Nigeria’s economic challenges pose risk to other West African countries – IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the decline in Nigeria’s economic growth, if not reversed timely, may have a spillover effects in other economies in West Africa.
IMF’s Assistant Director/Head, Fiscal Policy and Surveillance, Catherine Pattillo, said this while responding to a question during a media briefing on the Fiscal Monitoring Report at the ongoing IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC.
In another development, several members of the House of Representatives have called for the removal and replacement of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for the continuous depreciation of the Naira.
The Nigerian economy is in recession. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently revealed that the country’s GDP contracted by 2.06 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the negative growth of 0.36 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2016.
“As you know, Nigeria is a very important economy in the region and its success has positive spillover for the region, particularly in West Africa and its challenges then creates difficulties for

Nigeria drops to 127th place on WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index

Nigeria has dropped three places to the 127th position on the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for 2016-2017, out of 138 countries surveyed. The country was previously ranked 124th on the index.
At 127th position, Nigeria only performed better than Madagascar, Yemen, Venezuela, Congo DR, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Mozambique, Chad, Mauritania and Malawi.
The report, which was released wednesday by WEF, showed that Nigeria ranked lowest in health and primary education, and was greatly affected by a weaker macroeconomic environment.
“Nigeria is among the African economies hardest hit by the reduction in commodity prices, falling three places to 127th overall,0 almost entirely due to its weaker macroeconomic environment (down 27 places) and financial sector (down 10 places).
“Although still relatively low, the government deficit has almost doubled since last year and national savings have significantly suffered, worsening the current account position.
“Banks are less solid, reducing the availability of credit; despite the central bank ending its currency peg, financial authorities have retained restrictions on access to the interbank market,

PwC hits $35.9bn gross revenue in FY2016

The PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) network yesterday reported total global gross revenues of $35.9billion for the fiscal year ended on 30 June 2016. With the record revenue, PwC’s total global revenues rose by over seven per cent.
Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd, Bob Moritz, said the revenue growth in FY16 across all major markets and businesses is testament to their fundamental purpose of building trust and solving problems.
Moritz said: “The strength of our brand, the opportunities we provide for our people, the quality of our services and our focus on meeting the needs of our stakeholders are at the heart of PwC and how we measure our success.
“To secure future growth, we are investing heavily in technology to enhance the quality and impact of our services and make the best use of the skills of our people. The world is changing

Global banks fight back on Brexit, warn $51 billion at stake

Britain crashing out of the European single market could cost banks and associated businesses in the U.K. almost 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) in lost revenue, undermining a key sector of the economy, an industry report will warn on Wednesday.
Finance firms are making a fresh bid for special status in upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU after U.K. government officials this week indicated banks would get no favors. The report, prepared by Oliver Wyman on behalf of TheCityUK lobby group, warns that almost 70,000 jobs and 10 billion pounds of tax revenue are at risk from a so-called hard Brexit, according to two people familiar with its contents.
Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out prioritizing protection of the banks in Brexit talks and has dismissed their key business demand for an interim deal to help ease the transition out of the bloc, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing three government officials. Finance executives have threatened to move jobs if Britain doesn’t secure a deal allowing them to serve European

Nigeria will soon close $4bn investment deal with China – Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said that Nigeria will soon close the deal on a $3 billion to $4 billion loan from China that will be channelled towards the provision of infrastructure in the oil and gas sector.
Kachikwu made the disclosure at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in the State House, Abuja wednesday, adding that the loan was a fallout of the July roadshow held by the petroleum ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in China.
Briefing State House reporters alongside the Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Interior, Abdurahman Danbazzau; and Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Kachikwu also revealed that over 40 Chinese investors would be visiting Nigeria by the end of the month, explaining that the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed during the road show generally have a gestation period of about one year, as both countries set up their teams on a bilateral basis to look at specific areas of investment interests.