Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today.
- Afrinvest Asset Management Limited, the fund managers of the Nigerian International Debt Fund, says it is set to pay investors the interim coupon for the 2017 financial year in August 2017. Link
- Guinness Nigeria Plc., Jaiz Bank Plc., Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc., Dangote Flour Plc. and Vitafoam Nigeria Plc. emerged the top five gainers at the close of trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Link
- Globacom has declared Friday, 11th August, 2017, as the first Free Data Day on its network. This is keeping with the company’s promise of the Free Data Day package which was launched recently, a statement from the telecom said yesterday. Link
- Lafarge Africa Plc. has become one of the key partners of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for the research and development of Nigeria’s first Concrete Mix Design Manual. The company is the country’s only cement and concrete manufacturer that contributed to the development of the manual which was launched on Tuesday in Abuja. Link
- Supranational trade finance bank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), says it is opening its shareholding to the investing public with a 300 million dollars equity offering through the issuance of depositary receipts. Link
- A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, on Thursday, sealed the premises of the Nigerian Mineral Water Industries Limited at Nkpo, near Onitsha, Anambra State. Link
- The profit after tax of Nigerian Enamelware Plc. dropped by 196 per cent for the year ended April 30, 2017 to N45.058 million from N133.475 million recorded in the corresponding period of last year. The company’s turnover also dropped to N2.528 billion from N2.795 billion. Link
- A total of N4 billion was spent on the upgrading of the facilities of the National Iron Ore Mining Company after the sacking of Indian concessionaire, Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited, the Federal Government has said. Link
- Total Nigeria Plc., the downstream subsidiary of Total, has rewarded some of its drivers as part of its strategy to promote safety on the roads. Link
- Marine Platforms Limited said it had completed a training programme for a set of Nigerian engineers under the Human Capacity Development scheme of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board. Link
- The Future Project has, in collaboration with Microsoft Nigeria, initiated a programme aimed at engaging youths in small and medium scale businesses to accelerate economic development through enterprise development and technology. Link
- DOMESTIC sugar manufacturers imported over 1.4 million metric tonnes of raw sugar into the country in the first half of 2017 (H1’17). The imports were mainly as raw material for final consumer sugar refinery. Three key importers are Dangote Sugar Refinery, BUA Sugar Refinery and Golden Sugar Refinery, a subsidiary of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Link
- BNigeria’s pay-television service provider, GOtv, said it has upgraded its website to make it more userfriendly in a way that enables subscribers find everything they need to know about the service in one place. Link
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday announced that it plans to sell N62.43 billion of treasury bills at an auction next Wednesday. The apex bank said it plans to offer N32.43 billion in three-month paper and N30 billion of a six-month bill. Link
- iConcepts, provider of mobile technology and value added services (VAS) in Africa, has launched a simple cloud-based mobile marketing platform, known as mGen.ng, that enables businesses and organisations of any size to harness SMS messaging capabilities to increase sales, customer engagement and marketing returns on investment (ROI). Link
- Mart Networks Nigeria Limited, a leading technology value added distributor has unveiled innovative enterprise solutions for data centres and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. The company launched the disruptive solutions recently during its flagship partner event in Lagos, showcasing a range of solutions they currently distribute in Nigeria. Link
- The Nigeria Police and leading technology firms have partnered to develop and deploy innovative mobile app, called Hawk Eye, designed to curb insecurity across the country. Hawk Eye is a mobile app that will allow users to report crimes anonymously to the police by video, voice or text. It was developed by a Lagos based tech firm, Web Assets Nigeria Limited, in partnership with United States based tech firms, BBGN&K and Microsoft. The solution provides key technologies such as facial recognition and key performance indicators (KPIs). Link
- Grenadines Homes, a member of Palton Morgan Holdings has commissioned Cappa & D’Alberto contractors to build an ultramodern estate project worth over N40billion. The project is expected to attract both local and foreign direct investments while also providing numerous employment opportunities. Link
- Easypr.ng, an online marketing and media content distribution platform has been launched in Lagos. Through the platform, individual and corporate organisations in need of public relations and other marketing services can customise required service to suit their budget plans. Link
- BlackPace Africa, an Africa focused investment management and advisory firm and the Plateau State Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards a joint development arrangement to upscale potato production in Plateau State and set up a potato processing facility in Jos, the state capital. Link
- Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc., makers of Dulux paint, a subsidiary of UACN Plc, has announced a special price offer line with its 2017 Dulux ‘Let’s Colour’ campaign. Link
- Fidelity Bank Plc. has been awarded the “SME Friendly Bank of the Year 2017” in recognition of its support for Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. Link
- An indigenous technology firm, Cellulant, has been engaged by the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock, in Afghanistan, to commence the process of establishing a market-based input distribution technology for it. Link
- Isurf Consulting Limited, an enterprise business firm has partnered with Ecosmob Technologies Private Limited, a global VoIP and software mix provider to drive growth for businesses in the country. Link
- THE Management of Savannah Sugar Company in Adamawa, a subsidiary of Dangote Group on Tuesday announced resumption of business after over one month of closure. The Group Managing Director, Sugar, Dangote Group, Abdullahi Sule made the announcement at a joint briefing with representatives of the company’s host community at Gyawana in Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa. Link
- The African Chicken Genetics Gains (ACGG) has said it intends to transform smallholder chicken production into commercially viable enterprise with active private sector engagement that empowers rural women. Link
- The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has banned its officials from collecting and accepting gift items and souvenirs from vessel crew members whenever they board vessels for official purposes. Link
- Nigeria plans to refinance $3 billion worth of maturing naira-denominated short-term treasury bills with dollar borrowing of up to three years’ maturity, to lower costs and improve its debt position as the economy recovers from a recession. Link
- The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday approved the 2018-2020 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, which hopes to achieve 7% growth rate by 2020. Link
