LearnITsmash:
That office looks very empty and unkempt

It is not an office but a temporary (empty warehouse) gym his team put together for him to train ahead of his June 1st fight in the USA.

@Investorsking

MTN Nigeria has finally listed its 20 million shares at N90 a share on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) market on Thursday.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange had approved the listing on Tuesday, five days after the Securities and Exchange Commission gave the telecommunication giant go ahead.

MTN Nigeria listed 20,354,513,050 shares at N90 per share. Making the telecommunication company the second largest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange at N1.83 trillion market value.

However, MTN Nigeria won't be selling shares to the public until it resolved $2 billion tax row with the Nigerian government. The company was accused of owing $2 billion in back taxes in 2018 by Nigeria's attorney general.

MTN Nigeria said it would only sell shares after that issue with the government is resolved. MTN plans to sell more shares to the Nigerian public and increase local ownership of MTN Nigeria to 35 percent from about 20 percent currently.

https://investorsking.com/mtn-nigeria-successfully-listed-20m-shares-on-nse/ OAM4J

The Federation Account Allocation Committee has expressed its readiness to probe the N90bn allegedly underpaid into the Federation Account by the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The Chairman, Commissioners’ Forum of FAAC, Mahmood Yunusa, said this in a chat with journalists in Abuja on Sunday.

He alleged that the amount, which the FIRS paid into the Federation Account in May, showed a decline of about N90bn, adding that the committee would engage the service to investigate the reasons for the underpayment.

Yunusa said, “If you look at the FAAC report, there was a sharp drop in FIRS’ May and June collections, but there was no opportunity for us to actually engage the FIRS for them to explain to us why there was a sharp drop.

“I can’t remember vividly but the drop was about N90bn. So, the FIRS also needs to tell us why the sharp drop.

“If they think they are not being sweated too, we will sweat them up because you cannot adopt a kind of armchair work in which you just sit in your office and what comes you take it and what doesn’t get to you, you don’t care to pursue it, no.”

He added, “At state level, we are very willing to cooperate with the FIRS when it comes to VAT (Value Added Tax) remittance, because we know as states that we even benefit more than the Federal Government when it comes to VAT.

“We are willing to work with FIRS to increase the generation of all the taxes that can be increased for the benefit of the entire country. It is not just the NNPC; if the Customs are not doing well, we will engage them. We have been asking this question, we have been engaging them.

“Every revenue generating agency has a target, and we will apply the necessary rules to ensure that we take value for why every revenue generating agency was established.”

On the revenue controversy between FAAC and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Yunusa said the committee was demanding an overhaul of the oil revenue collection system.

According to him, there is a need for the revenue collection process to be strengthened to avoid situations where states are short-changed.

He stated, “The process of strengthening the system will be to take the collection and remittance of royalty from the NNPC to the Department of Petroleum Resources, while the collection and remittance of Petroleum Profit Tax should also be returned to the FIRS in line with the law.

“This is part of the process that we are trying to strengthen and we are trying to adopt. It is there, it is part of the law under oil and gas, like in any other International Oil Company, that all royalties should be collected and remitted to the Federation Account by the DPR; it is the DPR’s responsibility.

“Before the DPR collects that royalty, it has to make sure that the actual amount that is supposed to be remitted is remitted. If it is underpaid, the DPR will be responsible for the shortfall and I know the DPR will not want to be responsible for a shortage that they are not even aware of.

“There should be a kind of check and balance. Had it been that we had this, this issue (underpayment) wouldn’t have cropped up. That is the system we are trying to strengthen and adopt.”

http://investorsking.com/faac-probe-n90bn-revenue-underpayment-firs/

Nigeria imported over 750,000 metric tons of raw sugar worth over N120billion in the first six months, it was learnt in Lagos at the weekend.

The sugar came through the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-can Island ports at the global price of $555 per ton.

It was also found that the latest imports were part of the 1.87million tons booked for delivery this year, as local production may not meet the projected target under the National Sugar Master Plan.

The country, it was gathered, spent the cash despite the increase in import duty and levy on the commodity.

Nigerian Sugar Development Council (NSDC) said importers of the commodity would pay 80 per cent levy, 10 per cent duty for raw sugar, 20 per cent duty and 85 per cent levy for refined sugar.

Investigation has shown that the inability of the country to boost local production by 200,000 metric tons yearly has led to massive import of raw sugar from Brazil and other countries.

The country could only produced 300,000 tons in the last four years.

In 2015, the country produced 75,000 tons; 2016, 70,000 tons; last year, 75,000 tons and 80,000 tons were projected for this year, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) Anchor Borrowers’ Programme to improve sugar production by 12.5 per cent.

The country, it was learnt, would still rely on 1.6 million tons of sugar from its major sellers Brazil, Thailand and United States to meet local demand in the year.

However, with the introduction of CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, the council said import would go down by next year.

Through the programme, domestic sugar production was projected at 80 million kilogrammes (80,000 tons) in raw value, leading to 12.5 per cent increase compared to 70,000 tons estimated production last year.

In May, a Vessel Genco Normandy offloaded 44,925tons at Greenview Nigeria Development Terminal (GNDL) at the LPC.

In April, Aruna Ece ladeened with 46,120 tons and Dazhi, 45,530 tons berthed at Greenview Development Nigeria Limited (GDNL), took delivery of 91,650 tons of sugar at the Lagos port

Also, between February and March, the Lagos and Tincan ports took delivery of 320,197 tons while in March, Aruna Ece had 46,120 tons; Mandarine Glory, 45,327 tons and Romans, 45,630 tons.

Nemo delivered 45,000 tons at Josepdam in Tincan Island Port, while Wolverine and Sunrise Rainbow discharged 45,000 tons and 45,120 tons at GDNL in February. In January, the GDNL Port received 45,000 tons.

The NSDC said the country would need $1.238 billion to meet 49 per cent of the total sugar demand by 2020.

The average yield of refined sugar per ton of sugar cane is 10 per cent.

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-spends-n120b-sugar-importation/

Nigeria’s oil exports are expected to fall in July to 1.43 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the loading plans, the lowest level so far this year.

This is coming as loadings of Nigerian Bonny Light crude, which have already been under force majeure for a month, would likely be further delayed by the closure of Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) by the operator, Aiteo E & P.

The NCTL and the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) are the two major pipelines used by oil companies operating in the eastern Niger Delta to evacuate crude to the Shell-operated Bonny Export Terminal.

Investigation revealed that the NCTL is a major crude oil transportation channel that conveys crude injected from Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 29, 18, 24, 25, 23 and 55; running from Nembe Creek in Bayelsa State through Cawthorne Channel Field on OML 18 to the Bonny Oil Terminal for export.

