₦airaland Forum

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited has announced a year-on-year increase of 73.2 per cent in revenue from data services for the first quarter of this year.

A statement issued by Public Relations and Protocol Manager, Mr. Funso Aina, on Thursday said the digital mobile operators grew its total revenue for the quarter by 14.4 per cent.

The company, however, did not disclose what the earnings mean in monetary terms. It pledged to release detailed results on May 7.

The statement read in part, “MTN Nigeria subscribers increased by 4.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 54.5 million.

“Constant currency (organic) service revenue increased by 14.4 per cent and data revenue increased 73.2 per cent year-on-year.”

The statement quoted the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, to have said, “MTN Nigeria delivered a strong performance for the first quarter of 2018, supported by growth in data revenue and increased scale. We also maintained positive momentum in growing our subscriber base and maintaining our network leadership position.”

He added that MTN continued with the positive momentum of 2017, increasing service revenue by 14.4 per cent year-on-year, supported by a 73.2 per cent increase in data revenue and 15.2 per cent growth in voice revenue.

In the first quarter of 2018, the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin expanded to 41.8 per cent due to well controlled expenses and a stable naira, he added.

The mobile operator reported net additions in the quarter of 2.3 million following on from the two million net additions in the fourth quarter of 2017, which was supported by the increase in the SIM registration footprint.

http://investorsking.com/mtn-grows-data-revenue-73/

drnoel:
A daniel has come to court. U have spoken wisely beyond ur years. That reason u mentioned is why Nigerians solely owned firms die out after a time.

Except all he said were wrong, Gazprom and Saudi Aramco are government owned. Still, battered by global oil glut just like every other oil business. Or why do you think Saudi is launching Aramco IPO? It is simply to curb the impact of global oil on its economy and broadly diversify the economy by opening it up.

If Forte is doing a similar thing to curtail effect of global oil on its revenue base like Shell did last year, Mobil, etc, how is that lack of innovation?

Forte Oil has said it plans to sell its upstream services and power businesses in Nigeria and divest from Ghana to focus on its core fuel distribution operation at home, according to a report by Reuters on Wednesday.

The move comes as a surprise about-turn for a company, whose Chief Executive, Akin Akinfemiwa, told investors in Lagos in August that he wanted to aggressively pursue mergers and acquisition opportunities along the energy value chain, and acquire marginal oilfields to boost its upstream business.

The company, majority owned by billionaire, Femi Otedola, has also been in talks with a major refinery to form a strategic partnership for local refining of petroleum products.

Forte Oil’s share price plunged by 49 per cent last year after the company struggled to get hard currency to import products. It now has a total market value of N57.3bn but gave no indication on Wednesday of how much the businesses for sale might fetch.

It said interest costs attributable to the businesses to be sold stood at N2.2bn as of December. It now plans to seek shareholder approval for the sale on May 23 and appoint advisers, it said in a notice to investors.

Forte Oil did not give a reason for the change in direction but said the downstream sector in Nigeria had gone through changes in recent years and was expected to evolve further.

It added that the industry had operated under a tightly regulated fixed margin but could be deregulated, especially given its impact on the Nigerian currency and import bill.

The government increased petrol prices by 67 per cent to N145 in 2016 to cut subsidies paid for fuel imports after a plunge in oil prices hit state revenues, caused dollar shortages and halted infrastructure projects, with firms laying off tens of thousands of workers.

However, the hike did not prevent fuel shortages, which have plagued Nigeria for much of last year and this year.

Nigeria’s existing and ageing refineries have a daily domestic refining capacity of six million litres, while the daily consumption stands at 35 million litres, so the country has to import the bulk of what it consumes.

Forte Oil has two storage depots, five aviation fuel depots and a lubricant blending plant. It also has 100 trucks for distribution of products across its more than 500 retail outlets, which will require a lot of capital to expand.

Its 57-per cent owned power unit, Amperion Power Distribution Company, has a lot of receivables due from the state-backed off-taker and its upstream unit has contributed less than seven per cent to group earnings over the past three years.

The unit in Ghana has declared losses over the last three years and has uncollectible trade debts due to tough economic conditions and a currency devaluation in the cocoa-rich country.

Forte Oil said proceeds from the divestment would be used to expand its downstream fuel distribution business and to invest in storage infrastructure.

http://investorsking.com/forte-oil-sell-nigerian-assets-exit-ghana/

BarryX:
I have issues with theoretical contradicting statistics that don't show figures. This is quite dumb coming from CBN.



What is this sef ?


And at the end of this they used expanded as a viable adjective to qualify the wack economy.
They should keep deceiving themselves

lol.. it was the analyst that bring it together in the first line, click the link you will see a link to investment inflows article. The sector expanded/grew but it is not broad-based given the underlying fundamentals.

