₦airaland Forum

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Thursday agreed to extend curbs on crude oil outputs until the end of 2018.

Iran’s Energy Minister, Bijan Zangeneh, announced that Nigeria and Libya would be included in the oil output deal and an OPEC communique stated that the countries would not produce above 2017 levels in the new year, according to Reuters.

The Oman minister said that Nigeria had agreed to cap output at 1.8 million barrels per day.

The production cuts deal, which began on January 1 and called on OPEC countries and 10 non-OPEC producers led by Russia to cut a combined 1.8 million barrels per day in supplies to tackle oversupply and prop up prices, was in May extended by nine months to March 2018.

Nigeria and Libya, which were exempted from the cuts as they dealt with internal unrest that had targeted their oil infrastructure, had ramped up oil production in recent months as their security situations improved.

“OPEC extending the output cut till the end of 2018 was widely anticipated; however, suggestions that both Nigeria and Libya have decided to cap production is a bullish signal,” said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energy’s Global Gas Analytics in London.

However, price reactions were mostly muted, with many analysts saying the nine-month extension was already priced in.

“Because they’re going to be meeting again in a few months, we’re just going to be doing this again,” said John Macaluso, an analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York.

Though the deal looked set to go through, a final decision involving non-OPEC producers, including Russia, had yet to be announced.

Russia has been pushing for a clear message on how to exit the cuts, concerned that prices do not rally too quickly and that rival United States’ shale firms do not boost output further.

One of OPEC’s biggest problems while cutting supplies has been rising US output, which is gaining global market share and undermining the group’s efforts to tighten the market.

http://investorsking.com/opec-pegs-nigerias-oil-output-1-8-million-bpd/

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Thursday said it had not increased the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol.

It also stated that there was enough product to keep the country wet till the end of this year and beyond.

The NNPC stated this following threats by the Lagos chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria to withdraw its services in Lagos and its environs over alleged discrepancies in the ex-depot price of petrol, among others.

In a statement issued by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu, the corporation said the Ejigbo Satellite Depot was fully stocked and carrying out regular loading services.

It stated that the Ejigbo depot had consistently dispensed petrol at the approved price of N133.28 per litre, contrary to allegations that it was being sold at a higher price.

The NNPC said there was enough petroleum products in the country to last till the end of the year and that 25 vessels laden with petroleum products were also being expected to berth between now and January 2018 to further boost supplies.

The corporation urged members of the public not to entertain any fear or engage in panic buying of petroleum products as there was enough to keep the country well supplied.

It stated that the appropriate government agencies had been contacted to settle the rift between IPMAN and the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association.

Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday lauded the management of the NNPC for the newly constructed ultra-mega station in Sagamu, Ogun State.

Obasanjo, who was represented by Chief Idowu Akanle at the inauguration of the facility, described the successful execution of the project as part of the strategies to ensure energy security in the country.

“Besides ensuring that Nigerians enjoy adequate supply of petroleum products close to their homes and at affordable prices, this initiative is also a means of creating jobs and boosting the economy to ensure that the lives of many Nigerians are touched in many positive ways,” he stated.

The ex-President said the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, a major gateway between Lagos and other parts of the country, had continued to record increased vehicular traffic due to the improved condition of the road and the nation’s reinvigorated economy.

He said the station would ensure that thousands of motorists plying the road would enjoy year-round fuel supply.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, described Ogun as the only state with two mega stations.

http://investorsking.com/no-petrol-price-hike-supply-steady-nnpc/

In pursuit of its vision to diversify the economy and discourage Nigeria’s reliance on oil as the mainstay of the economy, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) wednesday approved N1.5 billion to drive projected $1 billion tax revenue within nine months.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who made this disclosure while briefing State House correspondents at the end of yesterday’s weekly FEC meeting, said the N1.5 billion is meant to run advertisement campaigns intended to promote Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).

VAIDS, according to the Ministry of Finance, is a platform designed to provide tax payers with the opportunity to regularise their tax payments in relation to their previous payments.

Adeosun who said so far, the scheme had helped the federal government to generate $110 million revenue from only two companies, said from the responses received so far, there are expectations that the $1 billion tax revenue target might be exceeded.

“On the amount expected, we projected $1 billion and we have already gotten $110 million and that is just from two companies. So, we feel we might exceed that target,” she said.

According to her, 500 letters had so far been sent out to 500 persons following information obtained about their assets through the bank verification number (BVN), land registry, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The minister who said thousands others are being targeted through the scheme, added that the responses to the 500 letters sent out so far had been encouraging, pointing out that the output of the scheme will stabilise Nigerian revenue irrespective of what the price of oil may be in future.

“On the criteria adopted to get the first 500, what we have done is we got information on land registry details from the state governments and the FCT. We got information from the BVN, registration from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and we began to match them.

“From that, we could see the linkages. So, if someone lives in Lagos and has properties in Kaduna, London et cet era, but only declaring part, with this information, we ‘ll get them. We also look at people who had come out in the Panama and Paradise papers. We look at people who have companies being paid by the government but are not paying the right taxes. Even if you have not gotten a letter yet, do not think we have forgotten you. These are just the first 500. Others will soon follow. It does not mean that we do not have you in our radar. For now, we are looking for the high risk people,” she explained.

On the proposed advertisement campaigns, Adeosun said FEC approval wednesday was for the fallout of the memorandum she presented to drive VAIDS advertisement campaign for nine months, explaining that the campaigns would be run on both print and electronic media as well as the online platforms.

“I presented a memo on the Voluntary Assets Income Declaration Scheme for approval of the sum of N1.5 billion to cover advertising campaign for nine months on Radio, TV, online, newspapers including center spread. I also briefed FEC on the progress under the tax amnesty and it has been very well received.

“We have people who are ready to declare and pay. We sent out over 500 letters under the first batch, but there are thousands of Nigerians being targeted but the first 500 letters have gone out. We have started to get responses back and many people are asking for time to pay. Most of the governors have agreed to give more time for people to make arrangements for payments.

“This is indeed very good news for Nigeria as it will help reduce over reliance on oil. It will improve our tax revenue so that whether oil prices are high or low, we will be able to provide basic services for our people. Very high net worth people are now being brought into the tax revenue profile. We hope to exceed the target that has been set,” she stated.

Furthermore, the minister said governors had been contacted to assist in making the scheme effective, observing that some personal income taxes find their ways into state government accounts.

“We met the governors just two days ago and they all agreed because personal income taxes are also going to the state government coffers. They also agreed to accommodate those who agree they are owing but haven’t got the cash to pay. “Somebody might have the house but may not have the cash. Let’s give them chances to bring this money because this money is sustainable money and we have asked that they give them time to bring in this money and they have agreed to do so. From now on, they are ready to pay their right taxes,” she further explained.

Adeosun also disclosed that the sum of N421.3 million had been approved for payment of commission to whistle blowers in the month of November. According to her, only whistle blowers who signed the required agreement will be paid, adding that the tax had been deducted from the sum ahead of payment.

“The total amount, which also includes that of Osborne Road, Ikoyi, is N421,330,595 and this is for the November batch and it is ready for payment. The only condition necessary is
that the money will be paid to the whistleblower who signed the agreement, not to any company.

In his own briefing, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, said FEC had also approved N1.712 billion for payment to the contractor who has managed the 75 kilometre Gurara dam pipeline project in the FCT for nine years .

According to him, the sum would be shared by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory on 50:50 ratio.

“He (the contractor) has been maintaining the pipeline in the last nine years without any compensation and as part of our policy to tidy up loose ends pertaining to ongoing projects or completed projects, we decided to disengage the contractor to pay him off for his services and to take over full control of the pipeline.

“So, we negotiated with the contractor for a fee to be paid to him for the service he rendered over the last nine years and we agreed that this money will be shared 50:50 between the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory.

“So, the total amount is N1.712 billion over the course of nine years and the Ministry of Water Resources will pay 50 per cent of that and the Federal Capital Territory will pay the remaining 50 per cent and we all have made provisions for this money under the 2017 budget,” Adamu said.

http://investorsking.com/fg-approves-n1-5bn-advert-bill-drive-1bn-tax-revenue/

Nigeria and Libya will expect to face growing pressure from their counterparts in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to end their exemption from production cuts and accept an output quota, when ministers meet on Thursday (today) for a closely watched summit.