The pipeline has a capacity of 150,000 barrels per day at Nembe Creek, but can evacuate 600,000 barrels of liquids from the Cawthorne Channel end.

The 115-kilometre capacity line was built by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) between 2006 and 2010 at a cost of about $1.1 billion but is currently being operated by Aiteo Group since 2015 when Shell completed the assignment of its interest in OML 29 and the NCTL to Aiteo Eastern E&P Co. Ltd.

It was gathered that there have been recurrent thefts along the pipeline route, which are evidenced by significant pressure reductions on the trunk line, and theft points, which has affected Bonny Light exports.

Reuters reported that the export plan for Bonny Light comprised 48 cargoes, compared with 60 cargoes and a daily rate of 1.796 million bpd in June, largely as a result of an outage on the Bonny Light stream, which has been under force majeure for a month.

July’s export plan also includes four cargoes of Akpo condensate with 123,000 bpd, compared with four cargoes in June with 133,000 bpd.

The export plans showed one extra cargo of Agbami than in June, as well as one more Bonga cargo and an extra Qua Iboe cargo.

It also shows three fewer Forcados and one fewer Escravos, while a number of smaller streams showed no cargoes would load in July.

Nigerian oil export plans are prone to revisions and delays, with cargoes frequently pushed from one month to the next.

In a related development, the loadings of Nigerian Bonny Light crude, which have already been under force majeure for a month, would likely be further delayed by the closure of the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.

The Nembe Creek Trunk Line, which carries Bonny Light, was shut down at the weekend for repairs, according to the operator, Aiteo.

However, the Trans Niger Pipeline, which is a second line that carries Bonny Light remained open.

It was not clear when the Nembe Creek pipeline would reopen but traders said there were at least three tankers that were due to load Bonny Light this week and next, with oil deferred from the May loading programme.

But any liftings would likely be subject to delays of two to three days because of the pipeline closure, Reuters quoted oil traders as saying.

Shipments of Bonny Light remained subject to force majeure, according to a Shell spokesman Monday.

Exports have been under force majeure for a month following a leak further up the pipeline.

Between 30 and 33 cargoes are said to be available for sale from the 48 cargoes in the Nigerian July programme, which would likely keep differentials under pressure, traders said.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-oil-exports-fall-2018-low-july/

One of the Nigerian leading banks, Fidelity Bank Plc, reported 94 percent surged in profit in the year 2017.

The lender on Monday announced 18.3 percent surged in its gross earnings from N152 billion to N179.9 billion, while profit after tax reportedly grew by 93.7 percent to N18.9 billion, up from N9.7 billion recorded in 2016.

Total operating income grew by 9.9 percent to N86 billion from N78.3 billion in the year, while total assets rose by 6.2 percent to N1.4 trillion from N1.3 trillion filed in 2016. Also, other indices of the bank showed improvement with the total expenses in the year declining by 2.2 percent from N67.2 billion to N65.7 billion, while liquidity ratio tick-up to 35.9 percent.

According to the audited report released through the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the lender recorded growth across key indices, following its return to the international capital market and successful issuance of $400 million Eurobond that was over-subscribed by over 200 percent.

Speaking on the results, the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the bank sustained its performance through a disciplined balance sheet management and strategic cost reduction, coupled with increased focus on the corporate, commercial and small and medium enterprises segments.

“We are delighted at the results, which showed strong growth in key revenue lines, significant traction in our chosen business segments and a corresponding decline in our operating expenses despite the high inflationary environment”, he stated.

http://investorsking.com/fidelity-bank-announces-94-surge-in-pat-in-2017/

gafaromoolabisi:
who is more lazy between the youth and Yusuf Buhari, the lazy president son who does nothing than racing bike

The youth needs to start reading between the lines and work smart.

The N45bn severance package of former workers of the defunct Nigeria Airways Limited will be paid after the Easter holiday as soon as the Senate resumes sitting and approves the fund, the Federal Government has said.

The government stated that the money had been provided and that it was willing to pay but would follow laid-down rules.

This is coming as the government also named 16 firms that had been contracted as transaction advisers for the development of strategic aviation projects captured in the road map for the sector.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th Aviation Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said the Federal Government would not want workers of the liquidated national carrier to die without getting their severance package.

On Monday, The PUNCH had reported a threat by aviation unions to embark on a nationwide strike in the next 14 days if the Federal Government failed to pay the N45bn severance package of the former workers of the liquidated carrier.

The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, National Union of Air Transport Employees and the Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria stated that it was insensitive of the Ministry of Finance to refuse to pay the workers more than 10 months after the approval of the Federal Executive Council.

Reacting to this, Sirika said, “Every expenditure of government needs a legislative stamp, including that for Nigeria Airways pensioners. The House of Representatives has already dealt with the matter and passed it. So, once they pass it at the Senate, which is after Easter, we will go ahead and pay.

“The money has been provided and we are willing to pay, but we have to legalise it by going through the National Assembly to approve and stamp it. It is the requirement of the law and this government will always do things in accordance with the law. So, we will pay the workers.”

During the event proper, the minister told delegates that 16 transaction advisers had been appointed for the six projects in the aviation road map in line with the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission’s guidelines and the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

For the concession of the Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt airport terminals, Sirika stated that the consortium comprised of five firms with vast experience and expertise in airport management, public-private project legal advice, finance, project and construction management, environmental and social services.

He listed the transaction advisers for the concession of the four airports, namely, the United Kingdom-based firm, Infrata; an international law firm based in London, Dentons; and an economic company headquartered in Rotterdam, Rebel.

Others are an engineering consultancy outfit known as WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff; and a project coordination company, Proserve.

For the transaction advisers on the establishment of a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre and aviation leasing company, five firms were contracted and they are Arup UK, Catamaran Nigeria Limited, RDC Aviation Economics UK, Aubert Business Consulting UK and Olawoyin & Olawoyin.

Three transaction advisers were contracted for the development of an aerotropolis and cargo/agro allied terminals. They are the Infrastructure Bank Plc, PWO GIBB and Abdulai Taiwo and Co.

On the establishment of a national carrier, three companies were selected. They are Airline Management Group Limited of the UK, Avia Solutions Limited and Tianerro FZE.

Sirika said, “The transaction advisers have all commenced work and are liaising with the project delivery team. All the transaction advisers except the one for the national carrier were engaged in May 2017 and have a nine-month contract duration.

“The deliverables by the transaction advisers include to outline business case for adopting PPP methodology, development of a well-structured PPP procurement process to select a PPP partner, prepare the full business case, as well as support the ministry to obtain FBC compliance certificate from the ICRC, FEC approval and progress transaction up to financial closure.

