How FG plans to boost exports – NEPC boss

Olusegun Awolowo

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has listed factors that could support indigenous exporters to increase the volume of their exports.
Executive-Director of the NEPC, Olusegun Awolowo, disclosed yesterday at the 22nd seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors (FICAN) in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State that the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) was suspended to be reformed, so that it could efficiently play its role of supporting Nigerian exporters to increase the volume of their exports.
According to Awolowo, it would enhance the contributions of non-oil export to the national economy and broaden export product and market coverage.
Furthermore, he said the grant would support the diversification of the productive base of the economy as well as payment with Negotiable Duty Credit Certifications, among others.

Nigerian banks remain strong – CBN tells Afreximbank

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated that the nation’s Deposit Money Banks are strong despite the ongoing challenges in the foreign exchange market.
CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, at the third quarterly meetings of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in Lagos, yesterday, reaffirmed that the country’s banks remained strong.
The reaffirmation may have become necessary, as the regional trade bank appeared to have several business interests in the country, with more recently, a $150 million facility granted Heritage Bank Plc.
In a special presentation to the board members, Emefiele outlined the measures CBN and the government had put in place to address the problem of foreign exchange scarcity in the country.

MAN renews complaints over forex, supports FG’s assets stripping

Weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said foreign exchange allocation to the real sector would be increased to 60 per cent, operators have denied noticeable improvements.
Besides, they have thrown weight behind the Federal Government’s plans to reduce holdings in some national assets as a way of raising fund to fight recession and ensure efficiency in their operations.
A section of the real sector operators under the aegis of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) yesterday, said its members are yet to benefit from the 60 per cent allocation by CBN alleging that there are discordant tunes coming from the apex bank.
Speaking ahead of its ‘Manufacturers Yearly Lecture’, President, MAN, Dr. Frank Jacobs, reiterated that government should reduce some of its shareholding on national assets.
“LNG is a profitable company, government has huge share of 51 per cent which is managed efficiently by the private sector. If government reduces equity from some of these assets, they

NSE ASI falls marginally as profit taking sets in

Profit taking in oil and gas stocks led to a negative close at the stock market yesterday as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) fell marginally by 0.05 per cent to 28,248.86.
Specifically, Conoil Plc, which recorded an unprecedented rise due to an impressive 2015 full year and 2016 half year results, went down by 7.0 per cent to be at N36.00.
Similarly, Oando Plc shed 4.8 per cent to close at N5.32.
Conoil Plc had appreciated by 97 per cent within seven trading days due to impressive results.
The stock, which was N21.59 before the full year results were released on September 9, soared to close at N42.60 per share last week.
“I am not surprised at the way the stock is rising given the better-than-expected performance despite the challenging operating environment. But I think profit taking may set in soon as some investors may want to lock part of the gains recorded by the stock,” a stockbroker, Mr. Ayo

NNPC plans zero JV cash call funding for government

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has begun shielding the Federal Government from Joint Venture (JV) cash call indebtedness, which presently stands at $6 billion.
It plans to achieve this by ensuring outstanding and future payments are liquidated from oil and gas royalties and taxes under a first line charge model.
The country has been having difficulties in meeting its JV cash call obligations. For instance, of

Investors blame market woes on govt policies

Capital market stakeholders have bemoaned government economic policies, especially the recent decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to retain interest rate at 14 per cent, They said that the policy was disincentive to investment for both foreign and indigenous investors.
They argued that when interest rate is low, speculators move their funds from the money market instruments to the stock market to make a kill.
The same speculators, according to them, also move from the stock market to other asset classes, especially, fixed income securities when the interest rate is high.
Specifically, the Managing Director of Highcap Securities Limited, David Adonri explained that Nigeria is currently in recession because the fiscal authorities have failed to initiate policies that would boost the supply side of the economy.
This, according to him, is affecting the real sector, especially in the production of goods and

We financed N3.4bn mortgages for 740 police officers – FMBN

The Acting Managing Director of Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Mr Richard Esin, has disclosed that the bank financed mortgages for over 740 men of the Nigeria Police Force worth N3.4 billion, adding that the bank is appraising loan applications for 221 personnel through the Nigeria Police Mortgage Bank.
To this end, he noted that N73 million refund applications for 964 police retirees was at the point of payment even as he solicited the cooperation of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, in providing Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to facilitate payment for 1,208 retirees whose refund applications were in the bank.
He stated this in Abuja when he received a delegation of the IGP from the Nigeria Police Force led by Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Department of Logistics and Supply, Maigari Dikko,who visited the FMBN headquarters on the proposed police housing scheme.

Climate change puts global wheat production at risk – study

Climate change also known as global warming refers to the rise in average surface temperatures on earth and as the global awareness and effects of climate change increases, so is the fear that wheat production which has become one of Nigeria’s agricultural mainstay is at risk as revealed by a recent study, Chika Izuora writes.
An overwhelming scientific consensus maintains that climate change is due primarily to the human use of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air. The gases trap heat within the atmosphere, which can have a range of effects on ecosystems, including rising sea levels, severe weather events, and droughts that render landscapes more susceptible to wildfires
Fear is rife that agriculture sector is seriously under threat by climate change which is affecting wheat production.
Many studies have suggested that rising temperatures could be harmful to farms around the