The production cuts deal, which began on January 1 and called on OPEC countries and 10 non-OPEC producers led by Russia to cut a combined 1.8 million barrels per day in supplies, was in May extended by nine months to March 2018.

Nigeria and Libya, which were exempt from the cuts as they dealt with internal unrest that had targeted their oil infrastructure, have ramped up oil production in recent months as their security situations have improved.

While the production outlooks for both countries remain hazy due to political, security and technical challenges, voices had been growing louder within OPEC that their output has recovered sufficiently to join in their market rebalancing efforts, sources told S&P Global Platts.

“I think both countries will be discussed,” an OPEC source told Platts, but he declined to say whether members would insist on imposing quotas.

One option being discussed is a “loose” quota that would be triggered if production in either country rises to a certain level, while another option would be to place a quota right at or above each country’s production target, to at least symbolise that they were willing to accept a cap, other sources and analysts said.

But it would be entirely possible that both countries’ exemptions would be maintained, as they had been vehemently opposed to any output restrictions while recovering from militancy, the sources said.

Nigeria declared in late September that it had agreed to a production cap of 1.8 million bpd, a level the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said would not be achieved until early 2018.

Other OPEC ministers and delegates appeared caught off guard by that announcement, as it contradicted Kachikwu’s previous statements that Nigeria would not join the output agreement until its production stabilised at 1.8 million bpd, from which it would cut.

Kachikwu had told reporters then that he wanted to “change the narrative” and that his country was already contributing to the deal by producing below that level, albeit involuntarily.

The nation’s oil production from January to October this year was close to 1.74 million bpd, according to the Platts OPEC survey, a rise of 300,000 bpd from December last year, but still much below the 1.8 million bpd cap.

Output hit a 16-month high of 1.86 million bpd in August, but has fallen since due to operational and loading delays.

It could face further challenges, with the growing threat of attacks in the oil-rich Niger Delta next year, as the country heads into its presidential campaign season, analysts said.

Counting Nigerian oil production has also been a difficult exercise, with divided opinions on what constitutes crude and what should be counted as condensates.

Nigeria has long said its oil production capacity is at around 2.2 million bpd, with condensate production accounting for between 350,000 and 400,000 bpd. The remaining 1.8 million bpd or so, which coincidentally is its self-declared cap for the agreement, consists of crude oil.

Nigeria this year began counting its Agbami grade, output of which is about 250,000 b/d, as part of its condensate production, which market watchers say makes it easier for the country to keep its crude output below 1.8 million bpd.

But some independent secondary sources used by OPEC to monitor crude output under the deal still count Agbami as crude.

Platts, one of the secondary sources, includes Agbami in Nigeria’s crude oil figure as it is marketed as a crude export blend and not a condensate by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and international oil companies.

In its latest monthly oil market report, OPEC said its six secondary sources pegged Nigerian crude production at an average of 1.68 million bpd for the first 10 months of the year.

Nigeria’s directly reported figures to OPEC showed that crude output from January to October averaged 1.58 million bpd.

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-libya-focus-opec-meets-today/

The Federal Government has approved a fresh budget support loan facility for 35 states across the country.

Each of the states will get N800m, totalling N28bn to meet their salaries and other obligations.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, disclosed this to State House Correspondents on Thursday at the end of a meeting of the National Economic Council presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Udoma said the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had been directed to effect payments.

Udoma said the Accountant General of the Federation reported to Council that approval had been received and CBN had been directed to pay N800 million to each of the 35 states of the Federation.

Only Lagos State is not taking the loan.

The minister said, “The Accountant General reported to the council that approval has been received and CBN has been directed to pay N800m to each of the 35 states of the federation.

“Governors expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for the restoration of the Budget Support Loan Facility for July and August 2017.”

Adeosun also informed the council that the country recorded the highest amount of Value Added Tax in October with over N89bn.

She added that the target was N120bn monthly.

On monthly was assets and declaration scheme, she said there was progress and the list of 500 Nigerians who are believed to have under declared their assets had been obtained.

The scheme will offer amnesty to all tax defaulters.

The Executive Vice-Chairman of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure was also said to have briefed the council about an homegrown proposal to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the replacement of the card readers in the conduct of elections in the country.

The proposal is a made-in-Nigeria “Solar-Powered Electronic Voting System” to effectively mitigate current electronic woes.

The same proposal which has already been presented to INEC is also expected to be presented to the National Assembly.

The balance in the Excess Crude Account as of November 17 was put at $2,309,693,583.35, while the Stabilisation Fund Account was put at N6,689,072,836.11.

The balance in the Natural Resources Development Fund stood at N100,314,169, 190.23 as of November 17, 2017.

The council also discussed the audit of revenue generating agencies.

The NEC was informed that some of the agencies granted some “questionable loans.”

Out of the 18 agencies that were audited, the committee had completed work on 13 agencies; work is still ongoing in two while three are not revenue generating.

The 13 agencies where work has been completed include NIMASA, NNPC, NPA, FIRS, NPDC and DPR.

The two outstanding are Nigeria Customs Service and NCC.

Osinbajo, however, directed the committee to conclude its report under four weeks and report back to council at the next meeting.

Udoma also briefed the council on the growth being experienced in the economy.

He said, “Signs of recovery had been observed since Q3 2016 and the recovery consolidated in Q3 2017 with GDP doubling to 1.40 per cent Non-oil GDP contracts in Q3 2017 by 0.76 per cent after growing in Q1 R Q2 2017.

“While the Services sector is still in the negative, the Manufacturing Sector grows negative in Q3 2017 also.

“Due to high inflationary pressures Household consumption expenditures remain constrained, though it appears such pressure is easing. Headline inflation has declined since January reflecting tight monetary policy. Food price increases have remained persistent but slowing down.

“The total value of capital importation at the end 2017 of Q3 stood at $4.14bn (131.3 per cent growth year on year).”

http://investorsking.com/fg-okays-fresh-n28bn-budget-support-35-states/

VeeVeeMyLuv:
lol see how FX market dry like tapioca/ okporoko fish

it seems like the world is throwing redirecting, channeling their investment in BITCOINS

No, US Thanksgiving holiday.

Nigeria generated a total Value Added Tax revenue of 250.56 billion in the third quarter of the year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics report released on Wednesday. This is 1.73 percent more than the 246.3 billion revenue generated in the second quarter of 2017.

According to the report, the manufacturing sector contributed the most, generating N28.98 billion in the quarter, while professional services and oil-producing sectors contributed N22.73 billion and N12.09 billion, respectively.

However, the mining sector generated the least VAT, contributing N33.7 million to the total revenue in the third quarter.

Still, the total VAT revenue remains below the Federal Government target of 15 percent of the national gross domestic product.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had last week reiterated Federal Government commitment to growing the tax revenue base in order broaden economic growth.

She had stated, “Revenue mobilisation is key to national growth and critical to the success of Nigeria’s economic reform agenda. We have an unacceptably low level of non-oil revenue and much of that is driven by a failure to collect tax revenues.

“With a tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of only six per cent, which is one of the lowest levels in the world, we have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will deliver inclusive growth. Improving VAT and other tax collections is key to Nigeria’s revenue strategy.”

The economy grew at 1.4 percent rate in the third quarter, up from the reversed 0.72 percent recorded in the second quarter of the year.

http://investorsking.com/vat-revenue-fg-earns-n251bn-q3/ mynd44

A Nigerian is currently assisting India’s Narcotics Control Bureau with his investigation after he was nabbed with cocaine worth Rs 7.5 crore (about N415,864,530.00).

Thirty-nine years old Okoro Uka was arrested alongside a Venezuelan woman, Brigette D V R Santoyo, 36, with authorities alleging the two were part of an international drugs racket.

According to The Tribune, the duo were apprehended from a hotel in the Mahipalpur area of Delhi when they were allegedly exchanging the drugs.

Santoyo had allegedly brought along the drugs cache along with her from a foreign destination.