“The outline business case shall on completion and due approval by relevant authorities be presented to interested investors.”

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-airways-ex-workersll-get-n45bn-severance-easter-fg/

Nigeria’s manufacturing sector sustained growth in February but at a slower pace than December 2017 and January 2018.

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Wednesday reported that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index stood at 56.3 in February, slightly below the 57.3 recorded in January. A reading above 50 indicates expansion and vice versa.

While this was the 11th consecutive months of increase, it also represents second consecutive months of slowdown in business activities in the manufacturing sector after activities peaked at a record-high of 59.3 in December.

According to the regulator, ten of the 15 subsectors surveyed recorded growth in February in the following order: Plastics rubber products; textile, apparel, leather and footwear; appliances components; paper products; primary metal; petroleum and coal products; chemical and pharmaceutical products; food, beverage and tobacco products; electrical equipment and furniture and related products.

While the five remaining subsectors contracted in the following order: printing and related support activities; cement; nonmetallic mineral products; fabricated metal products; and transportation equipment.

Manufacturing production gauge stood at 57.8 in the month, also lower than the 59.6 recorded in January. Production in the sector was weighed upon by six of the 15 subsectors that were largely unchanged, while just 6 subsectors recorded increase in production and the remaining 3 subsectors declined in production. However, this is the twelfth consecutive months of increase in production despite slowing business activities in the manufacturing sector.

Similarly, new orders grew slower in the month when compared to what was obtained in January. Demands stood at 55.6 in February, again lower than January’s new orders.

Employment index of the sector showed job creation expanded at 53.9, slightly higher than the 53.3 recorded in January. Indicating job creation continued to grow despite the headwinds.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday announced Africa’s largest economy grew at a 0.83 percent rate in 2017 after reporting a 1.92 percent growth rate in the final quarter of the year.

http://investorsking.com/manufacturing-pmi-expands-at-slower-pace-for-second-consecutive-month/

The Nigerian electricity supply industry is losing an estimated N24bn monthly as a result of the importation of fuel such as diesel for alternative sources of energy, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said.

According to Fashola, Nigerians consume about 300 million litres of diesel every month and 75 per cent of this volume is imported, while about 40 per cent is used in generators to produce electricity.

The minister stated these at the 24th monthly power sector stakeholders’ meeting hosted by the Transmission Company of Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, and explained that about N24bn was being lost by the sector as a result of the importation of fuel on a monthly basis.

Fashola, who was represented by the Minister of State II for Power, Works and Housing, Suleiman Hassan, said, “Many power consumers use diesel. Diesel importation has been declining over the last two years. Many are reporting that they ran their generators for noticeably few hours. This is progress. However, Nigerians still consume about 300 million litres of diesel every month and most of this is used to power generators.

“About 75 per cent is imported, putting pressure on scarce foreign exchange. Assuming 40 per cent of the consumption is used for power generation at an average of price of N200 per litre, the electricity industry is losing N24bn every month largely to imported energy.”

He also stated that the amount used in importing fuel as an alternative source for generating power could be channelled for use in the electricity supply industry, as about 2,000 megawatts of power remained unutilised in the sector.

Fashola said, “There is about 2,000MW of electricity generating capacity that is unutilised. Therefore, the challenge of the moment before the industry is how to deliver the unutilised capacity to consumers, who are willing to pay for it and are already paying dearly for alternatives.

“Problems like this require creative solutions and we don’t have any time to waste. The N701.9bn payment reassurance programme is a creative solution that appears to be having the desired effect for stabilising the gas and generation end of the electricity industry.

“If we can creatively and constructively focus on specific win-win projects, four policies provide effective tools to quickly resolve the challenges we now face. The first two, the eligible customer regulation and the meter service provider regulation, are already subjects of detailed discussions and NERC regulatory action.”

Fashola added that the eligible customer regulation allowed large consumers to buy their power directly from the generation companies and then enter into contracts with the Transmission Company of Nigeria and distribution companies to have the power delivered to them.

“To plan an orderly win-win implementation of this policy, the ministry is hosting a discussion with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and other interested large consumers of the policy on Tuesday (today),” the minister said.

He stated that the meter service provider regulation could unlock investments in metering, which was urgently needed to boost consumer trust and collection efficiency.

The minister added “Government seeks to apply that policy through private companies and local meter manufacturers to invest N39bn in meters as settlement of a court judgement in favour of the government.

“The distribution expansion programme aims to rapidly construct 2,500MVA of dedicated 33kV lines and packaged substations to deliver unutilised power to target consumers and Discos. It is our hope that we will all put our heads together to serve the public effectively.”

http://investorsking.com/power-sector-losing-n24bn-monthly-imported-fuel-fashola/

Dangote Oil Refinery Company has concluded a training programme for 150 young Nigerian engineers in refinery operations in preparation for the take-off of its Lagos refinery and petrochemical plant.

The company’s Director of Human Capital Management and Project Support, Mohan Kumar, said this at a news conference in Lagos while presenting 22 engineers of the set who just returned from Mumbai, India.

He said the training programme was a continuum as more engineers would be trained to work effectively in the fertilizer plant being built by the company.

The engineers, according to him, were trained at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in India in the management of the operations of the refinery, adding that the engineers had acquired fundamental practical knowledge in refinery operations with a strong bias for the Dangote refinery spec.

Kumar said, “The engineers are recruited and trained to witness the building of the refinery from scratch. They spent two months in classroom training and three months on the job training, that is on different operating refineries in India.

“The 22 engineers were trained by experts who had over 45 years experience in refinery operations, and the training became imperative due to the commitment of the Dangote Group to promote local content by developing indigenous capacity.

“The engineers are expected to also transfer the skills acquired to other Nigerians when the refinery takes off. The 22 engineers arrived from Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Mumbai in India, where the last set of 150 employees trained in various areas of petroleum and petrochemical refining.’’

Kumar hinted that another set of 600 engineers would be sent for training before the end of April as the refinery initiative remained a very critical project for the Dangote Group, targeting 780 Kilo Tonnes Per Annum of polypropylene, 500 KTPA of polyethylene, with the fertiliser project targeted producing three million tonnes of urea per annum.

“The refinery will also have the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure in the world with the capacity to handle three billion cubic metres of oil annually,” he said.

The Dangote refinery is expected to save Nigeria $12bn annual import of petroleum products and create 4,000 direct jobs, as well as reduce prices of petroleum products after completion.

