₦airaland Forum

The African Export Import Bank (AFREXIM Bank) has committed $5 billion in corporate finance to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd to fund major investments in the country’s upstream sector.


This fund raise is in response to President Muhammadu Buhari’s signing of the Petroleum Industry Act in August 2021, under which the NNPC was re-incorporated as a commercially oriented limited liability company. The $5 billion they raised will now allow them to acquire and operate producing oil and gas assets in Nigeria.

The funding commitment was the result of a meeting between the NNPC Ltd team led by Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari and the Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Benedict Oramah, in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday, according to several local and international sources sighted by NIPC Intelligence.

According to the reports, NNPC and Afreximbank agreed to deepen their business collaboration, among other things.

“The bank agreed to play a finance advisory and fundraising role in order to raise $5 billion for the “acquisition, investment, and operation of energy” producing assets in Nigeria as part of NNPC’s growth strategy following its incorporation as a limited liability company.”

“Afreximbank will also underwrite $1 billion as part of the landmark transaction as part of the forward sales base trade finance transaction.”

“The NNPC and Afreximbank also explored the innovative idea of establishing a pan-African Energy Transition Bank and agreed to collaborate toward achieving the goal,” according to the reports.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a reduction in fees for electronic banking operations in its published guidelines to banks and other financial institutions.

The review was prompted by “further evolution in the financial industry in the last few years,” according to the bank.

The amended guideline, which was first published in 2004 and revised in 2013, 2017, and 2020, was signed by Chibuzor Efobi, Director of the CBN’s Financial Policy and Regulation Department.

According to the apex bank, the guideline applies to charges made by banks, both financial and non-financial, under its license or regulation.

According to the document, the CBN has reduced the fees for certain transactions such as Standing Order Charge (In-Branch), ATM Managment Fees, Electronic Fund Transfers, and Bulk Payments, among others.

In the most recent release, the CBN stated that the standing Standing Order Charge for intra-bank transfers will be free, as opposed to the N300 in the 2017 guideline.

Bill Payment (Including Bill Payment via Other E-channels) is Negotiable subject to a maximum of N500 per beneficiary payable by sender, a review from N1,200 or 0.75 percent for a biller or merchant to pay.

Electronic funds transfer charges have also been reduced to N10 for transactions under N5000, N26 for transactions between N5001 and N50,000, and N50 for transactions above N50,000.

After the third withdrawal within the same month, withdrawals from other banks’ ATMs have been reduced from N65 to N35.

In addition, the CBN reduced ATM bill payment from N100 to N50. In the new policy, debit card maintenance fees of N100 per month have been eliminated.

The CBN, on the other hand, stated that financial institutions that violate any of the new guide’s provisions would face a fine of N2,000,000 per infraction or as determined by the CBN from time to time.

“Where a bank is found to have wrongfully imposed a particular charge on its customers, the provision of Section I above shall apply to the charge on each customer,” it stated.

“Failure to comply with the CBN’s directive in respect of any infraction shall result in a further penalty of N2,000,000 daily until the directive is complied with or as determined by the CBN.”

“Banks are required to log into the Consumer Complaints Management System every complaint received from their customers and to generate a unique reference code for each complaint lodged, which must be given to the customer.”

Some of the major electronic charges are highlighted below:
*The annual fee for cards denominated in foreign currency (FCY) has been reduced from $20 to $10.
*ATM fees are reduced from N65 to N35 after the third withdrawal in a month.
*Instead of the previous maximum charge of N3,500, the fee for hardware tokens will be based on cost recovery, with a maximum charge of N2,500.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says Nigerians should beware of illegal money lenders, known as loan sharks.

Emefiele said this on Tuesday at the end monetary policy committee meeting in Abuja.

Loan sharks offer loans at extremely high rate returns, strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.

The CBN governor explained that those who go to collect loans from places other than microfinance banks or recognised institutions are at bigger risk.

“There is no need for you to go to loan sharks for a loan. People normally go to loan sharks because they are desperate and can’t access the bank,” Emefiele said.

“We found out that those that are vulnerable are households who need money to do their businesses but they can’t access bank finance and as a result go to loan sharks who charge them way above or two times higher than the amount borrowed and expected to pay back in 90 days and if that doesn’t happen, they seize your house or bikes.

“We can only continue to advise that there is no need to go for loan sharks. The central bank has put in place the avenue through which you can raise your finance, like through the target credit facility or the SMEs loan that was set up through our microfinance banks.

“You don’t have to owe anybody, just go to the portal and fill the form, send your data, and if it’s correct, you will be able to access loans.”

