Four banks trading below minimum liquidity ratio – MPC members
Four commercial banks in the country are operating with too many non-performing loans on their books and with liquidity ratios below the minimum requirement, two members of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee have said in statements on the bank’s website.
The two MPC members, Dr. Doyin Salami and Prof. Balami Dahiru Hassan, did not name the lenders, but said the four banks together were equivalent to at least one Systemically Important Bank.
Forte Oil suspends N20b offer
The board of directors of Forte Oil Plc has decided to suspend the energy group’s bid to raise new equity funds. Forte Oil had earlier secured regulatory approval to float a supplementary capital raising through a book building.
Company Secretary, Forte Oil, Akin Olagbende, in a statement released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), stated that the board had taken a strategic decision to put the offering on hold pending the conclusion of an ongoing corporate restructuring. According to him, the company is currently exploring opportunities to maximize emerging opportunities in the Nigerian energy sector, which will be to the ultimate benefit of all stakeholders.
FG reconstitutes investment, securities tribunal
The Federal Government has reconstituted the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST), as a practical step towards restoring investors’ confidence in the capital market, and repositioning it to contribute positively to the country’s economy.
The Investment Tribunal was dissolved in compliance with Government’s directive on dissolution of Boards of Parastatals, Agencies, Institutions and Government Owned Companies, conveyed in circular Ref. No. SGF.19/S:18/XIX/964 dated 16th October, 2015.
Low oil price will help Nigeria, others – Dangote
The President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has said low oil prices will help Nigeria to reduce its reliance on crude oil revenues.
Dangote stated this at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, according to a statement from the African Press Organisation. Global oil benchmark, which fell from a high of $115 per barrel in mid-2014, has continued to hover around $53 per barrel in recent months.
CBN raises N215.88b from T-Bills
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday raised N215.88 billion from Treasury Bills after it received subscriptions for almost four times the amount of debt initially on offer, traders said. The bank raised N215.88 billion ($686 million) at the auction, N75 billion more than planned, with the one-year paper accounting for most of the debt. Total subscription at the auction stood at N559 billion naira.
Investors bid as much as 18.9 per cent for the one-year debt and as low as 13.15 per cent for the three months note. The bank raised N22.78 billion in three month bills at 13.15 per cent, N24.74 billion in six month bills at 16.8 per cent and N168.36 billion in one-year bills at 17 per cent.
FG seeks PPP for infrastructure development to meet 2020 growth target
The Federal Government has said it would explore private sector partnership in a bid to address the country’s infrastructural challenges, in line with its year 2020 target. According to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, plans are underway to aid the realisation of an economic target growth rate of seven per cent by 2020 incrementally beginning with a 3.5 per cent growth in 2018, 4.5 per cent in 2019 and 7 per cent in 2020.
The Ministry called for collaborative efforts to address Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges, stating that the budget allocated to infrastructure projects in the country is a far cry required to meet its infrastructure needs.
ULC calls off strike, settles for negotiation
The United Labour Congress has called off its three-day-old strike following a meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Announcing the decision to journalists, the President, ULC, Joe Ajaero, said the union would negotiate with the Federal Government and seek ways of reaching an agreement on its demands, which included official recognition by the government. The ULC was formed after Ajaero broke away with 23 unions following a dispute over the outcome of the elections into the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress in 2015.
CIBN plans forum on Collateral Registry Act
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria Centre for Financial Studies (CIBNCFS), a subsidiary of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), has concluded plans to organize a breakfast session on Collateral Registry Act: Pros and Cons for the Nigerian Banking Industry and Other Stakeholders.
The programme planned for Thursday, September 28, at the Bankers House, PC 19, Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
NSE Partners Ciuci Consulting to Encourage SMEs Listing
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and Ciuci Consulting, a strategy and consumer intelligence will next Tuesday launch the Nigeria Business Composite 10 (NiBC 10) Lagos Nigeria. The NIBC 10 is a selection of 10 successful Nigerian enterprises, who have exhibited high potentials for growth and have over the years maintained a brilliant track record.
This benchmark event is aimed at recognising and celebrating these companies whilst inspiring confidence in the Nigerian society and its potential to produce thriving businesses. Speaking on the initiative, the acting Head, Corporate Services, NSE, Pai Gamde said: “We are delighted to partner with Ciuci Consulting on the NiBC 10 initiative.
Customs seek closure of Cotonou border
The Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ali (Retd.) has canvassed the need for total closure of Nigeria’s number one border outpost with Benin Republic, Cotonou border.
Ali who made the suggestion during the 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in Lagos recalled that the closure of the border was done in 2013 during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo when the spate of cross-border crimes such as smuggling, armed robbery and human trafficking, became unbearable.
Emefiele Identifies Bottlenecks to Mortgage Financing
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has identified various bottlenecks hindering genuine investors and by extension free flow of funds into the mortgage sector.
The central bank governor while delivering a keynote address at a workshop for judicial officers on mortgage, with the theme: ‘Mortgage Disputes in Nigeria: The Need for Expeditious Resolution of Case,’ in Abuja yesterday, noted that, “land tenure system as enshrined in the Land Use Act of 1978 has deterred proper development of a robust and sustainable housing sector in Nigeria.”
Experts seek more local content participation
Experts have called on indigeneous companies and industrialists to embrace local content participation as a means of developing the economy. They spoke at the Biennial induction of 31 engineers into the Nigeria Construction Industry Hall of Fame at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, last weekend.
The theme was: “Local content and the economy … building capacity for growth.” Former Akwa Ibom State Governor Victor Attah said local content was not peculiar to Nigeria, noting that every country has its local content policy. He explained that unless the country developed her local content, capacity building for sustainable growth would not be attained.
Petrol price fail to crash despite Kachikwu’s assurances
Fifteen months after the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, was increased by 68 per cent, consumers have yet to see any significant decrease in the price, contrary to the promise by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
The Federal Government on May 11, 2016 announced the removal of fuel subsidy, with a new petrol price band of N135 to N145 per litre, up from N86 and N86.50. It said with the liberalisation of the downstream sector, “any Nigerian entity is now free to import the product, subject to existing quality specifications and other guidelines issued by regulatory agencies.”
NIMN Heeds FG’s Proclamation on Enforcement of Marketing Act
Months after the federal government directed the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, (NIMN), to enact its statutory powers by exerting its charter status, the institute has announced its readiness to enforce the provision of the NIMN Act.
After operating for eight years without exerting its charter status, the government of President Muhammadu Buhari had, early this year formally granted legal teeth to the institute. This was announced early this year, through a formal proclamation by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investments, Dr. Okechukwu Enalemah at the investiture ceremony of the institute’s current president, Mr. Anthony Agenmomen, in Lagos. The minister pointed out that division in the past years had denied the institute in playing its statutory roles.
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