The project covers an area estimated to be eight times bigger than the entire Victoria Island in Lagos, and is located at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos, on a vast land mass of 2,200 hectares.

http://investorsking.com/dangote-trains-150-nigerian-engineers-refinery-operation/

Exxon Mobil Corporation at the weekend announced fourth quarter 2017 earnings of $8.4 billion and an estimated 2017 earnings of $19.7 billion, compared with $7.8 billion earned in 2016, just as Chevron reported fourth quarter earnings of $3.1 billion and annual earnings of $9.2 billion.

According to ExxonMobil’s results, the US federal tax reform in the fourth quarter resulted in a non-cash earnings gain of $5.9 billion, due to revaluation of deferred income tax balances.

Non-cash asset impairments of $1.5 billion were recorded during the year, mainly relating to assets in the Upstream.

“The impact of tax reform on our earnings reflects the magnitude of our historic investment in the U.S. and strengthens our commitment to further grow our business here,” said chairman and chief executive officer, Darren W. Woods.

“We’re planning to invest over $50 billion in the U.S. over the next five years to increase production of profitable volumes and enhance our integrated portfolio, which is supported by the improved business climate created by tax reform,” he added.

Fourth quarter upstream earnings were $8.4 billion, including $7.1 billion from US tax reform and asset impairments of $1.3 billion.

Fourth quarter earnings excluding US tax reform and impairments increased $1 billion, to $2.5 billion, driven by higher prices as liquids realisations increased more than $10 per barrel.

Upstream earnings were $8.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up $9 billion from the fourth quarter of 2016.

Higher liquids and gas realisations increased earnings by $1.2 billion. Lower volume and mix effects decreased earnings by $110 million. All other items increased earnings by $7.9 billion driven by U.S. tax reform impacts of $7.1 billion, lower asset impairments of $847 million, and gains from asset management activity.

In a related development, Chevron Corporation reported earnings of $3.1 billion for fourth quarter 2017, compared with $415 million in the 2016 fourth quarter.

Included in the quarter were non-cash provisional tax benefits of $2.02 billion related to US tax reform and a non-cash charge of $190 million related to a former mining asset.

Foreign currency effects decreased earnings in the 2017 fourth quarter by $96 million.

Full-year 2017 earnings were $9.2 billion compared with a loss of $497 million in 2016. Included in 2017 were non-cash provisional tax benefits of $2.02 billion related to US tax reform, gains on asset sales of $1.44 billion, and impairments and other non-cash charges of $840 million. Foreign currency effects decreased earnings in 2017 by $446 million.

http://investorsking.com/exxonmobil-chevron-earned-19-7bn-9-2bn-2017/

With a pump price of N145 ($0.40) per litre, Nigeria has been ranked as the eighth cheapest place in the world to buy petrol.

Other countries among the cheapest places to buy petrol are Venezuela ($0.01), Turkmenistan ($0.29), Kuwait ($0.35), Iran ($0.36), Egypt ($0.37), Algeria ($0.37), Ecuador ($0.39), Bahrain ($0.42) and Syria ($0.44).

The average price of petrol around the world is $1.12 (N403.2) per litre, according to GlobalPetrolPrices.com, which publishes data on retail fuel prices around the world and tracking over 150 countries on a weekly basis.

In its latest weekly global fuel price review (January 2, 2018), it noted that the international oil benchmark, Brent crude, reached $66.9 per barrel during the past week.

“The crude oil price increase pushed up the retail fuel prices around the world and the world average gasoline (petrol) price increased to a level of $1.09 per litre. The world average diesel price also went up by a cent,” it stated.

The report noted that the beginning of 2018 was marked by retail fuel price changes in many countries with regulated fuel markets, but the most significant petrol price change was observed in Algeria, where the government approved a 17.5 per cent increase of the official annual retail price of petrol.

It said the European average petrol price was $1.46 per litre, marking a 0.5 per cent weekly increase.

Petrol prices also went up by 1.2 per cent in the United States; 0.9 per cent in Africa; 0.7 per cent in Asia; and 0.4 per cent in Canada. But in Australia, petrol prices decreased by 1.3 per cent, while the average regional petrol price of South America remained unchanged compared to the previous week.

There was a decrease in 13 of the 107 reviewed countries, no change in 54 countries, and an increase in 40 countries.

Petrol prices went down by more than one per cent in Finland, Cape Verde, Australia, the Cayman Islands and South Africa, while the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, France, and Pakistan saw more than three per cent increase in prices.

The report said, “As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices, while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices. One notable exception is the US, which is an economically advanced country but has low gas prices.

“The differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline (petrol). All countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but then decide to impose different taxes. As a result, the retail price of gasoline is different.”

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-among-10-cheapest-places-buy-petrol-report/

Business activities in Africa’s largest economy expanded for the ninth consecutive month in December, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria report released for the month.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index expanded by 59.3 in December, better than the 55.9 recorded in November.

Fifteen of the sixteen subsectors surveyed recorded growth in the following order: petroleum and coal products; textile, apparel, leather and footwear; cement; transportation equipment; paper products; food, beverage and tobacco products; furniture and related products; plastics and rubber products; nonmetallic mineral products; printing and related support activities; appliances and components; chemical and pharmaceutical products; fabricated metal products; primary metal and electrical equipment.

But, the computer and electronic product subsector contracted in December, partly due to the holiday and fuel scarcity that crippled business activities towards the end of the month.

Still, manufacturing production surged for the tenth consecutive month in December, expanding at 63.2 from 59.3 in November. Suggesting that growing demands is aiding manufacturing production.

Employment Index climbed slightly to 53.9 in December, from 53.7 in November. While this is above the 50 level that separates expansion from contraction, it also reflects weak job creation in the economy when compared to the pace of production growth. Meaning, the rate of job creation is not proportional to the surge in business activities, which further explains the 18.8 percent unemployment rate recorded in the nine-month through September 2017.

Therefore, “it’s either the employees were overworked to sustain production capacity or the data is faulty, I choose the former,” Dr. Tunde Olayanju asserted.

Similarly, the gauge for new orders jumped to 60 in the month, up from 54.3 in November. Also, the ninth consecutive month of high demands from thirteen of the sixteen subsectors surveyed.

“Improved economic activities are yet to reflect on the labour market, another indication of over-concentration on money market by both domestic and foreign investors. Therefore, while business confidence is growing among established manufacturers, new investment in the sector is low, hence, lack of new job creation,” said Samed Olukoya, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-manufacturing-pmi-expands-december/

The export of Nigerian crude oil to the United States rose by 56 percent to 13.67 million barrels in October last year, the highest level since February 2013.

