Hello Readers, Bizwatchnigeria brings you the latest business news highlights in Nigeria for the week of December 4th – 10th, 2022.
FG To Issue Green Bond To Fund 2023 Budget
The Debt Management Office (DMO) revealed that the Federal Government (FG) will issue a green bond to fund the fiscal year 2023 budget. DMO announced this nearly four years after the government issued its last green bond.
Nigeria To Strengthen Partnership With Vietnam On Agriculture, Trade
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo is on a three-day official visit to the Southeast Asian country, the Presidency’s first high-level visit since 2005, when then-President Olusegun Obasanjo visited. The need for improved collaboration between Nigeria and Vietnam was the focus of a bilateral meeting on Monday at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi between Vice Presidents Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, and Madam V Th nh Xuân, his Vietnamese counterpart.
Naira Devaluation Increases Foreign Debt By N9tn
Nigeria’s foreign debt load increased as the naira’s value against the dollar dropped from N196.92 in June 2015 to N414.72 in June 2022. The naira’s value versus the US dollar decreased by 52.52% throughout the course of the seven years under study. According to a document titled Monthly Average Exchange Rates of the Naira (Naira Per Unit of Foreign Currency) for 2015 that was downloaded from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website, the interbank foreign exchange market price for one dollar was N196.92.
Telcos Record Highest Number Of Subscribers In History
Nigerian telecommunication companies have recorded the highest number of subscribers in history, as their active users hit 214.35 million in October 2022.According to new industry statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the figure represents the highest number of recorded subscribers in the nation since the total number of subscribers peaked at 207.58 million in October 2020, months before the SIM-NIN linkage.
BREAKING: CBN Introduces New Policy, Reduces Cash Withdrawal To N100,000 Per Week
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, introduced a new policy to the financial sector players, reducing cash withdrawals. In a notice addressed to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and cited by BizWatch Nigeria, the apex bank noted that starting from Monday, January 9, 2022, cash withdrawals over the counter to N100,000 for individuals and N500,000 for organisations regardless of their size.
Developing Economies’ External Debt Has Doubled – World Bank
The World Bank on Tuesday said that developing economies’ external debt has more than doubled from a decade ago to $9 trillion in 2021, signaling that the debt crisis confronting these countries has worsened.The pandemic has forced many countries to borrow more, and World Bank President David Malpass has warned of a fifth wave of debt crisis. With global inflation and interest rates on the rise, many countries are already in or at risk of debt distress.
Treasury Bills Rate Slumps To 13.05% At CBN Auction
As expected due to volatility in the liquidity of the financial system, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) primary market auction (PMA) on Wednesday finished with rates reduced across all Treasury bill tenors.However, as naira assets continue to lag the inflation trend, liquidity situation has improved and traders have taken a large position in the local debt capital market in an effort to increase profits on their individual portfolios.
Nigeria’s Bond Trade Minimum As Naira Drops Slightly
Midweek trading on Nigeria’s bonds was comparatively flat, but with a positive slant, as investors and fixed income dealers turned their focus to the apex bank’s main market auction.According to analyst comments, this led to relatively stable FGN Bond prices for the majority of maturities even though the average secondary market yield decreased by two basis points to 14.30%. As investors flocked to the MAR-2027 (-7bps) and MAR-2035 (-33bps) bonds, respectively, the average yield dropped at the short (-2bps) and long (-5bps) ends of the benchmark curve.
BREAKING: Reps Order CBN To Suspend New Cash Withdrawal Limit
The House of Representatives (Reps) has requested that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) suspend the weekly cash withdrawal limits for individuals and corporate entities. The lawmakers also summoned CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele to discuss the new policy, which is set to go into effect on January 9, 2023. The resolution was passed during a plenary session on Thursday after Aliyu Magaji, a Jigawa lawmaker, sponsored a motion of urgent public importance.
How Nigeria Can Tackle Food Insecurity – Fayemi
Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the President of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF), has charged governments at all levels to create urban agriculture-friendly policies in order to bridge the rising food gaps in the world. In a statement signed by Mallam Ahmad Sajoh of his media office in Abuja, Fayemi explained that urban agriculture is a vital strategy for building the resilience of cities’ food supply, reducing poverty and increasing employment, as well as improving nutritional outcomes, and mitigating environmental degradation of urban spaces.
Over Half Of Businesses In Nigeria Planning To Expand Locally Despite Challenges
Nigerian survey data shows that 34% of IT decision makers in Nigeria are planning to move to a new region and 33% into a new country; 58% of IT decision makers in Nigeria view a shortage of personnel with IT skills as one of the main threats to their business; Equinix completed the acquisition of Nigeria’s MainOne earlier this year
NNPC, Marketers Agree On Ultimatum To End Petrol Scarcity
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMPDRA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers of Nigeria (IPMAN), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), amongst others, have agreed to end the lingering petrol scarcity in the country before Saturday, December 10, 2022.
New Naira Notes Have Been Distributed To Banks – CBN
Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has revealed that the new naira notes have already been distributed to commercial banks and will soon be distributed to the general public.Following a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, Emefiele made the announcement on Thursday.
Cashless Transactions Peak At N318.66tn In 11 Months
In the first eleven months of 2022, cashless transactions in Nigeria increased by 41.75 percent to N318.66 trillion, according to fresh industry figures from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. The Nigeria Instant Payment System and Point of Sales terminals, which are used to track cashless transactions on the NIBSS, processed a total of N318.66 trillion. The number for the similar time in 2021 was N224.79 trillion.
