Business News
Insufficient electricity, unfavourable economy are among challenges hindering companies –CBN
Stakeholders have highlighted insufficient electricity supply and unfavourable economic realities as some of the most serious challenges hindering their business operations.
Stakeholders, who were surveyed in the latest business expectations data, as published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), highlighted insufficient electricity supply and unfavourable economic realities as some of the most serious challenges hindering their business operations in the country.
Other challenges, according to the respondents, included high interest rate, unclear economic laws, inadequate access to credit, unfavourable political climate, increasing competition, and lower demand.
Interestingly, despite the above-highlighted challenges, the 1050 businesses that participated in the survey expressed optimism in terms of Nigeria’s business outlook.
According to the report, their overall confidence index stood at 26.6 index points and, which is indicative of optimism in the state of Nigeria’s macroeconomy last month. In the same vein, the respondents also showed high confidence in the economy for March, with 58.1 index points.
The CBN business expectation data, which was for the month of February, went further to highlight responses by businesses regarding other major indicators. For instance, in terms of their expectations on exchange rate, businesses expect the naira to appreciate in the coming months.
[READ MORE: Power sector loses N19.15 billion to gas shortages, transmission infrastructure challenges)
They also expected that not only will borrowing rates increase in February, but that such would be the case throughout the course of 2020.
Furthermore, the respondents noted that they expect Nigeria’s inflation rate to stand at 11.6% and 11.8% in the next six months and in the next twelve months, respectively. Interestingly, the respondents expressed satisfaction with the way the government is managing inflation.
“Respondent firms expressed satisfaction with the management of inflation by the Government, with a positive net satisfaction index of 2.4 in February 2020. The net satisfaction index is the proportion of satisfied less the proportion of dissatisfied respondents.”
Finally, the respondents were optimistic in terms of Nigeria’s economic growth. They gave an economic growth index rate of 43.3 for the month of February, as well as a growth index rate of 49.5 points for the next six months as well as the next twelve months.
You may read the full report, which was compiled by the CBN’s Statistics Department, by clicking here.
Business
PenCom recovers N17.51billion from defaulting employers, imposes penalties
N17.51 billion was recovered by PenCom from employers who refused to remit pensions from workers’salaries
The National Pension Commission has recovered N17.51 billion from employers that refused to remit deducted monthly pensions from their workers’ salaries to their Retirement Savings Accounts with the respective Pension Fund Administrators.
This was disclosed by the Commission in its 2020 second quarter report which was released on Friday.
Out of the N17.51 billion, the principal contribution was N8.89 billion, while the penalty imposed on the employers was N8.63 billion.
The report read, “Following the issuance of demand notices to some defaulting employers whose outstanding pension contribution liabilities had been established by the recovery agents, 16 of the affected employers remitted the sum of N261.33 million representing principal contribution of N152.79million and penalty of N108.54million during the quarter. This brought the total recoveries made from inception as at June 30, 2020 to N17.51billion.”
According to the report, one batch of NSITF lump sum payment application totalling N225,442.72 was however received on behalf of five NSITF members during the quarter.
It said the application was processed and five members’ contributions were transferred to their bank accounts.
Consequently, it added, the cumulative sum of N2.94billion had been paid into the bank accounts of 36,551 NSITF contributors as lump sum/one off payment from inception to June 30.
For the quarter ended June 30, the commission said it processed monthly pension payments totalling N62.25million in respect of 3,629 NSITF pensioners.
As of June 30, it said the total pension payment to NSITF pensioners amounted to N4.73billion.
The commission added that it reviewed the request for the payment of attributable income to eligible NSITF members and granted a “no objection” for payment of N2.92billion to 165,954 eligible NSITF members whose NSITF contributions were refunded to their RSAs or bank accounts as of December 2018.
Coronavirus
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
On the 26th of September 2020, 136 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria
The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to record increases as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 58,198 confirmed cases.
On the 26th of September 2020, 136 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria, having carried out a total daily test of 7,968 samples across the country.
To date, 58,198 cases have been confirmed, 49,722 cases have been discharged and 1,106 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 502,545 tests have been carried out as of September 26th, 2020 compared to 494,577 tests a day earlier.