The latest data obtained from the statistics arm of the US Energy Department, Energy Information Administration, showed that the country imported 8.76 million barrels of Nigerian crude in September, down from 12.29 million barrels in August.

The US imported a total of 28.53 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria in the third quarter of last year, up from 18.88 million barrels in the same period in 2016; 10.13 million barrels in 2015; 5.10 million barrels in 2014; and 21.23 million barrels in 2013.

Nigeria saw a significant reduction in the US imports of its crude in recent years, starting from 2012, following the shale oil production boom.

The US import of Nigerian crude fell to 6.17 million in June 2013 from 10.115 million barrels in May and about 40 million barrels in March 2007.

In 2014, when global oil prices started to fall from a peak of $115 per barrel, Nigeria saw a further drop in the US imports of its crude from 87.4 million barrels in 2013 to a record low of 21.2 million barrels.

For the first time in decades, the US did not purchase any barrel of Nigerian crude in July and August 2014 as well as in June 2015, according to the EIA data.

The US almost tripled the volume of crude oil bought from Nigeria last year, with the biggest monthly import of 8.43 million barrels in July. It imported 76.9 million barrels of Nigerian oil in 2016, up from 19.9 million barrels in 2015.

The US, which has become a major exporter of crude oil, has ramped up its crude production in recent years.

In November, the EIA said the US crude oil exports in the first half of 2017 increased by more than 300,000 bpd from the first half of 2016, reaching a record high of 900,000 bpd.

It said following the removal of restrictions on exporting US crude oil in December 2015, total volumes of crude oil exports and the number of destinations for those exports both increased.

The US exported crude oil to 27 countries in the first half of 2017 compared with 19 countries in the first half of 2016.

Canada remained the largest recipient of the US crude oil exports at 307,000 bpd in 2017, but imported an average of 63,000 bpd less compared with the first half of 2016. China increased its crude imports from the US by 178,000 bpd and became the second largest importer of US crude oil, averaging 186,000 bpd in the first half of the year.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-monthly-oil-export-us-rises-56/

The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has projected 1.58 metric tonnes (mt) for 2018, which is less than the 1.6 mt for this year.

The Executive Secretary, NSDC, Latif Busari, made this known during a media chat in Abuja. He stated the 1.58 mt will be shared among operators on the basis of their performance.

He said: “In 2017 the projection was 1.6million metric tonnes, but in 2018 it has to drop due to the challenges facing sugar production.

“The drop in metric tonnes was part of the attack on Noma, Adamawa Savannah sugar plantation, which is the only sugar plant in the country in operation presently.

“The sugar company started production on November 4th 2017, and the attack on Noma happened on December 4th 2017, with the herdsmen destroying all the work that has been done in the three plantations. It is a very serious issue.

“There will be serious challenge in production if the Noma, Adamawa savannah issue is not resolved on time. About three fields in the savannah are already burnt.”

Busari said there foregn and local investors in the sugar industry, while productions are going on in mini plants all over the country.

He, however, said this is not enough to meet demands. According to him, Nigeria presently has six brands of sugar. He therefore, appealed to Nigerians to patronize made in Nigeria sugar.

http://investorsking.com/sugar-council-projects-1-58mt-2018/

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday injected another $210 million into the foreign exchange market to sustain liquidity and boost economic activities.

According to the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, a total of $100 million was offered to the wholesale window, while the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises window got $55 million.

The remaining $55 million was appropriated to the invisibles window for medical payments, tuition fees and basic allowance.

Mr. Okorafor further stated that the releases were part of effort aimed at enhancing business activities in the country, which according to him will further deepen economic recovery through broad-based economic growth.

Since 2015 global oil glut plunged the economy into recession, the central bank has introduced a series of economic policies to sustain forex liquidity and bolster lackluster growth.

However, while the economy had recovered from recession, experts believe the recovery is tied to rebound in global oil prices and remain fragile. Therefore, alternative source of revenue through effective diversification is needed to sustain growth going forward.

The Naira slid to N370 against the greenback on the parallel market.

http://investorsking.com/cbn-sustains-forex-intervention-with-another-210m/ mynd44

Nigeria’s total debt stock rose by N8tn between September 2015 and September 2017, according to statistics provided by the Debt Management Office.

The DMO said the country’s total debt stock as of the end of September this year stood at N20.37tn, while the figure at the same period in 2015 stood at N12.36tn.

This means that within a period of two years, the country’s total debt exposure rose by N8.1tn. In terms of percentage increase, the country’s total debt rose by 64.81 in the period.

The DMO did not give a breakdown of the federal and state governments’ components of the total debt commitment. However, the bulk of the debt usually belongs to the Federal Government.

As of 2015, the external loan component of the country’s total debt stood at N2.09tn. However, as of September 30, 2017, the external debt component stood at N4.60tn. This means that the external debt component rose by N2.6tn or 124.4 per cent.

The domestic debt component of the total debt, on the other hand, rose from N10.27tn as of September 2015 to N15.68tn the same time this year.

This means that within the two-year period, the domestic debt rose by N5.41tn. In percentage terms, the domestic debt increased by 52.68 per cent.

Although the external debt component of the total debt increased by a higher proportion, the debt statistics as of September 2017 show that the domestic debt, with its high cost of servicing, still dominates the country’s borrowing pattern.

However, the growth in the external debt component may reflect the Federal Government’s move to take more foreign loans as against the acquisition of more costly local debts.

The Federal Government is actually in a process of taking a $3bn foreign loan to refinance some local debts that are matured and another $2.5bn to finance the deficit in the 2017 budget.

In a statement issued by the DMO in Abuja on Tuesday, it said the Federal Government would save N91bn on local debt servicing if it secured the $3bn to refinance the local debts.

It added that the Federal Government would save another N75bn in debt servicing if it got $2.5bn from foreign sources to finance the gap in the 2017 budget rather than from local sources.

These add up to N166bn savings in debt servicing through external financing compared with local financing.

The statement also highlighted the marginal increase in the nation’s total debt portfolio when compared to the status as of June.

The statement read in part, “The total public debt stock, comprising the Federal Government, states and Federal Capital Territory’s, stood at N20.37tn as of September 30, showing a marginal increase of 3.6 per cent from the N19.634tn as of June 30.

“A breakdown of the debt stock shows that domestic debt accounted for 76.96 per cent, while external debt accounted for 23.04 per cent.

“Specifically, the domestic debt stock was N15.68tn, which is an increase of 4.1 per cent compared to N15.03tn as of June 30. On the other hand, the external debt stock stood at N4.69tn, a marginal rise of 1.9 per cent above the N4.6tn figure as of June 30.

