CAPITAL MARKET
NNPC worth N50trn, can be listed on stock exchange – ECOWAS don
A professor of Economics and Chief Economic Strategist to the Economic Community of West African States, Ken Ife, has valued the assets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, at N50 trillion, noting that the oil company can be listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited. Ife stated this at a Growth Initiatives for Fiscal Transparency, GIFT, dialogue held in Abuja on Wednesday, noting that the N50tn valuation included the crude, gas, landed and intangible assets of NNPC Ltd He said that the NNPC should be quoted it in the stock market to ensure that all host communities, labour unions, oil and gas marketers, citizens and corporates partook in the public quotation. He said this was the best way to reduce oil theft and opaque petrol subsidy being paid by the government. Punch
BANKING
Bank launches platform for solar energy consumers
Sterling Bank Plc has launched a new and innovative digital product, known as the Imperium Platform, to connect consumers and providers of renewable energy (solar solutions) as a viable solution to Nigeria’s electricity crisis. It said in a statement that the Imperium Platform was launched following the unveiling of the Nigerian electricity industry report entitled, ‘Powering Nigeria: How solar energy can become a sustainable electricity alternative’.The report was produced by Sterling Bank in partnership with Stears, a digital information company, the statement said. According to the Group Head, Renewable Energy at Sterling Bank, Dele Faseemo, the Imperium Platform sought to provide clean and affordable energy solutions to interested customers while providing different financing options to customers purchasing the solution outright or paying for the installation and operation of the solution. Punch
ECONOMY
Rising inflation, others threaten Buhari’s poverty reduction scheme –World Bank economists
World Bank economists, Jonathan Lain and Jakob Engel, have said that rising inflation, persistent population growth, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine are threatening Nigeria’s poverty reduction aspiration. These economists said this in a post published on the bank’s blog on Tuesday. The post read in part, “Nigeria’s aspiration to lift all of its people out of poverty by 2030 presents a serious challenge. Even before COVID-19, four in 10 Nigerians lived below the national poverty line – some 80 million people. “The global pandemic, rising inflation, and ongoing uncertainty related to the war in Ukraine – combined with relentless population growth – have made Nigeria’s poverty-reduction goals more challenging than ever.” Punch
DisCos revenue surges by 47% to hit N757bn – Report
Revenue collection by the 11 distribution companies increased by 47 per cent to N757bn in 2021. The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors’s 2021 report on Commercial Key Performance Indicator for its members said NESI ́s revenue collection in 2021 set a new record of N757bn, which represented an increment of N241bn. The revenue for 2020 was put at N516bn. According to the report; the increment was due to the implementation of the service-reflective tariff in November 2020. There was a five percent growth in the energy delivered to the market and better performance on the Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collections (ATC&C) losses.Explaining further, the association said DisCos’ ATC&C losses tendency recovered from 50.3 per cent in March 2021 down to 46.7 per cent in December of the same year, reversing the downwards trend that started in 2020. Punch
South Korea to Support Nigeria with $13m on E-government Plan
The Republic of South Korea is to support Nigeria with $13 million on the implementation of the second phase of the Nigerian e-government national master plan 2021-2026, through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chea, announced the support while speaking at the the commencement of the Project for Building Foundations towards Digital Governance for Nigeria, in Abuja recently. Young-Chea said Korea would spend the sum of $13 million to develop capacity to further enhance the execution of the national e-government master plan. Young-Chea was represented by the Country Director at KOICA, Mr. Sungil Son. This Day
N1.2tr unremitted oil money raises fresh concern over FG’s revenue agencies
Stakeholders, yesterday in Abuja, raised serious concern over loopholes in revenue collections and remittances to government accounts by Federal Government agencies, a development, which may have resulted in over $1.3 billion (N540 billion) and another N670 billion unremitted revenue from the oil and gas sector alone. Lapses by government agencies, lack of monitoring and undue advantage given to some companies operating in the country, especially in the free trade zones, equally worried the experts who gathered at the Growth Initiatives for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) organised by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative. Guardian
Telephone calls tax: NATCOMS, others may take FG to court
The President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, has warned the Federal Government to rescind its planned two percent tax on all telephone calls, or risk litigation from civil society groups. . Ogunbanjo who gave the warning during a telephone interview with Daily Sun said government was very insensitive to have come up with such proposal at a time Nigerians are struggling to survive, adding that telecoms subscribers would resist the new tax regime, because of its grave implications on subscribers and the telecom sector. The two per cent tax, which is the equivalent of a minimum of one kobo per second for phone calls, is part of the sources of funds required to finance free healthcare for the vulnerable group in Nigeria, according to the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2021, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari penultimate week. The Sun
FEC okays NNPC, ECOWAS deal on Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given approval for the NNPC to enter into agreement with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who briefed State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the project was still at the point of front end engineering design after which the cost would be determined. The pipeline would traverse 15 West African countries to Morocco and Spain. “The Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented three memos to Council. “The first memo, Council approved for the NNPC Ltd to execute MoU with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.“This gas pipeline is to take gas to 15 West African countries and to Morocco and through Morocco to Spain and Europe,’’ The Sun