COVID-19 Case Updates- 26th September 2020,
- Total Number of Cases – 58,198
- Total Number Discharged – 49,722
- Total Deaths – 1,106
- Total Tests Carried out – 502,545
According to the NCDC, the 136 new cases were reported from 16 states- Lagos (41), Ogun (27), Rivers (19), Abia (10), Oyo (6), Plateau (6), Bauchi (5), Ondo (5), Ekiti (4), Kaduna (4), Edo (3), Ebonyi (2), Bayelsa (1), Delta (1), Osun (1), Yobe (1).
Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 19,215, followed by Abuja (5,644), Plateau (3,379), Oyo (3,254), Edo (2,623), Kaduna (2,393), Rivers (2,324), Delta (1,802), Ogun (1,823), Kano (1,737), Ondo (1,625), Enugu (1,289), Ebonyi (1,040), Kwara (1,028), Abia (891), Gombe (864). Katsina (848), Osun (827), Borno (741), and Bauchi (697).
Imo State has recorded 566 cases, Benue (481), Nasarawa (449), Bayelsa (398), Jigawa (325), Ekiti (321), Akwa Ibom (288), Niger (259), Adamawa (237), Anambra (234), Sokoto (162), Taraba (95), Kebbi (93), Cross River (87), Zamfara (78), Yobe (76), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.
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Lock Down and Curfew
In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.
The movement restriction, which was extended by another two-weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.
On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020. Also, on Monday 27th July 2020, the federal government extended the second phase of eased lockdown by an additional one week.
On Thursday, 6th August 2020 the federal government through the secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 announced the extension of the second phase of eased lockdown by another four (4) weeks.
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Energy
NNPC says local operators must improve capacity to achieve low cost of oil production
The NNPC has mandated local oil companies to improve capacity to so as to reduce oil production cost.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that indigenous companies operating in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector must upscale their capacity for global competitiveness in order to achieve the target of reducing the cost of oil production in Nigeria on a sustainable basis.
This was disclosed by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, at a virtual stakeholder’s consultative summit which was organized by the Senate Committee on Local Content.
According to a press release by NNPC, which was signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, the NNPC GMD said that there was need to amend the Local Content Act to reflect current realities in the industry.
Kyari, who was represented by the Group General Manager, Corporate Planning & Strategy (CP&S), Mrs Eyesan Oritsemeyiwa, argued that there was a need to have a legislation to resolve the issues of funding challenges faced by local players, stressing that oil and gas business required high technical skills and competence to compete favourably at the global stage.
Speaking further on the need for greater capacity building on the part of indigenous companies, the GMD said the nation’s education system has a great role to play in the development of highly skilled technical manpower, adding that any legislation on Nigerian content development that fails to embrace issues of investment in the educational system was not likely to achieve much.
He said, “In terms of the interaction between industry and education, we think these new bills would present a good model that we should work with. People are the greatest assets of any nation. If you have the best brains in the industry today, as long as you are not getting a good replacement for them from the educational sector when they grow old and retire, then your industry will collapse.”
The NNPC boss pointed out that the nation has made some good progress from the era when there was no single indigenous operator in the oil and gas industry to the current situation where local operators have risen to double digits, stressing that the trend should be encouraged.
He praised the National Assembly’s initiative to review and amend the Local Content Act and urged the committee to ensure that it is carried out in a timely fashion in order for the law to deliver maximum value for the nation.
The GMD commended the legislators for the plan to extend the local content law beyond the oil and gas industry to other sectors of the nation’s economy, stressing that it would open up the non-oil sectors to growth and development.
The local content initiative has been identified as being very critical to the development of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector as the Federal Government plans to reduce the cost of production of crude oil to $10 per barrel in the face of the recent crash in crude oil prices.
The Federal Government has provided the sum of $350 million as the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund to help support local participation in the oil and gas sector.
Local Content: @NNPCgroup Advocates Capacity Upgrade for Indigenous Operators
In order to achieve the target of reducing the cost of oil production in Nigeria on a sustainable basis, @NNPCgroup says indigenous companies operating in the…
More here 👉https://t.co/XoSyeHKNUS pic.twitter.com/iTtJhtJXzD
— NNPC Group (@NNPCgroup) September 26, 2020
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manager
March 3, 2020 at 11:25 pm
Nigerian major problem is electricity and bad road challenges but politicians don’t care they are busy looting money and paying themselves huge salaries and allowances.