₦airaland Forum

The naira recorded marginal gain at the parallel market on Monday and closed at 393 against the United States dollar, up from 397 on Friday.

The local currency, which had fallen to 400/dollar last Friday, traded lower last week.

The naira closed at N505 and N435 against pound sterling and euro respectively at the parallel market on Monday, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

At the Bureau De Change segment of the foreign exchange market, the naira closed at N385, N505 and N420 against the dollar, pound sterling and euro, respectively.

The naira appreciated at the official interbank market to close at N317.34, from N320.25 posted on Friday.

Traders at the market said that the demand for the greenback was still on the high side.

NAN reported that the market was eagerly awaiting the sale of forex by banks to the BDCs during the week.

Meanwhile, the interbank overnight lending rate had jumped to 23 per cent on Friday from 10 per cent recorded in the previous week.

This came after the Central Bank of Nigeria sold Treasury bills at higher yields to lure foreign investors.

The CBN has been offering Treasury bills at high rates to attract offshore flows into the country.

The country has been hit by the fall in oil prices, a development that has prompted foreign players to flee bond and equities markets.

The CBN has been selling hard currency almost on daily basis.

The country is in the middle of its worst crisis in decades as a slump in oil revenues hammers public finances, causing chronic dollar shortages and triggering a contraction in the economy.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has said a recession is likely.

The regulator raised N256bn in six-month bill on Friday, N206bn more than it had planned to issue, and at a higher yield of 18 per cent to soak up naira liquidity and attract foreign investors back to the country.

It also intervened on the currency markets after the naira hit an all-time low of N353.75 on the interbank market on Friday.

The Federal Government is planning to raise N110bn in local currency denominated bonds on August 17. It is also seeking advisers and book runners to manage a planned $1bn Eurobond it intends to offer this year.

mezcri:
Yeah mine is up to 5k
And my school won't send me VAL until i pay fees. Cos some use VAL to show up for their own stuff and fail to pay fees or even enroll.
So i definitely have to pay fees before i can go.

In an apparent response to the competition in the fixed income market sector of the nation’s capital market, the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday announced the revision of the listing and trading fees for securities listed and traded on platform.

According to the NSE, the revised fee structure, which is effective August 17, 2016, will be piloted for an initial six month period, and then evaluated to determine if it has met its objectives.

Under the revised fee structure, the NSE will no longer charge trading fees on fixed income traded on its platform. The initial flat listing application fees of 0.15 per cent for all bond types has been replaced with variable listing application fees. With this, Corporate Bonds exclusively listed on the NSE, with existing equity listing, will attract 0.01 per cent listing application fee.

The exchange explained that dual listed Corporate Bonds with existing equity listing and other corporate bonds will attract 0.0375 per cent listing application fees, while the listing application fees for State and Supranational Bonds has been reduced to 0.05 per cent.

Besides, the exchange also replaced the fixed Brokerage Commission of 0.0005 per cent with a negotiable rate capped at 1.0 per cent so as to enable investors negotiate trading commission with brokerage firms, thus driving competition and best execution.

Commenting on this development, the Executive Director, Capital Markets, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, noted that the fee reduction in the NSE fixed income market is in line with the exchange’s commitment to boost market efficiency.

He said: “The reduction in listing application fees gives issuers opportunity to raise their profile and increase visibility through listing on a globally recognized Exchange with the highest regulatory standards. The aim is to reduce issuers cost of accessing long term capital and to provide investors with diverse investment products at competitive trading fees.”

Jalo-Waziri described the investment opportunities in the Nigerian capital market as huge, urging issuers to raise cheap long term capital through bond issuance for business expansion, project finance, loan refinancing among others.

He stated that the NSE remained committed to building an enduring marketplace and will continue to pursue initiatives that add value to issuers and investors.

The naira pared some its previous day’s loss on the interbank forex market as it appreciated to N314.75 to the dollar on Thursday, stronger than the N317 to the dollar it closed on Wednesday.

The positive momentum displayed by the nation’s currency was attributed to an intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which sold dollars to boost liquidity and help the naira to strengthen against the greenback.

The central bank asked some traders to bid for $1.5 million each, Reuters reported, adding that the Bank had been selling hard currency since this week.

A total of $6.27 million traded on Thursday.
However, on the parallel market, the naira climbed marginally to N395 to the dollar, up from the N394 to the dollar it closed the previous day.