- A new report on Wednesday indicated that over N11 trillion meant to provide adequate electricity in the country was squandered under the governments of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. Link
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has again announced that it never inaugurated a recruitment campaign of any kind, as it warned job seekers to avoid being scammed. Link
- A Nigerian, Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, accused of obtaining more than 125,000 stolen taxpayer identities from across the United States has been convicted in federal court in Oregon. Link
- A 49-year-old man, Akinola Olumide, has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court for allegedly collecting N9m from some intending travellers under the pretext of procuring visas for them. Link
- A study has attributed the rise in import and export processing costs by 50 per cent and 61 per cent, respectively, to illegal payments at the nation’s seaports. The study, 2016 Port Efficiency Research, conducted by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, observed that port users faced challenges arising from poor infrastructure and activities of multiple agencies imposing various charges. Link
- The United Nations Global Compact is pushing ahead with its effort to support the Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises in Nigeria to tackle the challenge of corruption in a bid to stimulate the growth of the MSME sector. Link
- The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has given the APM terminal 14 days to clear the blockage to Apapa Access road caused by empty containers trying to use its terminal. Link
- THE price of crude oil, yesterday, inched towards $53 dollars a barrel ahead of a U.S. inventory report expected to show crude stocks dropped for a sixth week. Link
- The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has inducted five additional trainer aircraft for training of 401 pilots. The Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya,made the disclosure in a statement Wednesday night. Link
- How to tackle the effect of cybercrime on corporate businesses and individual users will be the focus of chief executive officers and industry regulators at this year’s Nigeria ICT Impact CEO Forum (NIICF) & Africa Digital Awards (ADA). Link
- Nigerians who are clamouring for the harmonisation of all databases into a single database that will enable industry players, academic researchers, and security agencies to obtain accurate statistics from a single source, may have to wait till 2020, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said. Link
- The report of a baseline study on ‘Informal Sector Tax Practices in Lagos State’ carried out by the Community Life Project, a civil society organisation, has shown that the system of taxation practised in the state was “burdensome and inimical” to the survival of businesses in the informal sector in the state. Link
- There are indications that Nigeria will surpass the 100,000 mark domain name registration between October and November this year, following the month-on-month increase in the .ng domain name registration across the country. Link
- The Federal Government, yesterday, approved a $45 per barrel oil price budget benchmark and predicated oil production at 2.3 million barrels per day for 2018. Link
- The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has dissociated itself from an insinuated N17 million judgment against Coca-Cola by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Link
- The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria and Chairman, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Abuja, Harry Purwanto, has lamented that Nigeria-Indonesia trade is fast declining. Link
- Aisha Abubakar reassured of the Federal Government’s commitment to the promotion of homemade products necessary to conserve the much needed foreign exchange for the nation. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and the Nigerian Brands Carnival, have concluded plans to promote the patronage of made in Nigeria products, aimed at further boosting the nation’s economy. Link
- Despite Nigerian government’s ban on importation of vehicles through land borders, the volume of cars smuggled into the country from Cotonou through Seme, Idiroko, and other land borders has risen astronomically in the past four months. Link
- Stakeholders and operators of Credit Bureaus have advocated the deployment of instruments in improved credit infrastructure, to address the issue of high interest rates as part of measures to facilitate economic growth and recovery. According to them, instruments like the unique identifier and credit scoring system can assist operators to address insufficient credit history, and provide information for the lender to use to make a reasonable judgement as to whether to extend credit or not. Link
- With a total of 46 functional aircraft in local operations as at today, the airlines pay over ₦5 billion in fleet insurance yearly, with another ₦5 billion on passenger coverage for about 10 million traffic annually. Link
- To reinforce their opposition to the introduction of Practitioner Operating Fee (POF), ordered by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, port operators under the auspice of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA), embarked on a protest to air their grievances. Link
- In its bid to ensure sanity in the drug distribution system, the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN), has sealed 37 Pharmacies and 360 patent medicine stores for various offences in Abia State. It also issued compliance directives for offences such as poor documentation, failure to display licences, failure to renew premises licences, dispensing ethical products without the supervision of a pharmacist, among others to 27 pharmacies and patent medicine stores. Link
- From September 1, all the activities between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and its clients – oil and gas operating companies and service companies, among others, will only be conducted electronically, it was learnt. Link
- The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) may soon begin work on FESTAC Town Phase II following the Court of Appeal’s green light. The project, which was concessioned in September 2014, was stalled by litigation. Link
- The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has said that his administration will continue to support the Small and Medium Enterprises for the sustained growth of the state’s economy. Link
- Basking in the euphoria of its success, the Kaduna Zonal office of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), yesterday, revealed that in the last seven months, it has recovered over N227 million in its operations. Link
- The Kwara State Government said it has disbursed about N2.25 billion to boost the capacity of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the state over the past six years. Link
- The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo and the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mrs. Folashade Joseph have endorsed the 2017 edition of Sterling Bank Environmental Makeover (STEM). Link
- Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said all the revenues collected by his administration as tax will be used for the execution of capital projects across the state. Link
- The Oyo State Government has revealed that it would empower 450 cassava producers in the state through the state’s funded Anchor Borrower’s programme and another 267 rice and cassava farmers under the FADAMA III. Link
- The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday approved the appointments of 21 new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service. Their appointment followed the examination conducted for federal directors. Link