Moderate production growth, low new orders, and weak job creation showed consumer spending is weak and may get worst if the monetary policy is not reviewed to support the economy and boost growth in the sector.

Integrated energy company, Oando Plc, on Friday announced it grew profit after tax by 405 percent in 2017.

The company’s audited results released through the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed the profit after tax rose from 3.913 billion in 2016 to N19.77 billion in 2017, an increase of 405 percent. While revenue grew from N455.746 billion in 2016 to N497.422 billion in 2017.

According to the report, the company reduced its cost of sales from N426.99 billion to N409.341 billion in 2017. Also, net finance cost declined from N51 billion in 2016 to N33.78 billion in 2017 while administrative expenses declined from N109 billion in 2016 to N77.89 billion in 2017.

Speaking on the report, the Group Chief Executive of Oando, Wale Tinubu said: “The business recorded a year-end profit of N19.8 billion, a culmination of four consecutive quarters of positive results, validating our promise to shareholders of returning to and maintaining profitability. This comes in the wake of oil prices on an upward trajectory, an improved operating environment, the exit of a 13 month long recession and most importantly the continued strengthening of our business model through the effective implementation of our strategic initiatives of growth through our dollar earning upstream portfolio; deleverage through asset divestments and the expansion of our oil export trading business.”

The embattled chief executive who was accused of ‘insider dealings’ by two of the company’s shareholders, Dahiru Mangal and Gabriele Volpi, added that despite the challenges faced by the company in 2107, the company recorded some operational success.

Tinubu said: “In the upstream sector, Oando recorded an average production of 40,188 boe/day in the 12 months ended December 31, 2017 compared to 43,503 boe/day in the comparative period of 2016. This was primarily due to significant reductions in gas production and delivery caused by the rupturing of Gas Transmission System (GTS-4) gas line and pipeline and terminal constraints at its OMLs 60 to 63. The upstream business recorded a net profit of N26.33 billion ($86.1 million) compared with N91.83million ($0.3 million) in the comparative period of 2016. This increase in profitability was primarily due to improved revenue between the periods, and increase in gains on financial instruments which were offset by lower tax recoveries.”

http://investorsking.com/oando-plc-reports-pat-of-405-in-2017/

Business activity in the manufacturing sector expanded even more in the month of April, according to the report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 56.9 in the month, slightly faster than the 56.7 filed in March. The sector has now expanded for thirteen consecutive months.

The report showed out of the 15 subsectors surveyed, 12 grew in the month in the following order: Petroleum and coal products; electrical equipment; appliances and components; printing and related support activities; textile apparel leather and footwear; fabricated metal products; chemical and pharmaceutical products; food, beverage and tobacco products; paper products, furniture and related products; plastics and rubber products; and transportation equipment.

Out of the remaining three subsectors, the cement remained unchanged, while the non-metallic minerals and primary metal subsectors declined.

Production gauge of the sector showed production level stood at 58.6 in the month. Making it the 14th consecutive month of increase in April, however, it expands at a slower pace when compared with the 59.1 recorded in March.

Also, demand in the sector grew at a slower pace, 55.8, in the month when compared to the 56.1 filed in March. Seven of the subsectors recorded growth of new orders while four remained unchanged and the remaining four subsectors contracted in the month.

Employment index showed job creation in the sector expanded at 55 in the month, the twelfth consecutive month of growth. A total of nine subsectors increased their employment level, while three remained unchanged and three reduced their employment level.

The sector remained strong going into the second quarter, however, growth in the sector is stalling, partly because of slowing new orders towards the end of the first quarter. For instance, less than half of the subsectors surveyed experienced a surge in new orders while new orders of more than half are either unchanged or contracting. Suggesting that unstable consumer spending may be impacting growth in the sector.

Despite investment inflows rising in recent months, new investments in the sector are low and weighing on the overall economic outlook as most investments are done in the fixed income market. Therefore, a more complementary monetary rate will help offset the fixed income rush and stimulate growth from within as lower interest rate will help deepen new investment and broaden growth in the sector.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-manufacturing-sector-sustains-growth/

U.K. Manufacturing PMI Slows to 17-month Low in April

U.K manufacturing activity slowed in April amid growing uncertainty across the economy ahead of Brexit.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index survey showed manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace than projected in the month, the PMI stood at 53.9, a 17-month low, IHS Markit report showed. See GBPJPY bearish wedge chart in the link

http://investorsking.com/u-k-manufacturing-pmi-slows-17-month-low-april/

rusher14:
I don't think so but Yisrael is worried.

Personally, I'm more interested in Nigeria.

The two countries are of no importance to me.