The central bank had intervened in the interbank forex market on Tuesday to help support the naira after it hit an all-time low of N350 to the dollar in thin volume on that day.

The naira has been under pressure since the central bank floated the currency in June to allow it trade freely on the interbank market. The currency has been hit by a plunge in oil prices, Nigeria’s economic mainstay, which caused foreign investors to flee bond and equities markets.

The central bank last month told international money transfer operators to pay dollar proceeds from customer transfers into local commercial banks in naira, while selling the dollars themselves to bureaux de change (BDC) outlets.

On Tuesday the bank pegged the dollar transactions which banks can carry out with BDCs at $30,000 per week and set a margin for the banks to sell dollar to currency outlets at not more than 1.5 per cent over the rate at which they bought.

It hopes the move will help narrow the gulf between the official and black market rates and boost dollar liquidity, traders say.

The central bank set a margin of two percent over the rate at which BDCs sourced dollars from banks as resale premium to customers and pegged BDC disbursement at $5,000 per transaction to cover travel allowance, medical bills and school fees.
Meanwhile, the CBN yesterday advised interested International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to apply for licence.

The central bank in a statement last night said it came to its notice that, in spite of its transparency in the licensing of IMTOs in Nigeria, some persons have continued to allege that the Bank has stopped the licensing of interested IMTOs in the country.

“The CBN wishes to state, unequivocally, that it has not foreclosed the licensing of interested players in the IMTO space in Nigeria. Therefore, interested applicants are required to forward their requests for licensing to the Director, Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN, in line with the CBN Guidelines on International Money Transfer Services in Nigeria (2014), which among other things, specifies the minimum technical and business requirements for various participants in the international money transfer services industry in Nigeria. The aforementioned guidelines can be downloaded from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria, it added, saying it remains committed to providing an enabling environment for international money transfer services in Nigeria.

Dangote Industries Limited has announced the commencement of the construction of concrete roads in various states across the country, particularly in Lagos, Bauchi, Kogi, Kaduna and Ogun states.

“We are very happy at the moment. We can categorically state that we are in more than five states across the country already constructing roads. The reception has been wonderful. State governments are beginning to see the need to embrace concrete roads and we are very happy at the way things are currently going,” the company said.

The Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote, recently reiterated his plea to the Federal Government to consider the use of concrete in road construction in the country.

The African richest man said it would be to the benefit of Nigerians if the Federal Government embraced the option of using concrete for roads in the country, adding that aside from being cheap, concrete roads were more durable, with near zero maintenance cost.

“We are pushing for Nigeria to do concrete roads. It is cheaper to do a concrete road that will last 50 years than to do a bitumen road. It will also help in eliminating corruption because if you go and build a bitumen road, it will have to be adequately maintained unlike a concrete road that is very durable,” Dangote added.

President Muhammadu Buhari has called for more intensive trade and economic engagement between Nigeria and Italy.

Speaking recently during a courtesy call by Mr. Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at the State House, Abuja, Buhari described the connection between Nigeria and Italy as very strong.

He urged that efforts should be made to make it stronger and more secure.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu said Buhari commended the resilience of Italian businesses in Nigeria and expressed happiness that new businesses were in line to be set up in the country.

He also commended Italian support for his government in tackling the humanitarian situation in the Northeast and the training they are giving to Nigerian policemen.

Mr. Gentiloni, who was accompanied by the Italian Minister of State for Interior, Mr. Domenico Manzione, announced his government’s $10 Million humanitarian assistance to the Lake Chad region countries in addition to what they are already doing. This is within the framework of the European Union.

He said that the visit of the business group on his delegation was a fulfillment of the promise made by Mr. Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister, during his visit in February, to strengthen relations with Nigeria politically and economically.

The Federal Government says it has taken Turkish Airlines to court for alleged impunity and violation of the rights of some Nigerian passengers.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, filed a three-count charge against the airline and two of its principal officers, Liker Ayci and Rasak Shobowale, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

A statement by the Consumer Protection Council on Sunday said the prosecution became imperative as a result of the persistent refusal of Turkish Airlines to respond to lawful requests by the council for a full situation report on the alleged shoddy treatment of its passengers on Flight 623.

The development, according to the statement, prompted the council to approach the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for the prosecution of the airline.

