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Nigeria to limit debit card spending abroad to support naira

The Central Bank of Nigeria plans to limit the amount commercial bank customers can spend using their debits cards while abroad, in the latest crackdown on dollar demand to save its dwindling foreign reserves.

The apex bank has been battling to prop up the naira after a sharp fall in the price of oil, Nigeria's main export, which triggered a sell-off in assets by foreign investors.

The Chief Executive of Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, told reporters after a meeting between the central bank and commercial bank's representatives that "the limits would be reduced to more judicious levels."

Currently, customers have an annual limit of $150,000, the regulator said after the meetings with the committee of lenders late on Thursday but did not disclose the new cap.

Nigeria raises N183bn in T-bills at lower yields

The Federal Government raised N183.64 billion ($923 million) in Treasury bills with yields falling compared with the previous sale last month

The Central Bankof Nigeria disclosed this on Thursday.

The Treasury bill yields fell in tandem with declining yields on fixed assets on renewed investor interest in the local debt market after a peaceful presidential election in the country.

Nigeria's Unity Bank says Q1 pretax profit rises 35 pct

 

Nigeria's Unity Bank posted a 35.2 percent rise in first-quarter pretax profits to 4.26 billion naira ($21 million) the same period last year, it said on Thursday.

The middle tier bank did not give reasons for the higher earnings but said in a statement revenue rose to 16.5 billion naira against 14.97 billion naira in the period to end-March.

CBN To Publish Names of debtors In Financial Industry

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it will publish names of debtors in the financial industry and reduce annual spending limits on naira debit card holders in the diaspora.

Speaking at the 321st Bankers Committee Meeting which includes officials from the apex bank and chief executives of commercial banks; participants expressed concerns over the rising non-performing loans in the financial sector.

CBN's director for Banking Supervision, Tokunbo Martins, noted bad and chronic debtors will be denied access to foreign exchange and would have their identities revealed to ensure the safety and soundness of trade deals.

Business Update on Souncloud.com

 

Stay up to speed with the day's business news in a entertaining format, on investment, oil and gas, power, the day's capital market news and many more on https://soundcloud.com/imohrich/imohs-business-update-april-8-2015 and follow up on twitter @imohRICH

NLNG Raises Asset Base ByU.S. $14 Billion

Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has so far invested additional $14 billion on assets, made up mainly of plants and equipment, financed largely by the company's shareholders, with 51 per cent stake by International Oil Companies (IOCs) and 49 per cent belonging to the country through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The company, which made this disclosure in its facts and figures on NLNG 2015,  stated that it has contributed to national wealth and economic wellbeing by paying all applicable taxes and tariffs.

Specifically, the company said that its corporate income tax amounted to about N220 billion in 2014, thus making it the highest tax payer in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Read full details here:

Power generation in Nigeria has risen above 4,000MW — FG

 

The Federal Government has said power generation in the country has risen above 4,000 megawatts after hovering between 3,000MW and 3,800MW since the start of the year. Industry operators said the development which became noticeable on March 31, 2015 is attributed to the general elections.

Power generation for the past six months has been poor due to frequent vandalism of oil pipelines and destruction of vital infrastructure supplying gas to electricity generation plants. However, as of March 31, figures from the Federal Ministry of Power showed that the country’s peak generation was 4,011.4MW, while energy generation was put at 3,540.42MW and the energy sent out was 3,465.36MW.

Peak demand and highest peak generated power were 12,800MW and 4,517MW, respectively as of March 31, as well. Peak generation consists of the quantum of electricity held as spinning reserves and the amount of energy sent out to electricity distribution firms.

The country normally holds some quantum of electricity as spinning reserves in case of an emergency. Reports suggest that the interest of Nigerians during the period leading to the elections led to a reduction in the occurrence of pipeline vandalism. The presidential and National Assembly elections were held on March 28.

