The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has voted unanimously to retain the benchmark interest rate (MPR) at 11.5%, whilst keeping all other monetary parameters constant. This was disclosed by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, while reading the communique at the end of the 282nd Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday, 23rd November 2021. The MPC stated that its policy over the previous months has begun to show results, owing to the 4.03% growth in real GDP and the 6th consecutive monthly decline in headline inflation. The governor noted the continued moderation in the headline inflation,…
Author: Temitope Nlewemchi
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that First Bank is a very significant part of the Nigerian banking system, and it is happy that investors are showing interest in First Bank’s shares. This was made known by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held today, November 23rd, 2021. The apex banks stated that one person cannot own First Bank and the major shareholders should see themselves as representatives of other shareholders. Emefiele stated that First Bank is essentially too valuable to the banking sector to fail. “Remember that First Bank was established in 1894…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has informed Nigerians about a false Davido’s airtime and data give away advert on social media. The regulator said that a syndicated group is on the prowl to swindle unsuspecting members of the public, particularly millions of Nigerian telecom consumers, by capitalising on the generosity of Davido. This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. The Nigerian-American music star, songwriter and producer recently announced he would donate N250 million to various orphanage homes across Nigeria. Adinde in the statement said that…
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) established that over 97% of depositors at deposit money banks (DMBs) in the country would be completely protected by the N500,000 Maximum Insured Limit. The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, Mr Bello Hassan stated this during the 2021 Finance Correspondents and Business Editors (FICAN) workshop organized by the Commission. The NDIC’s maximum coverage limits of N500,000 per depositor in commercial, merchant, and non-interest banks, primary mortgage banks, and mobile money operators, as well as N200,000.00 per depositor in microfinance banks, remained the most adequate and robust in…
Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) Plc and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, two of Nigeria’s largest flour mills, disclosed an acquisition deal that will see the former purchase over 71.6% of the shares of Honeywell. Honeywell shares are already up 9% during intraday trading ahead of the actual share price for the transaction being determined. Honeywell share price is up 183% YTD coming into this transaction while Flour Mills share price is up 13% YTD. While the companies are yet to reveal the actual purchasing price for the transaction, we ponder on how the transaction will be paid for. Currently, both…
Global insurance premiums will surpass $7 trillion for the first time by mid-2022 with the ongoing rate hardening in non-life insurance commercial lines providing further support. Following the report released by the Swiss Re Institute titled Sigma: Turbulence after lift-off: global economic and insurance market outlook 2022/23. The report projects that the premium will reach a 3.3% in 2022 and 3.1% in 2023 on the back of rising risk awareness in the life and non-life segments which is pushing consumers and businesses to seek protection following the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and above-average natural catastrophes.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says a total number of 65 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plants (otherwise known as cooking gas plants) have been sealed off in Lagos from January to October for various infractions. The shutdown of these gas plants, which is coming at a time there has been reports of gas explosions in the state with some casualties, was done for various reasons such as illegally operating without a valid approval or licence, contravention of guidelines and others. According to NAN, this disclosure was made by the Zonal Operations Controller of NMDPRA, Mr Ayorinde…
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc shares went up by 9.73% barely an hour after the trading session resumed for the day The spike in the share price of the fast-moving consumer goods company comes after the announcement of the agreement on the acquisition of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc by Flourmills Nigeria Plc. Flourmills Nig Plc and Honeywell Group Limited disclosed through a press release that both companies have signed an agreement that will allow Flourmills Nig Plc to acquire 71.69% stake in Honeywell Flour Mills Nigeria Plc for N80 billion. The press release stated thus: “For the proposed combination of FMN…
Nigeria-based Mobility-as-a-Service platform Treepz (formerly Plentywaka) has raised $1.6 million seed extension. This deal follows after raising $1.2 million seed round bringing its total raise to $2.8 million. The seed extension had participation from new investors like Japan-based Uncovered Fund, Dubai-based Blanford Capital and Jonomi Capital and Egypt-based Jedar Capital. The company has also expanded into Uganda, acquiring Ugabus, a bus company. Treepz’s initial step into the East African market will be through this acquisition, which will see Treepz fully acquire all of Ugabus’ operations and personnel. Founded in 2019, Treepz formerly called PlentyWaka connects commuters with buses via an…
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has disclosed that it has received a total of 24 bids on open requests for the Lagos/Ibadan and Warri/Itakpe e-ticketing solutions for standards gauge railway operations under its Public/Private/Partnership (PPP) arrangement. This is coming after the approval granted by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) and the issuance of a certificate that grants NRC an Outline Business Certificate to enable it to process PPP-based online ticket sales solutions for its operations. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, this disclosure was made by the Managing Director of NRC, Mr Fidet Okhiria, at the opening of the…
