln naira bonds in Q3

Nigeria plans to issue 180 billion to 240 billion naira of five and 20-year bonds in the third quarter, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on Monday. The DMO raised 210.22 billion naira ($1.1 billion) through government bond sales in the second quarter. The debt management office plans to sell the 15.54 percent 2020 bond at auctions in July, August and September with 35-45 billion naira on offer each month. It said it would also offer the 12.1493 percent 2034 bond in July, August and September with 25-35 billion naira on offer each mon...

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Ghana replaces head of troubled Tema oil refinery

Ghana's President John Mahama has replaced the head of the Tema Oil Refinery, the presidency said on Monday, in yet another management change at the cash-strapped 45,000 barrel-per-day plant. The facility, Ghana's sole refinery, has been plagued with regular shutdowns due to lack of funds for its operations and for the supply of crude for processing. The new managing director, Kingsley Awuah-Darko, will be the refinery's seventh managing director in ten years, the presidency said in a statement. A businessman with expertise in the financial sector,...

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Nigerian interbank rates ease on budget cash injection

Nigeria's interbank lending rate eased to an average of 6 percent on Friday from 15 percent last week thanks to increased naira liquidity from monthly budgetary allocations to government agencies. About 220 billion Nigerian naira ($1.1 billion) in budget allocations to the three tiers of government - federal, state and local - was injected into the banking system late on Thursday, boosting liquidity and forcing down lending rates. Nigeria, Africa's biggest economy, distributes revenue from oil exports and taxes among its three tiers of government...

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Yields on Nigerian bonds seen falling

 Nigeria's bond yields are expected to witness increased buying, especially by local pension funds, that could lead to a drop in yields by around 20 basis points, traders said.     Yields rose across maturities this week on a sell-off by some offshore investors on concerns on new foreign exchange restrictions by the central bank aimed at conserving its dwindling foreign exchange reserves, traders said.     Traders said the new measures had spurred a sell-off by some offshore investors on concerns they could hinder capital...

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Nigeria central bank curbs FX access for Eurobonds, other items

Nigeria's central bank has curbed access to the interbank currency market for the purchase of foreign currency bonds as well as a range of goods to tighten liquidity and conserve reserves.     The bank said importers could no longer get hard currency from the interbank market to buy items such as rice, cement, private jets, other construction materials, plastic and rubber products, soap, cosmetics, furniture and Indian incense.     Analysts said the latest measures risked diverting dollar demand to the black market, worsening...

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Power crisis poses biggest risk to S.Africa growth -IMF

South Africa's power supply crisis poses the biggest obstacle to growth, while state support to ailing utility Eskom and increased public sector wages may weigh on public finances, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The global lending body singled out delays in easing electricity shortages, and to policy and regulatory uncertainties, as chief constraints to economic growth in Africa’s most developed economy. "As the electricity crisis has deepened, only a muted recovery to 2 percent growth is expected in 2015-16," the IMF said in...

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IATA chief urges African governments to cut fuel tax, open skies

African governments must remove taxes on aviation fuel to create jobs, help carriers grow and make air travel more affordable, the chief executive of the industry's worldwide trade body said on Tuesday. Tony Tyler, of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said governments should also speed up a plan, known as the Yamoussoukro Decision, to open their airspace to local carriers by 2017. The plan was signed in 1999 by 44 states. "At the moment Africa punches below its weight in terms of connectivity with the rest of the world through...

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NLNG eyes $1.5 bln debut ship yard in Nigeria

Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) is sponsoring the construction of the first major ship yard in Africa's biggest economy at the cost of $1.5 billion, in its attempt to turn the country into a hub for maritime operations on the continent. Nigeria is the world's eighth biggest crude producer and Africa's top oil exporter but it does not have a drydock for maintaining and repairing large crude vessels, a major drawback for carriers sailing to the country, NLNG spokesman Tony Okonedo told Reuters. Only South Africa had such a facility...