For now, they are as we are not diversified enough to fence off their impacts. Nigeria is a mono-product economy with little to no substantial economic progress in key sectors like services and agricultural sectors.

The recession taught Saudi Arabi a key lesson, hence, the reason they are going on an aggressive diversification strategy, same with China that is transforming its economy from export-based to consumption to stimulate it from within and reduce the impact of external factors.

We are Nigerians, no viable long-term strategy.

The increase in global tension and breakdown in Libya's pipeline boosted global oil prices on Monday to a level last seen since December 2014.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigeria's crude oil is priced, rose above $75.50 per barrel as at 9.15 pm Nigerian time to peak at $75.58, the highest in almost 4 years. While the US West Texas intermediate, surged past $68 a barrel to break key resistance level.

Oil prices rallied following Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, report that Iran lied about nuclear program and insisted there are intelligence reports currently being collated that proved the embattled nation is secretly conducting a nuclear weapon program.

The report, if true, will raise the likelihood of Donald Trump led administration finally dumping the Iranian deal ahead of May 12 deadline scheduled for the deal's extension. This, experts believe will reduce global oil supplies and further push oil prices above the current levels to $80 a barrel.

"Iran is OPEC's third largest producer, disruption in its exports will boost global crude oil prices, however, it is unlikely the rest of the world, other nations, involved in the deal will jump on Netanyahu's report without hard evidence given Israel disposition towards the deal in the first place," said Samed Olukoya, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd.

"However, president Donald Trump is likely to push for a review of the deal if all efforts to get other nations to dump the deal failed," he added.

The increase in global oil prices will boost Nigeria's Excess Crude Account, the account where the difference between the market price of oil and the budget benchmark is saved to support and deepen economic activities when prices fall below the benchmark or extra funds are needed for capital projects.

http://investorsking.com/crude-oil-trades-above-75-per-barrel-as-netanyahu-point-finger-at-iran/

After drastically reducing its imports of crude oil from Nigeria a few years ago, the United States is now exporting more crude than Africa’s top oil producer.

The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Energy Department, on Wednesday said the US crude oil exports rose by 582,000 barrels per day last week to an all-time record high of 2.331 million bpd.

Loading programme compiled by Reuters showed that Nigeria’s planned crude oil exports for April stood at 1.61 million bpd. The country’s exports are expected to fall slightly in June to 1.796 million bpd, compared with the 1.895 million bpd in May’s revised export programme.

An analysis of data obtained by our correspondent from the EIA showed that the US crude oil exports averaged 1.12 million bpd last year, with the highest daily export of 1.73 million bpd recorded in October.

The push to ship more crude abroad follows the widening spread between the global benchmark, Brent, and US marker, West Texas Intermediate, from around $3 per barrel in early March to more than $6 per barrel this week. The previous record-high was set the week ending March 30 at 2.175 million bpd.

Brent, against which Nigeria’s oil is priced, stood at $73.87 per barrel as of 8:05pm Nigerian time on Wednesday, while the WTI traded around $67.90 per barrel.

Reuters had on Monday quoted traders as saying that the relatively high oil prices, coupled with the surging US output, were making it harder to sell Russian, Nigerian and other oil grades in Europe, where the US oil flooded.

Light sweet Nigerian crude is very similar to the light oil produced in the US shale.

The US exports will continue to rise in the medium term, and by 2022, the country will be the fourth biggest oil exporter in the world behind Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq, energy consultancy, Wood Mackenzie, said at the end of January. The US will export four million bpd of light sweet crude of API gravity of between 38 and 45 by 2022, WoodMac has estimated.

The US removed the 40-year-old restrictions on its crude exports in December 2015 following the rapid growth of its shale oil production. In 2016, the US exported an average of 520,000 bpd.

http://investorsking.com/us-now-exporting-more-crude-oil-than-nigeria/

Nigerians living outside the country remitted $22 billion in 2107, according to the data published by the World Bank on Monday. The amount is 16.4 percent higher than the amount sent home in 2016.

The total amount sent home reached a new record-high in 2017, however, the costs of transferring funds also surged, the report noted. The better than expected rebound in remittances, used in supporting economic activities in poor nations, was bolstered by growth in the United States, Europe, and Russia.

Also, the total remittances to low and middle-income nations rose from $429 billion in 2016 to $466 billion in 2017, an increase of 8.5 percent. While remittance inflows improved in all regions, the largest inflows were from India with $69bn, followed by China ($64bn), the Philippines ($33bn), Mexico ($31bn), Nigeria ($22bn), and Egypt ($20bn) in 2017.

The global average cost of sending $200 was put at 7.1 percent in the first quarter of 2018, and sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive at an average cost of 9.4 percent.

