Nigeria approves plan to borrow more from abroad as recession hits

Nigeria's government has approved a three-year plan to borrow more from abroad, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said on Wednesday after the economy slipped into recession for the first time in more than 20 years. The government has so far disbursed more than 400 billion naira in capital expenditure this year, part of a record 6.06 trillion naira ($30 billion) budget for 2016, Adeosun said last weekBut with lower oil prices and attacks on oil facilities,...

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Nigeria central bank ends banks' suspension from FX market

Nigeria's central bank has ended the suspension of eight lenders banned from the interbank currency market for failing to remit money owed to the government, it said on Wednesday. The central bank tightened restrictions on the flow of dollars to domestic lenders in March. That forced the banks to delay hard-currency loan and trade repayments and increased their risk of default. Nine banks last week failed to remit at least $2.1 billion in deposits...

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Nigeria's foreign reserves fall to $25.45 bln by Aug.29

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves fell to $25.45 billion by Aug. 29, down 2.86 percent from the previous month, central bank latest data showed on Wednesday as the bank stepped up support for its ailing currency.Dollar reserves of Africa's largest economy stood at $26.20 billion in end of July. The central bank data showed reserves had declined 18.9 percent from a year ago.However, the naira hit a fresh all-time low of 420 per dollar on the black market on chronic dollar shortages on Wednesday, same day Africa's most populous nation officially...

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Kenya's anti-graft chief, accused of conflict of interest, quits

The chairman of Kenya's anti-graft body said on Wednesday he had quit after lawmakers recommended removing him from office over an alleged conflict of interest between his family business and another state-run agency. Kenyan media reported parliament's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee wanted lawmakers to ask President Uhuru Kenyatta to set up a tribunal to force out Philip Kinisu.The committee had accused Kinisu of a conflict of interest in his...

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U.S. to urge G20 to boost economies, heed citizen anger

U.S. President Barack Obama will urge leaders of the world's major economies to use fiscal policy and other tools to boost growth while paying more attention to angry citizens who feel left behind, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Wednesday.The United States will also call for the Group of 20 leading economies to keep their steel industries from getting so big that factories are underused, Lew said in a preview of the U.S. message to the Sept....

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Nigeria's Dangote says jacks up cement prices to mitigate production cost

Nigeria’s Dangote Cement said on Wednesday it has jacked up prices of its commodity to mitigate the effect of rising cost of production, a statement from the company said.It said it has increased the ex factory price of its product by 600 naira, slight higher than the price before last year September price slashed. Dangote cement was selling at the open market at 1,550 naira per 50 Kg bag before the price hike, which was effected on Monday before...

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Nigeria's naira hits new record low of 420 per dollar on black market

Nigeria's naira was quoted at an all-time low of 420 to the dollar on the unofficial market on Wednesday, the same day Africa's biggest economy officially slid into recession. The currency traded at 418 to the dollar on Tuesday and has been under pressure on the black market for months. The naira was quoted at 317.09 to the dollar on the interbank market by 1224 GMT, against a 305.5 close on Tuesday. But bureaux de change operators raised hope...

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Nigeria slides into recession as GDP contracts by 2.06 pct in Q2, recovery seen in H2

Nigeria, Africa’s top crude producer officially slides into recession as its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 2.06 percent in the second quarter, the statistics office said on Wednesday, but the government said the economy is expected to perform better in the second half of the year.The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the non-oil sector declined due to a weaker currency while lower oil prices dragged the oil sector down.  Output...

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Militants say attacked pipeline in Nigeria's southern Delta state

A militant group on Tuesday said it attacked a pipeline operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of Nigeria's state oil company, in the country's restive southern Delta region. The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate said in a statement that it attacked the Ogor-Oteri pipeline in Delta state, operated NPDC and Nigerian energy company Shoreline, at around 03:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Tuesday. A spokesman for the state...

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Nigeria's naira woes worsen, falls to 418 a dollar at black market

Nigeria's central bank sold around $1.5 million at the interbank forex market on Tuesday to support the local currency and ensure the closing rate stabilises, traders said even as the naira traded at a new low of 418 to the dollar on the parallel market. The naira closed at 305.50 to the dollar on the interbank market, same level it has traded since last week, having touched 325.50 a dollar intraday, but gained after the central bank's intervention.Traders...