“These debt data lend credence to the government’s claims that the public debt stock is skewed in favour of domestic debt, which is partly responsible for the high debt service figures.”

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-debt-grows-n8tn-two-years/

The U.S. crude oil production rose to the highest in more than three decades last week, according to the data from the Energy Information Administration.

U.S. crude inventories surged by 2.24 million barrels in the week ending November 3. This is higher than the 2.24 million decline projected by most experts.

While oil has climbed about 20 percent since September on signs the OPEC and non-OPEC will extend production cuts past the first quarter of 2018, the surge in US stockpiles remains a threat to OPEC strategy.

“Higher prices are a definite factor in bringing production back on — this is a problem for OPEC,” said Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The first response comes from the most agile producers, but once it looks like oil prices could be sustained at higher levels, then even less agile producers can come back online.”

Brent crude oil plunged from $64.27 a barrel reached on November 6 to $63.70 after the report. While the US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped to $56.95 a barrel from $57.37.

Some experts believe the price rally that pushed the Brent crude up by more than 40 percent since July may have run its course. Indicating traders are expecting the surge in US oil production to offset recent gains.

“So this (rally) will prove quite short-lived and we’ll see the price back into $50-$55 a barrel over the next year or two.” U.S. crude stockpiles C-STK-T-EIA rose 2.2 million barrels in the week to Nov. 3, to 457.14 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

http://investorsking.com/nigerian-banks-lose-n237-billion-frauds-10-years/

The nation’s external reserves have hit $34bn from $33.6bn attained on October 25, the Central Bank of Nigeria has stated.

The reserves have been appreciating very fast after hitting $32bn on September 18.

The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Dr. Joseph Nnanna, who disclosed the latest figure in Lagos on Saturday, said the exchange rate stability achieved so far by the apex bank had come to stay.

He expressed confidence that the usual end-of-the-year rush would not push up the naira-dollar exchange rate contrary to some people’s expectations.

The CBN deputy governor said this while fielding questions from journalists at a forum organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

Nnanna was among the chief executive officers of companies who were conferred with the CIBN Fellowship Awards.

Asked if the exchange rate would go up as the end of the year was approaching, Nnanna said, “No, the rate will not go up, take it from me. We have achieved stability and the stability is here to stay.

“The sustainability is already evident, the reserves are growing. As I speak, the reserves are $34bn. When we had volatility, the reserves were as low as $20bn. But let me say one thing: Nigeria can make do with a reserve level of $20bn but it is the press who gives the impression that if the reserves fall below $30bn, then there is a problem.

“No, there is no problem. All we need to manage the economy and manage it properly is reserves that can cover at least three months of import. And in fact, as it is, $10bn or $12bn can give us reserve coverage of four months.”

The CBN chief said the Investors and Exporters foreign exchange window had performed beyond the bank’s expectations, adding that forex inflows in the past few months were huge.

Nnanna stated, “Our exchange rate is convergent; we are getting southward. In the IMF, they talk about the need to have one rate. The one rate can happen organically or inorganically. For us at the CBN, we believe that organic convergence is the way to go. Inorganic convergence, which is forced, will always produce an arbitrage and that we don’t want.

The President, CIBN, Prof. Segun Ajibola, said a flexible exchange rate was helpful in an environment that lacked hiccups in forex management and supply strategies.

He stated, “But in an environment that is so susceptible to the vagaries of foreign exchange market, in terms of inflow of foreign exchange income and over-reliance on basic items for importation, you run the risk of allowing the exchange rate to go to the rooftop, if you free it absolutely.

“Normally, you hardly find any economy where the foreign exchange management succumbs totally to the forces of demand and supply. The best that we have seen is managed floating, which is what the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced in February this year. But as the economy stabilises and is diversified, and as we see more sources of forex earnings stabilising, especially the non-oil export, then we can be more and more flexible in our foreign exchange management policy.”

http://investorsking.com/cbn-rules-naira-fall-external-reserves-hit-34bn/

The Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari and the 36 states of the federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory have borrowed N7.51tn in the last two years, statistics have revealed.

As of June 30, 2015, just a month after the present crop of leaders took over the leadership of the country, Nigeria’s total debt stood at N12.12tn.

However, as of June 2017, the nation’s total debt had climbed to N19.63tn, according to the latest debt statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office.

The debt stock data released by the DMO revealed that the total public debt stock (external and domestic debt stock of the Federal Government and sub-nationals) as of the end of June was N19.63tn (about $64.19bn at N305.9/$1), made up of external debt stock of N4.6tn (about $15.05bn) and domestic debt stock of N15.03tn (about $49.15bn).

The DMO said in a statement posted on its portal on Sunday, “The domestic debt stock of the Federal Government and sub-nationals accounted for 76.56 per cent of the total public debt stock, while their external debt stock accounted for 23.44 per cent.

“Furthermore, the total public debt stock increased by 2.5 per cent from N19.16tn (about $62.54bn) to N19.64tn (about $64.19bn), during the period under review.

“The total external public debt stock of the Federal Government and sub-nationals increased by 8.98 per cent from $13.81bn in March 2017 to $15.05bn in June 2017, while the domestic debt stock of the Federal Government and the sub-nationals increased by 0.67 per cent from N14.93tn in March 2017 to N15.03tn in June 2017.”

However, an analysis of the debt statistics from the May 29, 2015, when the current leaders took over the reins of power, to June 30, 2017, showed that the country’s total debt had risen from N12.12tn to N19.63tn.

This means that the country’s debt rose by N7.51tn or 61.96 per cent within a period of two years.

As of June 2015, the domestic debt of the Federal Government stood at N8.39tn. Detailed breakdown of the domestic component of the nation’s total debt as of June 30 was not available as of the time of going to press on Sunday.

However, the Federal Government’s domestic debt stood at N11.97tn, while the domestic debt component of the states stood at N2.96tn as of March 31, 2017.

The external debt balance of both the federal and state governments stood at $10.32bn as of June 2015 compared to the $15.05bn recorded as of the end of June this year. This means that within the period, the country’s external debt portfolio had risen by $4.73bn or 45.83 per cent.

The increasing proportion of the foreign debt component reflects a new debt management strategy released by the DMO recently. It also reflects a strategy to reduce high interest payment occasioned by much dependence of domestic debts.

According to the DMO, the country’s new debt management strategy entails balancing the sources of debt to ensure that more resources are borrowed from external sources where the interest rate is seen as lower than interest rates on borrowings from domestic sources.

The Debt Management Strategy 2016-2019 targets the rebalancing of the debt portfolio from its composition of 84:16 (domestic to foreign) to 60:40 by the end of December 2019 (domestic to foreign).