The statement read in part, “The accused persons were arraigned before the court for allegedly neglecting, without sufficient cause, to attend and testify before the CPC on the number of passengers aboard the Turkish Airlines Flight 623 from Istanbul to Abuja on the 25th and 31st of December, 2015, as well as the 9th of January, 2016, who were affected by its untimely delivery of baggage, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 18 of the CPC’s enabling law.

“The Federal Government also accused the airline and its two principal officers of violating the same section of the CPC Act by neglecting, without sufficient cause, to attend and testify before the Consumer Protection Council on the detailed steps taken by the airline to provide redress and compensation to passengers aboard its Flight 623 from Istanbul to Abuja on the said dates, who were affected by its untimely delivery of baggage.

“The prosecution of the airline and its principal officers followed a warning by the Federal Government to the airline to respond within 21 days to the Consumer Protection Council’s request for full situation report on the airline’s alleged shoddy treatment of passengers of flight TK 623 of Sunday, December 20, 2015 and other subsequent flights during the Yuletide or face prosecution.”

The statement said the AGF had in a letter of March 17, 2016, signed on his behalf by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Diri, threatened to prosecute the airline if it failed to respond to the council’s lawful demand for the full situation report, irrespective of its engagement with any other relevant agency.

The statement quoted the AGF letter to have stated, “It is our considered opinion that you are not in any position to choose which government institution or laws to comply with and which one to disdain.

“Your refusal, neglect or omission to oblige the CPC with detailed information relating to delayed baggage of your passengers from December 2015 to January 2016 as requested is in breach of section 18 of the Consumer Protection Council Act, 1992 and a deliberate attempt to ridicule a duly constituted authority.”

barleeh:
i'av neva seen, heard or ever come across any similar name of a sch like dat in malaysia, d sch must be a special sch 4 special folks

barleeh:
Please Is it possible to change naira to ringgit in malaysia,if I go with naira to malay, and I think it would be better withdraw in malaysia with d atm that buying dollar at 405/$, @Truth234, @allhavesinned pls gimme d break down, if i'm to withdraw like 5K ringgit from atm in malay,like how much would I be charge as bank charges, how much is d maximum withdrawal per day and month and pls update me on other best,cheapest, easiest and fastest option to receive money from nigeria e.g western union or money gram etc , Thanks

DaniDani:
i don't think you have been to akwa Ibom you wouldn't have commented this trash. Upkabio performed signs, wonders and miracles in terms of development in the entire akwa Ibom .Lagos state whose internal generated revenue in a month is akwa Ibom's combined federal allocation and internal generated revenue in a year. As far as I know Upkabio should receive national award for his performance on infrastructure, since 1999 return to democracy till date no governor can equate his performance. The only governor that can near him is Rabio Kwankwaso of Kano State. Mind you I am from abia state. Notwithstanding, he may not be free from corrupt charges, but if real criminals like T. A Orji, former benue governor, former Ebonyi governor, Uduaghan, etc are walking free Upkabio should be treated as a royal legend except you want me to believe that apc is truly witch hunting

Amidst efforts by the Federal Government to diversify the economy from oil, the prospects of earning revenue from the non-oil sector are fast fading, owing to the dismal performance of the sector.

Data from Bloomberg showed that all activities in the non-oil sector recorded varying degrees of declining growth relative to real Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2016.

Specifically, the data indicated that the sector dropped from 2.11 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to -0.36 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.

A further breakdown of the figure showed that in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sub sector, crop production dropped from 3.3 per cent in the Q4, 2015 to three per cent in the Q1 2016; livestock was 5.6 per cent in the Q4 2015, it dropped to 3.9 per cent in the Q1 2016. Forestry fell from four per cent in the Q4 2015 to 2.3 per cent in the Q1 2016. Fishing was 5.4 per cent in the Q4 2015, it dropped to 3.3 per cent in the Q1 2016.

The mining and quarrying, crude petroleum and natural gas sector had a negative decline of -8.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015; it improved slightly to -1.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.

In the sector, coal mining reduced from 7.7 per cent in the Q4 2015 to 3.3 per cent in the Q1 2016. Metal ores increased from 6.9 per cent to 57 per cent while quarrying and other minerals, which stood at 5.6 per cent in the Q4 2015, recorded a negative (-88.9 per cent) in the Q1 2016.

In the manufacturing sector, oil refining maintained a negative of -22.6 per cent in the Q1 2016, the same figure that was recorded for the Q4 2015.

