Morning Beats

How to solve downstream oil challenges, by Kachikwu

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday, said appropriate pricing of petroleum products, fixing existing refineries and encouraging private investors to build new ones are some of the ways to permanently address the challenges in the downstream oil sector.The Nation

Afreximbank to expand Africa’s regional value chains

African countries should take make use of factoring in order to take advantage of the opportunities for expanding the continent’s regional value chains, participants at a regional factoring conference held in Dakar have heard.The Nation

RenCap: FBN Holdings not affected by CBN’s dividend payout rule

Renaissance Capital (RenCap), a global investment bank, yesterday said FBN Holdings Plc will not be affected by the new dividend payout rule released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).The Nation

American equity firm dangles N2.6tr on Nigerian investments

Milost Global Inc-an American private equity firm is investing more than $8 billion or about N2.6 trillion on Nigerian investments as a demonstration of the New York-based firm’s confidence in the Nigerian economy.The Nation

Dangote Cement rallies equities to N58b gain amidst increased selloff

Nigeria’s most capitalised quoted company-Dangote Cement Plc yesterday roused the equities market to a modest gain of N58 billion, despite increased selloff across many sectors of the market.  The Nation

‘Nigeria can earn $1.3b yearly from cocoa’

By 2025, Nigeria can earn about $1.3billion yearly as revenue from cocoa export, studies conducted by the Nigeria Export Promotion(NEPC) in collaboration with the Applied Management Research Team 10 (AMR T10), University of California, Los Angeles, has shown.The Nation

Pipeline sabotage plunged Nigeria into recession – Shell

Over 90 per cent of the oil spillage in the Niger Delta region is due to sabotage of pipelines and other facilities in the oil and gas industry, the Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, has said.Punch

‘Petrol queues, power failure’ll persist without adequate pricing’

The Federal Government on Tuesday declared that it was important for the country to address issues surrounding the pricing of petroleum products and gas if Nigeria must overcome the challenges in the supply of petrol, power and gas.Punch

Scarcity: We’ve imported $5.8bn worth of petrol, says NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday said it had imported 9.8 million metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, worth $5.8bn to combat the fuel crisis that resurfaced late last year.Punch

FG must pay subsidy arrears to end fuel scarcity – MOMAN

The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria has demanded the payment of arrears of subsidy claims owed its members by the Federal Government between 2013 and 2015.Punch

BPE probes 52 privatised enterprises for poor performance

Out of a total of 142 public enterprises that have been sold to private sector operators, 52, representing 37 per cent, are performing poorly, the Bureau of Public Enterprises has said.Punch

Nigeria, SSA countries’ debts rise by 550% to $200bn – Report

The total borrowing from the international debt markets by Nigeria and other countries in the sub-Saharan African countries has jumped to over $200bn, from $30bn in 2007, data from the Bank for International Settlements have shown.Punch

Reps move to legalise Excess Crude Account

The House of Representatives on Tuesday moved to legalise the controversial Excess Crude Account by proposing a bill to capture all excess revenue in a new account to be called Excess Revenue Fund Account.Punch

PFAs invest N5.2tn of pension fund in FG securities

Out of the total N7.52tn total pension assets as of December 31, 2017, about N5.29tn, representing 70 per cent of the entire fund, was invested in Federal Government securities by Pension Fund Administrators.Punch

New dividend policy shocks banks as investors lose N100bn in 2 days

Investors with  shares in the banking sector on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE have lost over N100.8 billion in two trading days of the week following the directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Vangurd

NPA moves to conclude review of concession agreements by May

THE Nigerian Ports Authority has commenced moves to conclude review of concession agreements with terminal operators by May this year even as the Shippers’ Association of Lagos State, SALS has called on the agency to expedite action of the review.Vanguard

CBN extends N200bn commercial agric fund to Non-Interest banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said that Non-Interest Financial Institutions (NIFIs) can now participate in the N200 billion Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).Vanguard

Nigeria imported 17bn litres of petrol in 2017 — NBS

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday said that the volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), known as petrol, imported into the country dropped by eight percent to 17 billion litres in 2017

Naira appreciates further to N360.25/$ in I&E

The naira Tuesday appreciated further to N360.25 per dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market.

CBN, RMAFC oppose creation of Assets Management Agency

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on Tuesday, expressed opposition to the planned creation of a new agency to manage assets seized from corruption and other criminal cases.

Diaspora flows seen lifting the shilling

The shilling firmed up below 101.50 units to the dollar in Tuesday’s trading with the Central Bank of Kenya reporting adequate liquidity in the market.Business Day Kenya

AfDB signs Sh71 billion financing deal with Jica

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has signed a Sh71 billion ($700.9 million) loan with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for onward lending to countries in Africa.Business Day Kenya

Banks tread with caution on Iran, Sudan tea trade

Tea traders could continue facing delays in payment for exports to Iran and Sudan as local banks tread carefully in dealing with the countries previously under US trade embargoes.Business Day Kenya

Local third tier banks expected to see more mergers and acquisitions

he banking sector is expected to see mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of third tier lenders in the wake of reduced operational capital following the rate capping law, Genghis Capital researchers have projected.Business Day Kenya

Why consultant backed away from plan to split Safaricom

A consultant hired to study competition in the telecommunications sector says it set aside a proposal to split M-Pesa from Safaricom  because it considered the measure too extreme.Business Day Kenya

Hopes raised for interest-rate cut as inflation improves in January

And inflation, as measured by the annual change in the consumer price index, was expected to slow in January thanks to a drop in fuel pricesBusiness Day