NNPC records 16% increase in gas supply to Power in November

  The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said that the daily average natural gas supply to gas-powered plants in November 2019 increased by 16.53 per cent to 645 mmscfd.

The Corporation disclosed this in its Monthly Financial and Operations Reports (MFOR) released in Abuja, on Sunday. The increment, it said was equivalent to power generation of 2,178 MW.

It said that the October 2019 gas supply to power averaged 553 mmscfd to generate 2,050 MW. It noted that national gas production in November 2019 stood at 228.65 billion Cubic Feet (BCF), translating to an average daily production of 7,621.68 Million Standard Cubic Feet per day (mmscfd).

Federal Government plans N97 per litre for fuel

 

   The Federal Government has revealed plans are underway to provide alternative petrol -Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) – for the common man that will cost between N95 to N97 per litre.
It also promised to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill(PIB) before May 29, 2020. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated these to reporters in Abuja on Thursday.
 
     Asked whether government was going to reduce the pump prices of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to make it more affordable, the minister said that there were plans to provide an alternative fuel that is cheaper. He disclosed the fuel CNG has undergone a pilot project in Benin City where over 10,000 vehicles are already running on it. With CNG, Sylva said that the cost of fuel will reduce to about N95 per litre.

MTN Nigeria appoints new executive director

 

  MTN Nigeria Communication PLC on Friday announced the appointment of Modupe Kadri as its new Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The new appointment is to take effect from March 1, 2020. Kadri replaces Adekunle Awobodu as CFO. Mr Awobodu’s intended departure was announced in July 2019.

  The communication company disclosed this through a disclosure notice sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday. It also expressed its appreciation to Awobodu for his commitment and service to the company. “His dedication, extensive knowledge, financial expertise and experience across MTN Croup earned him great respect,” it said.

Federal Government Executive Council Accepts €500m Loan For Bank Of Industry

 

  The Federal Government Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari has approved that 500 million Euro loan be sourced for the Bank of Industry from external creditors. According to the  Minister of State Finance, Clement Agba, the loan is to support industrialisation and agriculture in addition to creating up to 1.2 million new jobs.

“The credit guarantee is for up to five years and the Federal Government is the guarantor of the loan,” he stated. Agba said: “Council today approved the issuance of a Sovereign Guarantee of 500 million Euros from the Credit Suisse AG London Branch and a syndicate of international lenders as collateral for 500m Euro facility to the Bank of Industry.

“The loan is basically to finance major industrialisation projects and micro-small and medium enterprises values chains in Nigeria for up to five years tenure at affordable rates; These rates are single digit rates. The guarantor of the loan shall be the Federal Republic of Nigeria and this is going to be executed through the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning. “The main objective of the loan is to support industry; revitalise agro-industrial processing zones, and to facilitate the creation of new jobs.

Ethiopian Airline to resume flight to Athens December 13

 

   After 18 years, Ethiopian Airline will resume flight to Athens, Greece effective December  13, 2019, making it its 20th destination in Europe. The thrice weekly flight to Athens will be operated by the ultra-modern B787 dreamliner.

N50 PoS stamp duty charge begins

 

   The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) are working for the application of remittance processes to ensure the seamless collection of stamp duty charges for PoS. Many filing stations and supermarkets are already adding  the new fee to the customer’s purchases.

Stanbic IBTC win All Africa Employee Engagement awards

     Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, has won three awards at the All Africa Employee Engagement Awards held recently in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.  The Awards reward individuals and businesses for contributions to the development of employee engagement and the future of work on the African continent.

Nigeria’s debt hits N25.7trn

 

  Nigeria's  Debt Management Office on Tuesday October 15, announced that the country's public debt now stands at N25.7trn.

List of banks fined by CBN for inability to meet loan ratio

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says 12 banks have been debited N499 billion for failing to give out 60% of their deposits as loans. The cash reserve of the banks held by the CBN has been debited. The CRR is a portion of the banks’ deposits kept with the CBN for regulatory reasons.