“While remittances are growing, countries, institutions, and development agencies must continue to chip away at high costs of remitting so that families receive more of the money,” said Dilip Ratha, lead author of the report.

By region, Europe and Central Asia saw the largest jump in 2017, rising by 21 percent, while Sub-Saharan Africa climbed by 11 percent in the same year.

http://investorsking.com/diasporans-remit-22-billion-in-2017/

omohayek:
I am a product of the very same system as all these "Nigerian youths" you're making excuses for, so I don't accept your reasoning in the slightest. Even before the internet was available, we had satellite TV and foreign magazines like The Economist and Newsweek, so there has always been the opportunity to expose oneself to developments elsewhere if one had the interest. Even then most of my peers didn't, and nothing has changed today, even with cheap and ubiquitous internet access. Every single day I see Nairalanders spouting nonsense that is easily refuted by a simple Google search, or asking basic questions that are easily answerable by the same means which they have on their smartphones, but even that much effort is too much for most of them.


I'm sorry, but the above only goes to show how little you know of, or understand about, China's economic transformation. I suggest you do a Wikipedia search and read, because you've said nothing meaningful here. The phrase "empowered the youths by formulating accommodative monetary policy" is literally meaningless, and in any case monetary policy has had little to do with China's economic growth - as you'd know if you bothered to read any of the numerous research papers on the topic that are freely available via Google Scholar or similar sites.


Again, more half-learning at best, dressed up in flowery but empty language. You don't have the first clue about what it takes to deliver economic growth. Here is an actual book on the subject, written by an actual expert, on the off-chance that you're more serious than the majority of Nigerians who think using big words they don't understand can cover up their lack of hard knowledge.

How old are you?

Robisky001:
There is this proverb from my locals. It goes thus," Owo ohar,re egweya osio oni re whro".

Translation: The one that throws insult to the towns women, doesn't exclude his or her mum.


Going by that classic proverb, what the Op done differently to improve the economy and the country at large?

You will be shocked. Putting Nigeria on global stage, abi na beans to be cited in Harvard? Contributing author on one of the biggest financial media in the world. It takes certain depth to craft that piece.

omohayek:
Until the emphasis shifts from "youth" to ideas and institutional frameworks, the breakout you want will never occur. How old were Gowon, Murtala, Abacha and Babangida when they first became involved in power politics in 1966? How old was James Ibori when he began his thieving? How old was Yahaya Bello when he started to run his state into the ground? How old are all of the "Yahoo Boys" we see being celebrated on the front page of this very website for having "hammered" (i.e. stolen the savings of some old or less intelligent people in foreign countries)?

To be honest, I'm fed up with the whole nonsensical obsession with "youth", as I all see in it is Nigerians hopping on yet another bandwagon they hope will deliver them to the promised land without requiring from them any painful changes or uncomfortable introspection. The tribalism, corruption, selfishness and ignorance that have led Nigeria down the drain are every bit as prevalent in the younger generations as the old, so what is to be achieved by simply handing over power to said "youths" other than giving a new set of parasites the chance to feed off oil rents?

Simply shouting "YOUTH" over and over simply isn't enough. Macron, Trudeau and Obama brought more to the table than just their ages, they had real ideas, well-formulated and carefully explained, detailed programs for what they intended to do with power once they got it, and not just the usual "pie in the sky" puffery that passes for a "manifesto" in this joke of a country. If we devoted even 10% of the energy currently going into agitating for "youth" into discussing political and economic ideas, Nigeria would be massively better off for it, but most Nigerians are as intellectually lazy as they are unschooled, and prefer to waste time on "young vs old", "northerner vs southerner" or "Hausa vs Igbo vs Yoruba" crap that will never improve their lives.

I think we are missing the point, Obama, Macron, Trudeau, Sebastian, etc were trained and prepared by the system they eventually managed. It will be wrong to judge Nigerian youths with the same yardstick.

Again, Africa has the largest youth population in the world. Hence, placing Nigeria at the front of global discuss just like it happened in Asia in 80s, countries like China broke away from communism, embraced globalization and empowered the youths by formulating accommodative monetary policy. 30 years later China became the second largest economy in the world.

If you read Bill Gates' 2016 lecture delivered at the University of Pretoria during Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, you will understand while the emphasis on youths population is key in national building. This not about handling power to them but giving them an enabling platform thrive, especially now that they are the ones that can use technology to make most of these things happen.

TruthisGOD:
Very true. My interactions with the youths in the area of bright business idea has shown me that our youth can't think out of the box even the well educated ones. Most of them thought that they can only practice what the read in the university by only working in the industry but that is a very wrong assertion. Marcel and Dowel shlumberger did it without working in an industry. It is now the best oil servicing company you can think of. One might argue that US goverment provided the needed infrastructure for them to thrive and I'll advise you to read their history to understand better.