Cement, which witnessed huge growth last year, dropped sharply from a high of 21.3 per cent in the Q4 2015 to a negative of -4.4 per cent in the Q1 2016.

Food, Beverage and Tobacco sector increased in negative growth from -5.6 per cent in the Q4 2015 to -11.1 in the Q1 2016. Textile and apparel, which recorded 2.8 per cent growth in the Q4 2015, declined to -3 per cent.

Chemical and pharmaceutical products declined from 17.2 per cent in the Q4 2015 to 5.9 per cent in the Q1 2016; non-metallic mineral products dipped from 12.7 per cent in the Q4 2015 to 5.5 per cent in the Q1 2016; plastic and rubber products also plummeted from 15.7 per cent in Q4 2015 to 4.8 per cent in Q1 2016.

Wholesale and retail trade also witnessed a decline from 4.7 per cent in the Q4 2015 to two per cent in the Q1 2016.

In general, real GDP growth of the manufacturing sector slowed by 8.39 per cent in the Q1 2016 according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The report added that nominal GDP growth of manufacturing in the Q1 2016 slowed by 2.98 per cent (year-on-year), representing 4.23 per cent points lower from growth recorded in the Q1 2015 and 9.91 per cent points lower from growth in the Q4 2015 as a result of slower growth in 10 of 13 activities in the sector.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is intensifying investigation on ex-Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Sen. Godswill Akpabio.

The EFCC is investigating allegations that the former governor embezzled N108bn during his tenure between 2007 and 2015.

Already, the anti-graft agency had written to five banks demanding information on Akwa Ibom State finances under Akpabio’s administration.

Similarly, the EFCC is making moves to invite key members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and serving commissioners, many of whom served during the ex-governor’s administration.
A source at the EFCC said, “We have written to Zenith Bank, Keystone Bank, FCMB, Skye Bank, and UBA demanding information on the state’s accounts. We are also inviting the accountant-general, the auditor-general, the Speaker and the clerk of the House of Assembly. We have traced some houses to the former governor in Lagos and Abuja and it is just a matter of time before we seize them.”

Akpabio was first quizzed by the commission’s detectives last year following series of petitions written against him.

The former governor, now the Senate Minority Leader, was accused of embezzling public funds while he was governor of the oil-rich state.

In March 2013, he was accused of giving N1m each to six chairmen of the Peoples Democratic Party from the South-South geopolitical zone that had converged on Port Harcourt for a party reconciliation session, telling them to use the money to “buy Mr Biggs.”

Few weeks ago, the Akwa Ibom State government had gone to a state High Court to get an interim order barring the EFCC from investigating Akpabio’s administration.

The Justice Ntong Ntong-led court on July 15 granted an interim injunction, restraining the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and the Inspector General of Police from investigating the finances of the Akwa Ibom State government.

The suit was filed on behalf of the state government by the state Attorney-General, Uwemedimo Nwoko, who also served under Akpabio and is believed to be loyal to the former governor.

However, following a motion on notice filed by the EFCC, the court on Friday, vacated the order of interim injunction restraining the EFCC from investigating the accounts of state.

The judge then adjourned the matter till October 19 for hearing of the preliminary objection of the EFCC alongside other applications.

In a June 22, 2015 petition to EFCC, an Abuja-based lawyer and activist, Leo Ekpenyong had accused Akpabio of sheer waste in office.

Among several other allegations, the petitioner alleged that between January and December 2014, the trio of Godswill Akpabio, a former aide to the governor and another associate made illegal but substantial withdrawals of cash from a designated state government-owned account with Zenith Bank with account number 101037588, amounting to N22.1bn.

When contacted on the telephone on Saturday, Akpabio’s spokesman, Mr. Aniete Ekong, said he was in a public place and promised to call back. However, he had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.

sammie771:
Solomon Dalung should be investigated with iron hand.That man is one of the most confused and useless boy scout i mean sport minister.This is arrant nonsense.

afembaba:
Also. A cousin of mine is. Coming with social visa and needs shared accommodation any help he's really young and. Needs someone there

afembaba:
I learnt embassy hardly grants visa to nigerians, my sister is about applying to upm and. She has a baby she wants to go with the baby any advice, is this school good?will she get approval

The Nigerian stock market on Friday closed in the red with the market capitalization falling by N112 billion ($533 million).