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Nigeria selects two sites for nuclear power plants

Nigeria selects two sites for nuclear power plants Nigeria has selected two sites for the construction of its planned nuclear power plants, as Africa's biggest economy tries to end decades of electricity blackouts that have blighted its growth. Russia's state-owned Rosatom, which has been in talks with Nigeria over the nuclear plants, on Friday confirmed two sites had been selected in Africa's most populous nation and said they would have a total of four reactors. Neither side would say where the sites were, but a source at Nigeria's nuclear...

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Nigerian interbank rates rise on bonds, Treasury bills auction

Nigeria's interbank lending rate climbed to an average of 15 percent on Friday from 8.25 percent last week as cash flowed out of the banking system to settle bonds and treasury-bill purchases.The central bank sold a total of 235.49 billion Nigerian naira worth in both treasury bills and bonds this week, draining the system of liquidity and pushed up the cost of borrowing among commercial lenders.Traders said interbank rates initially rose to about 20 percent because of tight liquidity, but fell when the central bank refunded 27.7 billion naira...

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Nigerian bonds to take cue from meeting on forex controls

 Nigeria's debt market will take its cue from a meeting to discuss controls in the foreign exchange market. According to dealers, the debt market is expected to take its cue from the outcome of a meeting on Friday called by the central bank to discuss foreign exchange controls with banking executives. Traders said the meeting may come up with ways of relaxing the controls to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market, driving up demand for Nigerian debt. The central bank imposed the controls in February to curb speculation in the naira...

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Nigeria raises 144 bln naira in Treasury bills; yields mixed

Nigeria raised 143.64 billion naira ($723 million) in Treasury bills with mixed yields, the central bank said on Thursday. Total bids for the notes stood at 275.30 billion, up from 253.82 billion naira at the last auction on June 3, it said. The bank said it sold 26.30 billion naira worth of 3-month bills at 10 percent, up from 9.79 percent at the previous sale. It sold 25 billion naira worth of the six-month paper at 12.7 percent, unchanged from the last auction. The bank said it sold 92.34 billion naira worth of the one-year note at 12.80 percent,...

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German firm Bilfinger divest from Julius Berger Nigeria

German engineering services firm will sell its 33.4 percent stake in Nigeria's construction firm Julius Berger before the end of June, the local unit said on Thursday. The Nigerian construction firm said the proposed transaction will lead to the exit of Bilfinger's representative from its board but said this would not impact negatively its operations. "The decision is based on Bilfinger's strategic realignment from a construction company to an engineering and services group in the last decade which saw Bilfinger SE divest totally from its construction...

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Nigeria cbank calls Friday meeting with banks on FX rules - banking sources

Nigeria's central bank has called a meeting with chief executives and treasurers of commercial lenders on Friday to discuss issues surrounding its policy on the foreign exchange market, multiple banking sources told Reuters. The central bank imposed tight controls on the foreign exchange market in February to curb speculation on the naira and save its dwindling foreign reserves in Africa's biggest economy. Before setting the restrictions, the central bank had been battling to prop up the naira after a sharp fall in the price of oil, Nigeria's main...

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Angola cbank says will not defend kwanza "at all costs"

Angola's central bank will not defend the kwanza "at all costs" and it does not expect abrupt movements in the currency despite lower oil prices sapping U.S. dollar supply, the central bank governor said. "The first mission of the central bank is not to defend at all costs the Angolan national currency," Jose Pedro de Morais said in remarks made late on Tuesday to journalists.Amilcar Silva, President of Angola´s Commercial Bank Association, told Reuters the economy was in the throes of an "exchange crisis" because of the foreign currency shortage....

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Nigeria's Stanbic IBTC to publish list of loan defaulters

Nigeria's Stanbic IBTC, the local unit of South Africa's Standard Bank, said on Wednesday it will publish the list of loan defaulters in line with a new directive by the central bank.Stanbic IBTC would be among the first banks to publish such a list after the regulator ordered lenders in April to crack down on non-performing loans to forestall a repeat of a 2009 industry bailout that cost the government $4 billion.The new plan requires banks to give bad debtors three months to square their accounts, following which they would be named in Nigerian...