Read full story here:

Power generation in Nigeria has risen above 4,000MW — FG By Olawale Kadir on April 6, 2015 @ 9:39 am@todayngr Pin It Chinedu Nebo new Click here for Nigeria's Largest Newspaper Directory The Federal Government has said power generation in the country has risen above 4,000 megawatts after hovering between 3,000MW and 3,800MW since the start of the year. Industry operators said the development which became noticeable on March 31, 2015 is attributed to the general elections. Power generation for the past six months has been poor due to frequent vandalism of oil pipelines and destruction of vital infrastructure supplying gas to electricity generation plants. However, as of March 31, figures from the Federal Ministry of Power showed that the country’s peak generation was 4,011.4MW, while energy generation was put at 3,540.42MW and the energy sent out was 3,465.36MW. Peak demand and highest peak generated power were 12,800MW and 4,517MW, respectively as of March 31, as well. Peak generation consists of the quantum of electricity held as spinning reserves and the amount of energy sent out to electricity distribution firms. The country normally holds some quantum of electricity as spinning reserves in case of an emergency. Reports suggest that the interest of Nigerians during the period leading to the elections led to a reduction in the occurrence of pipeline vandalism. The presidential and National Assembly elections were held on March 28. Some senior officials of the Ministry of Power who spoke on Sunday under anonymity explained that the country recorded less cases of pipeline vandalism in March, adding that the industry also had a near smooth supply of gas to the power plants and recorded a marginal rise in the generation of electricity due to less interruption of power installations.

Read full story here:

Transcorp says 2014 pretax profit down 14 pct

Transnational Corp. of Nigeria, a conglomerate with interest in hotels, power and oil and gas, said on Wednesday its 2014 pretax profit fell 14 percent to 7.73 billion naira ($39 million) from year ago.

The firm did not give a reason for the drop in profits. It said in a statement revenues more than doubled during the period to 41.3 billion naira.

6 ships laden with petrol arrive Lagos ports

 

Six ships laden with petrol and two others containing kerosene and aviation fuel have arrived Lagos ports and waiting to discharge. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its daily publication – `Shipping Position’, – made available to newsmen.

The document noted that five other ships containing rice and containers were also at the ports waiting to discharge their contents. It indicated that 35 ships were expected in the ports between April 7 and April 21.

The ships, it said, would sail in with containers, petrol, bulk sulphur, buck wheat, fish, crude palm oil, general cargo and rice. According to NAN, the document further explained that 24 ships were in the ports discharging petrol, kerosene, buck wheat, fish, bulk sugar, bulk fertiliser, containers, soya beans and general cargo.

Nigerian shares snap 10-day winning streak as election rally wanes

 

Nigeria's main stocks index ended a 10-day winning run after falling 2.1 percent in early trade on Tuesday as a rally triggered by peaceful presidential elections in Africa's biggest economy waned, stockbrokers said.

Ivorian cocoa arrivals seen around 1,275,000 T by April 6: exporters

 Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 1,275,000 tonnes by April 6 since the start of the season on October 1, exporters estimated on Tuesday, up from 1,233,000 tonnes in the same period of the previous season.

Exporters estimated around 14,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports of Abidjan and San Pedro between March 30 to April 6, equalling the amount delivered during the same period last year.

A total of 1,265,000 tonnes of beans arrived at the ports during the October-to-March main crop harvest, the exporters estimated.

Nigeria's naira firms on parallel market as liquidity rises

Nigeria's naira firmed more than 6 percent on parallel market on Tuesday as individuals who had stockpiled dollars to hedge against political risk because of the general elections sold off their holdings, black market dealers said.

The naira NGN-D1 firmed to 197 against the dollar on the parallel market operated by bureau de change agents, the same level as the interbank market, from 210 naira on Thursday.

Power generation rises to 4,000MW —FG

Power generation in the country has risen above 4,000 megawatts after hovering between 3,000MW and 3,800MW since January this year.

The development, which industry operators attributed to the general elections, became noticeable on March 31, 2015.