He said several people have benefited from the microfinance strategy to give out loans at affordable return rates, adding that CBN will go after loan shark perpetrators.

“We have a large number of people who have testimonials from the facilities we’ve made available and do not have to owe anybody,” the apex bank governor said.

“The bank is putting effort to stop loan sharks, and when these people are found, they will be dealt with mercilessly.”

Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Ltd and economist, painted a mixed picture of the economy yesterday, projecting that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will spend between $8 and $10 billion this year to defend the naira.
According to him, this would reduce the country’s gross external reserves to between $30 and $32 billion this year.

The gross reserves, which had been declining since the end of last year, reached $40.5 billion on January 11. Nigeria’s share of last year’s International Monetary Fund (IMF) special drawing rights (SDR) and Eurobond proceeds had shored up reserves, halting a tumbling era that began in 2020.

Rewane, speaking at the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) 2022 Economic Outlook, stated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would not spend less than $8 to $10 billion to support the naira, which has been under renewed pressure at the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I & E) window.

According to the economist, the foreign exchange (FX) market may face pressure in the short term, as capital outflows are expected to increase. He, on the other hand, saw the effective exchange rate rising as the spread between the official and parallel market rates narrowed.

He went on to say that the market’s lack of “a rate-determining mechanism” has been a major challenge, and that he expects rate convergence to continue into the year.

According to him, global developments will influence the CBN’s policy direction, and the Bank will maintain its “adoption of its crawling peg strategy in a shift toward greater exchange rate flexibility.”

He forecasted that investment activity would suffer as a result of project delays, low real rates of return, and policy uncertainty, as travel restrictions, capital controls, and supply chain disruptions continue to limit business activity in the short term.

“In line with oil price movements and the hydrocarbons production outlook, foreign exchange earnings and fiscal revenues will recover slowly.” “Limited fiscal space, slow reform momentum, and political risks will prevent the business environment from rapidly improving,” he said.

He predicted that inflation would accelerate in the first half of the year before slowing, warning that it was not in the country’s best interests to continue producing data with flaws. He was perplexed as to how the country’s inflation could possibly be slowing when the global trend is the opposite.

Rewane stated yesterday during another economic outlook webinar hosted by First Bank of Nigeria Limited that last year was full of uncertainty and perplexity. He admitted that economic sustainability performed admirably last year.

Bisi Adeyemi, President and Council Chairman of NBCC, highlighted the challenges posed by an unstable global market, as well as the implications for Nigerian businesses.

“A major goal of hosting the 2022 Economic Outlook is to conduct a thorough assessment of the opportunities, challenges, and threats that businesses should expect to face this year.”

“I am sure that many of you, like me, would like to have a crystal ball to give you a sneak peek into what the year holds, and I would certainly like to know how the permutations of a pre-election year will impact the economic indices,” Adeyemi said.

In addition, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, emphasized the two countries’ strong bilateral ties and the UK’s commitment to strengthening existing trade relations, including its continued support for Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its economy.

According to a study conducted by Boston Consulting Group and All On, a Shell-funded impact investment company, Nigeria’s off-grid solar market is among the fastest growing in Africa, increasing at a 22% average annual rate over the last five years.
However, the report stated that the country had underperformed its African peers in terms of off-grid solar penetration and had a long way to go before its solar market could be considered robust.

According to the report, “Nigeria’s installed photovoltaic panel per capita is only about 1 watt, compared to an average of 8 watts in similar emerging markets, indicating a large opportunity for further growth in the country.”

“Given the country’s favorable dynamics for solar deployment, Nigeria’s PV per capita could reach 5-8GW by 2030.”

The use of solar energy, according to the report, is significantly improving education, health outcomes, and food security in Nigeria.

According to a statement, the study was conducted to examine the impact of solar energy implementations on health, education, and food security outcomes, as well as the impact on the environment and commercial activity in the country.

It assessed the developmental benefits that Nigeria had already realized from its limited solar installations, as well as the impact that scaled deployment could have by engaging six different user groups across five socioeconomic dimensions.

According to a survey of Nigerian primary health care centers that use solar power, there has been a 60 to 70% increase in antenatal care coverage and a 40 to 60% decrease in vaccine waste.

Tolu Oyekan, Managing Director and Partner, BCG (West Africa), commented on the findings, saying, “Installing solar in 18,000 PHCs that do not otherwise have access to reliable power could increase antenatal care coverage from current levels of 50 to 70% of pregnant women, and with improved refrigeration, vaccine wastage could be reduced by up to 20%.”