The two have been arrested under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act by the Delhi zonal unit of the NCB, officials said.

Reports from the Asian country said Santoyo had arrived in India from Addis Ababa on Tuesday and had allegedly set up a meeting with the Nigerian man at the hotel to hand over the drugs.

“On November 20, our team received a tip-off that at around 3 pm, a Venezuelan lady, who is suspected to be carrying cocaine has booked a hotel room in Mahipalpur. The Venezuelan woman revealed that she arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport from Addis Ababa on Monday. She first entered Brazil from Venezuela on September 9 via road and travelled from Sao Paolo to Addis Ababa by an Ethiopian flight on November 19,” India’s Daily Pioneer said.

“The accused Venezuelan disclosed that she was handed over the trolley bag in Sao Paolo at a bus stand by a Nigerian national. She was being handled by one Emanuel, believed to be a Nigerian national, staying in Brazil.”

According to the paper, after a sustained interrogation of the Nigerian national, he confessed that he came to Delhi from Mumbai and had been staying at the same hotel as that of the Venezuelan woman since Sunday.

He further revealed that he often comes to India and it was his 12th visit.

http://investorsking.com/india-arrests-nigerian-venezuelan-with-n415-86m-cocaine/ OAM4J, Mynd44

Apple Stores in the United States and United Kingdom have begun the sale of gaming robots, MekaMons, built by a Nigerian-British, Silas Adekunle.

Adekunle’s company, Reach Robotics struck the deal with Apple recently.

The product with a price tag of $299.95 went on sale from 16 November in the shops and online. The robots can be operated with an iPhone and other smartphones.

Reach Robotics, an augmented reality gaming company creates robots for both fun and STEM education.

Adekunle, who was born in Nigeria moved to the UK when he was 11 years old.

He is an engineer who graduated with First Class Honours from the University of the West of England in Bristol, with a Bachelor of Science in robotics technology. He previously worked at GE Aviation and Infineon.

“We’ve created an entirely new video gaming platform,” said Adekunle in a press release, published by Black Enterprise.

“MekaMon straddles both the real and virtual worlds while taking the gaming experience beyond a player’s screen and turning their sitting room into a limitless robotic battle zone. MekaMon represents a quantum leap forward in the leveraging of augmented reality. Players can whip out their iPhone to battle their multi-functional, connected battlebots in the physical and virtual worlds at the same time.”

MekaMons are four-legged robots that players can control via a smartphone using a companion app for augemented reality gameplay.

Multiple players can have their MekaMons battle each another. Each robot weighs a little over two pounds with dimensions of 11.8 by 11.8 by 5.9 inches.

MekaMons can connect to each other via infrared signals and Bluetooth, allowing for co-op gaming.

The robots are powered by a rechargeable battery that provides up to an hour of gameplay. They are compatible with the iPhone, using the smartphone’s camera and infrared tracking capability for precise navigation.

Adekunle’s company, founded in 2013 is based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) Technology Incubator. His colleagues include Chris Beck who had been working as a roboticist in the BRL.

The company, according to southwestbusiness.co.uk has experienced fast growth in the past few months and the firm is moving out of its offices at Future Space in Bristol.

The company, which has taken space for its 29 members of staff at Bristol Business Park, has secured $9.5m (£7.1m) of investment funding from organisations which, says Adekunle, could “see the potential for what we were developing”.

Adekunle said: “When I was a student at UWE Bristol I spent some time going into schools to help inspire young people and it struck me that there was a huge untapped market for a consumer robot with a difference.

“We used to go in and explain simple robotics to try to inspire the young roboticists and engineers of the future and this experience set me off thinking about designing gaming robots.”

Reach Robotics is anticipating fast future growth and is looking to target the UK and US market in the lead up to Christmas.

Adekunle added: “This is an exciting time for our company as now after years of development work we are finally able to bring Mekamon to customers across the UK and US and with plans to go global.

“UWE Bristol has given us an amazing start and we are so grateful for their support.”

http://investorsking.com/apple-sells-gaming-robots-built-nigerian/ mynd44

Nigeria and Japan on Tuesday signed a grant aid project on economic and social development worth N642m. The amount will be provided by the Japanese government.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while Japan’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke, signed on behalf of his home country.

The programme aims at exploring development strategies that will enhance competitiveness and support Nigeria’s poverty reduction efforts.

It is also meant to improve the standards of living and ensure environmental sustainability in line with the development priorities encapsulated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

Udoma said the Federal Government was grateful to Japan for its numerous interventions in various sectors of the country’s economy in support of its development aspirations.

“The Economic and Social Development programme for which we are here gathered this morning is one of such interventions in the sum of 200,000,000 yen (approximately N642,204,315.79),” the minister explained.

The Federal Government also on Tuesday entered into an agreement with the United States government to improve the level of investment cooperation between both countries.

The Memorandum of Understanding between both countries on the investment instrument was titled: ‘US-Nigeria Commercial Investment Dialogue’.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while the US Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Wilbur Ross signed on behalf of his country.

The CID is designed to deepen commercial and investment ties between both countries

It allows for exchange of information between the two business communities and the governments on key commercial and investment matters of importance to improving the business climate, fostering greater economic growth, modernisation and job creation.

With the agreement signed, the two countries have committed to strengthening their commercial and investment relationship by leveraging private sector participation, and targeting the elimination of trade barriers and other obstacles to commercial and investment relationships.

Under the pact, the initial focus areas will be infrastructure, agriculture, digital economy, investment and regulatory reform.

“We’re delighted that this has come to fruition following dialogue that commenced with the previous administration of President Barack Obama to the current government of President Donald Trump. This continues to demonstrate our commitment as a government to leverage partnerships for economic growth and development,” Enelamah said.

Commenting on the partnership, Ross explained that the CID would be an effective tool to deepen bilateral trade and investments.

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-us-japan-seal-investment-social-development-pacts/

Dangote Cement will formally open its 1.5million metric tonnes Cement Plant in Congo on Thursday.

The plant, built at a cost of $500 million, is expected to directly employ more than 1000 people, and thousands more in indirect job placement.

The Plant which is now the largest in Congo rolled out its first bag of cement on the 7th of August, 2017.

Dangote Cement plants currently feature in 17 African countries. The Congo Plant commissioning will bring the total of Dangote Cement fully operational Plants in Africa, to 10.

The company’s third quarter unaudited results showed that the Congo plant which recently began operations has almost doubled the size of the cement sector in the country.

In the overall, Dangote Cement maintained its strong hold in the domestic cement market accounting for 65 percent of the Nigerian cement market while Pan-African volumes went up by 7.5 percent to 7.0 mta. Analysis of the results indicated that the company recorded strong volumes in Senegal, Ethiopia and Cameroon.

In the nine months under review, the 1.5 mta clinker grinding facility in Douala Cameroon sold approximately 938 kt of cement, indicating an increase of 16.4 percent on the 806 kt sold the same period in 2016.

The company attributes the increase in sales to a number of factors ranging from strong brand recognition, increased point of sales branding, improvements in sales and marketing strategies to higher visibility through trade shows.

Dangote Cement Ethiopia increased sales by 16.8 percent to nearly 1.7 mta in the first nine months of 2017 representing capacity utilization of approximately 88 percent. The cement plant in Pout Senegal sold 1.0mta of cement in the period under review, up by 21.7 percent on the comparable period of 2016. This represents almost 89 percent capacity utilization at the factory.

Statement from the company stated that “Our Pan-African operations are performing strongly with excellent sales growth in Cameroon, Ethiopia and Senegal. We are consolidating our success across Africa and have just commissioned our 1.5Mta factory in Congo, the tenth country in which we have established operations.

In our key operations in Nigeria we have significantly improved our fuel mix and this has helped increase margins across the Group. It is especially good for Nigeria because most of the coal we are using is mined in our own country”.

It would be recalled that top rating agencies, Moody’s Investors Service(Moody’) and Global Credit Ratings recently scored Dangote Cement high marks in their recent published ratings assigning a stable outlook to the foremost cement conglomerate.