The Nigerian stock exchange which opened N9.531 trillion plunged 1.17 percent to close at N9.419 trillion.

The gauge of equity, All-Share Index declined 1.17 percent to close at 27,425.87, below the 27,751.34 recorded on Thursday. Week-on-week, the market indices lost about 2.09 percent.

The number of shares traded also declined by 34.96 percent to 120.84 million shares, valued at N1.27 billion ($604 million) in 3,307 deals.

This was lower than the 187.78 million shares worth N1.58 billion ($752 million) traded on Thursday.

Seplat led the losers’ chart with a loss of N12.76, to close at N242.60 per share.

7Up came second with N6.15 to close at N120.20, while Dangote Cement dipped N3 to close at N180 per share.

Nigerian Breweries dropped N1.97 and Con Oil lost N1.26 to close at N23.96 per share.

Conversely, Total topped the gainers’ table with a gain of N19.42, to close at N242.02 per share.

Mobil followed having gained N8.50 to close at N178.60 and Flour Mill garnered N1.98 to close at N21.98 per share.

International Breweries improved by 62k to close at N19 and Oando chalked up 34k to close at N 5.88 per share.

Analysts said the development is due to the present gloomy outlook of the economy.

The sale of luxury properties across the country has dropped significantly, stakeholders in the housing sector have said.

Real estate developers, who spoke with our correspondent, said most brokers, who used to sell as much as 10 high-end buildings in one year, ranging from N100m upwards, could hardly sell one presently.

The National General Secretary of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Akintoye Adeoye, said the stock of unoccupied luxury apartments in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt had risen significantly in the last few months.

According to him, only the sale of regular houses with mortgages has been fairly consistent among first- time home buyers.

He said, “The sale of property within N5m to N25m bracket where people can still get mortgages or where developers have to come up with plans that include paying gradually are not doing badly, they still sell but the sale of high-end properties has been very slow since the onset of the economic downturn.

“People are more careful about how they spend money now and even those who have the money are not willing to spend it. Unlike before when one person can buy about 10 luxury houses and keep the keys.

“Most of the people who buy houses now are first-time buyers who have no means to buy luxury apartments. Of course, there are some who still buy up to N45m worth of homes with mortgage but they are mostly those who work with blue-chip companies.”

Adeoye added that the situation had forced developers to reduce the prices of such apartments to woo buyers.

“But even with the drop in prices, people are not interested. There are some developers that can’t even sell one in a whole year because there is no mortgage for this group of properties. Those who buy them get money from other sources but those sources are no longer available,” he said.

The Principal Partner, Bode Adediji Partnership, Mr. Bode Adediji, said apart from the economic downturn, some of the reasons for the drop in sales were oversupply and insecurity especially for expatriates who were mostly the target for such buildings.

Adediji, who is also a former President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, said, “There is no doubt that the recession is particularly evident in the housing sector especially the luxury apartment end.

“The reasons for it are understandable; there is oversupply and the employment regime where employers bring in people from abroad and put them in luxury apartments has been phased out. They rather put them in a hotel and when they are through with their job, they leave. They also don’t bring their family because of security issues.”

An estate surveyor and valuer, and former President of NIESV, Mr. Emeka Eleh, said take up of luxury apartments, particularly in Ikoyi where there are several unoccupied buildings, had dropped significantly in recent times.

“The real estate market is a representation of the overall economy; if the economy is not doing well, the sector won’t do well,” he said

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, on Friday said that the Federal Government had taken steps to reduce power consumption by households, businesses and government by 85 per cent.

He told our correspondent, in Lagos, that the idea behind cutting power consumption had to do with the need to diversify the Nigerian economy, “which relies on oil as the major source of foreign exchange earnings.”

The minister said, “The current administration is bent on leveraging Information and Communications Technology and Science and Technology as an enabler of economic development and to diversify the economy.”

Onu said that the government was already working with the country’s indigenous technology company, Omatek Ventures Plc, to achieve its target.

He said that in choosing Omatek as a partner in the project, the government took into consideration the need to empower indigenous technological companies and encourage the growth of science and technology in the country.

“No nation has ever succeeded by not looking inward. Every great nation has looked inward to patronise its locally developed technological innovations and other products and as such, Nigeria is looking towards that direction as well towards encouraging patronage of locally developed products. The earlier we do this, the better for us,” he said.

