Tuesday, December 08, 2020
NBS: Foreign Trade Rises to N8.37tn in Q3
The value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade stood at N8.37 trillion in third quarter of the year (Q3 2020) representing an increase 34.15 per cent compared to N6.24 trillion in the preceeding quarter. This, however, indicated a decline of 8.85 per cent compared to Q3, 2019 when it recorded N9.19 trillion. Read more
FG Bows to Labour, Reduces Petrol Price by N5
The federal government has caved in to the demand by the organised labour by slashing the pump price of petrol by N5. By this reduction, the new price of a litre of petrol will now be N162.44. The government said the new price template will come into effect as from Monday next week. Read more
Peters: Non-performing Loans Have Dropped Due to GSI
The Acting Managing Director of FirstCentral Credit Bureau and Chairman of Credit Bureaus Association of Nigeria, Mr. Oladimeji Peters, in this interview, speaks about the Global Standing Instruction guidelines introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria and its impact on loan recovery in Nigeria. Read more
NNPC, Partners Begin Discussion on NLNG Train 8
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said it has commenced discussion with its partners for the construction of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 8. The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, disclosed this at a recent media parley in Abuja. NLNG operates a liquefaction complex comprising six complete liquefaction trains and associated facilities with a capacity of 22 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Read more
Nigeria’s Q3 trade deficit hits N2.38tn, highest since 2017 –NBS
Nigeria’s trade deficit rose by 32.45 per cent from N1.8tn as of the end of second quarter to N2.38tn in the third quarter. The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its Q3 Foreign Trade Statistics report, which was released on Monday. It also said the total trade in the period under review stood at N8.37tn. Part of the report read, “The value of Nigeria’s merchandise trade stood at N8.37tn in Q3 2020. Read more
Petrol price may hit N180 as oil nears $50
The pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, may hit N180 per litre this month, according to marketers, as oil prices extended their rally on Monday, with Brent crude trading near $50 per barrel. Brent, the international oil benchmark, has risen by more than 15 per cent since November 13 when the pump price of petrol was adjusted in the country. It stood at $49.39 per barrel as of 7:29pm Nigerian time on Monday. Read more
Airports concession, others will go ahead despite opposition –FG
Moves to concession Nigeria’s four major airports and the establishment of a national carrier are still on course and the results will materialise soon, the Federal Government said on Monday. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, stated this in his message on the commemoration of the 2020 International Civil Aviation Day, despite oppositions by lawmakers on plans by the government to concession airports. Read more
Shareholders optimistic as GTB converts to HoldCo
Shareholders of GTBank Plc have endorsed its holding company (HoldCo) structure even as they expressed optimism that the new arrangement would enhance the bank’s growth and profitability. At the court-ordered meeting held at the weekend, the investors gave their approval to the company for the transfer of the 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the issued and paid-up share capital of the bank held by them to Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. Read more
Banking agents increased by 517% last year – CBN
The number of banking agents (third party retail outlets contracted by financial institutions to process clients’ transactions) rose from 38, 416 agents in December 2018 to 236,940 agents as of December 2019. This growth in the burgeoning segment amounts to a 517 per cent increase in a year. It had earlier ballooned by over three folds to surpass 38,000 agents between 2017 and 2018. Read more
Oil contributes 81% to N2.99tn Q3 exports
Despite efforts made at boosting non-oil earnings, crude contributed N2.42 trillion to the country’s 2.99 trillion Q3 2020 export earnings, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday showed. With the figure, crude’s share of the total exports was 81 per cent, which is still considered very high, and even higher than the corresponding quarter of last year, when it stood at 70.87 per cent. Read more
Nigeria’s tech ecosystem gets attention on new podcast
Aellaapp has unveiled “AellaCast”, a podcast for people interested in the burgeoning of the Nigerian fintech ecosystem. AellaCast is an insightful and engaging dialogue stacked with dynamic guest speakers, challenging fintech innovation and operation from start-ups, microfinance, traditional banking, insurtech, cryptocurrency to regulation. Read more