Moody’s assigned a first-time Ba3 corporate family rating (CFR), Ba3-PD probability of default rating and Aaa.ng national scale rating (NSR) corporate family rating to Dangote Cement Plc (DCP), with the outlook on the ratings as stable while Global Credit Ratings accorded initial long term and short term national scale issuer ratings of AA+(NG) and A1+(NG) respectively, to Dangote Cement Plc, with the outlook accorded as Stable.

Speaking on the rating, Douglas Rowlings, Vice President and lead analyst for Dangote Cement Plc at Moody’s said, “Dangote Cement Plc’s Ba3 corporate family rating, one-notch above the Government of Nigeria’s rating, reflects the company’s strong standalone credit profile and track record of demonstrated financial support from a larger and more diversified parent, Dangote Industries Limited.”

He added that the ratings factor in the diversification of the company’s revenue streams as DCP’s new cement production plants are commissioned in Africa with Pan-African volumes expected to reach 40 percent of total sales volumes by 2020.

According to Moody’s, DCP’s Ba3 CFR and Ba3-PD probability of default rating reflect its strong financial profile, which factors high operating margins trending above 50 percent, low leverage as measured by debt/EBITDA trending below 1.0x over the next 18 months and high interest coverage as measured by EBIT/interest expense trending above 8x over the next 18 months.

Other factors which contributed to the rating include; conservative funding policies with debt funding matched to the currency of cash flow generation and prudent financial policies which will ensure sustenance of strong credit metrics through operating and project build cycles; and the additional parent level financial strength afforded by being part of a broader diversified group of companies under the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) umbrella.

Global Credit Ratings (GCR) credit ratings on Dangote Cement were based on the fact that DCP is one of Africa’s leading integrated cement companies.

http://investorsking.com/dangote-open-cement-plant-congo/ mynd44

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy consolidated second-quarter recovery following the surge in global oil prices.

The economy grew by 1.4 percent in the third quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics report released on Monday. This was higher than the revised 0.72 percent recorded in the second quarter and slightly below 1.5 percent growth projected by most economists.

Experts attributed the sustained recovery to the rebound in global oil prices. The International Monetary Fund had earlier predicted that the economy will grow at 0.8 percent year-on-year in 2017 and 1.9 percent in 2018, saying rising global oil prices and the surge in output level will boost economic activities in the world’s most populous black nation.

Since the fall in global oil prices plunged the economy into recession in 2016, economic activities across the country declined to record-low as businesses and investors couldn’t access enough forex to import raw materials in a nation that depends on imports for 90 percent of its supplies. This led to record high foreign exchange rates, high inflation rate and low foreign direct investment.

However, the rebound in global oil prices has helped the Central Bank of Nigeria deepened its forex intervention policy to sustain forex liquidity at both the official markets and the new Investors and Exporters forex window launched in April.

According to the Governor of CBN, the Investors and Exporters window has traded about $10 billion since it was introduced. Meaning, foreign direct investment has rebounded from recession low and business confidence is gradually growing.

Meanwhile, President Muhammad Buhari two weeks ago presented 8.6 trillion naira proposed budget to a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja. According to the president, the 16 percent increase in spending stated in the 2018 proposed budget will help consolidate on previous achievements and bring Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2018-2020 to fruition.

The Central Bank led monetary policy committee is expected to announce its benchmark rate later today after maintaining 14 percent record-high interest rate since 2016.

Nigeria’s crude oil production rose to 2.03 million barrels a day in the third quarter, according to the NBS. The oil sector contributed 10.04 percent to the real GDP in the quarter, while non-oil sector contracted 0.8 percent.

“There is an urgent need for diversification, the growth recorded in the last two quarters were as a result of rising oil prices,” said Samed Olukoya, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd. “The issue now is sustainability going forward.”

http://investorsking.com/nigerian-economy-consolidates-growth-q3-expands-1-4/ mynd44

Nigeria earned N69.2bn from solid minerals in 2015, representing an increase of 24 per cent on the N55.8bn generated from the sector in 2014, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative announced on Sunday.

In its latest independent audit report, NEITI stated that the total production of solid minerals in the country stood at 39.27 million tonnes in 2015, representing a reduction of 17 per cent from the 47.1 million tonnes produced a year earlier.

It said the drop in the 2015 production figure was attributable to insecurity in parts of the country and more stringent approval process for explosives used in mining.

The report indicated that while the mineral production reduced, government’s revenues went up in the same year.

“This increase in revenue was due to the growth in taxes collected from the sector and review of royalty rates paid by companies, which came into effect within the year under review,” the report stated.

NElTl’s previous solid minerals audit reports had recommended an upward review of Nigeria’s royalty rates to align with the current industry realities.

The report also indicated that the value of solid minerals’ exports in 2015 stood at $9.733m, which was 1.45 per cent of the non-oil exports for the year.

Lead and zinc topped the chart with 79 per cent, valued at $7.7m; while 175 ounces of gold, valued at only $122,000, were exported during the period.

It stated that the solid minerals sector contributed 0.12 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2015, a marginal increase of 0.01 per cent on the 0.11 per cent contributed by the sector in 2014.

“This report shows evidence that the contribution of the solid minerals sector to government revenues and macro-economic indicators is beginning to improve, even if marginally,” the Executive Secretary, NEITI, Waziri Adio, said.

The report highlighted the specific contributions by companies and states to the sector’s revenue growth and development.

Cement manufacturing companies were the major revenue contributors to the sector, accounting for over 60 per cent; while construction companies and real mining companies contributed about 31 per cent and eight per cent, respectively.

The report stated that three states, Ogun, Kogi and Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory accounted for about 70 per cent of the production volumes in 2015, with Ogun State topping the table with 36 per cent.

According to the report, a total of 4,305 mineral titles were valid in 2015. Of this figure, 204 titles were mining leases; 657 were for small-scale mining; 1,865 for quarrying licences, while exploration licences accounted for the remaining 1,579.

It noted that 1,220 of the 4,305 mining titles were issued in 2015 alone.

The agency also stated that the NEITI 2015 oil and gas report would be released next month.

The solid minerals audit report recognised the progress being made by the government towards repositioning the sector to be a major driver of the economic and revenue diversification agenda of the present administration.

To sustain this growth and further enhance the capacity of the sector to contribute to the economy, the report called for the speedy release of the N30bn Solid Minerals Development Fund recently approved by the Federal Executive Council to the intended beneficiaries in order to support some of the activities already stipulated in the road map for the sector.

The report suggested that a ban should be placed on the importation of some minerals such as gypsum, barite and kaolin, which Nigeria had in good quality and quantity.

NEITI stated that its first intervention in the solid minerals sector began with the conduct of a study in 2011, followed by an independent audit of the sector in 2012, which covered 2007-2010.

The six cycles of audit so far conducted by NEITI in the sector show that Nigeria earned a total of N271.77bn between 2007 and 2015.

http://investorsking.com/nigeria-earned-n69-2bn-solid-minerals-one-year/

Benita27:
Painment where?. I watch her reality show so know what I'm talking about. She looks posh but sounds average. Her English accent isn't Nigerian but sounds like that of people from Kenya or South Africa.

What about your finance minister? Is her accent Nigerian? When is accent even an issue in communication?

This is what Saudi Arabia wants Qatar to relinquish if they want to trade with them and allies.

alignacademy:
Thanks for sharing

Does this suggest any real growth or did we just wait out the storm?

Our revenue must be diversified so we won't always be at the mercy of global oil prices

The current growth is not broad-based and directly proportional to the surge in global oil prices. Therefore, to sustain economic recovery and contain consumer prices, FG needs to diversify the economy as you stated.

mynd44

The continuous effort of the Federal Government to rein in on consumer prices has started yielding results.

The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation rate rose 15.91 percent year-on-year in October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report released on Wednesday. This was lower than the 15.98 percent recorded in September and represents the ninth consecutive decline in the headline inflation.

Also, while average yearly inflation number for the first five months of the year stood at 17.45 percent, average headline inflation from June to October 2017 improved to 16.01 percent. Indicating that pace of price increase is gradually slowing down in relation to the fairly stable foreign exchange market.

