Business News

Friday, 29 May 2020 05:55

CBN cuts benchmark lending rate to revive economic activities

Central Bank of Nigeria unexpectedly cut its benchmark lending rate to 12.5% from 13.5%, its governor, Mr Godwin Emiefele said on Thursday, to stimulate growth in Africa’s largest economy in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. It is the first rate cut since March 2019 and the largest since 2015. Seven of the 10 members of the bank’s monetary policy committee backed a 100 basis point cut, two voted for 150 basis points and one for 200 basis points, said the governor. Africa’s top oil exporter faces economic distress from the Coronavirus outbreak and sharp falls in crude prices, which…

Friday, 29 May 2020 05:52

Manufacturers bemoan declining loan to real sector

Following the negative impacts of Covid-19 on the nation’s economy, local manufacturers under the auspices of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have raised the alarm that the size of commercial bank loan available to the real sector of the economy has reduced greatly and consistently discouraging manufacturing in the country. Statistics from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that banks’ credit to the private sector rose by 15 per cent (N3.47 trillion), from N22.94 trillion in January 2019 to N26.41 trillion as of November 2019 following the apex bank’s directive mandating banks to loan out 65 per cent of total…

Friday, 29 May 2020 05:40

Private creditors join debt relief plans for poor countries

Plans for debt relief for the world’s poorest countries inched forward on Thursday as private creditors laid out a blueprint for their involvement, though it received immediate criticism for not going far enough. The proposal shepherded by Institute of International Finance (IIF) said creditors would grant debt breaks on a case-by-case and voluntary basis this year, after concluding a one-size-fits-all approach would have been “practically impossible.” It was the culmination of work involving more than 100 top money managers after the Group of 20 economies had called on the private sector to match their recent Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI)…

Friday, 29 May 2020 05:34

World’s richest man says 10 choices lead to a life without regrets

According to Jeff Bezos, living a life filled with meaning comes down to how you answer this short list of questions. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is widely respected for a number of qualities. He’s currently the world’s richest person. Patiently building a company with a juggernaut of a flywheel. Turning an internal initiative into Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary that does over $17.4 billion in revenue. Knowing how to hire the right people. Making smart expansion decisions. In short, for being unusually smart. But, as Bezos learned as a 10 year-old during a road trip with his grandparents, intelligence alone …

Thursday, 28 May 2020 04:46

CBN slashes interest rate on loans to micro finance banks, others

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has reduced interest rates on its facilities through participating Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) from 9% to 5% per annum for one year effective March 1, 2020. The directive was contained in a circular issued on Wednesday and singed by the apex bank’s Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Mr Kevin Amugo. The circular also announced that CBN intervention facilities obtained through participating OFIs – Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Primary Mortgage Banks, and Institutions, among others – will be given a further one-year moratorium on all principal repayments, also effective March 1, 2020. According to the apex…

Thursday, 28 May 2020 04:45

Refineries lose N50bn in five months

The nation’s three refineries located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri have recorded a combined loss of N50 billion in five months (January to May) 2020. The disclosure was made by Mr Joseph Nwakuwe, during a webinar seminar titled ‘Repositioning the newsroom to respond to changes in the oil sector in a Covid-19 era’ organized by Accountability Workstream Facility for Oil Sector Transformation (FOSTER 11) on Wednesday. Nwakuwe, who is the Chairman of Society for Petroleum Engineers(SPE), said the refineries post an average of N10 billion on a monthly basis, saying the country cannot afford to record losses in that…

Wednesday, 27 May 2020 05:17

Foreign direct investment fell 17 percent in Q1, 2020 - NBS

Foreign Direct Investment into the country dropped to $214.25m in the first quarter of 2020 from $257.25m in the fourth quarter of 2019. This represents 16.7 percent decline. National Bureau of Statistics disclosed this in its report on ‘Nigerian capital importation’ for the first quarter of 2020 on Tuesday. According to NBS, FDI which stood at $247.37m in Q1 2019, fell to $223.14m and $206.58m in Q2, 2019 and Q3, 2019 respectively. FDI is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country. Total value of capital importation into Nigeria rose…