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African billionaire, Dangote plans 12, 000 Mw power generation in 2-year

The hope for improved power supply in Nigeria is getting brighter with plans by African billionaire, Aliko Dangote’s company to generate about 12,000 megawatts of electricity for the Africa’s most populous country by 2018. There has been an increased despondence in the country due epileptic power supply to industries and other electricity users, including private individuals who spent millions of naira on independent generation.Many firms are running...

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African migrants go to Italian quake zone to help survivors

African migrants hoping to start a new life in Italy after risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean have headed to the area of Wednesday's earthquake, helping local people who lost everything in the disaster.Wearing bright orange overalls, the group from a temporary hostel about 50 km (30 miles) away blended in on Friday with other volunteer workers who have come from all over Italy. "We need to help the people here," said a 20-year-old man...

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Nigerian interbank rate trades flat on budget cash expectations

Nigeria's overnight naira interbank lending rate closed around the 20 percent level on Friday, a range it has traded all week because of low liquidity and the central bank's cash withdrawal through treasury bills sales, traders said. The central bank sold 71.6 billion naira ($227.48 million) in 195-day open market operation (OMO) treasury bills at 18 percent on Friday to reduce liquidity in the banking system in its bid to support the naira.The...

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Nigerian scholarship winner hopes to realize academic dream in China

Chris Eloho, a Nigerian student, is about to realize his dream of pursuing a Master's Degree in a Chinese university.This is a dream the 23-year-old has held for six years, even before he gained admission to learn at a private university in his home state of Delta, where he studied Petrochemical Engineering for his Bachelor of Science program. "I've always wanted to study in China, not anywhere else," he told Xinhua.That explains his excitement...

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Nigeria to sell 213 bln naira treasury bills

Nigeria plans to offer 212.85 billion naira ($675 million) in Treasury bills maturing between 91-days and 1-year on Aug. 31, the central bank said on Friday.The bank said it will sell 45.85 billion naira worth of the 91-day bills, 62 billion naira of the 182-day paper and 105 billion naira of the 1-year debt. Payment for the purchase will be effected on Thursday, the bank said in a public notice.Nigeria, Africa's top crude producer, issues treasury...

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Nigeria's naira hits record low of 412 to dollar on parallel market

Nigeria's naira was quoted at an all-time low of 412 per dollar on the parallel market on Friday as a dollar shortage persists, traders said. Traders said some bureaux de change operators have been finding it difficult to access their forex account and get dollar supply after the central bank suspended nine commercial lenders from the market, putting further pressure on the local currency.On Thursday the naira closed at 409 per dollar on the parallel...

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Man plans sister’s kidnap for being stingy, demands N300,000

A 27-year-old man, Chigozie Egegonye, has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly planning the kidnap of his sister, identified only as Franca.Franca and her four children had been declared missing since April 2016, when they suddenly disappeared from their home on Mayowa Street, Ago-Palace Way, Okota, Lagos.PUNCH Metro gathered that Egegonye told his childhood friend, Michael Oluchukwu, that despite the wealth of his sister,...

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Nigeria's distributable revenues fell to 494 billion naira in July

Nigeria distributed a total of 493.828 billion naira among its three tiers of government on Thursday at the regular meeting of the Federal Allocation Committee for the month of July. According to the figures released by Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the gross statutory revenue including solid minerals is 275.102 billion naira while the net allocation is 258.151 billion naira. The gross value added tax is 66.987 billion naira...

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Nigeria Cocoa Midcrop Yield Seen at 25-Year Low on Weather

Nigeria’s cocoa midcrop output is seen falling by as much as 70 percent this year from the previous season after unfavorable weather took a toll on the crop earlier in 2016, farmers said. “This season’s midcrop harvest is the worst we have witnessed in the last 25 years,” Rufus Orosundafosi, a cocoa farmer, said by phone from the southwest cocoa-growing hub of Idanre that accounts for about 25 percent of the country’s production. “We will not get...