Fidelity Bank Plc disclosed its 9-months results for the period ended September 30, 2021, on Tuesday, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX). The results showed double-digit growth in revenues, deposits and profitability. Gross earnings grew by 12.5 percent to N174.4 billion from N155.0 billion in the same period in 2020 while profit before tax (PBT) soared by 31.4 percent to N28.1 billion from N21.3 billion in the first 9 months of 2020. In other indices, total assets grew by 15.4 percent to N3.18 trillion from N2.76 trillion in the same period last year. Total deposits, a measure of customer confidence,…
The market capitalization of the top five banks, referred to as the Tier-1 banks or FUGAZ, decreased to N2.51 trillion at the close of business on November 19, 2021, as investors in these banks lost a total of N100.62 billion during the trading week. After the 5 trading days of the week, all 5 tier-1 Nigerian banks suffered negative market sentiments, with GTCo leading the decline. According to data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the market capitalization of the top five banks declined to N2.51 trillion to depreciate by 3.8% during the week. A summary of the performance of each…
Going by the report of Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Elon Musk is the only person with a net worth greater than $300 billion in the last session due to the appreciation of his Tesla stock. His present net valuation stands at $313 billion. The total gain for the year is $141 billion. His current net worth is equal to 168 million troy ounces of gold or 3,94 billion barrels of crude oil. Tesla-related news contributed to his wealth bounce on Friday. In five years, it was predicted that Tesla could account for 20% to 25% of the automotive market in the…
With an estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic yearly released into the environment, plastic pollution; by virtue of being non-degradable, is capable of affecting land, waterways and oceans, consequently leading to the death of marine and land creatures, causing hazard to the soil, emitting toxic gasses when exposed or heated up and blocking the drainage line to cause flood and erosion. On the other hand, the low access to healthcare prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa remains the worst in the world, with few countries able to spend the $34 to $40 a year per person that the World Health Organization considers…
The Lagos State Government has alarmed it’s occupants of a possible outbreak of the fourth wave of Covid-19 infection across the country. The state government fears that this could be triggered by the large volume of inbound passengers arriving the state for Christmas and New Year festivities, low vaccination and the anticipated social activities in the festive season. This disclosure was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, at a press briefing on the Lagos State Covid-19 response and mass vaccination strategy, noting that the state government is currently implementing strategies to prevent and mitigate a…
Nigerian-based e-Commerce platforms like Konga and jumia have doubled down on their food delivery businesses, making a deal with beverage sellers to include their drinks as part of the meal offerings. For example, a decent meal of rice and chicken is packaged with beverage drinks like Coca-Cola. The taste and consumption preference of Nigerians has changed since the Covid-19 pandemic broke in 2020. Fitch however, explains that despite the growth in e-Commerce sales, reported sales are also in single digits when compared to sales from its existing retail sales channels. “Over the past year, Coca-Cola Nigeria established partnerships with e-Commerce…
The share price of Jumia Technologies, one of Africa’s largest e-Commerce companies, went down 25% in the last 5 days as investors dumped the stock. The stock started at $19.4 per share and fell to $14.09 per share as of Friday, November 21, 2021. Jumia has seen its share price tank 65% year to date and 41.8% in the last one year. The stock has fallen from a year high $61 recorded in February 2021. Jumia reported its third quarter 2021 results last week missing sales estimates despite recording a 9% growth. The company reported a GMV increase of 8.1%…
Limited transparency will reduce the debt reconciliation and restructuring of the poorest countries, the World Bank Group President, David Malpass, has advised. He didn’t fail to mention that improving debt transparency required a sound public debt-management legal framework, integrated debt recording and management systems, as well as improvements in global debt monitoring. He added that international financial institutions, debtors, creditors, and other stakeholders, such as credit-rating agencies and civil society have a key role to play in fostering debt transparency. The advice comes at a time the World Bank said Nigeria stood a chance of gaining more from its migrants…
Dr. Samuel Oghene Etatuvie is a community pharmacist and Director General, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) Kofo Abayomi, Victoria, Lagos. Etatuvie in this interview with the media to sensitise the public on “Rational Use of Natural Medicine for the Management and Prevention of Diabetes” said the agency has made giant strides in the development of herbal remedies for diabetes. He spoke to KEHINDE OLATUNJI. THE increase in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus worldwide has become a major global and societal burden to both developed and developing countries. Diabetes is a complex and multifactorial disease and one of the…
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has approved the return of N19.33 billion Kogi State bailout funds to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In a statement by the Commission’s spokesperson, Mr Wilson Uwajaren, he mentioned the refund aborts dissipation of the funds and puts an end to further controversies relating to the source and ownership of the funds, News Agency of Nigeria reports. Reacting to the statement by EFCC, Kogi State Commissioner for information, Mr Kingsley Fanwo on Friday said the statement vindicates the state government from the accusation by EFCC. The EFCC had instituted a suit marked:…