Nigeria's naira sheds 1.4 pct against dollar

Nigeria's naira fell 1.4 percent against the U.S. currency on Tuesday, with no fresh dollar supply and after the central bank dropped a directive that had stopped commercial lenders from taking positions in the forex market, dealers said.

The unit closed at 183.70 naira to the dollar, weaker than Monday's close of 181.20 naira.

The central bank on Tuesday said commercial banks can hold 0.1 percent of their shareholders' funds in foreign currency, reversing a directive enforced last month to stop lenders from dealing in hard currency on their account.

The move is intended to curb speculation in the naira, which has been hit hard in the past few months by falling oil prices.

The central bank devalued the naira two months ago, and in December tightened trading rules to try to curb speculation against the currency, slowing trading to a trickle.

The devaluation of its target band by 8 percent to 160-176 against the dollar was meant to halt the slide in foreign reserves. But the naira has traded well outside that band, and reserves are still falling.

The bank sold $249 million at 168 naira to the dollar at its twice-weekly auction on Monday, dealers said, higher than the $200 million it earlier offered. The central bank has been selling the dollar at 168 naira since the devaluation, but the interbank market has traded lower.

24 ships laden with petroleum products, foods, arrive Lagos ports

Twenty-Four ships laden with foods, petroleum products and other goods have arrived at Lagos ports, waiting to berth.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said on Tuesday in Lagos that five of the ships were carrying petrol, while two had diesel.

The NPA said the remaining 17 would bring in fresh fish, bulk rice, bulk fertiliser, containers, base oil, palm oil and ethanol.

Forty-seven ships are expected to sail into the ports from Jan. 13 to Jan. 31 up from 29 ships which berthed on Monday.

The ships, according to the NPA, contain fresh fish, general cargo, containers, bulk malt, base oil, vehicles, containers, buckwheat, bulk charcoal, bulk gypsum, soda ash, bulk sugar, bulk rice and petroleum products.
It said 29 ships were currently discharging buckwheat, bulk rice, containers, general cargo, bulk fertiliser, fresh fish and petroleum products. 

Auto industry can create over 200,000 jobs, says NAC

THE Director-General of the National Automotive Council (NAC), Mr Aminu Jalal, said on Tuesday that the nation’s automobile industry had the potential to generate over 200,000 jobs.

Jalal said this in Abuja in an interview with the Newsmen. He said the areas of job opportunities included mechanics, insurance, financing and logistics.

Jalal said the new automotive policy of the Federal Government was investor-friendly.

He said that already 23 car assembly plants had shown interest to invest in the country,

He listed the companies to include Piaggio Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Company and National Trucks Manufacturers at Kano State.

Inflation rate hits 8 per cent in December

The National Bureau of Statistics says Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation for the month of December rose by 8.0 percent (year-on-year), 2014, a 0.1 percentage points from 7.9 percent recorded in November.

In its monthly inflation report sent to our news desk on Tuesday,  the figures imply that inflation has held in the single digit range for twenty four consecutive months. Specifically in December, the faster pace of price increases recorded by the Headline index was as a result of advances in a broad array of divisions that yield the Headline index.

In Food prices, it edged slightly higher in December as a result of the festive period. Over that span, the Food sub-index rose by 9.2 percent (year-on-year) up from 9.1 percent recorded in November. This was the first uptick in rates of food prices observed in four months.

According to the statement, the headline index, food prices increased at a marginally faster pace in December. Food prices as measured by the Food sub-index rose by 9.2 percent, 0.1 percentage points higher from rates recorded in November. On a month-on-month basis, food prices increased by 0.9 percent in December, 0.3 percentage points higher from rates recorded in November. This also represents the highest month-on-month increase observed since March 2014.

Naira up as oil firms sell dollars, stocks down

The naira closed almost 1 percent higher against the U.S. currency on Monday, after three oil companies sold the greenback, increasing dollar liquidity on the interbank market, dealers said.

The unit closed at 181.20 naira to the dollar, firmer than Friday’s close of 183. The naira had weakened to 183 during mid-day trades before the dollar sales.

Dealers said China’s Addax and Itali’s Eni sold a combined $19 million while LNG sold an undisclosed amount of dollars to commercial lenders.

The central bank devalued the naira two months ago and in December tightened trading rules to try to curb speculation against the currency, slowing trading to a trickle. The naira had been hard hit by falling oil prices, cutting foreign income for Africa’s largest crude producer.

The devaluation of its target band by 8 percent to 160-176 against the dollar was meant to halt the slide in foreign reserves, but the naira has traded well outside that band – and reserves are still falling.

