Thursday, January 21, 2021
AfDB, EIB Seal Deal to Enhance Africa’s Development
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) yesterday signed a joint partnership action plan on how to boost public and private sector investment in Africa. The joint action plan enables both institutions to grow a shared pipeline of bankable projects around key complementary themes to which each institution would bring their comparative advantage. Read more
NSE All-Share Index Rises 0.23% as Market Rebounds
The stock market rebounded yesterday after two days of decline as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) rose 0.23 per cent to close at 41,147.72. The market had depreciated on Monday and Tuesday after gaining the last week. However, the bulls returned yesterday with 55 stocks gaining, while 16 lost value a day after the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, presented the market performance for 2020 and outlook for 2021. Read more
‘Licensed Agents for NIN Enrolment Yet to Commence Registration’
Majority of the agents that were licensed to commence the enrolment exercise for the National Identification Number (NIN) are yet to begin enrolment, despite the deadline given by the federal government, findings have revealed. The development is mounting pressure on existing enrolment centres that are currently being managed by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Read more
Nigeria imports N2.59tn goods from Asia in three months
Goods traded by Nigeria with other West African countries have been ranked as the least among the country’s global trade partners. Figures obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics’ foreign trade statistics for the third quarter of 2020 revealed that trade with Asian countries topped the list of Nigerian trade partners. Read more
N9.8tn debt: FG’s CBN borrowings may raise risks, says Fitch
The Federal Government of Nigeria’s repeated recourse to its Ways and Means facility with the Central Bank of Nigeria highlights weaknesses in public finance management, says Fitch Ratings. Fitch Ratings stated this in its report on Wednesday titled ‘Nigeria’s deficit monetisation may raise macro-stability risks’. The W&M facility is the government’s pre-existing overdraft at the CBN and was estimated at N9.8tn as of the end of 2019. Read more
Cooking gas price rises by 29% in two months
The price of 20 metric tonnes of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly known as cooking gas, sold to marketers in the country has risen by over 29 per cent in the past two months. The PUNCH had reported in December 23 that terminal operators and importers increased the price of 20 metric tonnes of LPG to N5.3m on December 22 from an average of N4.4m a month ago, with retailers refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at between N4,000 and N4,500. Read more
IMF gives reasons for underwriters’ poor financials
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has explained the reasons many insurance firms fall short of quality financial statements. The IMF highlighted this in a report entitled: ‘Publication of Financial Industry Assessment Program Documentation – Detailed Assessment of Observance of Insurance Core Principles’, stated that the challenge does not only hinder effective supervision but also timely disclosure of information to policyholders and the market. Read more
Expert seeks new economic model for debt reduction
For Nigeria to attract the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) needed to reduce public debt and shore up its debt to revenue ratio in a sustainable manner, the need to adopt a new economic model with more focus on accelerating diversification of the non-oil sector of the economy has been stressed. Read more
