Author: Temitope N.

Ghana has reached an agreement in principle with its bondholders to restructure its $13 billion Eurobonds. According to sources who spoke with Reuters, bondholders will face up to a 37% haircut on principal, alongside an extension of the bonds’ maturity. This agreement follows the country’s recent finalized deal with the official creditor committee, formalizing a debt restructuring deal initially agreed upon in January 2024. The debt restructuring agreements are paving the way for the country to receive a new funding tranche from the International Monetary Fund. The details of the agreement set the stage for the IMF executive board’s approval of…

The latest data released by the United Kingdom Home Office has revealed a 38% decline in study visas issued to Nigerians between March 2023 and March 2024. The report particularly focuses on the decline in the number of study visas issued to applicants from India and Nigeria, which are the UK’s two major markets for study visas. Visas issued to applicants from India fell by 16% for the same time period. It was learned that this decline appears to be closely tied to the rule change in January 2024, which now restricts international students from bringing dependents unless they are enrolled in…

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has issued a stern warning to its Members-In-Practice (MsIP) regarding the use of invalidated or untenured practice licenses. In an official notification dated June 10, 2024, ICAN expressed dismay over the continued use of outdated licenses despite numerous public notices and sensitization efforts dating back to October 2019. This development has prompted ICAN to take decisive action to maintain professional standards within the accounting profession in Nigeria. Background and Discovery The Governing Council of ICAN recently discovered that a significant number of its Members-In-Practice are still operating with their old, invalidated, or…

The Managing Director and CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has said that the bank’s N127.10 billion capital raising initiative is set to enhance its market position and expand its international footprint. Onyeali-Ikpe stated this at the “N127.10 billion Public Offer and Rights Issue Facts Behind the Combined Offer” event at the Nigerian Exchange Limited Headquarters in Lagos. She noted that Fidelity Bank is the first Nigerian bank to launch a public offer following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive on banking sector capitalization issued in March 2024. On June 20, 2024, Fidelity Bank commenced its public offer…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published its comprehensive framework for the 2024 banking sector capitalisation programme. Released on the Commission’s website on Friday, the framework provides detailed guidance for banks, holding companies, and market participants to successfully navigate the recapitalisation process. This initiative responds to a recent mandate from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which requires banks to increase their capital in support of the nation’s $1 trillion economy. Under the new CBN capital requirements, international banks are required to raise their capital base to N500 billion, national banks to N200 billion, and regional banks to N50…

Nigeria’s total trade with the United Kingdom has plummeted by 25% in the first quarter of 2024 despite the higher value realised from the naira devaluation. This is according to the recent foreign trade statistics report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The total trade between Nigeria and the UK dropped from N602.36 billion in Q1 2023 to N451.45 billion in Q1 2024. This represents a significant year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline of 25%. When compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2023), where the total trade was N522.79 billion, there is a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) decrease of 14%. The steep decline in…

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has partnered with the government of Nigeria and other countries in West and Central Africa to begin this year’s food assistance program for the lean season beginning in June to August.   The organisation disclosed this in a statement stating that it targets to reach 7.5 million people in the region despite the near-record number of people in need of food assistance.   The target number of people to be reached by the program falls short of the number of people projected to face severe food security problems in the region. According to the WFP,…

President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa says he will sustain a strategic partnership with Nigeria.  This is after his country emerged as Nigeria’s top trading partner in Africa in Q1, 2024, hitting over N1 trillion, according to data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).  The South African side assured of strategic partnership resulting in “economic integration” in Africa.  The South African government tweeted this on Tuesday night following Tinubu’s arrival at Waterkloof Air Force Base for the inauguration of Ramaphosa as reelected president of South Africa.  Strategic Partnership   The South African parliament had re-elected Ramaphosa on Friday.  The…

FMCG’s and Telcos in Nigeria are sharpening their investor relations game ahead of massive capital raise as they strive towards repairing their battered balance sheets. This is as commercial banks in Nigeria also embark on a capital raise that is estimated at about N4.2 trillion based on the minimum capital requirements set for banks by the central bank. For FMCGs and Telcos, Nairametrics estimates a capital raise of between N1.6 trillion and N2 trillion. Combined, the economy seems set to finance a staggering N6 trillion or $5 billion in equity for some of Nigeria’s largest companies FMCG on the hook…

A review of the recently released Company Income Tax (CIT) report for the first quarter of 2024 reveals that income tax payment by companies in manufacturing, agriculture and 12 others declined by a minimum of 16%.   In total, CIT payments by companies in 14 out of 21 sectors decreased during the first three months of the year, resulting in a 12.87% decline in CIT collection for the quarter.  CIT, collected by the federal government, is levied on companies with a turnover of N25 million and above. The CIT rate is 20% for companies with a gross turnover between N25 million…

