Economic News Update

Economic News Update: 6th February, 2017

news-brief

Windfall Amidst Recession: States, LGs Shared N2.6tn in 2016

A new report has disclosed that the 36 states and the 774 local government councils in Nigeria shared a total sum of N2.6 trillion from the Federation Account in 2016 in spite of the prevailing economic recession.

In an elaborate investigation by the Economic Confidential, an intelligence economic magazine, the total figure was payment made to the two tiers of government between January and December 2016 at the monthly meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

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 Banks scramble for fresh capital as naira weakens further

Palpable fear has gripped the chief executives of many large-tier and mid-tier Deposit Money Banks as an imminent fall in the naira exchange rate throws up a need for additional capital raising.

Checks by our correspondent show that the Capital Adequacy Ratio of a number of the country’s mid-tier and weak large-tier banks is currently at the threshold stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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NCAA Fines First Nation Airways, Pilot N33.5m for Violation of Safety Regulations

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it has penalised First Nation Airways and one of its pilots as well as fined them the sum of N33.5 million for violation of safety regulations. It said the fine must be paid within seven days.

The aviation sector regulator said the pilot failed to present his medical report to officials of NCAA who were on ramp inspection and that there was no indication that the pilot had a current medical certificate when he was to operate a flight as the Pilot in Command (PIC).

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EU offers Nigeria, others £4bn for digital economy

The European Union Commission says it is offering £4bn credit to Nigeria and other members of the Economic Community of West African States to cover risks arising from investments in digital economy. It said the credit, globally known as the European Fund for Strategic Investment, would trigger private investment in digital economy.

The European Commissioner for Digital Single Market and Vice President of the European Commission, Andrus Ansip, said that the requirements for accessing the fund included bankability and appropriate business plans.

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Share Scam: Victims Call on Regulators to Protect their Investments

Some investors, who are clients of Partnership Securities Limited(PSL), which Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi, is currently facing litigation over a share scam  of about  N10 billion, have called on market regulators to protect their interests so as to retain investor confidence in the market.

Ogiemwonyi  is currently in the custody of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and facing criminal and civil charges for misappropriating money of some of  his clients. Besides,  his companies face the risk of liquidation as a result of a court judgment obtained by  one of his clients and a former  Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Mr. Arnold Ekpe.

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Naira hits 500/dollar, faces further decline

The naira has depreciated further against the United States dollar at the parallel market to 500, from 498. The development came barely one week after the naira touched 500/dollar briefly and returned to 498/dollar.

The local currency had been stable against the greenback for about three weeks. The Nigerian currency, however, remained stable at the Bureau De Change segment of the market exchanging at N399/dollar, while the pound sterling and euro closed at N617 and N527, respectively, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.

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Interbank lending rises by 100% as CBN mops N392b

Lending rates among banks rose by about 100 per cent at the weekend as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) ended the week with a N392 billion auction in Treasury Bill. The forms part of its effort to mop up excess liquidity from the system, as auctioned N30 billion in 181-day bill, but eventually sold N82.619 billion at a stop rate of 18%.

It also offered N60 billion in 342-day and sold N309.06 billion at a stop rate of 18.6% due to strong demand.Consequently, the quantity of money in circulation was heavily depleted, stoking a rise in the lending rates among banks, as Open Buy Back (OBB) and Overnight rates soared significantly upward by 550bps each to close at 10 per cent and 11.25 per cent from five per cent and 5.75 per cent respectively.

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Growth, debt and Trump as issues for Nigeria, others in 2017

In 2016, real GDP growth in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have been the weakest since the 2008-09 global financial crisis. This was largely because of the weak performance in its two largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, which together make up about half of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP.

Although oil and mining economies were hurt by the commodity slowdown, much of East Africa as well as oil-importing Francophone economies such as Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal managed robust rates of growth of above six per cent. The slowdown in Africa was not uniform.

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NAICOM: Defaulting Insurance Firms Paid over N5bn Claims in 2016

In its deliberate effort to protect the interest of the insuring public and safeguard the image of insurance sector, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) last year compelled some operating firms to settle a total of N5 billion worth of claims to the members of the insuring public.

The claims were paid following the resolution of 218 cases of complaints filed against some insurance firms by policy holders at the NAICOM’s complaint bureau office.

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FG’s Economic Recovery Plan Will Be Ready In February – Udoma

The federal government has declared that its National Economic Recovery Growth Plan (NERGP) will be ready before the end of February. According to a statement issued by Mr Akpandem James, media adviser to the minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma on Friday in Abuja, the plan is expected to be formally launched by President Mohammadu Buhari.

James disclosed that before the launch, the federal government plans to brainstorm with economic experts from the private sector adding that civil society groups, the academia and State governments will also be consulted as government, through the plan, is targeting a growth rate of seven per cent between 2017 and 2020.

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CBN Mops up N391bn through TB Sales

The central bank sold N82 billion in 181-day treasury bills at 18 per cent and N309 billion at 18.6 percent, mopping up liquidity from the money market and pushing up the cost of borrowing among commercial lenders.

“We have some major placers quoting about 20 per cent for overnight placement, but most takers are not willing to borrow at that rate,” one dealer told Reuters, adding that the rate eventually settled around between 10 percent and 12 percent.

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