Power generation for the past six months has been poor due to frequent vandalism of oil pipelines and destruction of vital infrastructure supplying gas to electricity generation plants.

But as of March 31, figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Power showed that the country’s peak generation was 4,011.4MW, while energy generation was put at 3,540.42MW and the energy sent out was 3,465.36MW.

Peak generation consists of the quantum of electricity held as spinning reserves and the amount of energy sent out to electricity distribution firms. The country normally holds some quantum of electricity as spinning reserves in case of an emergency.

Peak demand and highest peak generated power were 12,800MW and 4,517MW, respectively as of March 31, 2015.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said last month that the country lost about 800MW of electricity as a result of the blasting of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline in the midnight of March 11, 2015.

According to the minister, the damage was done by vandals, who ruptured the ELGP with an explosive device at Egwa, near Batan, Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State.

Speaking through his Special Assistant on Media, Mrs. Kande Daniel, the minister said the attack was the fourth this year, adding that it came only hours after the repairs on an earlier attacked pipeline were completed.

Akwa Ibom to privatise power plant

Akwa Ibom state government has said that it is disposed towards privatising the Ibom Power Plant in Ikot Abasi council area of the state.

Senior Special Adviser on Investment and Industrialization, Chief Senas Ukpana, who disclosed this to journalists, said that the arrangement was consistent with modern investment practices.

He said that insinuations by some members of the opposition that the state government was trying to mortgage the future of youths in the state by selling the power plant is being promoted by those who lost out in the last PDP primaries.

He also disclosed that a private investor has proposed to establish another power plant at Ikot Abasi due to the availability of gas supply from the Uquo Gas plant in Esit Eket local council of the area.

On fears expressed by some people from the Oron area of the state over plans by the state government to relocate the proposed sea port planned for Ibaka in Mbo local council to Esit Eket, the Special Adviser explained that such decisions were technical and would be taken by experts handling the project.

It would be recalled that Senator Ita Enang had in a local radio programme recently urged the state government to reconsider any move aimed at selling the state owned independent power plant for the interest of the future of the state.

Enang had said that feelers that the Governor Godswill Akpabio led administration want to sell the power plant have received a negative response from stakeholders in the state.

 The Senate committee chairman on Business and Rules was of the opinion that selling the plant would not only jeopardise efforts at ensuring 24 hour electricity coverage for the people of the state but could deny future generations of the state a valuable asset.

NUPENG Sets Blueprint for Buhari on oil sector

Oil workers under the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has urged the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari to address the challenges besetting the nation’s oil and gas sector by the time he settles down for business.

President of the union, Comrade Igwe Achese, conveyed the urge in a congratulatory message to the new president said these challenges include the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the rehabilitation of the nation’s four refineries to make them work optimally, and building of new refineries in order to reduce the massive importation of petroleum products.

He said: ’’The other challenges that should be addressed are the issues of outsourcing and ‘casualization’ of workers in the industry.  We believe that if these issues are addressed, there will be job creation which is one of the cardinal points of the new administration’’.

He expressed optimism that the second coming of Buhari will put the nation’s oil and gas sector on a sound footing.

Nigeria attracts over $3bn in real estate development

 Nigeria attracted $3.96 billion in real estate development in 2014, which is 11 percent of the total sum of $36.4 billion expended on infrastructure construction projects in the country.

Data recently released by Deloitte African Construction Trends report placed Nigeria at the top of West African countries in major infrastructure construction projects in 2014, with the country spending $36.4 billion on major infrastructure construction projects for the year 2014.

It added that the total expenditure included both foreign and local as well as public and private sector investments

The report said that investment has been on the rise, following the re-basing of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) to $509.9 billion in April 2014.

According to the report, the projects range from Water which took 39 percent, Energy and Power (17 percent), Oil and gas (17 per- cent), Transport (15 percent), Real Estate (11 percent) and Manufacturing (1 percent).