Meristem drives N27bn deal for Dangote Cement
Meristem Securities Limited has facilitated another deal for Dangote Cement Plc, which attracted another set of foreign investors who staked over N27bn on about 128.992 million units of the cement company’s shares on Monday.
The transaction lifted the overall value of trading in the market to N30.023bn as 336.335 million shares were traded in 3,778 deals.Dangote Cement share price rose to N238 from N229.01, appreciating by 3.93 per cent.
Failed banks: Depositors’ claims on NDIC exceed N100b
The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said it has paid more than N100 billion to depositors of liquidated Deposit Money Banks in the country till date. Besides, the corporation revealed that it deployed all legal means to recover loans of failed banks, sale of assets and ensure transparent distribution of the liquidation dividend among the uninsured depositors.
The payments, according to the safety net institution, are not done in secret, as it has been publishing them in newspapers, radio and television whenever insured deposits and uninsured deposits were due for payment.
Naira closes flat, CBN injects $195m into FX market
The Central Bank of Nigeria has continued its sustenance of foreign exchange liquidity by injecting another $195m into the inter-bank foreign exchange market, even as the naira maintains its strength. The $195m intervention was made on Monday.
Figures released by the bank showed that it offered the sum of $100m to the wholesale segment, while the Small and Medium Enterprises segment received the sum of $50m. The invisibles segment comprising tuition, medical payments and basic travel allowance received $45m.
NCC plans new spectrum auctions to boost 30% broadband target
As part of efforts targeted at meeting the 2018 broadband penetration target of 30 per cent, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will soon auction and asign new spectrum to telecommunications operators in the country. NCC said this has become necessary going by the dire need to connect the unconnected and serve the underserved and unserved populace in the country.
With operators having access to spectrum, the estimated 205 communities, which house about 40 million Nigerians, who are yet to have any telephony experience can be served, with other things been in place, including power, regulations, among others.
Kachikwu: NNPC Operations Not Yet Fully Transparentc
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has said that reforms initiated by the federal government to clean up years of corrupt practices in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have not completely guaranteed that the state oil firm is now transparently run.
This is coming as a group of civil society organisations (CSOs) operating in Nigeria’s extractive industry has accused the international oil companies (IOCs) of complicity in the huge theft of crude oil recorded in the country.
Power distributors to pay interest on N120bn debt – FG
Power distribution companies are going to start paying interest on the debt they owe the electricity Market Operator since the commencement of the Transitional Electricity Market in January 2015, the Federal Government has declared.
It was gathered that the government, through the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company, had started adding up the interest on the over N120bn, which the Discos owe the MO since the past two years.
Ghana condemns obstacles to easy movement of goods into Nigeria
In spite of the seemingly rosy economic and business relations that exist between Nigeria and Ghana, the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ghana, Carlos Ahenkora, has decried the many obstacles mitigating the easy movement of goods and services along the Ghana-Nigeria corridor.
Ahenkora, while speaking at the ongoing 2017 Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF), Ghana Day, said there was a need for both countries to deal and address these outstanding issues in order to facilitate the movement of goods and services into the country.
Bloating domestic bond market worries SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission has expressed concern over the bloating domestic bond market, which appears to be crowding the investment space and hampering growth of other investment instruments.
As at August 2017, the market capitalisation of Nigeria’s domestic bonds market stood at N7.4tn, representing a growth of 11.5 per cent from August 2016, when the figure was estimated at N6.64tn.
Buhari Vows to Make Agric Major Revenue Earner
President Muhammadu Buhari at the weekend in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, vowed to see through his administration’s agenda to diversify the Nigerian economy away from its current mono status.
He said it was no longer viable for the country to depend on a sole product to pull out of its present stage of development , noting that his vision to make agriculture the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy remains on course.
Nigeria’s oil sales suffer, US exports rise
More than two dozen Nigerian crude oil cargoes were left unsold on Monday amid a supply glut of light sweet crude in the market. Reuters reported that tenders to buy oil from companies in India and Indonesia helped to absorb some excess, but there were roughly 30 unsold Nigerian cargoes and a handful from Angola.
While Qua Iboe, Nigeria’s largest export grade, was offered at dated Brent plus $1.30, buyers said traded levels were likely to be lower because of an overall excess of light sweet oil.
Construction Industry Players Seek Refund of N36bn Excess Withholding Tax
Operators in the construction industry under the aegis of Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI) have appealed to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to work out modalities that will guarantee a seamless refund of excess Withholding Tax (WHT) and Value Added Tax( VAT) to the industry.
FOCI stated that over N36 billion WHT credit notes belonging to its members are pending with the FIRS. The President of FOCI, Nasiru Dantata made the appeal over the weekend when he led his team on a courtesy visit to FIRS Executive Chairman, Mr. Tunde Fowler.
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