Even the infrastructures were built by the youths, the American youths are building a new set of infrastructure now. Google Palantir co-founded by Peter Thiel, the same guy that gave us Paypal, and the first Facebook investor.

Amazon pushing the limit with cloud computing, IBM data analytics, Facebook, Apple, Google, etc pushing Artificial Intelligence. Until, we understand how big of a task we have as African youths, we won't breakout.

glasshouse:
In Nigeria we have the most intelligent youths in the world. Is Buhari blind to see how Nigerian youth prosper when they are outside Nigeria creating history in technology. and even in exercise.
The truth is that President Buhari has nothing to offer. What has his children achieved and what has he himself achieved since his life. Absolutely nothing so for me am not surprised at his speech.
Empty drums makes the largest noise

The problem is we don't know where to channel our anger, they've successful broke most of us. The problem is not Buhari but the youth that voted him in power will still fight to keep him there.

Those youths abroad and not raised by a broken system but some of the best in the world, when Anthony Joshua was been uncontrollable didn't the British channel his energy into boxing? He is now one step closer to becoming the only undisputed 5 belts champion, generating millions for the British tourism ministry. Oga Seun this suppose dey ft page o.

pressplay411:
True. Like we have a lot of glorified bricklayers but not architects and engineers.
The system destroyed the youths dreams and ambitions leaving majority with little option than survival.
We have work to do. We have to start voicing out not only with memes and tweets but in actions. We need to get to the Senates with placards protesting.

God bless you, the work is not on social media, but real disruption of the old primitive system used in suppressing us.

TruthisGOD:
I have read the controversial speech by Mr. President and the heated reactions from us. However, one thing I know is that Nigerian youths are physically hardworking but intellectually lazy. Unfortuantely, the later is what makes one successful and grows the economy.

Exactly my point, the youths have been strategically incapacitated and forced to believe with menial jobs they can build an economy. The truth is one multinational corporation will create far more jobs than all the shops in computer village or alaba put together.

pressplay411:
Well said. Provoking piece.
What's the meaning of "Graduates are proud riders!?"

A lot of youths/graduates started posting pictures of them in Napep, Uber etc in response to Buhari's comment to show how hardworking they are but as we all know national building goes beyond hardworking. If hardworking is all there is to economic productivity and growth, our forefathers would have built eutopia, trust me they are the definition of hard work.

Amoto94:
The youths are busy chasing shadows while their dreams are being ended abruptly in broad day light.

Still, they can see it. Sad!

These pictures are some of the reasons, the response by the Nigerian youths is an embarrassment.

National building is not just about hardwork but working smart. It is this same hardwork that our elders preached, but where are we today. You better tell someone and that someone should tell someone to get PVC and those touts should be enlightened to support these criminals by disrupting and rigging election.

Cutehector:
So the old men who are intellectually liberated, how have they succeeded in moving the country to greater heights?


Be properly guided op.

Did the old fall from heaven? Were they not products of the same system? If care is not taken, it will be a cyclical thing and I am sure you didn't read the post. Nigerian youth!

Youths across the Nigerian states have taken to the social media to refute President Muhammadu Buhari's statement. While the president might not be right, the president is not entirely wrong either.

Nigeria has the largest youth population in Africa and one of the largest in the world but the youths have failed the nation and continued to do so without realization, and without realization, there is no actualization.

"We have a very young population. More than 60% of the population is below the age of 30. A lot of them haven't been to school and they are claiming that Nigeria has been an oil-producing country, therefore they should sit and do nothing and get housing, healthcare, education free," said president Muhammadu Buhari during Commonwealth event in London.

In America, Europe, Asia, etc youths are the backbone of the economy, governance and most importantly dictate the path to the future. Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, Emmanuel Macron, Sebastian Kurz, Larry Page, Jack Ma, etc disrupted their industries by charting a new course for national and global growth. But in Nigeria, youths have been successfully undermined and relegated to the bottom by the old, one percent, who strategically picked few youths and empowered them to fight tooth and nail to defend their positions.

It is illogical to blame economic rout on the old, one percent, when the youths have always been part of leadership. The youths were part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accused of rigging elections, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation fingered in over twenty billion dollars fraud, over seventeen billion naira was allegedly siphoned by Abdulrasheed Maina through Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), even Reno Omokri was Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, while Fani Kayode was the Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo, later appointed the Minister of Culture and Tourism, before becoming the Minister of Aviation in 2007. Femi Adesina is the present special adviser on media and publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The question is why are they not speaking when it matters? Simple, you don't talk while eating.