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Nigeria's former central banker seeks new economic direction

President Muhammadu Buhari has not come to terms with the economic realities of the day, as he has failed to combat economic challenges confronting the nation.  This was the assertion of the former Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, who said the President’s economic policies, since he took over last year, were still based on campaign promises. Soludo spoke, Thursday, in Kaduna at the Progressive Governors Forum’s...

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Nigeria's naira hits record low of 409 to dollar on black market

Nigeria's naira was quoted at an all-time low of 409 per dollar on the parallel market on Thursday, compared with 402 per dollar at close on the previous day as dollar shortage bite harder in Africa's top crude producer. Traders said the local currency fell due to increase demand for the dollar which they are unable to match with weak supply and the impact of the suspension of some commercial lenders from forex transaction by the central bank on...

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Nigerian naira, Kenya shilling seen weaker, Ghana cedi to firm vs dollar

The naira is seen trading weaker in the coming days due to the dollar shortage and the impact of the central bank suspension of nine commercial lenders from forex transactions. Traders said even though the central bank continued to sell dollars daily on the interbank market, its efforts were considered weak and inadequate. The local currency was trading around 310 to the dollar on the interbank market, the same level as last week. The naira was...

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Facebook Love : How father of 2 uses social media to lure, rape, rob ladies

It was the end of the road for a father of two, who specialised in using social media platforms, especially Facebook, to lure gullible ladies to hotels, where he sedates, rapes and dispossesses them of their valuables.  The suspect, Oluwole Falaseye, 30, who used the name Nipheme Ajanaku, usually posed as an Abuja-based bank manager on Facebook. After familiarising himself with young ladies through regular chatting, he would book for a meeting...

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Nigeria naira quoted at 402 per dollar on parallel market

The Nigerian currency was quoted at 402 naira per dollar on the black market on Wednesday, traders said, weaker than 397 it traded at its previous session as dollar shortages gripped the official market.The naira, which hit fresh record low since the central bank floated the currency on the official interbank market in June, first touched 400 on the black market this month. On the interbank market on Wednesday, no trades were posted until three...

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Nigerian bank execs meet cbank over FX market suspension

Nigerian bank executives met with central bank officials, banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday, a day after the monetary authority suspended nine lenders from foreign exchange transactions for failing to remit money owed to the government. The suspensions from the interbank market were imposed after the banks failed to remit $2.1 billion, the government's share of dividends from state-owned gas company NLNG, the sources said. They were due...

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Kenyan president approves law capping commercial bank lending rates

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law on Wednesday a bill capping commercial bank lending rates, saying banks had in the past failed to live up to pledges to lower their rates when parliament tried to introduce caps. Parliament passed changes to the banking law in early August to cap commercial interest rates at 400 basis points above the central bank's policy rate, now 10.5 percent. The changes had since been awaiting presidential approval....

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Nigeria gets tough with marauding "Sons of the Soil" in search of land to seize

 A year before his wedding, Jude Egharevba was overjoyed when he bought a plot of land to build a house for him and his fiancee on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.But his joy was short-lived, after a group of young men stormed his land and demanded cash to leave peacefully. The same men and other gangs visited his land several times and disrupted the building work, forcing Egharevba, an oil and gas executive, to pay them...

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Ghana producer inflation rises to 10.3 percent in July

Ghana's producer price inflation (PPI) rose to 10.3 percent year-on-year in July from 7.6 percent the month before, driven by rising gold prices, the statistics office said on Wednesday.PPI is a major component of consumer inflation, which has for years remained above government targets. The West African commodity exporter is implementing a three-year aid deal with the International Monetary Fund to restore fiscal balance. "The rise was mainly influenced...

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Investors dump shares of Nigerian banks after FX trade suspension

Investors sold shares in Nigerian banks on Wednesday, a day after the central bank suspended nine lenders from foreign exchange transactions for failing to remit money owed to the government.The central bank suspended FCMB, First Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Heritage Bank, Keystone Bank, Skye Bank, Diamond Bank, Sterling Bank, and Fidelity Bank on Tuesday for withholding government dollars from the national treasury, banking sources said. Shares...