On a monthly basis, inflation surged 0.76 percent in October, also 0.02 percent better than the 0.78 percent recorded in September. Making it the fifth consecutive month-on-month inflation headline is contracting.

However, despite the noticeable improvement in the headline inflation, the Food Index surged by 20.31 percent year-on-year in October, down slightly by 0.01 percent when compared to the 20.32 percent recorded in September.

Still, this is high and has continued to erode consumers’ buying power, especially when the average price of the first five months (18.67%) of the year is compared with the June-October average of 20.22 percent. Meaning, headline inflation is merely aided by the surged in forex liquidity due to rising global oil prices.

In April, the Federal Government had introduced series of forex policy to rein in on high foreign exchange and better stimulate the economy. While the Investors and Exporters forex window has been helpful in easing economic gridlock it has failed to curb rising food prices.

The Federal Government released its 2018 proposed budget of N8.6 trillion in November, saying the budget would consolidate on previous accomplishments.

The Naira remained fairly stable against the US dollar, trading around N363 per dollar.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-inflation-declines-nine-consecutive-months/ mynd44

The total number of new vehicle sold in Nigeria may not exceed 10,000 units at the end of the year, dropping from 50,000 units before the introduction of a new automotive policy in 2013.

Local automakers and dealers stated this in Lagos on Tuesday and gave low purchasing power due to the economic crunch, scarcity of foreign exchange and high interest rate as some of the factors responsible for the 80 per cent drop.

They spoke at the 2017 symposium of the Automobile and Allied Services Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry held under the theme, ‘The Nigeria auto policy: The current drivers’.

The Executive Director, Truckmasters Nigeria Limited, Dr. Oseme Oigiagbe, said rather than encourage production and purchase of new vehicle sales, the enforcement of the auto policy had largely led to significant reduction in the sales figures.

He said the figures had consistently dropped from 50,000 units in 2013 to 40,000 vehicles in 2015; 20,000 in 2016 and 10,000 this year.

Oigiagbe, who stated that the Federal Government ought to have placed a total ban on the importation of used vehicles to drive new vehicles’ patronage, lamented the high interest rate on vehicle loans, ranging from 25 per cent to 27 per cent.

The Executive Director, Kewalram Chanrai Group, Mr. Anil Sahgal, also put the total figure of new vehicles sold this year at 10,000 units, stressing that without the support of the government for the automobile assemblers, the industry would not make any headway.

The Executive Director, Nigerian Automotive Manufacturers Association, Mr. Remi Olaofe, said many of the auto assemblers were merely producing vehicles and dumping them in warehouses as a result of low patronage.

The Managing Director, VON Automobile Limited, Mr. Adetokunbo Aromolaran, who described the situation as pitiable, said there was no way the nation could make progress if the government continued to buy imported fully built vehicles.

“The government remains the biggest buyer, and it has to lead by example by buying made-in-Nigeria vehicles. The auto business is demand-driven; once volume grows, the cost of production will drop and vehicle prices will come down. There is also the need to create viable vehicle finance schemes,” he stated.

The Managing Director, National Trucks Manufacturers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim, Bayero, said, “Majority of us have been recording losses in the last five years due to poor sales.”

He criticised the granting of licences by the government to 53 auto firms to assemble vehicles in Nigeria, saying, “It does not make economic sense,” and warned that without sincerity, the auto policy would not achieve its desired goals.”

http://investorsking.com/new-vehicle-sales-drop-80/

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, raised its projected demand for next year on Monday.

The organization said its next year demand projection has been increased by 400,000 barrels a day to 33.4 million barrel per day. While the so-called ‘call on OPEC’ was also revised up by 200,000 barrel per day for 2017.

The increase in projection was as a result of growing demand that exceeded analysts’ expectations and helped reduce inventories from 2014 global oil glut.

This, combined with the 1.8 mbpd production cuts by the cartel and its allies helped global oil prices and pushed Brent crude oil to over $63 a barrel, up from $34 a barrel of January 2016.

Brent Crude

According to OPEC analysts, demand for its crude oil is projected to reach 34 million barrel per day by the second half of 2018, that is about 1.4 mbpd above 32.59 million barrel pumped per day in October.

A secondary source said the cartel pumped 32.59 mbpd in October, down by 150,000 bpd from September production. This, the cartel attributed to fell in Iraq and Nigeria’s oil production.

The organization will be meeting this month to discuss the possibility of extending its production cuts beyond the first quarter of 2018.

In October, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo announced that balanced oil market is insight and assured traders and marketers that production cuts remain effective.

“A balanced oil market is now fully in sight,” Barkindo said at the Oil & Money conference in London on Thursday. “Stability is steadily returning and there is far more light at the end of the dark tunnel we have been traveling down for the past three years.”

http://investorsking.com/opec-raises-2018-demand-projection/

Following heavy price gains recorded by major highly capitalised stocks, especially Forte oil and Cadbury, equity transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed high on Friday, as market capitalisation appreciated by N24 billion.

Specifically, at the close of trading on Friday, the market capitalization, which opened at N12.82 trillion, rose by N24 billion or 0.1 per cent to close at N12.85 trillion.

Also, the All-Share Index inched up 68.74 points or 0.19 per cent to close at 37,120.28, compared to 37,051.54 recorded on Thursday.An analysis of trading showed that Forte Oil emerged the day’s highest price gainer, adding N2.10 to close at N44.10 per share, followed by Cadbury, with N1.14 to close at N12.34 per share. International Breweries also gained N1.01 to close at N50 per share.

Nigerian Breweries garnered 90 kobo to close at N143.90 per share. Guaranty Trust Bank appreciated by 0.50 kobo to close at N43 per share. Nigerian Aviation Handling Company added 0.16 kobo to close at N3.57 per share, while Custodian and Allied Insurance appreciated by 0.10 kobo to close at N3.90 per share.

NPF Micro finance Bank garnered 0.06 kobo to close at N1.30 per share, as Caverton also added 0.06 kobo to close at N1.68 per share.However, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria topped the losers’ chart, shedding 43 kobo to close at N9.27 per share, followed by Fidson Healthcare, with 18 kobo loss to close at N3.76 per share, while Access Bank was down by 12 kobo to close at N9.91 per share.

Champion Breweries dipped 11 kobo to close at N2.09 per share and Zenith international Bank shed 10 kobo to close at N25 per share.Others are National Salt Company of Nigeria, which dropped 0.09 kobo to close at N15.26 per share; May&Baker, 0.08 kobo to close at N2.86 per share; Dangote Flour, 0.06 kobo to close at N9.45 per share; and C&I Leasing, 0.06 kobo to close at N1.67 per share.

A total of 175.28 million shares valued at N2.65 billion were exchanged by investors in 3,235 deals, against a turnover of 175.75 million shares worth N3.52 billion transacted in 3,357 deals on Thursday.

The banking equities maintained its leadership as the most active, with Zenith Bank trading 32.95 million shares worth N824.22 million, followed by FBN Holdings, with 23.99 million shares valued at N172.73 million.Fidelity Bank sold 16.66 million shares worth N27.64 million, while FCMB Group traded 15.76 million shares worth N18.11 million and Diamond Bank exchanged 14.40 million shares valued at N16.68 million.

http://investorsking.com/forte-oil-cadbury-others-lift-nses-indices-n24b/

The Federal Government and a consortium of three Chinese firms on Friday signed an agreement for the construction of the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Plant worth $5.79bn.

According to the government, the project which is being constructed in Taraba State is expected to be completed in six years.

Funding for the power plant will come from China and the Federal Government, as China Exim Bank and other Chinese lenders are expected to provide 85 per cent of the contract sum amounting to $4.92bn, while Nigeria will put forward 15 per cent amounting to $868.87m.

On the scope of work for the project, the government stated that it would include four large dams (Nya, Sumsum, Nghu and Api Weir), two underground power house of 12 units of 250MW each, two numbers of 330KV of 700km transmission lines to Markudi and Jalingo, 120km of access roads connecting the project site and nearby communities, as well as the resettlement of an estimated 100,000 impacted persons.

On August 30 this year, the Federal Executive Council approved the sum of $5,792,497,062 for the project which has been in the making for over 40 years.