It is a shame that the best response Nigerian youths have for the president were pictures of university graduates selling charcoal, painting, riding Keke Napep and Uber, that is working hard. The youths need to start working smart. Travis Kalanick was 32 when he co-founded Uber with a 30-year-old Garrett Camp. If there is anything the pictures depicted, it is the fact that Nigerian youths have now accepted their position, and proudly so!

In Rwanda, the youths took charge by voting 43 years old Paul Kagame in 2000 after one of the goriest genocides in the history. But eighteen years later, Rwanda emerged as one of the fastest growing economies in Africa with the economy growing at eight percent rate between 2001 and 2014 and predicted to grow at six percent in 2018 by the International Monetary Fund despite global economic uncertainty that plunged Nigeria into her first economic recession in twenty-five years. The nation has since reduced the percentage of people living below poverty line and substantially cut down its gender inequality with about 63.8 percent women in parliament.

Liberian youths have started their own change by voting in George Weah, when will Nigerian youths realize they are the change and not APC or PDP?

There is no era better equipped than the current Nigerian generation, with internet penetration higher than the global average, Nigerian youths are more informed than ever. Still, they are the most oppressed by any administration, the current administration allocated seven percent (N605.8 billion) of 2018 budget to education, about N435.1 billion of that amount is meant for recurrent expenditure while N61.73 billion was appropriated for capital expenditure. Meaning, mere N108.97 billion ($356.2 million) of 8.6 trillion was allocated to the sector in 2018 in a nation of almost 198 million people. While nations like Rwanda allocated 17 percent, and in South Africa, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba declared education of South Africa's youth as one of the top three national priorities in 2018, a total of 792 billion rands ($66 billion) in aggregate will be spent on basic education over the medium term. A nation of approximately 56 million people, yet no youth is screaming injustice in Nigeria. Maybe that is even why our graduates are proud riders!

Youth unemployment and underemployment rose from 47 percent to 52.65 percent in 2017, in a nation where youth constitute the largest workforce. 52.65 percent of them are either, jobless, unhappy, Boko Haram members, Kidnappers, Baddo members or even militants. Still, no youth is speaking up as celebrities and the few others they were gainfully employed are too scared to lose their jobs or endorsements. Forgetting that lack of economic productivity is the reason they are not selling out stadiums or getting pay rise like the rest of the world.

Low wages, high unemployment rate, and uneven wealth distribution will always result in low consumer spending, it doesn't matter how hardworking you are or the number of pictures that prove so, consumer buying power is low. Konga, Jumia, etc are perfect examples.

Despite the obvious, the youths will once again vote in their usual manner, where tribe, party affiliation, and medium to long-term gain govern decision making. A situation where the future of tomorrow can no longer aspire because dreams are now expensive and only available to the kids of the oppressor, yet the children of the oppressed are the tools used in keeping oppressor's dream alive. Next election, the children of the oppressed will once again be equipped to rig and protect the dream of the oppressor.

Until youths from the North to South, the East to West realized they are victims of a system built to intellectually suppressed and incapacitate them through tribal bigotry they will be seen as lazy and unfit to play a key role in modern world. Let’s upset them, get your PVC!

http://investorsking.com/nigerian-youths-are-not-lazy-but-intellectually-suppressed/ mynd44

NairaMaster1:
Really?

You forgot that the US strike on Syria has effects on global oil price?

Not at all, Syria oil production has dropped over the years. I mean the nation has been at war for more than 7 years. Hence, they have little to no effect on global supplies. It was OPEC and non-OPEC agreement to artificially bolster oil prices by capping production of members that aided current rebound in global crude oil to $70 but what pushed it to 74 yesterday was the announcement by OPEC that they will look to extend the accord when they meet in June. However, another report came out later on Thursday that the group may not extend giving the effectiveness of the current agreement.

Nigeria played a huge part in stabilizing global oil prices, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo and Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources are some of the key players during OPEC and non-OPEC negotiation that reduced global oil glut.

Guaranty Trust Bank on Wednesday announced N44.670 billion profit after tax (PAT) for the first quarter of 2018. This was higher than the N41.471 billion filed in the corresponding quarter of 2017.

The report released through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed the lender ended the quarter with net interest income of N59.689 billion, lower than the N66.129 billion from 2017. Loans impairment charges declined from N3.412 billion in 2017 to N1.639 billion.

Incomes from fees and commission grew from N13.68 billion to N15.22 billion in the quarter, while profit before tax improved to N52.624 billion in 2018 from N50.392 billion in 2017. The report also showed deposits from customers increased from N2.062 trillion to N2.214 trillion. While, loans and advances moderated from N1.449 trillion to N1.354 trillion.

Speaking on the report, experts at FBN Quest said the single-digit in profit before tax growth was driven by the 52 percent year-on-year decline in loan loss provisions and a 41 percent growth in non-interest income.