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Nigeria central bank suspends first Bank, UBA, Fidelity, 6 others from FX market,

Nigeria's central bank has suspended nine banks from the interbank currency market for failing to remit money owed to the government, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The suspension comes after the central bank tightened restrictions on the flow of dollars to domestic lenders in March. That has forced the banks to delay hard-currency loan and trade repayments and increased their risk of default. "This is really a function of the dire macroeconomic...

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Nigeria’s First Bank gets new CFO

Nigeria First Bank has appointed Patrick Iyamabo as its new chief financial officer (CFO), to replace its current chief executive Kazeem Adeduntan who was moved up this year. According to a statement by the bank Iyamabo will be assuming the CFO role which was hitherto held by Adeduntan before his appointment as the Managing Director of the Bank. The new CFO has over 20 years’ extensive experience spanning across various industries both within and...

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Nigeria plans $7.2 bln investment in power generation in 5-year

Nigeria plans to invest $1.5 billion in the next five years to boost power generation and increase capacity from the current 5,000 Mega Watts to 11,500 Mega watts; however the total cost of the project is put at $7.5 billion by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).Breakdown of funding for the project include, a concessionary loans and grant of $3.4 billion from TCN’s support international finance agencies, $1.5 billion from Nigerian government,...

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Shoprite profit rises as Africa keeps buying despite commodity crunch

Africa's largest retailer Shoprite Holdings reported a 17 percent jump in full-year profit on Tuesday, shrugging off competition in South Africa and buoyed by strong sales in Angola.Its thrifty stores helped itsecure a South African market share of 32.8 percent in June, a company record, Chief Executive Whitey Basson said, as the chain kept costs tight and subsidised certain basic foodstuffs to keep the business of cash-strapped consumers. Africa's...

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Nigeria asks banks to give 60 pct of their forex to manufacturing firms

Nigeria's central bank has asked commercial lenders to allocate 60 percent of their foreign exchange purchases to manufacturers, in a bid to boost their ability to pay for imports and boost the economy.Widespread dollar shortages, caused by a fall in oil revenues, have hit manufacturers' ability to import raw materials and spare parts, forcing many plants to close. The central bank said in a circular it wanted to encourage the production of local...

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Nigeria's naira gains 0.8 pct after cenbank dollar sales

Nigeria's naira closed firmer on the interbank market on Monday after the central bank sold dollars to some commercial lenders towards the end of a session that featured no trades in the first four hours, traders said. The naira closed at 305.50 to the dollar, 0.81 percent firmer than its Friday close.Traders said the central bank selectively sold dollars to commercial lenders just before the market close."The central bank came to the market toward...

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Nigeria president seeks emergency powers to revive economy - source

As Nigeria’s economic woes bites harder, president of Africa’s biggest crude producer Muhammadu Buhari plans to ask the country’s parliament for extra powers for one year allowing him to take "emergency" decisions to revive the flagging economy, a government source said on Monday.Africa's biggest economy contracted in the first quarter and government officials have said recession is likely as vital oil revenues have crashed due to low crude prices....

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South Africa Sun Hotel to exit Nigeria on economic woes

Hotel and gaming group Sun International has become the latest South African business to pull out of Nigeria because of weak economic growth and clashes with regulators and shareholders in the West African country.In January, Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) launched a probe into Sun International's initial investment in the Tourist Company of Nigeria (TCN) which owns and operates the 5-star Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.  Sun...

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Nigeria plans housing projects targeted at low, medium earners

Nigeria plans to construct housing for low and middle income earners as part of strategies to reduce shortage of accommodation in the Africa’s most populous country, using a nationally acceptable design that reflects diversity of culture and weather in the country.Babatunde Fashola, minister in charge of housing, while unveiling what he described as a roadmap for housing in the West African country noted that the project with targeting the low and...

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Nigerian interbank rate soars as naira shortage bites

Nigeria's overnight naira interbank lending rate stayed ultra-high on Friday, quadrupling from 6.26 percent since Wednesday as the central bank took steps in the debt and currency markets to try to prop up the ailing local currency. The naira hit all-time low of 353.75 to the dollar on Thursday. The central bank sold dollars on Thursday and Friday, traders said. It also sold about 236 billion naira ($776 million) of open market operations (OMO)...

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