The approval paved the way for the signing of the contract document with the China Gezhouba Group Corporation, Sinohydro Corporation Limited and the CGCOC Group Company Limited.

The government explained that the agreement would allow it to seek finance for its counterpart funding for the project.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while for the Chinese companies, Yong Jun, Gan Yongzhi and Ye Shuijiv signed for the CGGC, Sinohydro and the CGCOC Group, respectively, at the event in Abuja.

Fashola said the project had opened a huge opportunity for the country to harness its hydroelectric potential for electricity and irrigation purposes, adding that when completed, the 3,050MW plant would change the dynamics in Nigeria’s power sector.

He said, “This project is a new dawn for Nigeria’s power diversity and energy mix. This project will give us the opportunity for energy security; it will give us the opportunity to comply with our Paris Climate Change Agreement because it will be delivering renewable energy.”

http://investorsking.com/mambilla-fg-chinese-consortium-sign-5-8bn-power-plant-agreement/

The 2018 budget recently presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly lacks the capacity to grow the economy, the Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, and other stakeholders in the academia and industry have said.

They said although the country was in dire need of growth given the current economic times, the 2018 budget was not an option in giving the economy a leap.

The stakeholders said this at the 2018 Budget Seminar organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission in Lagos on Friday.

Also present at the forum were a professor of Economics at the University of Lagos, Ifeanyi Nwokoma; the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf; and the Director-General, SEC, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, among others.

For the 2018 budget, Rewane said expenditure growth was zero, pointing out that there were no stimulants for growth.

“It is not an expansionary budget; we are not spending our way to growth,” he said.

He said multiple exchange rates in the economy were not addressed in the budget, noting that the prevalence of such rates would continue to distort the market.

He added, “Inflationary projection in the budget is not realistic. Government is silent on subsidy on power and petroleum products, and minimum wage. The projection for non-oil revenue is not realistic and the deficit gap may widen after all.”

In the same vein, Nwokoma described the 2018 budget as a very ambitious one.

He said, “Oil production is also ambitious. We are being too optimistic without a clear plan of how to achieve our target. Over the years, we have distorted the budget cycle. This will affect implementation and good accounting. Nigeria should have a clear budget cycle and budgetary interferences should be avoided.

“N305 per dollar exchange rate is not real. I foresee a wide margin in the budget implementation. Government ambition is magical. If we hasten the passage of the 2018 budget for February or so, 2017 budget implementation will be inconclusive.”

He added, “We are not learning from the challenges or problems of 2017 budget. It is likely we fall into same mess. Our budgetary woes have become recurrent, and we are not learning from the past.”

To this end, Yusuf said that the budget had a higher capital spending compared to previous years. This, he said, was commendable.

He also said the military, police, health and education were areas for higher recurrent spending, given their critical nature.

He added, “That the budget is focusing more on infrastructure is a good way to go. But given that subsidy areas are becoming a huge threat to the economy and the budget is rather silent on it calls for worry.

Yusuf said, “Being totally silent about this is bad. Contractor arrears are also becoming a threat as over ‘N2tn is at stake. The risk involved in doing business with government is becoming worrisome.

“The private sector participation in the budget was not made clear especially in terms of infrastructure financing. The private sector should play a major role here.”

http://investorsking.com/2018-budget-cannot-grow-nigerias-economy-rewane-others/

The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) has spent N700 million (almost $2 million) to develop an Integrated Automation and Interactive GIS Web Portal to improve `Ease-of-Doing-Business in the mining sector.

The Minister Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this at the launching of the portal on Thursday in Abuja.

Fayemi said the portal was a cutting-edge initiative that leveraged technology for the innovation, efficiency and effectiveness in the mineral sector governance.

He said the overall objective of the project was to increase provision of reliable information and knowledge, to enhance the promotion of investments in the sector, using the technology-driven innovation and to increase the sector’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The portal was designed for mining investors to perform business processes such as online mining licences and mineral titles applications, online payment of royalties and fees, database for revenue drive and to block revenue leakages.

The portal, according to him, is to provide credible and timely information about the mining sector, performs and responds to online queries, business intelligence/analytics, reports and statistical data generation.

Other functions include ensuring that mining investors could view all existing mining titles and track them anywhere in the world through the portal, access all agencies information, global mining news, live chat and document library, among others. Lists of mining operators with valid licences and related minerals trade on private mineral buying centre and renewal of private mineral buying centres could also be accessed through the portal.

According to the minister, the portal is designed to serve as an input and decision support system to other entities of government (MDAs).

“This event is coming at a very auspicious time, on a broad scale; dividends of this administration’s commitment to turning around our economic fortunes,’’ he said.

He said Nigeria had moved up in the global market by 24 points in the ease of doing business index for 2018 in a recent report released by World Bank.

Fayemi said Nigeria was also ranked as one of the 10 most improved economies in the world. Fayemi said 75 staff had been trained on GIS across the mining sector.

He said the operation of online application of mining title and licences issued by Nigerian Mining Cadestre Office, online application of licences and permit issued by Mines Inspectorate Department and GIS laboratory, among others, would commence in the first quarter of 2018.

Alhaji Abubakar Bwari, Minister for State, Mines and Steel Development, said the integrated web portal was conceived as a means of making information more accessible to players and the public alike.

Bwari said the initiative was to revamp the sector, as the ministry was moribund before himself and the senior minister assumed leadership of the sector.

According to him, the government is a continuum and as long as subsequent administrations keep to track, mining will become the crown jewel of Nigeria’s economy.

Alhaji Mohammed Abbas, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, sought the support of the Ministry of Communication to assist with experts that would manage the portal effectively.

The ministers of communication, science and technology were represented at the event. The Women in Mining and Miners Association of Nigeria also witnessed the event.

http://investorsking.com/amazing-mines-steel-ministry-spends-n700m-web-portal/

Finance and economic experts on Wednesday commended the Federal Government for increasing allocation to some key sectors of the economy such as power, works and housing; industry, trade and investment; transportation, water resources, agriculture and rural development.

The Federal Government in the 2018 budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday proposed to spend N555.8bn on capital projects in the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as against N529bn allocated in 2017.

Transportation has a proposal for N263.1bn capital expenditure in 2018 as against N262bn in the current year, while agriculture and water resources have N118bn and N95bn as against N75bn and N95bn, respectively in 2017.

The experts, however, said that while the budget was crafted to stimulate growth and reduce poverty, the naira/dollar exchange rate used was not feasible.

A former President of the Nigerian Economic Society and current Executive Director, African Centre for Shared Development Capacity Building, Prof. Olu Ajakaiye, said the government was too optimistic in its projected revenues from non-oil sources.

In 2018, the government projects oil revenues of N2.442tn and non-oil as well as other revenues at N4.165tn.

The non-oil and other revenue of N4.165tn include share of the Companies Income Tax of N794.7bn; Value Added Tax of N207.9bn; Customs and Excise receipts of N324.9bn; Federal Government of Nigeria independently-generated revenues of N847.9bn; amnesty income of N87.8bn; various recoveries of N512.4bn; N710bn as proceeds from the restructuring of government’s equity in Joint Ventures; and other sundry incomes of N678.4bn.

Ajakaiye also opined that the debt servicing would be consuming a lot of resources and advised that government’s shifting attention to foreign borrowing should not lead to foreign debt overhang in the future.

Ajakaiye said, “On a general note, the budget is good. The only aspect that is too optimistic is the non-oil revenue projection. The increase from the figure of last year is quite large. The government needs to make sure that it has a structure in place to realise its projection on VAT and Company Income Tax.

“They may have taken into consideration that corporations that have not been making returns will start doing so. This year, for instance, JAMB suddenly made a huge return to the government.

“However, over the years, the targets from the non-oil revenue had not been met. The government needs to close the gaps.”

He added, “Another thing we see is that the debt service charge is still too high. Shifting to low-cost borrowing, we need to ensure that the funds are applied to generate not only naira, but also foreign currencies. The future challenge and risk of external borrowing should not be ignored.”

Ajakaiye urged the National Assembly to scrutinise the budget and pass it on time so that the implementation could start in January, adding that this had been the challenge over the years.