Wednesday, 27 May 2020 05:16

Traders weep over losses as fire razes Asaba main market

Traders wept profusely yesterday as fire burnt goods believed to be worth millions of Naira at the Ogbeogonogo Market in Asava, Delta State. For over five hours, the market was on fire as smoke rose from the lock-up shops. Hundreds of market women, including widows and members of the Market Women Association, were running helter-skelter with their hands on their foreheads, as they scooped water from the nearby gutter to combat the inferno. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has promised to give assistance to victims of the fire. The fire, which started early in the morning, razed down lock-up…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:12

Output cuts boost oil prices as virus lockdowns ease globally

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on clear signs that producers are sticking to commitments to cut crude supply as more cars get back on the road with Coronavirus lockdowns easing around the world. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures gained 2.3%, or 75 cents, to $34.00 as of 0057 GMT. There was no WTI settlement on Monday because of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday. Brent crude LCOc1 futures inched up 0.7%, or 23 cents to $35.76, adding to a 1.1% gain on Monday in thin holiday trading. The market was buoyed by comments from Russia reporting its oil…

Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:11

Investors gain N700b as equities market rides on positive sentiments

Trading activities on the floor of Nigerian Stock Exchange closed bullish last week following gains recorded by most blue-chip stocks. NSE All-Share Index and market capitalisation appreciated by 5.59 per cent to close the week at 25,204.75 and N13.136tn respectively. All other indices finished higher with the exception of NSE ASeM, which closed flat. A total turnover of 1.718bn shares worth N18.849bn in 26,367 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to 926.418m shares valued at N9.768bn that exchanged hands the previous week in 20,910 deals. Financial services industry (measured by volume)…

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Tuesday, 26 May 2020 05:01

5 things you can do right now to prepare for the post-coronavirus business world

Brendan M. Egan Social distancing. Telemedicine. Self-quarantine. These are all words that at the start of 2020 weren't part of our vocabulary, but several months into the new decade we are all hearing and using them daily. There is no denying that the Coronavirus outbreak has dramatically changed just about every facet of just about every person’s life around the world. From a business perspective, the stock market saw its largest one day loss and largest one day gain in history. The U.S. saw the largest job-loss report ever. We are in uncharted waters, and how long we will remain…

Monday, 25 May 2020 05:14

How to build a business that will survive long after you're gone

Levi King Earlier this year, I announced that I was stepping down as CEO of Nav, a company I co-founded in 2012. I love Nav passionately, and it wasn’t an easy decision, but I knew it was the best thing for both me and the company. Under the leadership of its new CEO, Greg Ott, Nav moved forward without missing a beat. Watching it happen, I felt a peculiar feeling. On the one hand, I was proud to have built a business strong enough to weather any change. On the other, I wondered how I would feel as the days…

Sunday, 24 May 2020 05:41

Disease, travel ban pushing tomato price up

This is the season of scarcity, and the interstate movement restriction to control the Covid-19 pandemic is further increasing the price of tomatoes. Production is also hit by the resurgence of tuta absoluta, a tomato disease which reportedly touched some farms in Plateau, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina and other major growing areas like Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara states. National President of the Tomato Growers Association of Nigeria, Mr Abdullahi Ringim, told reporters on Saturday that he had received report of the disease doing damages to farms in the production areas. This, along with the challenges of movement restriction, impacts severely on the…

Sunday, 24 May 2020 05:38

Prominent business leader Muritala Adebayo Adetunji dies at 88

One of the brains behind the formation of Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) Mr Muritala Adebayo Adetunji is dead. Born December 14, 1932, Adetunji died peacefully at his residence yesterday May 23, 2020 and his body was interred in accordance with Islamic rites. Adebayo was the main promoter of the defunct Trans International Bank which later metamorphosed, along with others, to Heritage Bank. An exceedingly enterprising and visionary individual, Adebayo who began his business career as a major Distributor with Nigerian Tobacco Company in the early 70s diversified his economic interests to banking, construction and engineering as well…

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