Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today.
- In a notice sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mobil Oil Nigeria has informed dealing members and the investing public of its change of name from Mobil Oil Nigeria to 11 Plc. The change of name will take effect on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday 11th August 2017. Link
- Uber and Visa have agreed to a multi-year strategic agreement that aims to grow digital commerce across Africa. According to the companies, the partnership leverages both technology platforms to encourage the use of electronic payments among consumers across the continent. Under the agreement, Visa will work with its financial institution partners to set up debit and credit portfolios for e-commerce services. Link
- AxaMansard Insurance Plc’s shares led the losers’ table at the close of trading on Monday, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation soared by N34bn. Link
- May & Baker Nigeria Plc. said its profit before tax rose by 215 per cent to N139.5m in its half-year financial result of 2017, from N44.2m recorded in the corresponding period of 2016. According to a statement obtained from the firm on Monday, the firm’s operating profit also rose by 57 per cent. Link
- The board of Lafarge Africa Plc. has approved and authorised the company’s merger with both United Cement Company of Nigeria (Unicem) and Atlas Cement Company Limited. Link
- Safetrust Mortgage Bank Limited has declared profit before tax of N76.8m for the financial year ended 31st December, 2016. The Chairman of the bank, Mr. Akin Opeodu, at the 2017 Annual General Meeting said it closed the year with over N1.5bn in interest earnings, N8.1bn in total assets while the capital base and shareholders fund stood at N2.77bn. Link
- FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange has launched an Investor Protection Fund, IPF, to boost and sustain investors’ confidence in the Nigerian capital market. Link
- A report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), a civil society organization says that commercial crude oil exploration in Nigeria and the rest of the world would become unprofitable within the next 13 years. Link
- NIGERIA’S hope of increasing oil production will soon be a reality as Egina oil field, the flagship of Total Exploration and Production, is set to come on stream in 2018. The floating production storage offloading, FPSO, project is expected to add 200,000 barrels per day, bpd to Nigeria’s output. Link
- Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited, a subsidiary of Chevron Nigeria Limited, and its Agbami co-venturers, have donated a chest clinic to Zamfara State Government to help in the fight against tuberculosis and other diseases. Link
- Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. has sufficient cover for its N3.9 billion ($10.69 million) loan to telecoms group, 9mobile and will focus on lending to agricultural and real estate businesses, its chief executive Emeka Emuwa said on Monday. Link
- Leading food manufacturing company, Nestle Nigeria Plc. has announced a profit after tax (PAT) of N16.5 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2017, showing a jump of 2,987 per cent compared with N536 million in the corresponding period of 2016. Link
- SystemSpecs, has released the full version of its innovative Remita Mobile Application, for both Android and Apple phone users. The new payment solution according to the firm is aimed at “helping individuals to access all their bank balances on one screen, conveniently make and receive payments across various bank accounts,settle various bills, request payment in style, easily manage their expenses, view their payslip, and generally stay in control of their finances.” Link
- Chinese-owned oil firm, Addax Petroleum, is shutting its offices in Geneva, Houston and Aberdeen, a month after it agreed to pay 31 million Swiss francs ($31.85 million) to settle charges of suspected bribery of Nigerian and other foreign officials. Link
- Seven employees of Dangote Sugar Refinery and a businessman were yesterday arraigned before a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, for allegedly stealing N451 million belonging to the company. Link
- As part of its corporate social responsibility, Heritage Bank Plc. has partnered Oyo state government in transforming the healthcare sector through a N50 billion Healthcare Endowment Fund. Link
- Committed to improving the living condition of Nigerians, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) yesterday disbursed Home Renovation Loans worth N643m to 740 federal civil servants across the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board (FGSHLB). Link
- With the exit of Microsoft from Nokia and the acquisition of the brand by HMD Global, the globally acknowledged mobile phone brand Nokia has made a return to Nigeria with its first Nokia smartphone range – comprising of the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 –all three available for purchase from selected operator and retail stores. Link
- MTN Nigeria has announced the appointment of Tobechukwu Nkemdilim Okigbo as its new Corporate Relations Executive. Link
- To enhance businesses in state Nigeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace, has said it will launch its maiden flight into the Akure Airport on Friday, August 11, 2017. Link
- The MTN Group has confirmed it will proceed with plans to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) over the coming months up to 2018. Link
- The Director General of Consumers Protection Council (CPC) Mr. Babatunde Irukera has secured a N17 million judgment against Coca-Cola International Company at the Supreme Court for wrongfully terminating the employment of a Nigerian, Mrs. Titilayo Akisanya. Link
- Worried by increasing electrical accidents, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, has inaugurated a panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the electrical accident which occurred, last week in Angwan Biri, a neighbourhood of Minna, the Niger State. Link
- The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, manager of the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, has resuscitated 11 fertilizer blending plants across the country, which has brought down the price of commodity and ended its subsidy. Link
- A multi-billion naira ultra-modern spare parts and automobile centre would soon be constructed in the Greater Port Harcourt City, Rivers State. Speaking at the GPHCDA Corporate Office, the Board Chairman, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, said the N30billion project located at lriebe along the Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway, would be a Private Public Partnership (PPP).This followed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority (GPHCDA) and Global lnterstroy Limited of Russia. Link
