CAPITAL MARKET
NGX rebounds as capitalisation increases by N78 billion
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) halted three consecutive days of losses to close in an upbeat yesterday, as investors’ wealth increased by N78 billion. At the close of trading yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 149.89 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.40 per cent to close at 37,954.35 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation value gained N78 billion to close at N19.781 trillion. The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; BUA Cement, Nigerian Breweries, Guaranty Trust Bank Holdings Company, Eterna and Zenith Bank. The Guardian
BANKING
Reps quiz Polaris MD over $224m NNPC alleged hidden account
The House of Representatives’ Ad Hoc Committee on Assessment and Status of All Recovered Loots Movable and Immovable Assets from 2002 to 2020 by Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for Effective Efficient Management and Utilisation, on Thursday, grilled the Acting Managing Director, Polaris Bank Limited, Innocent Ike, over an account belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. Over $200m was said to have been allegedly hidden in the account, which was opened in 2012. Punch
ECONOMY
Nigeria can earn N600bn from tobacco, alcohol tax hike – World Bank
The World Bank has said Nigeria can generate N600bn annually by increasing the excise duties on tobacco and alcohol as recommended in the National Development Update report. A Senior Tax Specialist of the bank, Rajul Awasthi, said this on Thursday at a virtual discussion on domestic revenue mobilisation. According to him, Nigeria has one of the lowest excise duty rates on tobacco and alcohol in Africa, and the duty rate on cigarettes is lower than the standard set by the Economic Community of West African States. Punch
Inflation, forex scarcity hitting businesses hard, says LCCI
Inflationary pressures and foreign exchange scarcity has significantly impacted the operating costs of businesses in Nigeria, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said. The President, LCCI, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, said this on Thursday in Lagos at a roundtable on the ease of doing business. “The quality of the investment climate is critical for productivity and competitiveness in an economy,” she said. She noted the efforts by the Federal Government, through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, towards eliminating constraints and bottlenecks to doing business in the country, as well as the implementation of some regulatory reforms. Punch
Interswitch Sensitises Nigerians on Seamless Tax Payment
The Interswitch Group has reaffirmed its preexisting partnership with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to enable taxpayers file all naira denominated tax returns through its robust and government-approved payment gateway. The Interswitch payment gateway was deployed on FIRS’s new Tax Administration Solution (TaxPro-Max) e-filling platform recently and registration on TaxProMax is mandatory. This Day