Stocks have also been falling as foreign investors unnerved by the drop in oil prices exit frontier assets.

Nigeria’s main share index fell more than 2 percent on Monday, hit by further falls in oil and by election jitters.

Nigeria faces a presidential election in less than six weeks, with frontrunners President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the south, and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim, facing off in a contest many think is too close to call.

Okunbor now Shell’s new MD

A new managing director has been appointed for the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), the largest oil producing company in the country.

He is Osagie Okunbor and takes over from Mutiu Sunmonu who is retiring after 36 years of service.
Osagie Okunbor has also been named the country chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria, combining the two positions as his predecessor did.

He is the third Nigerian to hold both posts.

A graduate of business administration from the University of Benin, Okunbor is an accomplished professional, who brings over 28 years of industry experience and expertise to the role. He has worked in Nigeria, the UK, Brunei and currently The Netherlands. His previous assignments included vice president, human resources for Shell’s upstream business in sub-Saharan Africa and vice president, infrastructure and logistics, Shell Nigeria.

He is currently senior advisor in Shell’s upstream international operated business based in The Hague, The Netherlands, from where he returns to Port Harcourt to take up his new role.

Osagie Okunbor, according to a statement issued by Precious Okolobo, corporate media relations manager of Shell Petroleum Development Company, would assume office on March 1, 2015.

Gwarzo takes over from Arunma Oteh as Actg. DG of the SEC Nigeria

Erstwhile Executive Commissioner, Operations in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Nigeria), Mr. Mounir H. Gwarzo has taken over from outgoing Director General of the Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh as the Acting DG.

This was announced by Oteh at a formal handover ceremony in the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, Monday.

Oteh while handing over to Gwarzo, described her five year tenure at the Commission as absolutely outstanding attributing it to the co-operation she received from every member of staff.

She said “When I joined SEC in January 2010, I was absolutely certain about why the SEC was important and what it’s role and what the agenda was. I was able to articulate it in one phrase “building a world class market.”

“To have a vision and have everyone being able to connect and align around it for me whether it is capital market operators, shareholders and other stakeholders for me was very rewarding. But I don’t think it would have been possible without each and every one of you accepting the challenge to try something in a different way or to do something in a way that you are not quite sure of.”  

She said that what the commission has been able to achieve in summary is to lay a foundation for the nation to see a capital market that will help tackle its infrastructure challenges; that will help people who are setting up businesses, who own businesses raise millions of naira in capital.

“Our aim is to build a meritocracy so that it is the viable businesses that get funded, not necessarily the ones that have connections so that we can also tackle some of what we are seeing in our world today, whether it is security challenges we face or the security challenges that everybody faces. My view is that one of the things that will address it is if people can feel that they are included, that they have economic access; that they can create wealth, that the income inequalities that we see around us can be addressed. And I believe that the capital market is the answer and what we have done in the last five years is to lay a foundation; there is still a lot of work to be done” Oteh said.

She therefore appealed to staff to continue to work hard and support the leadership to ensure that the brand that has been built is not eroded.

The Acting DG, Gwarzo was born 50 years ago in Kano and attended Bayero University, Kano and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Economics in 1987.  In 1991, he proceeded to the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom where he obtained a Post Graduate Degree in Development Finance.  Mr. Gwarzo is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers; in 2005 he became a Fellow of the Institute.

He has played roles the in Nigerian Capital Market as an operator and as a regulator.   This is evident from the caliber of institutions he has served in during his working career that spans a period of Twenty-Five (25) years. The institutions include Ministry of Trade, Kano State; Nigerian Stock Exchange, Century Merchant Bank Limited, Empire Securities Limited, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and MTL Global Investment Limited.

Gwarzo has been a participant in several courses both at home and abroad, some of which are: The Securities Market Regulation which is the leading training program in securities regulation in the world by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; Development of Bonds Markets in Johannesburg, South Africa; Asset Backed Securities and Mortgage Securitization in Singapore; Operational and Credit Risk Management in Dubai; and Advanced Management Programs (AMPS) at INSEAD (The Premier Management Institute in Europe), Paris as well as at the SAID Business School, Templeton College, University of Oxford, UK.

He is happily married and widely traveled.

Oteh’s tour – of - duty as Director General of the SEC Nigeria will be remembered for its passion, purpose, articulation and faithful implementation of a therapy of reform measures driven by the vision to transform the Nigerian market into world class market.  She was in a hurry to see Nigeria achieve a world class capital market that would drive development and make Nigeria one of the most attractive investment destination.