“It supports the use of more external finance for funding capital projects, in line with the focus of the present administration on speeding up infrastructural development in the country, by substituting the relatively expensive domestic borrowing in favour of cheaper external financing,” the DMO said.

Our correspondent reported that the Federal Government spent a total of N1.88tn on domestic debt servicing between 2014 and 2015.

With foreign debt now accounting for 23.44 per cent of the total indebtedness, the Federal Government may achieve the goal of increasing the proportion it to 40 per cent by 2019.

In line with this strategy, the Federal Government recently unveiled a plan to borrow $3bn from foreign sources to refinance some maturing local debts.

The DMO had said that refinancing Federal Government’s maturing $3bn local debts would not only crash the rate of domestic borrowing, but also allow some borrowing space to the private sector.

It stated that borrowing from foreign sources to refinance the local debts would also allow the government time to repay the loans when the economy must have fully recovered from recession and diversified.

The DMO said the move was informed by the lower dollar interest rates in the international capital market, adding that Nigeria was expected to borrow at a rate not higher than six per cent, while issuances of the NTBs in the domestic market were at rates as high as 18.53 per cent.

According to the office, external borrowing is cheaper by about 12 points and will result in substantial cost savings for the Federal Government in debt service costs.

The DMO had said, “Besides reducing the cost of borrowing, the $3bn is expected to be raised for a tenor of up to 15 years, which is very long compared to the maximum tenor of 364 days for NTBs.

“This move will effectively extend the tenor of the government’s debt portfolio. The longer tenor enables the government to repay at a time when the economy would be stronger and more diversified to meet the obligations.”

It added, “The reduction in the level of the FGN’s borrowing from the domestic market will result in a reduction in domestic interest rates and free up borrowing space in the economy, particularly for private sector borrowers.

“The $3bn from the refinancing will also represent an injection of foreign exchange into the economy, which will boost the country’s external reserves.”

The DMO said that the approval of the National Assembly would be obtained for the proposed refinancing before implementation in line with the Debt Management Office Act, 2003.

http://investorsking.com/fg-states-borrow-n7-51tn-buhari/

Federal Government efforts at diversifying the economy have started yielding results as the telecommunication sector continued to attract foreign investors.

The Nigerian telecommunication sector attracted $68 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the economy in the last 16 years, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday.

Telecoms sector contribution to the economy rose to 9.8 percent from 8 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016. Higher than the 8.9 percent contributed by the oil sector in the first quarter of 2017.

The NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Prof Umar Danbatta, attributed the continuous growth of the sector despite recession to growing market.

Danbatta, however, admitted that the quality of service offered by network operators has not been impressive.

“The continued drop in service quality has really created a huge gap between consumers and the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), “reason for some drop in subscriptions,” Danbatta said.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-telecoms-sector-attracts-68b-fdi-ncc/

Freighting of agricultural and perishable cargoes and other non-consumable products at the nation’s international airports has increased by 10 per cent, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Chief Commercial Officer Seyi Adewale has said.

He said the air freight of such cargoes increased from about two per cent to 12.5 per cent in the last few years due to the export promotion policy.

He listed the perishable cargoes to include tomatoes, vegetable and yams.Other non-consumable cargoes include native fabrics, hair extension and donkey skins.

Adewale said the rise in cargo export to the United States, European, Asian,Middle East and African countries in the last few years has forced the cargo handling company to upgrade the security and safety standards of its cargo warehouse.

In an interview in Lagos, Adewale said the firm has stepped up the level of security and safety of its facilities because airlines that ferry air cargo are concerned about the level of compliance of air cargo in line with prescribed global standards.

He said: “Perishables cargo export has grown from as low as two per cent to about 12 per cent in the last few years, representing over 10 per cent increase. Since we handle about 80 per cent of the cargo in and out of the country, this for us is large.”

According to him, most of the shipments go to the US, which constitutes the highest percentage for export.

Giving a breakdown, he said 38 per cent of exports coming through his company’s warehouse goes to US, while 34 per cent go to Europe, which includes the United Kingdom.

Also, while 15 per cent of the cargo go to Africa, nine per cent go to Asia, leaving only two per cent to the Middle East.

Adewale added that perishables like tomatoes, fruit and vegetables amongst others have grown and are still growing.

“People are now exporting yams. They also export dry fish and general goods such as non-consumables like cloths, native fabrics, hair extensions and donkey skins,” he said.

Besides stepping up security and safety of its facilities, Adewale said NAHCO was subjected to a twice- monthly technical audit by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

The audit by the three bodies , he said, was to ensure that any cargo that goes into any aircraft was safe, not harmful and illegal.

Adewale said: “One of the challenges of exportation in Nigeria is the requirements for us to maintain a world class export warehouse.

“We have two X-ray machines. To service these machines on a quarterly basis cost millions of naira and that is if there are no major repairs to be carried out.

“Airlines are more concerned about exports because whatever they are going to put on their aircraft must be right in terms of safety and security. Airlines are conscious about the export facilities, export processes and security.”

According to him, this puts the company on the edge, with at least, two audits monthly by ICAO and other relevant agencies.

He said another challenge is that because the business is growing and the company need to expand, the little money it makes is ploughed back into the business.

“We recently extended our acceptance section to another product packaging section so that we decongest the export warehouse because of the capacity,” Adewale added.

http://investorsking.com/stop-cashew-smugglers-traders-urge-govt/

Google Map has added no fewer than 1,000 new addresses to Ikeja, Ikoyi and other areas of Lagos State.

The Chief Executive Officer, Google, Sundar Pitchai, stated this on Thursday in Lagos at the ‘Google for Nigeria’ event.

He said that the company made the additions because the number of people using Google Map in Nigeria had doubled in the past one year.

“We have improved our address search experience in Lagos by adding over 1,000 new addresses and streets. The new additions will help users improve on their address search experience in Ikeja, Ikoyi and other areas of the state,” Pitchai said.

He explained that the second batch of additions was to buildings, adding, “Google added detailed outlines of more than a million buildings in commercial and residential areas, and more than 100,000 additional Nigerian small businesses on Google Maps.

“This building footprint will help users get a better understanding of the world around them.

“We have launched the ‘Lagos on Street View’, with 10,000 kilometres of imagery, including the most important historic roads in the city. You can virtually drive along the Carter Bridge to the National Stadium or across the Eko Bridge, down to the Marina, all on your smartphone.”

Pitchai said that Google had added more than 100,000 small businesses across leading cities in Nigeria, like Abuja and Lagos “to help improve local search experience significantly.”

http://investorsking.com/google-map-adds-1000-new-addresses-to-lagos/

The naira appreciated to 374 per United States dollar on Thursday, up from 382/dollar on Wednesday.

