Morning Beats

Lagos begins ferry terminal pilot operations

The Lagos State Government has begun  pilot operations at its Ferry Terminal at Ipakodo, Ikorodu in line with its commitment to facilitate an effective and efficient integrated transportation system. The Ikorodu terminal has been upgraded to a world-class, robust and accessible hub for the water transportation and other ancillary services.The Nation

Govt eyes $40b investment from three fields, others

To seal refineries' deal in April The Federal Government is expecting investments worth $40 billion in the upstream segment of the oil and gas industry in the next five years, The Nation has learnt. Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who spoke with reporters in Abuja at the weekend, said the investments would come through three major deepwater oil fieldsThe Nation

Lack of infrastructure hindering agro commodities

Nigeria's failure to improve infrastructure is hurting its quest to achieve growth through agro commodities, the National President, Federation of Agricultural Commodities Associations of Nigeria (FACAN), Dr. Victor Iyama, has said.The Nation

UBA, AFD sign deal on SMEs financing

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Agence Française de Development (AFD), France’s public and solidarity-based development bank have signed an agreement to use the EURIZ and ARIZ schemes offered by AFD to facilitate the financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups across  20 African countries where UBA operates.The Nation

FIRS stops controversial insurance law

To  ease the tension caused by a controversial provision of a tax law on insurance companies for over 10 years, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has asked its tax auditors to stop demands on the companies pending the amendment of the law.The Nation

FBNInsurance stimulates sales with Ember Championships

TO motivate outstanding staff and increase performance in terms of policy uptake, sales persistency and new business, FBNInsurance has rewarded winners in her annual MD/CEO Ember Championship.The Nation

Labour plans nationwide strike over N30bn NSITF fraud

Irked by the alleged looting of funds at the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund, some members of the organised labour want the Federal Government to bring the perpetrators to book to prevent a nationwide strikePunch

World Bank begins preparation for Nigeria’s $500m power distribution project

The World Bank has commenced preparations for the $500m Nigerian Electricity Distribution Improvement Project.Punch

NNPC seeking funding options for refineries’ overhaul – Baru

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, has said that the oil firm is currently searching for the best funding options to adopt for the overhaul of the nation’s refineriesPunch

RSA for mortgage: Workers await PenCom’s guidelines

Four years after the Pension Reform Act was amended, workers have been unable to use part of the savings in their Retirement Savings Accounts for mortgage loans.Punch

Stakeholders divided over reduced Lagos Land Use Charge

Rather than the succour that the review of the Land Use Charge by the Lagos State Government is expected to bring to taxpayers, stakeholders have expressed divergent views about the development.Punch

Total PoS transactions rose to N1.41tn in 2017 – NIBSS

The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System has disclosed that Points of Sale transactions increased by 54.3 per cent to N1.41tn in 2017 as more retail merchants embraced PoS as a means of transactions.Punch

Analysts predict increased buying pressure for next govt bond

The Federal Government of Nigeria bond that will be auctioned on March 21, 2018 through the Debt Management Office, will see huge buying pressure from investors given current local market realities, some analysts have said.Punch

Julius Berger declares N1.32b dividend

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc would be distributing N1.32 billion as cash dividend to shareholders for the 2017 business year.The Nation

N132b new equity funds for Lafarge

LafargeHolcim, the majority shareholder in Lafarge Africa Plc and other Nigerian shareholders, have injected N132 billion new equity funds into Lafarge Africa, rounding off the single largest recapitalisation by existing shareholders of a quoted company.The Nation

Nigeria’s wheat import bill soars

Despite efforts by the Federal Government to promote agriculture, Nigeria spends over N635 billion yearly on wheat import.The NAtion

CBN sets rules for accessing N500b export stimulation cash

•Apex bank pegs maximum loan access at N5b The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has started the implementation of the Non-Oil Export Stimulation Facility (NESF) that will enable non-oil exporters access N500 billion facility.The Nation

Morison Industries’ N502.2m rights issue oversubscribed

Morison Industries Plc has raised N502.2 million new equity funds, providing the 63-year-old healthcare company with the much-needed boost to reposition its operations. Morison Industries late last year floated a new capital raising for about N502.2 million in new equity funds through new share sale to existing shareholders.The Nation

Fuel marketers partner foreign refiners

Independent fuel marketing firms are seeking partnership with some of foreign oil companies abroad to import fuel.The Nation

Nigerian banks lose 2m customers in 2 years – Statistics

Despite Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) effort to promote financial inclusion, Nigerian banks lost over 2 million customers between 2016 and 2017. According to statistics from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the number of active bank accounts also reduced by 1.5 million, dropping from 65 million to 63.5 million.The Nation

NASD set to boost investment in enterprises with new portal

NASD OTC Plc has reiterated its commitment to leverage on its soon to be launched enterprise portal, the NASD Enterprise Portal (NASDeP) to boost investment in small enterprises in NigeriaVanguard

2017 corporate earnings: Stakeholders forecast mixed outcomes

2017 corporate earnings: Stakeholders forecast mixed outcomes ON MARCH 19, 2018IN BUSINESS, FINANCE, NEWS STAKEHOLDERS in the nation’s capital market have forecasted a mixed grill at the end of corporate earnings releases for the full year for 2017 even as preliminary results submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE showed significant improvement, beating analysts and operators’ expectations.  Vanguard

Zenith Bank: Between market sentiment and stock fundamentals

AS a week-long bear run seized the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, last week sending negative signals on investment grade stocks, stockbrokers are expecting dividend yields and first quarter 2018 results to stabilise sentiments in the days ahead.Vanguard

Nigeria can generate, transmit over 7,000MW of electricity

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola says that the country now has the capacity to generate not less than 7,000 Megawatts (MW) of electricity.Vanguard