Friday, December 04, 2020
NSE: Application of 0.08% Stamp Duty Begins December 7
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday said from Monday, December 7, the Stamp Duty rate of 0.08 per cent on securities transactions in the market will be implemented. The new duty was revised from 0.075 per cent previous charge. According to the NSE, the change was necessitated by the classification of Contract Notes as an ad valorem tax by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Read more
ABC Transport Shareholders Approve N1.4bn Rights Issue
Shareholders of ABC Transport Plc have approved the injection of additional capital of N1.4 billion into its operations. The capital would be raised through right issue and bond from existing shareholders and the open market. The approval was given by the shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the company that took place on November 27, 2020, in Owerri, Imo State. Read more
Reps summon Ahmed, Emefiele over $21bn NLNG funds, N1.2tn proceeds
The House of Representatives, on Thursday, summoned the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; and the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, over alleged illegal withdrawal of $21bn from the Nigeria Liquefied and Natural Gas Limited’s Dividends Account between 1999 and 2020. The House Committee on Public Accounts issued the summons after a presentation by the Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, who argued that the deductions from the NLNG Dividends Account were approved by relevant authorities, namely Federal Ministry of Finance, CBN and NNPC. Read more
CBN expects $2bn diaspora remittances monthly, says Emefiele
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Thursday, said the target of the CBN is for the country to attract about $2bn monthly as remittances from citizens in diaspora. Emefiele’s position is coming after the apex bank introduced its new Diaspora Foreign Exchange Remittances Policy. The CBN boss told journalists during a press briefing on the new policy in Abuja that countries that had similar demographic features with Nigeria, such as Pakistan, often received about $2bn monthly from their citizens in diaspora. Read more
Dangote refinery named among 20 most influential projects
Dangote oil refinery has been listed among the top 20 influential projects surveyed in the last 18 months by the Project Management Institute. Dangote Industries Limited said in a statement on Thursday that the refinery was recognised for the potential to fuel Nigeria’s economic transformation from an importer to a self-sustaining powerhouse in petroleum refining. According to the statement, the PMI said the 2020 Most Influential Projects list highlights compelling projects around the world and across industries that achieved significant milestones and impacted society. Read more
COVID-19 shrinks Q3 performance of household sector firms
The devastating impacts of the COVID-19 on income and consumption have affected the nine months performance of companies operating in the household/personal industry. The sector, like its peers, is faced with challenges ranging from tight consumer spending, poor infrastructure, rising inflation and trade and FX restrictions. The factors have been listed as the major challenges affecting the growth of the industry. Read more
Smartphone sales in Nigeria increases despite downturn
While the total mobile phone shipments to Africa declined by 6.0 per cent year on year (YoY) in Q3 2020, shipments to Nigeria grew due to a shift from vendors to entry-level and mid-range devices. The International Data Corporation (IDC) made this known in its Quarterly Global Mobile Phone Tracker. It said the decline in Africa’s shipments stemmed mainly from feature phones, with the delivery of the devices declining by 11.2 per cent YoY in Q3 2020 to a total of 29.4 million units. Read more
Extortion worsens Apapa gridlock
Importers, clearing agents and truck owners have expressed concerns over worsening gridlock along the access roads at the Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIPC), accusing officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Security Department, police and the Presidential Task Team on Apapa gridlock of extortion. Read more