The local unit closed at 382/dollar from Monday to Wednesday.

This came just as currency analysts expect the naira to be stable across the board in the near term on increased dollar supply to both the official interbank window and the black market.

The local unit has been trading around 382/dollar on the black market in the last two weeks, while at the interbank market the naira was trading at around 305.40 per dollar.

According to Reuters, the Central Bank of Nigeria has been intervening on the official market to try to narrow the spread between the official interbank and black markets.

The CBN has sold over $4bn since February, improving dollar supply and providing support for the naira.

On the back of sustained dollar injection by the CBN, the local unit has been showing resilience against the greenback.

The CBN has injected $100m, $205m and $457.3m respectively into various segments of the forex market in the past three weeks.

Currency analysts said the creation of the “Investors & Exporters FX Window” by the CBN was a right move, adding that it had helped to narrow the gap between the official and parallel market rates of the local unit.

They, however, stressed the need for the unification of the various exchange rates by the central bank.

The Kenyan shilling could gain ground against the dollar in the coming week with dwindling end month importer demand giving way to foreign exchange inflows from charities and exporters, traders said.

http://investorsking.com/naira-gains-closes-at-374dollar/

Hope OPEC will do something on time, if not Naira gain so far would be eroded.

Despite the prevalent recession, Nigeria is still rated the highest consumer of Champagne in the world.

This was disclosed by the Head of Market Development, German Engineering Federation, Mrs. Martina Claus, who presented the figure at the unveiling of the 2017 trade fair, known at Drinktec in Lagos recently.

Drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry taking place in Munich Germany from September 11 to 25.

Clause also revealed that Nigeria is the fourth market in the world with the biggest consumers of soft drinks.

Nigeria is ranked number four in the world coming after United State of America (USA), China and Mexico which ranked number one, two and three respectively according to the global soft drinks market analysis.

Nigeria was ranked fourth in 2016 according to the facts and figures released by the organisers of the trade fair with specific focus on Nigeria.

According to Clause, the fair is expected to attract 1,600 exhibitors from over 70 countries where the entire process chain in the beverage and liquid food industry: from manufacturing, filling and packaging through marketing, among others, are to be showcased.

Claus said Nigeria recorded 38.682 tonnes global volume sales in 2016 with the volume projected to rise to 51.422 in 2020. The projection is a 32.9 per cent growth.

In the year under review, the country was similarly ranked among the top 10 markets for alcoholic drinks while the country was ranked 147th in the consumption of drinking milk products just as the country ranked 101th in the edible oils market.

The official said no other event attracts so many trade visitors from Germany and around the world, adding there was a 14 per cent increase in visitor numbers. He said overall 66,886 trade visitors came to Drinktec in 2013.

According to her, the world comes together at the fair.
“Drinktec brings together companies large and small and attracts visitors from all business areas…The trade visitors really do come from all parts of the production chain and from all areas of the beverage and liquid food industry”, she said.

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-tops-countries-with-highest-consumption-of-champagne/

DocHMD:
You are sounding like Maj. Nzeogwu the difference is that you are a coward because you can't go back to nigeria and face these men squarely.

Come back and start your 'revolution' against 10 percenters and crooks. yoruba and hot air.

Just like the way Ojukwu abandoned his people and flee right? Igbos and empty chest beating. When Abacha was alive how many igbo dares attacked his regime or was Nnamdi Kanu not alive then? Yet Sowore was the one standing up against military regime and was imprisoned numerous times. Where were chest beaters then?

The last time I checked, it was Diya a Yoruba man that led the last coup de tat and Banjo, another Yoruba man was the only man that made headway during Biafra by seizing mid-wester region. Deal with that!

The federal government is working towards the establishment of a Niger Delta Development Bank to speed up the development of the region, the Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Mr. Nsima Ekere, has said.

Addressing representatives of youth groups and ex-agitators from the Niger Delta reign at the headquarters of NDDC in Port Harcourt Wednesday, Ekere said the proposed bank would also assist people from the region, especially youths, to participate in the establishment of modular refineries in the region.

He said one of the programmes of the federal government is the establishment of modular refineries in the Niger Delta region to deter youths in the area from involvement in illegal refineries.

“Instead of doing the small illegal refineries, government wants to help us with the technology to do this bigger so that we will be involved in refining in such a way that the environment will not be destroyed,” he said

He however noted that people in the region, especially youths, would have challenges getting enough capital to get involved in the modular refineries.

His words: “The challenge will be how the youth of the region will get enough money to buy into these modular refineries. Federal government has mandated the NDDC to work out the modalities with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. We want to ensure that whether the youth have money or not, they can key into this. So, we are going to set up a Niger Delta Development Bank to drive the development of the region.

And intet-ministerial committee has also been set up in the presidency to look into all the issues raised during the visit of the vice president to the region.”

He reiterated the commitment of the commission to the economic empowerment and development of youths of the Niger Delta region.

He however called on the youths to assist the federal government and security agencies in creating an environment that would be conducive to attract investors back to the region.

Ekere stated that part of the economic empowerment and development for the youths of the region is the development of illegal refineries scattered in communities in the region to modular refineries with state-of-the-art technologies.

He said: “The NDDC was set up by the federal government to address the problem of underdevelopment of the Niger Delta region. In addition to developing the physical infrastructure of the region, the NDDC will develop the human capital in the region. One of the key areas of the development is the young people.

“The major reason for the meeting with the youths is to rub minds and agree on an sustainable economic empowerment for youths of the Niger Delta. When we talk about empowerment, it is not about giving money. We will not give you fish but we will teach you how to fish.

“The NDDC has been mandated by the federal government to work out the framework with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, so that youths of communities in the Niger Delta will be empowered through the establishment of modular refineries.”

The NDDC boss however, decried the lack of organised leadership structure for youths in the region and advised them to borrow a leaf from the elders of the region, who now have an organised leadership structure through the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF).

Ekere said: “The major problem that we have had since we came on board, have been how to address and talk to youths of the Niger Delta region. Several generals have been calling me on this and that and it has been difficult to know who government should talk to on issues concerning youths.

“Why can’t we in the Niger Delta agree on a proper youth structure that government can always talk to when matters on youths of the region come up? Even armed robbers have leaders. Why can’t we have an acceptable structure through which we can engage the youths?

“PANDEF has provided the acceptable structure and platform for elders in the Niger Delta region to be organised and we commend them for that. I think the youths should borrow a leaf from the elders. “

http://investorsking.com/fg-establish-niger-delta-development-bank/