- The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has signed a memorandum of understanding with Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory of Netherlands to develop a network of automatic weather stations across the country. Link
- The Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Aziz, has disclosed that the data growth for registered Nigerians is now 18.5 million this year and the figure is expected to reach 28 million by the last quarter of this year. Link
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), yesterday disclosed plans to execute a 10-year investment with its partners to generate additional $30 billion for the government. Link
- The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has stated that the federal government might sell the country’s refineries as scrap metals in few years’ time if the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) did not sit up and make the refineries to be functional. Link
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has indicated that it will clear its cash call debts to its Joint Venture (JV) partners in oil production before the anniversary of the first $400 million payment it made to them in April this year. Link
- The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu has said that Nigeria’s oil and gas industry would require $10 billion (N3.05 trillion) over the next three years to increase crude oil production from 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 3 million bpd. Link
- The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in a recent data released on pension scheme, has recorded over 7.5 million registered workers in the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) membership distribution for the second quarter of 2017. Link
- The management of Nigerian Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC) said a total sum ofN8.68 billion were either stolen, reported as cases of frauds or forgeries and outright theft involving bank staff in 2016. Link
- To clear waste at the ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) refuse collector has acquired a $4.5 million equipment. African Circle Pollution Management Limited (ACPML) will use the equipment to fight pollution in the oceans, lagoons, ports and waterways. Link
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured that Financial Technology (FinTech) companies will not take over the roles played by commercial banks in delivering services to customers. He added, “The fear has always been there that FinTechs will take over the roles of the banks and that a time will come when there will be no bank. Fintechs are not licenced as financial institutions, they cannot take deposits, they can make payments out of bank accounts. They can only facilitate payments or make it easier but the banks will still continue to play a very big role.” Link
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday, announced more injection of forex into the Nigerian foreign exchange market. The apex bank boosted the FOREX market with the sum of $195m in three segments of the market. In the wholesale segment of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange market, it auctioned $100m and also intervened in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisible segments, with the sum of $50 million and $45million respectively. Link
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that Naira currency in circulation dropped by 5.6 per cent to N1.77 trillion in July 2017. The naira in circulation continued to drop in 2017 following the apex Bank intensive effort to mop liquidity in the economy to reduce inflation and sustain its stability. Link
- Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that the N7 trillion federal budget for 2017 is not sufficient to facilitate the desired economic development in the country, hence the government was making the investment climate profitable and easy for private sector involvement. Link
- The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said the Federal Government had adopted an automated platform in order to enhance early preparation of the budget. The automated platform is called the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System. Mr. Ben Akabueze, has also said that over 4,250 participants involved in budget preparation from over 800 Federal Government MDAs will be trained on the use of GIFMIS. Link
- The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki , has said that the senate is working to create new forms of capital through the passage of bills like the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill that will allow young people to use their portable assets like cars and laptops as collateral for loans to start small businesses. Link
- The Federal Government on Monday announced that commercial activities will begin on the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line in June next year. Link
- There seems to be a disagreement between the Federal Government and the Lagos state government as the Federal Government on Monday asked dredgers to disregard a stop work order issued to them by the Lagos State Government. Link
- The Maritime Security Agency, MASECA, has called on the Federal Government to authorize it to partner with other security agencies to beef up security around the country’s waterways in order to tackle vandalism of petroleum assets, militancy and other crimes. Link
- The Federal Government has concluded plans to boost power supply to Ariaria International Market in Aba, Abia State. This, it said, was geared towards boosting and ensuring the survival of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country. Link
- A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered a permanent forfeiture of the $37.5m mansion in Banana Island, Lagos linked to a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to the Federal Government. Link
- The governments of India and Nigeria are set to forge closer cooperation in a determined effort to accelerate growth in Information and Communications Technology with a view to boost both countries’ economies through greater penetration and use of advanced technologies and services. Link
- Nigeria’s robust telecommunications regulatory environment, guarantee of Returns On Investment (ROI) and investors renewed confidence in the fast growing sector will form part of the country’s narrative at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World 2017. Link
- About 10,000 youths from oil-bearing communities in Niger Delta will be engaged by the Federal Government as surveillance and security officers at oil pipelines in the region. Link
- The Federal Government plans to build Nigeria Heritage Cities in Jeddah, Houston and other cities across the globe that have huge Nigerian populations to serve as one-stop hub for Nigerian foods and products. Link