“The growth in non-interest income was largely underpinned by foreign exchange (FX) revaluation gains of N5.5 billion (vsN306.4 million Q1 2017). In contrast, funding income declined by 10 percent. Further down the PAT grew by eight per cent to N44.4 billion, thanks to a lower effective tax rate of 15.1 percent vs. 17.7 percent Q1 2017. Sequentially, PBT grew five percent quarter on quarter (q/q), again, the reduction in loan impairment charges was the major driver. However, PAT fell by 13 percent q/q because of a 50 percent q/q spike in taxation. Compared with our forecasts, PBT and PAT beat by six percent and eight percent respectively, because non-interest income surprised positively."

GTBank is the first bank to release its financial performance this year.

http://investorsking.com/gtbank-announces-n45-billion-pat-q1/

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) raked in over N157 billion in three months at Lagos ports, it was learnt.

The amount, findings revealed, was generated by the Apapa and Tin-Can Island Customs commands between January and last month.

At Apapa Port, the Service collected over N81 billion; the Tin-Can Island Command generated over N76 billion.

This is an increase of about N4 billion by the Apapa Command compared to the same period last year, and N14 billion by the Tin-Can Command.

NCS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Apapa Command, Mrs. Nkeiru Nwala, said with the introduction of the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System II (NICIS II) in Apapa, expected to block revenue leakages as well as the repair of Apapa access roads, the Command would boost its revenue profile.

She said on the command’s anti-smuggling fight in the first quarter, four 4×40 ft containers of controlled drugs, including tramadol in excess of approved milligrammes with Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N110,016,524.00, were seized.

She also said the Command in the first quarter of the year recorded about 280,000 metric tons of exports with a FOB value of $115,093,562.

Mrs Nwala said the Customs Area Controller in charge of Apapa Command, Comptroller Jibril Musa, has continued to renew strategies and mechanisms for the effective implementation of the ease of doing business.

“The Customs Area Controller, Jibril Musa has continued to reinvigorate all strategies and mechanisms put in place for the effective and efficient implementation of the Federal Government’s Executive order on the Ease of Doing Business. It is worthy of note that the NCS is the lead agency in the implementation of the presidential mandate and Apapa Area Command selected as the pilot command had since created the Central Examination Centre (CEC) where all stakeholders involved in cargo clearance conduct examination at an agreed time with reports imputed almost immediately. This synergy/interfacing had paid off remarkably as consignments with no record of infractions are released within 24 hours while those with infractions are referred to dispute resolutions committee for further interventions/investigations.’’

She said Musa pledged to strengthen the relationship with relevant agencies in Apapa.

“The CAC has pledged his resolve to keep strengthening the already robust working relationship/collaboration among all agencies of government for enhanced international trade facilitation. Within the period under review, he played host to different high-level government delegations from within and outside the country with a view of promoting efficiency and facilitation of trade in the country,” she said

Tin-Can Island Command Public Relations Officer Uche Ejesieme said the Command had put in place measures that would enable the it to carry out its statutory mandate.

Apart from Stakeholder Engagement, he said the service had embarked on training and re-training of its officers in line with the Federal Government’s trade facilitations policy.

The image maker said efforts were being made to ensure the policies and programmes of the Command were tailored towards achieving efficiency and competitiveness in the trade value chain.

“The command is at the vanguard of implementation of the Presidential Directive on Ease of Doing Business as the lead agency and have strengthened the relationship with other security/regulatory agencies for actualisation of the Presidential Directive on creating Enabling Business Environment at the Ports.

“In the narrative of Revenue Collection for 2017 and 2018, the Command in the First Quarter of 2017 (January – March) generated a total of N61,839,825,487.91, whereas in the corresponding period of 2017, the command generated N76,789,721,107.34.

“Signifying a positive difference of N14,949,895,619.43. Though the first quarter of each year is usually synonymous with low volume of trade, the migration to NICIS II platform by the Command, also contributed to some hiccups that affected declarations, but which we have surmounted,” he said.

http://investorsking.com/customs-realises-n157b-3-months/

emiwanlee:
But 115 multinational companies are threatening to leave, more than 20 has already left

No 115 companies leaving Nigeria. The ones that left did during the economic recession and those complaining are the ones that can no longer repatriate fund through the back door. If MTN could beg and involved South African president in an effort to stay in Nigeria, I don't know which 115 companies you are talking about because the last time I checked, DSTV, Shoprite, MTN, Mobil, KPMG, etc are all flourishing.

Improved economic outlook following the series of progress recorded across the Nigerian economy bolstered economic attractiveness in 2017.

The economy attracted a total investment inflow of $68.5 billion (N20.89 trillion) between 2013 and 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday.