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Nigeria to raise 120.5 bln naira in Treasury bills next week

Nigeria plans to sell 120.52 billion naira ($606 million) of 3-month, 6-month and 1-year Treasury bills on June 24, the central bank said on Wednesday. The bank said in a statement it would sell 31.19 billion naira worth of the 3-month paper, 39.33 billion naira of the 6-month bill and 50 billion naira in the 1-year debt next week, using the Dutch auction System. At an auction later on Wednesday, the bank is offering 143.64 billion worth of Treasury bills of tenors ranging between 3-month and 1-year. In addition, a total of 80 billion naira worth...

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Nigeria to issue Treasury bills worth 873 bln naira in Q3

Nigeria plans to borrow about 872.96 billion naira ($4.4 billion) in a new Treasury bills issue between June 18 to Sept. 3, the central bank said on Monday. The bank said it will auction 215.12 billion naira worth of the 3-month paper, 238.5 billion in the 6-month debt and 419.34 billion worth in the 1-year paper. The total debt proposed for the third quarter is 12.3 percent short of the 995.5 billion raised in the second quarter of the year, the data released by the bank show...

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Unilever offers $216 mln to increase Nigerian unit stake

Unilever said it plans to raise its stake in its Nigerian unit to up to 75 percent in a 192.6 million euro ($216 million) offer to minority shareholders but would not de-list its subsidiary.       The household products maker, which already owns 50.1 percent of the Nigerian subsidiary, has had operations in Africa's biggest economy for close to a century and sees Nigeria as a long term investment, documents showed on Monday.     Under the terms of the offer, parent firm Unilever plans to acquire 942 million ordinary shares...

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Ghana says expects 161 mln euros in EU funds soon

Ghana expects to receive 161 million euros ($180 million) from the European Union (EU) "within weeks" to support the government's 2015 budget, Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson told Reuters on Friday. The release of EU funds follows the signing of an aid deal in April between the West African country and the International Monetary Fund aimed at stabilising the country's economy in the face of a range of fiscal problems including a falling currency. "The EU have been following our progress and they have resumed their support for the budget....

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Nigerian bond yields still rising

Yields on Nigerian debt are seen up marginally at a Treasury bond auction next Wednesday, reflecting the prevailing returns on the secondary market, with investors expected to buy more of the five-year paper at the auction.Nigeria plans to raise 80 billion naira ($402 million) in bonds with maturities ranging between 5-year and 20-year.Traders said however that many investors were unwilling to take long positions in the market until new President Muhammadu Buhari unveils his economic policy, which could curtail demand and force the debt office...

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World's first penis transplant patient to father a child

A young South African man who had the world's first successful penis transplant last December has impregnated his girlfriend, the doctor who led the surgery said on Friday. The 22-year-old man, who has not been named, is among around 250 South Africans who lose their penises each year in botched traditional circumcisions. The nine-hour transplant operation formed part of a pilot study by Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch. The patient was sexually active five weeks later. "To us it means we are ticking most of the...

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S.Africa cbank: monetary stance to change as inflation rises

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) could change its monetary stance because of rising risks to the inflation outlook and a likely rate hike in the U.S. by year-end, its deputy governor said on Friday. The SARB has kept its benchmark repo rate steady in Africa's most advanced economy at 5.75 percent since July last year. The bank has however signalled since its last monetary policy meeting in May that rising oil prices, above inflation wage settlements and a weaker rand currency could stoke inflation and bring a rate rise in coming months. Deputy...

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Nigeria's central bank tweaks naira peg again

Nigeria's central bank adjusted its exchange rate peg on Thursday to 196.90 naira against the dollar from the 196.95 set last week, data on the bank's website showed.Dealers said the central bank had sold dollars to the interbank market at the new rate the previous day, dismissing the move as a currency appreciation as it wasn't market driven, but noted it could signal the coming of a new policy.The naira opened trade on thin volumes at 198.90 to the dollar on the interbank market. It traded at 220 naira on the black market on Thursday."This is...