The Managing Director of UAC Foods Ltd, Mr. Oluyemi Oloyede has stated that Nigerians should stop seeing food importation as evil in light of the high food inflation being witnessed across the country. Oloyede made this statement at the 10th Regional Food Science and Technology Summit/NIFST Day 2024 celebration on Thursday in Lagos. The event’s theme was “Attaining Sufficient, Safe, and Healthy Food for Nigerians Through Food Science and Technology.” According to him, Nigeria cannot produce all the foods and it must determine the foods to produce and those to export and create an open market that allows import and export.…

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that the 2024 oil block licensing round has generated significant interest from both international and local investors.   The head of the commission, Gbenga Komolafe, made this disclosure in a statement to Reuters on Thursday.   Komolafe stated that Nigeria initiated the licensing round in April, offering a total of 19 onshore and deepwater oil blocks to investors.  He noted that due to the high level of interest from investors, the bid has now been expanded to include an additional 17 deep offshore blocks in the 2024 licensing round.  “We have undertaken more exploratory activities…

Olom Otane Egoro, a compliance officer from Access Bank has told the Federal High Court Abuja that the name of Daudu Sulaiman, a co-defendant to Ali Bello, did not feature on the bank statements of the Kogi State Government House in Access Bank, between 2019 and 2021.   Egoro disclosed this on Thursday during cross-examination following an amended money-laundering charge instituted against the nephew of former Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, Ali and  Sulaiman.  Bello, who is currently the Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Usman Dodo, and others were sued by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over…

The Federal Government has criticized Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) for failing to complete even 1km of the 15km East-West Road section from Eleme Junction to Onne Port Junction in Rivers State, despite receiving over N40 billion in mobilization funds. This announcement was made by the Federal Minister of Works, David Umahi, during his inspection tour of road projects that are currently ongoing in the South-South zone on Wednesday, as contained in a statement on the Ministry’s website. “We are very sad with the manners and behaviours of this contractor, RCC. The federal government has paid over 40 billion on this…

The average retail price of Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) in Nigeria for May 2024 surged by 223.21% to N769.62 per litre, compared to N238.11 per litre in May 2023. This data is sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch report for May 2024. The report also highlighted that, month-on-month, the average retail price in May 2024 increased by 9.75%, up from N701.24 in April 2024. “The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) for May 2024 was N769.62, indicating a 223.21% increase compared to the value recorded in May…

The World Bank has indicated that it may cancel a significant loan of $1.5 billion if Nigeria fails to adhere to specific requirements outlined in the financing agreements. This is according to the financing agreement documents for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET) Development Policy Financing Program (DPF) project. The documents were signed by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun and World Bank’s Acting Country Director for Nigeria, Taimur Samad. The $1.5 billion loan comprises two separate agreements between Nigeria and the World Bank: An International Development Association (IDA) credit of $750 million and an International…

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria has announced that the nation’s total public debt has increased significantly to N121.67 trillion (approximately $91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024.   According to a statement from the DMO, this figure encompasses the combined domestic and external debts of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the thirty-six state governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).   In comparison, the total public debt as of December 31, 2023, stood at N97.34 trillion (approximately $108.23 billion). This represents a substantial increase of N24.33 trillion or 24.99% within a three-month period.   The increase is driven majorly by naira devaluation,…

The Primary crypto asset, Bitcoin, has hit a monthly low of $65,000 as a result of several factors which include bitcoin miners selling off their assets at a rate never seen before in two months. Bitcoin has dropped by 6.1% in the past week partly due to the activities of Bitcoin miners who are selling off their assets due to several factors which include lower mining rewards following the halving event earlier this year. CryptoQuant reported that the amount of Bitcoin sold by miners in exchanges has hit a two-month high following factors like a reduced mining reward and lower transaction fees.…

Mr. Sam Onukwue is the Chairman of the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS).  In this interview, he spoke on a range of market development issues including the current recapitalization process in the banking industry.  Should we expect an active Primary Market any moment from now, following the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), that banks should recapitalize?   Sam Onukwue: The primary market has been relatively inactive over the years because of the general lull in the economy. Potential companies that would have floated initial Public…

The Board of Champion Breweries Plc has announced the completion of the acquisition of an 86.5% stake by EnjoyCorp Limited in the brewery firm.  This was contained in the company notice to the Nigerian Exchange Limited seen by Nairametrics.  This acquisition was achieved through the purchase of 100% shareholding in The Raysun Nigeria Limited, which holds the aforementioned stake in Champion Breweries Plc, listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).  According to the statement signed by Mr. Imo-Abasi Jacob, the Board Chairman, following the approval of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the transaction has been completed, and EnjoyCorp now holds…