The President, Institute of Fiscal Studies of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Ighedosa, said the decision of the Federal Government to make non-oil sector as the centre of its revenue projections to execute its plans in 2018 was commendable.

He, however, expressed worry over how the funds would be raised.

Ighedosa said, “For the first time, we are projecting that non-oil revenue is going to overtake oil revenue, which obviously is a welcome development because since the 1970s, our economy has been largely dependent on oil revenues.”

On his part, the Registrar, Chartered Institute of Finance and Control of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Eohoi, said the increased allocation to power, works and housing would stimulate economic activities.

He stated, “The 2018 budget was properly structured to revive our economy but where the government did not get it right is in the area of the exchange rate, which was pegged at N305 to a dollar. This is not realistic and it may cause distortions.”

Meanwhile, analysts have said the increase in allocation to the ministries of Agriculture, Power, Works, Housing, Petroleum Resources and Aviation, among others, is not something to be excited about.

According to them, the government has yet to show enough willingness to adequately implement previous budgets, as they stressed that although the increase in capital allocation in the 2018 bill was a welcome development, its implementation must be taken seriously.

The President, Oil and Gas Trainers’ Association of Nigeria, Dr. Mayowa Afe, said, “Since things are gradually improving, we expect that the budget implementation for next year will be something to cheer about. That is the expectation of all us, particularly in the energy sector.

“Adequate implementation of the budget will build and boost confidence in the system; a lot of people will have money to spend and we are looking forward to more spending by the government. That is our expectation; they should implement a greater percentage of the 2018 budget.”

The President, Constance Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Shehu Mikhail, stated that the poor implementation of budgets was not only affecting capital projects across the country, but was adversely impacting on the capital market.

He said, “The government is not serious about implementing the budget, so why should we celebrate the increase in capital expenditure in the 2018 Appropriation Bill? For the 2017 budget, have they implemented it to a considerable extent? No, it has not been adequately implemented.”

In his contribution, the President, Federation of Construction Industry, an umbrella body for construction companies in Nigeria, Solomon Ogunbusola, stated that the National Assembly should pass the bill in good time to help its implementation.

“The increase in allocation to the works ministry is a welcome development. But we hope the budget will be passed by the National Assembly in good time for proper or higher percentage implementation so that it does not go the way that the 2017 budget seems to be going at the moment,” he said.

http://investorsking.com/2018-budget-experts-fault-non-oil-revenue-projection/

Global oil benchmark, Brent crude, hit a 28-month high on Monday as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince cemented his power over the weekend with an anti-corruption crackdown.

Brent, against which Nigeria’s crude oil is priced, rose by $2 to $64.07 per barrel as of 8:03pm Nigerian time, more than $19 higher than the country’s oil price benchmark of $44.5 per barrel for this year’s budget.

The Excess Crude Account, into which the country saves the difference between the market price of oil and the budget benchmark to provide a cushion when oil prices fall or extra cash is needed for spending on infrastructure, has suffered declines since oil price slumped in 2014.

The account, which stood at about $4.11bn in October 2014, dropped to about $3.11bn in November and $2.45bn in December that year, and declined further into 2015.

The balance in the ECA stood at $2.309bn as of September 27, 2017, according to the Ministry of Finance, while the nation’s external reserves rose to $33.93bn as of November 3, 2017, latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed on Monday.

“The price rise is a reaction to the uncertainty from Saudi Arabia,” the Chief Executive Officer, Sun Global Investments, Mihir Kapadi, told The Guardian.

Other factors have edged the oil price upwards. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan met over the weekend and said they were willing to maintain restrictions on oil production, to address a glut in supply and prop up prices.

The United Arab Emirates and Iraq have also said they would back an extension to production curbs, which were due to end in March 2018.

Meanwhile, Nigeria has expressed support for an extension of a deal between the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other non-members to cut oil supply until the end of 2018 “as long as the right terms are on the table” regarding its own participation.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said there was growing agreement among other members of OPEC to extend the deal.

“There isn’t any reason to change what is a winning formula,” he told Reuters, adding, “There is a consensus to extend. The issue will be the duration.”

Nigeria itself, however, is exempt from the deal.

OPEC, along with Russia and nine other producers agreed to cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day until March 2018 in an attempt to ease a global excess that weighed on prices.

http://investorsking.com/oil-price-rises-64-highest-since-mid-2015/

The Federal Government spent a total of N927.74bn in the first half of this year to service the nation’s loan obligations to local and external creditors, figures obtained from the Budget Office of the Federation have revealed.

The amount is N7.07bn higher than the prorated sum of N920.67bn expected to be spent from January to June this year.

A breakdown of the N927.74n debt service figure showed that it costs the Federal Government the sum of N871.94bn to maintain its domestic debt in the first six months of this year.

This represents about 94 per cent of the entire amount spent on debt service.

The amount spent on foreign debt service was put at N55.8bn, which is about six per cent of the total.

Nigeria’s public debt has increased significantly in recent years as the Federal Government has increased borrowing to finance its budget deficit.

While the Federal Government has maintained that the country currently has low debt levels relative to total output, experts have argued that the low ratio to revenue poses substantial risk to the public debt portfolio.

The Medium Term Expenditure Framework, which contains the government’s fiscal strategy for the 2018 to 2020 period, puts Nigeria’s total public debt stock at N19.16tn, representing about 18 per cent of the nominal Gross Domestic Product.

The document stated that the Federal Government’s domestic debt stock accounted for 63 per cent of the total debt, while the states’ domestic debts were 15 per cent.

It added that the external debts of both federal and state governments represented the residual of 22 per cent.

It noted that the domestic debt represented 80 per cent of the debt stock of the federation.

The rising domestic debt profile, according to the document, is part of an ongoing strategy to deepen the domestic debt market and reduce exposure to exchange rate risks associated with debt contracted in foreign currencies.

This strategy, the government said, had yielded good results with the development of several debt instruments.

However, it was learnt that the rising cost of servicing the domestic debt had led to a realignment of the strategy.

This, according to the government, will entail a rebalancing of the debt portfolio from 84:16 distribution between domestic and external debt, to a 60:40 ratio by the end of the 2019 fiscal year.

The implications of this, according on the MTEF, is that longer term external financing will form a significant part of Nigeria’s debt portfolio going forward.

To mitigate exchange rate risks, the document stated that new borrowing would be contracted to fund investment projects at concessional rates where possible.

It explained that projects to be financed with external loans would be those supporting non-oil export and reducing import dependence, such that there would be no risk of external debt overhang.

It stated, “Nigeria’s public debt has increased significantly in recent years as the Federal Government has increased borrowing to finance its budget deficit. Although the country currently has low debt levels relative to total output, its low ratio to revenue poses substantial risk to the public debt portfolio.

“Yet the country needs additional resources, including debt resources to fund economic recovery and diversification. Government is cautious of the implications of its expansive fiscal policy programme under a tight revenue profile. The fiscal deficit will be maintained within the three per cent level stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 but at an average of about 1.93 per cent of the GDP, but declining to less than one per cent by 2020.”

It added, “Debt financing will be restructured gradually in favour of foreign financing, while domestic financing is de-emphasized.

“Thus, while the proportionate share of foreign financing will increase from the current level of about 28 per cent to almost 72 per cent in 2020, domestic financing will decrease gradually from about 54 per cent in 2016 to about 26 per cent in 2020.

“This will prevent the crowding out of the private sector and accord private capital a leading role in driving growth.”

Finance and economic experts, who spoke on the development, cautioned the Federal Government against further borrowing.

They stated that the country’s debt profile of N19tn was becoming unsustainable as it might be difficult to service it owing to revenue challenges.

The experts advised that rather than continue to rely on borrowing to finance its activities, the Federal Government should adopt other sources of funding the infrastructure needs of the country such as concession, privatisation, and public-private partnership arrangement.

Those that spoke to our correspondent in separate telephone interviews are the President, Institute of Fiscal Studies of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Ighedosa; and the Director-General, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Chijioke Ekechukwu.