He added, “No nation has ever been truly great in the world without science and technology. Nigeria should aspire to be a truly great nation in technology in the world. What is lacking is that over the years, Nigeria has not paid adequate attention to technology.”

He, however, identified lack of funding and effective coordination as the bane of technological development in Nigeria, saying that the current administration was keen on ensuring that it deepened research and development that would unlock the nation’s economic prosperity through effective partnership with indigenous players in the S&T industry.

Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director of Omatek Ventures Plc, Mrs. Florence Seriki, said that while power generation and distribution had been a major issue in the country, leveraging solar power solutions would play a significant role in dealing with the issue of power vacuum in the country.

The Minister of Works, Power, Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had recently said that the solutions to the current power challenge was the adoption of hybrid solutions and power reduction strategies as it is done in Ghana.

However, Seriki said that the company had further expanded its investment in latest and modern solar factory in order to provide the assistance needed towards ensuring that the Federal Government delivered enduring power supply to Nigerians.

Explaining the readiness of Omatek to play a key role in the power provision for the country, Seriki said the 50KVA three-phase off-grid solar solution inaugurated earlier in its factory would provide a 24/7 power supply.

This, she said, would result in 85 per cent reduction in power consumption for factories, banks, telecoms firms, government and other organisations that require big solar power installations, while adding that its Lagos factory currently assembled locally the 12watts, 20 watts, 500 watts power solutions.

Truth234:
Buying USDCHF On Positive US Job Report

If the US labor market added more jobs than expected today, I will be looking to buy USDCHF pair. Targeting parity explained two weeks ago.

http://investorsking.com/buying-usdchf-on-positive-us-job-report/

Truth234:
Is USDCAD Ready For 1.3387 ?

The loonie has failed twice since June 28 to break 1.2849 support level after Canadian economic data showed that the weak manufacturing sector is hindering economic growth.

http://investorsking.com/is-usdcad-ready-for-1-3387/

Truth234:
Why I Won’t Be Buying Bullish AUDUSD

The Australian dollar has gained 158 pips against the US dollar since the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates by 25 basis points on Tuesday. Even though the central bank delivered what was expected, the Australian dollar climbed higher. Nullifying RBA efforts to curb the local currency gains in order to pressure costs and boost exports.

http://investorsking.com/why-i-wont-be-buying-bullish-audusd/

The Nigerian Naira on Thursday plunged to 400 against the US dollar at the parallel market as forex scarcity continued to impact economic activities in the nation.

The local currency closed at 315.06 against the US dollar at the interbank market on Thursday, losing about 11.3 percent since the new forex flexibility policy was implemented in June.

Experts have attributed the continuous depreciation in the Naira value to the shortage of forex in the country and the inability of the Central Bank of Nigeria to prop up the Naira value at the interbank market as envisaged in its 13 forex guidelines two months ago.

“As far as you continue to have some 41 items banned from the interbank market, importers and manufacturers of those items will continue to seek for forex at the parallel market. The issue still has to do with inadequate forex supply.” said Mr. Kunle Ezun, a currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria.

However, the National President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe said the situation could be linked to the activities of some speculators.

“The naira is falling at the parallel market because there is scarcity at the interbank market. This fall could be due to the activities of genuine manufacturers or some people you cannot identify. These are people who have stored naira somewhere and are seeking to convert them to dollars,” said Sherrifdeen Tella, a Professor of Economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye.

While, a foreign exchange research analyst at Investors King Ltd., Samed Olukoya said “if the activities of the parallel market is not checked, it would pressure consumer prices even more and pushed inflation to around 20 percent in the second half of the year.”

This he said will worsen the current situation as the recent increase in interest rate by the monetary policy committee to 14 percent will likely increase the unemployment rate and subsequently lower consumer spending as businesses look to downsize to cut costs.

Femich18:
Nice development... I just pray the project of 300MW comes into manifestation because this country ehen.. Everybody just want to be rich overnight...

Cargoes of West African crude oil sailing east are on track to fall in August on fierce competition, shaky demand and disruptions in Nigerian loadings that forced at least one cancelled cargo, according to Reuters.

A total of 55 cargoes for 1.685 million barrels per day (bpd) are booked to sail to Asia this month. The total is just under two per cent lower than the planned bookings in July, but is more than eight per cent lower than August last year.

Overall buying in Asia is in question as refinery margins hit five-year lows last month due to a growing excess of refined products.

