CBN sells $313 million in forward auction

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold about 313 million Dollars, in a two-month forward auction to clear a backlog of Dollar demand.
This is the third of such auctions since the launch of the forwards market in June 2016.

German firm declines offer to print new Zimbabwe currency

A German company has refused to print Zimbabwe’s controversial new currency forcing President Robert Mugabe’s government to delay its introduction amid worsening cash shortages.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced in May that it will introduce bond notes that will be at par with the United States dollar to address liquidity challenges.
RBZ governor John Mangudya, who initially announced that the notes would be in circulation by October, said a German company had been given the printing contract.
The launch of the ‘surrogate currency’ was moved to next month and on Friday a leading business newspaper in Zimbabwe revealed that the delays were caused by Giesecke and Devrient’s refusal to print the notes.
Giesecke and Devrient printed the Zimbabwe dollar until the country abandoned the currency in 2009 after it was ravaged by 500 billion percent inflation.
The German embassy in Harare confirmed that the company had refused to print the new currency.
“According to the information that we have from the said company, it will not print bond notes for

Wema Bank expends N221m on judiciary archive

Wema Bank Plc has raised support for the Lagos State Government and the Justice Research Institute Limited with N20 million to deliver a world-class archiving service aimed at transforming record management in the Lagos State High Court.
In a bid to address the deteriorating state of the Lagos High Court archives, the Lagos State Judiciary and the Justice Research Institute, a private limited liability company, partnered to create a joint venture, the Lagos Archives and Property Litigation Registry (LAPLR).
Apart from the N20 million funding by Wema Bank, the Bank also granted LAPLR a Project Finance Facility to the tune of N201 million.
The Managing Director of Wema Bank, Segun Oloketuyi, while speaking at the launch of the archives at the Lagos State High Court, noted that the bank identified the need to have a credible source of information on land and property that are subject to litigation in Lagos State, hence the

FG to target other sectors for revenue – FIRS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said the current paradigm shift in Nigeria’s economy calls for attention and concerted efforts towards the development of other critical sectors of the economy for the much-needed revenue.
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, who was recently elected President of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) in Pretoria, South Africa in his remarks said without any doubt, the creative industry has opened new frontiers and economic opportunities in terms of wealth creation, knowledge economy, employment generation, local capacity utilisation and revenue generation; with huge potential to leapfrog into emerging high-growth economy.
Fowler, who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Kola Okwola noted, “that the extent to which an economy is able to grow sustainably and develop depends to a large extent, on its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure and the efficiency of its tax system.

Power sector loses N549bn yearly to gas constraints

Nigeria’s power sector is losing an average of N549 billion yearly to gas supply challenges. The situation has continued to deprive the country of over 2,479 Mega Watts (MW) daily.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the sector is losing an estimated N1.525 billion daily due to power generation constraints.
Further analysis showed that losing N1.525 billion daily to lack of gas to power plants, translated to N45.75 billion monthly.
NESI said, in its daily power generation analysis, that the country recorded line constraint of 394.5MW and high-frequency constraints of 303MW as at October 12, 2016. It explained that the revenue losses were calculated using a net, average and levelised tariff of N20/kWh. The agency stressed that in gross terms, this implies average end-user tariffs of circa N32/kWh inclusive of all Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses (ATC&C) and export sales if one adopts the

Dollar scarcity: Banks suspend ATM card usage abroad

Deposit Money Banks have begun suspending their Automated Teller Machine cards (debit and credit) from working overseas as dollar scarcity continues to hit the economy badly.
Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank on Friday announced the suspension of their overseas ATM card services.
Also suspended by the banks are online transactions priced in foreign currencies. This means that customers of the banks will no longer be able to use their debit or credit cards to make online transactions that are denominated in dollars, euros, pounds sterling and other foreign currencies.
In a note to its customers on Friday entitled: ‘Suspension of international transactions on naira debit cards’, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria said, “Please be informed that effective immediately, your naira denominated debit cards will no longer be functional for international transactions.
“This is due to the current volatility in the foreign exchange market. Your naira-denominated debit cards can only be used for local transactions at Point of Sale terminals, Automated Teller Machines and online for Nigerian retailers.”
In a text message to its customers on Friday, Stanbic IBTC Bank similarly said, “Dear customer,

GE confirms $2 billion investment in Nigeria

General Electric has confirmed its interest in investing $2 billion on Nigerian railway concession project worth around $2 billion.
President Muhammadu Buhari said in his 1 October anniversary speech that GE would be investing $2.2 billion in a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage some of the country’s railways.
Given the size and scope of the proposed project, it is likely that the debt and equity commitments required from lenders, consortium partners and other co-developers will be in the range of $2

Gombe govt workers to get home renovation loan

The Gombe State government has perfected plans to begin home renovation loans to its civil servants.
To this end, the Head of Gombe civil service Dr. Deniel Mohammed Musa, said the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to provide a platform for home renovation loan scheme.
While speaking in Gombe in his office recently, Musa explained that the MoU will create an avenue for civil servant to access a new package brought to them by the bank.