A professor of Economics and Chief Economic Strategist to the Economic Community of West African States, Ken Ife, has valued the assets of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, at N50 trillion, noting that the oil company can be listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited. Ife stated this at a Growth Initiatives for Fiscal Transparency, GIFT, dialogue held in Abuja on Wednesday, noting that the N50tn valuation included the crude, gas, landed and intangible assets of NNPC Ltd He said that the NNPC should be quoted it in the stock market to ensure that all host communities, labour unions, oil and gas marketers, citizens and corporates partook in the public quotation. He said this was the best way to reduce oil theft and opaque petrol subsidy being paid by the government. Punch
BANKING
Bank launches platform for solar energy consumers
Sterling Bank Plc has launched a new and innovative digital product, known as the Imperium Platform, to connect consumers and providers of renewable energy (solar solutions) as a viable solution to Nigeria’s electricity crisis. It said in a statement that the Imperium Platform was launched following the unveiling of the Nigerian electricity industry report entitled, ‘Powering Nigeria: How solar energy can become a sustainable electricity alternative’.The report was produced by Sterling Bank in partnership with Stears, a digital information company, the statement said. According to the Group Head, Renewable Energy at Sterling Bank, Dele Faseemo, the Imperium Platform sought to provide clean and affordable energy solutions to interested customers while providing different financing options to customers purchasing the solution outright or paying for the installation and operation of the solution. Punch
ECONOMY
Rising inflation, others threaten Buhari’s poverty reduction scheme –World Bank economists
World Bank economists, Jonathan Lain and Jakob Engel, have said that rising inflation, persistent population growth, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine are threatening Nigeria’s poverty reduction aspiration. These economists said this in a post published on the bank’s blog on Tuesday. The post read in part, “Nigeria’s aspiration to lift all of its people out of poverty by 2030 presents a serious challenge. Even before COVID-19, four in 10 Nigerians lived below the national poverty line – some 80 million people. “The global pandemic, rising inflation, and ongoing uncertainty related to the war in Ukraine – combined with relentless population growth – have made Nigeria’s poverty-reduction goals more challenging than ever.” Punch
DisCos revenue surges by 47% to hit N757bn – Report
Revenue collection by the 11 distribution companies increased by 47 per cent to N757bn in 2021. The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors’s 2021 report on Commercial Key Performance Indicator for its members said NESI ́s revenue collection in 2021 set a new record of N757bn, which represented an increment of N241bn. The revenue for 2020 was put at N516bn. According to the report; the increment was due to the implementation of the service-reflective tariff in November 2020. There was a five percent growth in the energy delivered to the market and better performance on the Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collections (ATC&C) losses.Explaining further, the association said DisCos’ ATC&C losses tendency recovered from 50.3 per cent in March 2021 down to 46.7 per cent in December of the same year, reversing the downwards trend that started in 2020. Punch
South Korea to Support Nigeria with $13m on E-government Plan
The Republic of South Korea is to support Nigeria with $13 million on the implementation of the second phase of the Nigerian e-government national master plan 2021-2026, through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chea, announced the support while speaking at the the commencement of the Project for Building Foundations towards Digital Governance for Nigeria, in Abuja recently. Young-Chea said Korea would spend the sum of $13 million to develop capacity to further enhance the execution of the national e-government master plan. Young-Chea was represented by the Country Director at KOICA, Mr. Sungil Son. This Day
N1.2tr unremitted oil money raises fresh concern over FG’s revenue agencies
Stakeholders, yesterday in Abuja, raised serious concern over loopholes in revenue collections and remittances to government accounts by Federal Government agencies, a development, which may have resulted in over $1.3 billion (N540 billion) and another N670 billion unremitted revenue from the oil and gas sector alone. Lapses by government agencies, lack of monitoring and undue advantage given to some companies operating in the country, especially in the free trade zones, equally worried the experts who gathered at the Growth Initiatives for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) organised by OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative. Guardian
Telephone calls tax: NATCOMS, others may take FG to court
The President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, has warned the Federal Government to rescind its planned two percent tax on all telephone calls, or risk litigation from civil society groups. . Ogunbanjo who gave the warning during a telephone interview with Daily Sun said government was very insensitive to have come up with such proposal at a time Nigerians are struggling to survive, adding that telecoms subscribers would resist the new tax regime, because of its grave implications on subscribers and the telecom sector. The two per cent tax, which is the equivalent of a minimum of one kobo per second for phone calls, is part of the sources of funds required to finance free healthcare for the vulnerable group in Nigeria, according to the National Health Insurance Authority Bill 2021, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari penultimate week. The Sun
FEC okays NNPC, ECOWAS deal on Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has given approval for the NNPC to enter into agreement with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who briefed State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the project was still at the point of front end engineering design after which the cost would be determined. The pipeline would traverse 15 West African countries to Morocco and Spain. “The Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented three memos to Council. “The first memo, Council approved for the NNPC Ltd to execute MoU with ECOWAS for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.“This gas pipeline is to take gas to 15 West African countries and to Morocco and through Morocco to Spain and Europe,’’ The Sun