   In July, the CBN had increased the loan to deposit ratio to 60% saying: “Failure to meet the above minimum LDR by the specified date shall result in a levy of additional Cash Reserve Requirement equal to 50% of the lending shortfall of the target LDR”. The affected banks are:

Donald Trump announce new tariffs on billions of dollars of EU products starting Oct. 18

 

    The price of Scotch, French wine, cheese and other European exports is about to go up in the U.S. after the Trump administration announced new tariffs on billions of dollars of EU products starting Oct. 18.

    President Donald Trump got the go-ahead from the World Trade Organization on Wednesday to impose tariffs on as much as $7.5 billion worth of European exports annually in retaliation for illegal government aid to Airbus. The award is the largest in WTO history.

World Bank Appoints New Country Director For Nigeria

   The World Bank has appointed Shubham Chaudhuri as the new Country Director for Nigeria, succeeding Rachid Benmessaoud who completed his term recently. A statement issued by the World Bank’s Senior Communications Officer, Nigeria, on Wednesday in Abuja, said Mr Chaudhuri assumed office on Tuesday.

It said that Mr Chaudhuri, a U.S. national who grew up in India, joined the World Bank in 2004 and has held several leadership positions at the Bank, with his most recent position being Country Director for Afghanistan.

Customers To Pay More For POS Transactions

 

   BANK customers are to pay more for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions. This follows a Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive to banks to charge N50 Stamp Duty on individual transactions.

   The directive on the Unbundling of Merchant Settlement Amounts was contained in the CBN circular to banks, processors and switches, titled: “Review of Process for Merchants Collections on Electronic Transactions”. The new policy stipulates Stamp Duties Payment on individual transactions that occur on PoS, rather than previous plans where charges occurred on aggregate transactions.

Nigeria, Iraq Agree To Cut Oil Output

   The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Saturday agreed to trim oil output by asking over-producing members Iraq and Nigeria to bring production in line with their targets. The group is striving to prevent a glut amid soaring U.S. production and a slowing global economy.

FEC Approves Increase In VAT Rate To 7.2%

  The federal executive council (FEC) has approved an increase in value added tax (VAT) rate from 5 percent to 7.2% percent Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, disclosed this to state house correspondents at the end of the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

   However, this is subject to an amendment of the VAT act of 1994 by the national assembly. If approved by the federal lawmakers, the new rate will take effect in 2020. VAT replaced the sales tax in 1994 and was pegged at 5% by the military government of Sani Abacha.

Airtel Now Becomes Nigeria’s Second Largest Network

 

   Airtel Nigeria is now the second-largest telecommunications service provider in the country. According to the July subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Airtel gained a total of 906,400 customers in July to become second. Airtel currently has 123,327 subscribers more than Globacom that has occupied the position for years.
Inspector General Of Police Reacts To Catholic Priest Burnt To Death In Taraba

Nigeria’s public debt hits $81.27 billion

   
    Nigeria’s total public debt that aggregates both external and domestic debt has ballooned to N24.947 trillion ($ 81.274 billion), according to a statement by the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Wednesday.  Read the DMO’s full statement:

Fidelity Bank partners PwC on SME funding

 

    Fidelity Bank Plc is collaborating with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to provide funding for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in Nigeria.

   Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, said in Lagos on Wednesday that the bank came up with the initiative tagged, ‘SME Funding Connect,’ to deepen funding, which remained the biggest headache of SMEs.

Crude Oil Hits $66 On Signal

 

  Oil surged to a five-week high on Monday after Saudi Arabia and Russia signalled an extension of the non-members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) output cuts and a United States (U.S.)-China agreement to restart trade talks improved the demand outlook. WTI oil for August delivery climbed $1.64 to $60.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange  in London. The contract added 9.3 per cent last month.

TY Danjuma Buys 300 Years Old London Hotel, Now Worth $1.2 Billion According To Bloomberg Billionaires Index

 

   Theophilus Danjuma has acquired a 300-year-old hotel in London for N1 billion. TY Danjuma, as he is popularly referred to, is now worth $1.2 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

CBN To Raise Banks Capital Above N25bn

 

  Mr Godwin Emefiele,  on Monday said the management will work with relevant stakeholders to recapitalise commercial banks in the country to make them stronger to undertake greater risks.  He made the disclosure while unveiling his second term, five-year agenda (2019-2023) in Abuja.  The last recapitalisation exercise was done between 2004 and 2006 by the then CBN Governor, Chukwuma Soludo.