Some refineries are already processing less crude oil, while others are preparing for maintenance later in the third quarter.

At the same time, nearly all crude oil sellers are targeting Asia. Imports of Iranian crude oil from China, India, Japan and South Korea increased markedly in June, the latest month of data available, as Iran’s efforts to regain market share lost during years of sanctions paid off. As a result, some West African oil has been edged out. The biggest difference from a year earlier was in bookings for India, due in part to the unpredictability of Nigerian oil loadings.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg survey has shown that crude oil output from members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was disrupted in July by militant attacks in Nigeria and political disputes in Libya.

Output from the 13 established members of the OPEC, excluding new entrant Gabon, fell by 80,000 barrels a day last month, a Bloomberg survey of analysts, oil companies and ship-tracking data showed.

Nigeria led the decline with a 70,000-barrel-a-day monthly drop to 1.52 million, while Libya and Saudi Arabia reduced output by 20,000 and 40,000 barrels a day respectively.

Gabon joined OPEC on July 1, becoming the smallest member with average output of 210,000 barrels a day. Because the group expanded to 14 nations, total production in July actually increased to 33.24 million barrels a day from 33.11 million the prior month. Gabon initially joined the group in 1975, but ended its membership 20 years later.

Nigeria has suffered steep crude output losses this year as militant attacks targeted oil infrastructure. Production in May fell to the lowest level in more than 27 years. While output recovered in June, it fell again in July following the disruption of supplies to the Qua Iboe terminal, which shipped an average of 342,000 barrels a day last year.

Libya’s production fell by 20,000 barrels a day to 300,000 in July. The Arabian Gulf Oil Co. halted output at the Sarir field last month after a protest by oil-facility guards shut the Eastern port of Hariga, blocking exports. The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord reached a deal with guards last week to reopen Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, two of its biggest oil terminals that have been closed since 2014, although shipments have yet to resume. Output disruptions helped raise West Texas Intermediate crude.

A US-based renewable energy power firm, Motir DuSable Power Investment Limited, is to build 300MW solar plant in Enugu State. The first phase of the project, estimated at about $200million will inject 100mega watts of power into the national grid, which will subsequently be increased to 200MW in the second phase.

The drivers of the project which is a joint venture between two US-based power firms have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federal Government of Nigeria to site the project in Enugu State with the goal of making the state the hub for renewable energy generation in sub-Sahara Africa.

The chairman of the firm, Mr. Emmanuel Irono, on Tuesday, made a presentation of the company’s planned take-off of the project during a performance review retreat of the Enugu State Executive Council holding at Nike Lake hotel, with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in attendance.

According to Irono, chairman of Motir DuSable Power Investment Limited, “We have a joint venture that would enable us to bring this project to Nigeria and we are licensed and have gone through all the processes and procedure in terms of the power purchasing. Also, we have an alliance that can help us go through the various segments necessary for this project to be successful.”

“So, today is the first day that we are meeting with the governor and his executive council members right here in Enugu and we are very pleased that it turned out a positive meeting”, he explained.

He further stated that the project comes in phases, adding that the first phase will cost about $200m while another phase that will come thereafter would also cost 200m dollars. “Depending on the capacity we can do as they allow us but our partners are willing to consummate the project.”

On the gains of the gigantic project, he said: “Our intention is to be able to bring more jobs, more opportunities, more innovations to Enugu State and to Nigeria. We believe that this will be a fantastic project for job creation and a mission critical for the Federal Government of Nigeria and Enugu State.

“This is because we can empower Enugu State people to have access to power. If everybody wins, it becomes a win-win situation for all of us.

“The state will be a collaborating partner in terms of making sure that our investment is safe and that the money we are bringing in is safe. They are not a financial partner. So the money we are bringing in is hundred percent to enable us fund this project.”

Commending the governor for his warm reception and frankness, he said the fact that the governor invited them to the open floor to talk about the project was ‘simply amazing’, noting that this was despite having not met him before.

Speaking earlier while declaring the 3-day performance retreat for members of Enugu State Executive Council open, Governor Ugwuanyi commended the development partners in the state for their successful contribution towards the actualisation of his administration’s reform agenda.

The governor noted that the retreat was in line with his pledge made during his inaugural speech in 2015 to give the people a new lease of life with regard to good governance, enhanced social services, rural development, improved security, justice, among others.