Wednesday, January 27, 2021
IMF Revises Nigeria’s 2021 GDP Forecasts to 1.5%
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released yesterday has projected that the Nigerian economy will grow by 1.5 per cent this year, slightly lower than the 1.7 per cent it had predicted for the country in its previous forecast. Read more
Afreximbank Earmarks $2bn to Finance COVID-19 Vaccines’ Purchase
The President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Okey Oramah has disclosed that the bank is putting in place a financing facility of $2 billion to assist African countries in the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, which would be available in the continent in March. Read more
All-Share Index Rises 1.21% as Equities Market Surges Further
The stock market surged further yesterday with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) rising 1.21 per cent to close at 41,584.94 as companies begin to release their unaudited financial results for the year ended December 2020. Apart from the benchmark index that appreciated, market capitalisation added N259.4 billion to close at N21.8 trillion. Read more
Banks’ credit to economy hit N25tn in 2020
Banks’ total credit to the economy rose to N25.02tn as of the end of 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria has said. This was disclosed during the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday. Delivering the committee’s submissions, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the figure rose by 13.4 per cent between November and December. Read more
Slash on imported vehicles’ duties begins next week – Customs
The reduction in the duties on vehicles and tractors from 35 to about 10 per cent may take off next week, the Nigeria Customs Service said on Tuesday. Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, who disclosed this to journalists in Abuja, said the management of the service was expecting an official communication from the finance ministry on the matter any moment from now. Read more
High recurrent expenditure raises debt servicing challenges, says CBN
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday retained the Monetary Policy Rate at 11.5 percent. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this after the committee’s two-day meeting in Abuja. It also retained the Cash Reserve Ratio and Liquidity Ratio at 27.5 percent and 30 percent respectively. Read more
FG earned N454.69bn from VAT in Q4, 2020
The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its report on ‘Sectoral distribution of Value Added Tax’ for fourth quarter of 2020. Part of the report read, “Sectoral distribution of Value Added Tax data for Q4 2020 reflected that the sum of N454.69bn was generated as VAT in Q4 2020 as against N424.71bn generated in Q3 2020 and N308.48bn generated in Q4 2019 representing 7.06 per cent increase Quarter-on-Quarter and 47.39 per cent increase Year-on-Year. Read more
‘AfCFTA an opportunity to build continent’s manufacturing capacity’
With the launch of the start of trading on the basis of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), members of the African Business Council (AfBC), representing the pan-African private sector, have described the trade deal as an opportunity for operators to build the continent’s production capacity. Read more
Nigeria targets tariff, DisCo audit, grid reforms
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, yesterday, hinted at targeted tariff reforms, an audit of electricity distribution companies (DisCos), the efficiency of the nation’s national grid, and sustainability of off-grid renewable solutions. Read more
Globacom’s performance shapes telecoms growth in Q3, 2020
Recently released data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), indicates that Nigerian telecommunications giant, Globacom, drove the telecommunications industry growth in the third quarter of 2020. Read more
