Thursday, August 27, 2020
To beat dollar crunch, Nigeria’s central bank eyes special OMO for foreigners
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is weighing the option of creating a special Open Market Operation (OMO) auction for foreign investors with the hope that it lures in badly-needed foreign exchange, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The plan was discussed during the weekly committee meeting between the CBN governor and senior bankers…Read more
Missing 10m labour force means Nigeria’s unemployment rate at 34%
Nigeria’s unemployment rate could be higher than the 27.1 percent earlier reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as at the second quarter of 2020. BusinessDay’s analysis puts number of unemployed Nigerians as a proportion of Nigeria total labour force – the share of people with employment in addition to those without work but…Read more
Senate demands probe of $18bn NLNG dividend to NNPC
The Senate on Wednesday directed the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, to investigate the $18.32bn which the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited claimed to have paid as dividend to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation between 2004 and 2020. The Chairman Senate Joint Committee on Finance and National Planning, Senator Solomon Adeola, gave the directive at the ongoing stakeholders public hearing on the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper. Read more
Refineries idle for 12 months, incur N142bn expenses
The nation’s refineries did not refine a barrel of crude oil in the 12 months to June this year but incurred a combined operating expense of N142.07bn, the latest data from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have shown. The NNPC attributed the declining operational performance of the refineries to ongoing revamp aimed at further enhancing their capacity utilisation once completed. Read more
Nigeria’s private sector struggles with economic impact of COVID-19, inflation, devaluation
The COVID-19 crisis has brought with it disastrous economic effects. As the virus continues to spread, business and world economies have been experiencing a huge decline in revenue. According to KPMG, about 94 per cent of the Fortune 1000 across the world, including Nigeria, have experienced some sort of COVID-19 disruption. Read more
NNPC exports N1.7 trillion worth crude oil, gas in one year
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the last one year, exported about N1.7trillion ($4.60billion) worth of crude oil and gas, the June 2020 Monthly Financial and Operations Report (MFOR), indicated. The commodities were exported between June 2019 and June 2020, with receipts of $378.42million recorded this June, far higher than the $133.16million sold in May. Read more
FSDH Predicts Continued Sluggish Economic Activities in 2020
Analysts at FSDH Merchant Limited have anticipated that the sluggish economic performance recorded in the second quarter of the year will continue for the rest of the year. This, the Lagos-based bank attributed in an economic report it released yesterday, to the lockdown of key sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the tough business climate and persistent challenges in the economy. Read more