The report showed investment inflows were from three main sources; Foreign Direct Investments, Portfolio Investments and other investments like credits, loans, currency deposit and other claims.

Breakdown of the report revealed that investment inflows surged from $20.83 billion in 2013 to $20.76 in 2014 but declined by more than 50 percent in 2015 to $9.65 billion due to the global oil glut that eventually plunged the nation into its first economic recession in 25 years.

The report showed investments decrease even further in 2016 to $5.1 billion during the height of the economic recession and low dollar liquidity.

However, the positive economic outlook following Opec and non-Opec agreement in November 2016 to cap production and the series of policy instituted by the government to aid economic recovery saw investment inflows rising by $7.1 billion to $12.2 billion in 2017.

The report also noted that portfolio investment contributed the most with a total inflow of $47.4 billion within the five year period. While other investments like trade credit, loans, etc added $14.11 billion.

Foreign direct investment comprises of equity and other capital had inflow of $7.03 billion.

Ambassador Chiedu Osakwe, the Trade Advisor to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and Chief Trade Negotiator for Nigeria said contrary to widespread belief that Nigeria is not an attractive investment destination, the report shows global investors still find Nigeria attractive.

“The interest by foreign investors in the Nigerian economy is the highest that we have seen since 1979. The question we ask ourselves is, why? And the answer is based on the scale of the Nigerian economy, the opportunities of the economy and the growth potential," he added.

The manufacturing sector has been expanding for the last 12 months with inflation rate gradually moderating from record high to 13.34 percent in March. Therefore, it is normal to see a surge in business confidence and capital inflow, said Samed Olukoya, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd.

According to the analyst, the economy will get even better in 2018 "with the Brent crude oil rising to a three-year high and projected to reach as high as $80 a barrel this year, the Nigerian economic outlook will improve further as the central bank will be able to sustain forex intervention and deepen its diversification program."

However, it is important to broaden growth by adjusting monetary policy to reflect current progress and encourage more local players in national building, Samed stated.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-investment-inflows-rise-to-68-5-billion/

Amoto94:
Good or bad news?

Good news, but we need the interest rate to be adjusted. The current 14 percent is too high and it won't hurt inflation rate as stated by the CBN, CBN is only using it to attract FDI to fixed income market, while aggressively saving foreign revenue from oil to up foreign reserves (campaign strategy).

Consumer prices in Africa’s largest economy Nigeria moderated for a 14th consecutive month in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Thursday.

The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation rate improved to 13.34 percent in the month of March, a 0.99 percent less than the 14.33 percent filed in February. Making it the lowest inflation rate since OPEC and non-OPEC agreed to cap production for the first time in almost a decade in November 2016.

Also, Food gauge that has been on the rise for the most part of 2017 moderated to 16.08 percent year-on-year in March, down from the 17.59 percent recorded in February. The figure shows economic improvements have started filtering through key sectors as more businesses now have access to foreign exchange at an affordable rate.

On a monthly basis, the inflation rate surged 0.83 percent in the month, 0.05 percent higher than the rate recorded in February.

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said during the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting held in Abuja that the apex bank left interest rate unchanged at 14 percent to better strengthen the impact of monetary policy on inflation.

The governor argued that adjusting current monetary policy rate may pressure the naira against the U.S. dollar and hurt current progress in consumer prices.

The nation plunged into economic recession for the first time in 25 years in 2016 after global oil glut eroded 70 percent of its foreign revenue.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-inflation-declines-14th-consecutive-month/

The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone A’ Ikeja has announced that between March 19 and April 9, it intercepted smuggled goods worth N1.4bn.

While disclosing this to journalists in Lagos on Wednesday, the Customs Area Controller, NCS FOU, Mohammed Garuba, said that the command recovered N166m from duty payments and demand notices on general goods from seaports, airports and border stations that came through wrong classification, transfer of value and reduction in duty payment.

The cumulative revenue from seizures and duty payments within the three weeks under review, according to Garuba, was N1.63bn.

He listed the seized items as 64 exotic vehicles, 6003 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 963 cartons of frozen poultry products, 431 jerry cans of vegetable oil, bales of used clothing, used tyres, sugar and others.

In addition, Garuba said that there was a mob attack on operatives of the command who tried to evacuate 2,671 bags of rice from Illogbo, Abeokuta, warning that the attacks would not prevent the agents in performing their lawful duties.

He added that 570 parcels and 98 sacks of Indian Hemp weighing 1,550kg were found among the items seized along Olorunda axis of Ogun State, making it the highest seizure of hard drugs in the history of the command.

“You all know what would have happened if the drugs got to the wrong hands undetected,” he said, adding that the drugs had been handed over to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency for further investigation.

http://investorsking.com/customs-net-n1-63bn-smugglers-duty-evaders/