Business

Nigeria’s petroleum importation from Malta surged significantly to $2.8 billion in 2023. Nigeria is one of Africa’s biggest oil-producing nations — but it lacks local refining capacity. Speaking at an event in May, Vice-President Kashim Shettima had said over $25 billion is expended on the importation of refined petroleum products yearly. The Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is the sole importer of petroleum products in the country. According to data from Trademap, a database on international trade statistics, between 2017 and 2022, there were no imports of the commodity from Malta — an island country in Southern Europe located…

President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon has invited the Chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote to invest in cement and fertiliser production in the country. According to a statement by the media office of Dangote Group, the billionaire was invited to explore investment opportunities in cement and fertiliser (urea and phosphate). “President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon has invited the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote to invest in Cement and Fertiliser production in Gabon,” Dangote Group said. “The President urged Dangote to explore potential investment opportunities in the country’s cement and fertilizer…

Vice President of Dangote Industries Limited, Mr Olakunle Alake, on Saturday, addressed members of the House of Representatives after the lawmakers toured the refinery and the fertiliser plant. According to BusinessDay, he provided significant insights into the ongoing challenges and milestones of the Dangote Refinery project.     Here are four critical highlights from Alake’s briefing: Crude oil supply and forward sales Alake mentioned that the forward oil sales made by Buhari’s administration created hurdles for securing crude oil for the refinery. He pointed out the specific contractual obligations that limit access to crude oil, affecting the refinery’s operations. “The…

MTN Nigeria Communication Plc said it paid the sum of N543.9 billion in taxes and levies to the Nigerian government in 2023. The company disclosed this in its 2023 sustainability report released over the weekend, which highlights its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. In addition, MTN said it was able to expand its network coverage to cover 92.9% of the country’s landscape. The technology company added that it also increased its investment in capital expenditure by 13.2% to N571 billion in 2023. Per the company’s financial result, MTN Nigeria posted N2.46 trillion as revenue for the full year 2023.…

The chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, says the devaluation of naira created the biggest mess for the company in 2023. Dangote spoke on Tuesday during the annual general meeting of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. According to Dangote, the company is putting in efforts to ensure it pays dividends this year. He said a lot of companies, especially in food and beverages businesses, were also affected and will be unable to pay dividends, TheCable reported. “We are doing whatever it takes to make sure that at the end of the day, we will be paying dividends because if you…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has banned the use of foreign currency-denominated collaterals for obtaining naira loans, except under specific conditions. This was conveyed through a circular distributed to all Nigerian banks by Dr Adetona S. Adedeji, the Acting Director of the Banking Supervision Department at the CBN. The circular noted CBN’s observations of the prevalent use of foreign currency (FCY) as collateral by bank customers seeking naira loans. In the light of these observations, the CBN resolved to prohibit this practice, aiming to stabilise the financial market and ensure the prudent use of foreign currency within the economy.…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a circular to Bureau De Change operators (BDCs), informing them of the sale of $10,000 to each BDC at a rate of N1,101/$1. In a circular seen by Nairametrics, each BDC is instructed to sell the dollars to eligible customers at a rate not exceeding 1.5% above the purchase price. This suggests BDCs are not expected to sell above N1,117/$1. The selling rate is below the N1,251.05/$1 recorded at the end of last week, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold dollars to Bureau De Change operators at the rate of N1,251/$1. According to a statement issued by the apex bank’s Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Dr Hassan Mahmud, $10,000 was made available to each of the BDCs which benefited from this. The BDCs were directed not to sell the dollars at a rate which exceeds 1.5 per cent above the purchase price, meaning that it should not be sold beyond N1,269 per dollar. “We refer to our letter to you referenced TED/DIR/CON/GOM/001/071 in respect of the above subject wherein the CB approved…