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Oil demand rises after price drop, but supply strong-IEA

IEA raises 2015 demand growth forecast by 280,000 bpd Sees demand growth slowing in second half of 2015 IEA sees higher 2015 demand growth than OPEC, U.S. govt Sees OPEC output staying high, lifts non-OPEC supply view For table on oil demand/supply, click here:   World oil demand will rise much more than expected this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday, in the latest sign that the collapse in oil prices is helping to boost fuel use. The Paris-based agency also pointed to "exceptionally high" growth in global...

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Ecobank names Citigroup executive Ayeyemi as new CEO

Pan-African bank Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has named Ade Ayeyemi as its new group chief executive, it said on Monday. The 52-year-old, currently head of Citigroup's sub-Saharan Africa division, will replace Ecobank CEO Albert Essien who is retiring at the end of June after a tenure that began in March 2014 when the board fired his predecessor Thierry Tanoh. Ayeyemi, who is Nigerian, will lead a bank headquartered in Togo that has operations in 36 African countries and with assets of $22.5 billion at the end of 2013, according to the bank's...

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Ethiopia eyes extra 12,000 MW in power projects by 2020

Ethiopia plans to launch hydropower dams and other renewable energy projects over the five years to 2020 that will add an additional 12,000 megawatts of electricity upon completion, a senior official said on Monday.With one of the continent's fastest-growing economies, Ethiopia wants to become a manufacturing hub and Africa's top energy exporter by tapping the numerous rivers that cascade through its highlands. Experts say the Horn of Africa nation has the potential to generate 45,000 megawatts of hydropower. Under a 2010-2015 development blueprint,...

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JPMorgan says may eject Nigeria from key bond index by year-end

JPMorgan reviewing Nigeria bond status Nigeria accounts for 1.8 pct of emerging bond index Central bank tweaked FX market last week - JPMorgan will eject Nigeria from its Government Bond Index (GBI-EM) by the year-end unless it restores liquidity to currency markets in a way that allows foreign investors tracking the benchmark to transact with minimal hurdles. The bank said late on Friday it had extended the deadline to eject Africa's biggest economy by another six months to take into account the arrival of President Muhammadu Buhari. Nigeria...

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Nigeria interbank lending flat at 8.25 pct on liquidity

Nigeria's interbank lending rate was flat at 8.25 percent on Friday, unchanged from a week ago, after the effect of a liquidity boost from maturing Treasury bills outweighed central bank cash withdrawals, dealers said. The central bank withdrew about 39 billion naira ($196 million) from the banking system to meet a weekly cash reserve requirement and also sold 181.89 billion naira worth of open market (OMO) bills on Thursday to mop up liquidity. However, the bank injected 161.9 billion naira to pay off matured open market (OMO) bills, into an interbank...

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South Africa's rand hits 13-1/2 year-low against dollar

South Africa's rand fell to a 13-1/2-year low against the dollar on Friday in nervous trade hours ahead of a Fitch credit rating review and a stronger dollar buoyed by strong U.S. jobs data. The rand fell to a session low of 12.6600, its weakest since Dec. 2001, according to Thomson Reuters data. It was trading at 12.6150/dollar by 1550 GMT, down 1.82 percent from Thursday's close. Data showed that U.S. job growth accelerated sharply in May and wages picked up, signs of momentum in the economy that bolster prospects for an interest rate hike from...

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Nigeria debt market in limbo

Trading in Nigeria's debt market will remain slow, with investors unwilling to take positions until new President Muhammadu Buhari unveils his economic policy. "Everybody seems to be waiting for a clearer direction from the government in terms of composition of the economic team and exchange rates policy direction and concrete steps to restore confidence in the economy," one dealer said. Nigeria’s central bank had imposed tight controls on the forex market since February in the wake of falling global oil prices and rapid depreciation of the...