Ekechukwu said, “It is expected that the debt profile of the country will rise considering the fact that we have a deficit budget and even the deficit side of the budget was not met in the last budget year.

“With the recession of last year, the government will need to continue borrowing to meet the increased size of the deficit. Of course, the borrowing portends danger for the economy, because our debt profile is rising and we do not know when we are going to scale it down.”

In his comment, Ighedosa stated that while it was not bad to borrow, there was a need for a reduction in government expenditure

He added, “We have a high fiscal deficit, which can only be funded through borrowing. When you borrow for investment, it improves the position on your balance sheet but when you borrow for consumption, it can cause problems for the economy as it will affect the level of confidence in the economy from investors, because they will assume we can’t manage our economy.

“We already have a debt overhang, and as it is, we are building that up and so there is a need to reduce the rate of borrowing.”

But defending the government’s borrowing, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, expressed confidence that the Federal Government’s revenue and debt management strategy would mitigate the country’s debt service risk and fast-track its development.

The minister noted that the government was refinancing its inherited debt portfolio and this would lead to significant benefits, particularly a reduction in cost of funds.

She said, “The proposed refinancing of $3bn worth of short-term treasury bills into longer tenured international debt is expected to save N91.65bn per annum.

“Other benefits of our revenue and debt management strategy include improvement in foreign reserves as well as reduced domestic debt demand, which will reduce crowding-out of the private sector, and support the aspirations of the monetary authorities to bring down interest rates.”

While welcoming the advice of Nigeria’s international development partners, including the International Monetary Fund, Adeosun said the strategy would achieve a number of objectives for the country.

She stated that a key element of the economic reform strategy was the mobilisation of revenue to improve the debt service to revenue ratio.

http://investorsking.com/debt-servicing-gulps-n928bn-six-months/

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its joint venture partner, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, on Friday announced their readiness to boost the country’s power generation by 480 megawatts through the completion of the Okpai Phase II independent power project by 2019.

This was disclosed during the inauguration of the Okpai Phase II power project by the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Maikanti Baru.

He said all the partners were working hard to deliver on the project in terms of specifications, time and budget.

Baru stated that the decision by the partners to embark on the second phase of the Okpai power project was hinged on the success of first phase.

The Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Ndu Ughamadu, quoted Baru as saying in a statement, “Although it (Okpai Phase I) was meant to generate 450MW into the national grid, it is now generating an average of 300MW due to evacuation challenge. This is a significant addition to the national grid.”

He noted that the Okpai Phase II project, on completion, would generate additional 480MW into the national grid.

The NNPC boss charged a 12-man committee set up to actualise the project to work hard and explore the possibility of delivering it ahead of the 2019 target date, as the project was critical to the nation’s power aspirations.

The Managing Director, NAOC, Massimo Insula, who was represented by Mr. Luca Bai, said everything had been put in place to ensure that the Okpai Phase II project was delivered on schedule.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Oando, Omamofe Boyo, said the company was committed to sustaining the successes recorded in the first phase of the project, adding that it would work with other partners to ensure prompt and timely delivery of the plant.

http://investorsking.com/nnpc-agip-boost-power-generation-480mw/

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday described the continent of Africa as a land of immense opportunities, noting that Foreign Direct Investment inflow into the region was expected to hit $75.5bn by the end of this year.

Osinbajo stated this in Abuja at the opening session of a two-day high level policy and private sector forum on trade and investment facilitation for development.

The event was hosted by Nigeria in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and World Trade Organisation, among others.

He said the expected investment inflows of $75.5bn into the region would be far higher than the $56.5bn recorded in 2016.

Osinbajo stated, “We are in a time of critical challenges and in a time of huge opportunities, our population will equal the population of India and China together by 2050.

“Some say so earlier, by the same year we will have the youngest population in the world, climate change has great impact on Africa than elsewhere and security challenges stubbornly remain in many of our states.”

He added, “Yet consumers’ spending is projected to reach $1.4tn in the next few years and business to business spending to reach $3.5tn in the next eight years.

“African economies are doing better than ever before despite the difficult global economic environment; Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with average 2.2 per cent in 2015, is estimated to rise to 3.4 per cent this year and to 4.3 per cent in 2018, all above the global average.”

The vice-president stated that for Africa to maximise the benefits of its huge potential, there was a need to take the issue of trade and investment very importantly as it was vital for economic development.

He, however, noted that poor infrastructure and lack of capacity building needed to be addressed to ensure that trade and investments takes the centre stage in economic development of the continent.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said developing countries, including Nigeria, needed about $2.5tn yearly investment to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

He stated that the country’s improvement in the World Bank ease of doing business ranking was a demonstration of the effectiveness of the government’s recent policies.

In his comments, the Director-General, WTO, Roberto Azevedo, said trade and investment had proven to be the best economic tool to stimulate development.

The President, ECOWAS Commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, called on members to facilitate the use of a common currency in the sub-region.

http://investorsking.com/investment-inflow-nigeria-others-hit-75bn-osinbajo/

Conoil Plc reported a turnover of N70.23 billion for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. This is higher than the N63.95 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2016.

While gross margin climbed from N9.5 billion in 2016 to N10.57 billion the third quarter of 2017. Profit before tax stood at N2.03 billion in 2017, slightly lower than the N2.72 billion recorded in the preceding year.

“We will quicken our pace and sharpen our strategies in the coming months to meet our goal of moving from competing to winning in the market place, while focusing more on delivery and growth,” Conoil said.

The company further assured shareholders of maximum value on investment as well as excellent service delivery to customers.

http://investorsking.com/conoil-reports-n70-23b-turnover-3q/

Facebook Inc announced a 79 percent jump in its profit in the third quarter of the year.

The social media giant reported $4.9 billion profit in the quarter, up from $2.6 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2016.

The better than expected profit was attributed to increased revenue from online ads in the third quarter.

However, Facebook shares fell immediately after the report was released as the tech giant announced its 2018 expenses would surge by 45 percent to 60 percent or faster than expected sales.

The high trading share fell 2 percent from $185 to $179 after the company made public its initial 2018 expense forecast.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, used the opportunity to reiterate Facebook commitment to curbing manipulation and fake news.

“We’re serious about preventing abuse on our platforms,” he said.

Here’s the key data:

EPS: $1.59 per share, more than the $1.28 a share expected.
Revenue: $10.3 billion, up 47 percent and more than $9.84 billion expected
MAUs: 2.07 billion versus 2.06 billion expected

http://investorsking.com/facebook-profit-jumps-79-in-3q/

Manufacturing sector sustained growth for a seventh consecutive month in October, according to the data released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday.

The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index expanded 55 in the month, slightly lower than the 55.3 recorded in September but above the 50 level that divides expansion from contraction and suggests the sector remains steady as the economy continued to recover.

Also, the report showed 11 of the 16 sub-sectors surveyed reported growth in October in the following order: plastics & rubber products; paper products; nonmetallic mineral products; chemical & pharmaceutical products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; food, beverage & tobacco products; furniture & related products; primary metal; electrical equipment; printing & related support activities; and fabricated metal products.

The gauge of new orders expanded 52.8 in the month, with 7 of the sub-sectors reporting growth, 2 remains unchanged while the remaining 7 contracted in October. This is below the 53.5 recorded in September when 10 sub-sectors reported growth.

Manufacturing Production Index stood at 58.4 level in the month, indicating steady production in the manufacturing sector. But when compared to the 58.8 recorded in September, the pace of increase was slightly slower.

However, inventories index grew 56.5 in October, faster when compared to September 2017. Suggesting that businesses are already preparing for the usual Christmas rush. Ten of the 16 sub-sector recorded growth in raw material inventories, while four sub-sector declined with two remaining unchanged.

Employment in the sector grew at 53.1.

Since the economy rebounded from recession in the second quarter, the Federal Government has deepened its effort at sustaining recovery and broadening economic growth in the non-oil sector.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun announced on Tuesday in Abuja that a record-high N797 billion was generated in revenue, Value Added Tax, between January and October 2017.

This further validated improved effort at increasing revenue base as Nigeria looks to diversify the economy.

http://investorsking.com/nigerias-manufacturing-sector-remains-steady/