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Bulb goes off above his head

It bothered Wilbur Milhouse when the power would suddenly go out as he sat in restaurants or hotels in Nigeria."Power outages are commonplace," said the founder and CEO of Milhouse Engineering and Construction. People are so used to them, he said, that they carry on conversations in the dark. So he decided to do something about it. Milhouse's nearly 14-year-old Loop-based firm recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria and its Ministry of Power to create energy from coal. The agreement, which is short of a formal contract, calls...

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Kenya's KCB signs up 1.8 million mobile banking customers

CFO says KCB M-Pesa on course for 10 mln users within a year Execs see mobile technology as future of banking in Kenya  Kenya's biggest bank by assets, KCB, has signed up 1.8 million customers for its mobile phone-based service since it was launched in March and is on target for 10 million users within a year from now, its chief financial officer said. Mobile technology is seen by executives as the future of banking in the east African country. Other companies such as Equity Bank  and Standard Chartered Kenya  have invested...

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OPEC poised to keep pumping even as global oil glut persists

Oil group OPEC is set on Friday to stick by its policy of unconstrained oil output for another six months, setting aside warnings of a second lurch lower in prices as some members such as Iran look to ramp up exports.With no apparent dissent, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will roll over its current output ceiling, renewing support for the shock market treatment it doled out late last year when Saudi Arabia, the world's top supplier, said it would no longer cut output to keep prices high. With oil prices having rebounded...

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Nigeria's central bank adjusts FX rate to 196.95 per dollar

Nigeria's central bank adjusted its exchange rate peg to 196.95 naira to the dollar from the 197 it set in February after the currency's value was eroded by the fall in oil prices, data on its website showed on Thursday. The bank adjusted the rate at which it sold hard currency this week, dealers said, noting that the change was too small to be considered a revaluation for the naira, particularly in the face of dwindling foreign reserves. Dealers told Reuters the central bank had been selling dollars to the interbank market at its adjusted rate....

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Nigeria raises 116 bln naira in Treasury bills, yields fall

Nigeria raised 115.85 billion naira ($582 million) in Treasury bills at lower yields across all tenors compared with a previous sale last month, the central bank said on Wednesday.Total subscription for the notes stood at 253.82 billion naira at the auction, the bank said, compared with 243.39 billion naira at its May 20 auction.The bank sold 17.85 billion naira worth of 3-month bill at 9.79 percent yield, down from 9.95 percent at the previous auction. It sold 18 billion naira worth of six month paper at 12.7 percent versus 12.75 percent at the...

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Mobile phone access in Africa set to double in next five years

640 million Africans to have a mobile by 2020 Data services still sparse but climbing fast Governments urged to allocate spectrum quickly Eighty percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s 800 million people should have access to mobile telephones by the end of the decade, double the current rate, although government help is needed to reach far-flung areas, industry body group GSMA said Wednesday. The growth of mobile data - an even more powerful economic tool than simple voice services - also hinges on authorities allocating sufficient spectrum, said Mortimer...

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OPEC finds oil output consensus: "Don't rock the boat"

OPEC is set to carry on pumping oil nearly flat-out for months more, content that last year's shock market therapy has revived moribund demand and knocked back growing competition. With oil prices having stabilised, for now, at around $65 a barrel, some $20 off their January lows, there's little appetite within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to modify production limits, as some analysts have suggested is an outside possibility. "There is consensus among Gulf OPEC countries, and others, to keep the ceiling unchanged," a senior...

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Ivory Coast rains promise strong finish to cocoa mid-crop

Abundant rains and sunny spells last week in Ivory Coast’s main cocoa growing regions could improve the mid-crop harvest, though too much rain risked causing disease farmers said on Monday. The world's top cocoa producer is currently harvesting beans from its April-to-September mid-crop, and port arrivals are nearly on par with last year's record crop of around 1.74 million tonnes, according to exporters. Farmers said that the supply of beans leaving plantations was picking up and they would begin preparing for next season's October-to-March harvest...

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