Exchange rate as at this morning 29/02/2016

COUNTRY          CURRENCIES       IN NGR(Naira)
 EUROPE                     EUR                         N360/Euro
US DOLLAR               USD                          N320/Dollar

GBPOUNDS               GBP                          N430/Pound

Seplat Shares rises to N340 Per Share

   The shares of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc sustained its rally to lead the price gainers’ chart at the stock market last week. The stock, which has witnessed an unprecedented recovery despite the decline in oil price, rose 12.4 per cent to close at N340 per share last week.
Seplat has jumped by 75 per cent within the last three weeks, rising from N194.25 to N340. While other stocks in the oil and gas subsector have witnessed bear run, Seplat has recorded a rally.

However, market analysts linked the renewed investor demand for the shares of the Seplat to the announcement of the company’s take-over of the operatorship of OMLs 53 & 55.According to market operators, investors increased their demand for the stock after the Supreme Court ruling in favour of Seplat and Chevron Nigeria Limited in a litigation brought against both parties by Brittania-U Nigeria Limited.

The litigation had prevented the full transfer of a 40 per cent working interest in OML 53 and effective 22.5 per cent working interest in OML 55 (held through 56.25 per cent ownership of the share capital of Belemaoil Producing Limited) that Seplat had acquired from CNL in February 2015.
Reacting to development, Seplat had said: “We are naturally pleased with the ruling, not least because it means we are free to deploy our proven operating expertise and realise the significant reserve, production and value potential these blocks hold.”

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Seplat, Austin Avuru “to give an idea of scale, we estimate these blocks to hold recoverable volumes of around 200 million barrels of oil equivalent net to Seplat, a material volume by any standard and one which has now been unlocked for us.”He explained that OML 53 fits neatly within their strategy of securing, commercialising and monetising natural gas in the Niger Delta to supply the rapidly growing domestic market and will further reinforce our position as a preeminent supplier of gas in Nigeria.

Excerpts from Thisday

FG saves N2.29bn monthly from discovery of ghost workers-Minister of Finance

        The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun stated that through the ongoing Bank Verification Number-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, the amount spent on payment of salaries has reduced by N2.29bn in February compared to what it was in December 2015.It stated that through the ongoing Bank Verification Number-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System

   The statement as read, “Through the ongoing BVN-based staff audit and enrolment to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, the Federal Government has removed 23,846 non-existent workers from its payroll.
  “Consequently, the salary bill for February 2016 has reduced by N2.293bn when compared to December 2015 at which time the BVN audit process commenced.”The ministry said the figure represented a percentage of the number of non-existent workers, who had hitherto been receiving salaries from various ministries, departments and agencies.

  “The Federal Government is also taking actions to pursue recovery of salary balances in bank accounts as well as any pension contributions in respect of the deleted workers.“This involves active collaboration with the concerned banks and the National Pension Commission,” the statement added.

   The ministry stated that with the adoption of the BVN platform to audit and sanitise the salary payment system, it had so far checked the details of about 312,000 civil servants currently enrolled on IPPIS.

48% of banks’ POS machines are dormant —NIBSS

        

     Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc(NIBSS) revealed that 48% of the Point of sale machines acquired by banks for merchants and business outfits are dormant.

     The Executive Director, Business, NIBSS, Mrs. Christabel Onyejekwe, said out of a total of 120,000 PoS machines in the country, only 62,000 were active, while a total of 100,000 terminals were already registered with the company.

She said, “Electronic payments have been growing significantly in Nigeria and this is really encouraging. In December 2015, we recorded 18 million transactions for that month alone. This is significant because 15 million transactions used to be the highest.
“The growth in e-payment is interesting. For PoS, we have grown from just 5000 active PoS terminals in 2012 to 62,000 currently and this is very significant.”

Nigerian banks to return N6.2 billion charges made against customers

    The Central Bank of Nigeria compelled banks to refund overcharged fee to the tune of N6.2 billion  made in 2015 back to customers.

      In a statement made by the Director Corporate Communications, of CBN, Ibrahim Mu’azu“The Revised Guide to Bank Charges clearly specifies allowable charges for all banking services; the CBN does not in any way condone the fleecing of banking customers under any guise. CBN has investigated over 6,000 complaints relating to unauthorised bank charges brought to its notice, following which banks have been compelled to refund N6.2 billion to affected customers in 2015 alone.

“The CBN wishes to reiterate its resolve to continuously enforce the provision of the Revised Guide to Bank Charges and urges members of the public to report cases of infringement to enable it investigate and apply sanctions on any erring DMB”

Mr. Oscar Onyema continues as the CEO of NSE

MR OSCAR ONYEMA

      The National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has renewed the  employment contract of  Mr. Oscar  Onyema  as the chief executive officer for the exchange  for another  term of five years effective immediately. Onyema has been serving as the CEO of the NSE  since April 2011 and his initial five years’ employment contract expires on March 31, 2016.

      President, National Council of NSE, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede, said: “Mr. Onyema’s tenure as CEO of the NSE is marked by outstanding achievements. The Council is confident that he can continue the exchange's trajectory of transformation, innovation and marketplace recognition by implementing its business strategies which he has been instrumental in developing. The leadership qualities that he has demonstrated in his first term as CEO, in the face of such intense and challenging operating environment, have been exemplary. The Council believes that his vision and passion will ensure the exchange  remains a force to be reckoned within Africa and beyond."

Excepts from ThisDAY

Bizblog term of the week: Authorised share capital

           The authorised share capital is the number of stocks permissible to be issued by a publicly traded company.It is the largest amount of share capital from which a company can issue.The authorised share capital indicates the maximum volume of shares of share capital a company can have and its nominal value per share.

     The articles of association of a company outlines the authorised share capital of a company. Authorised share capital are not all issued to the public which implies that the authorised share capital is always greater than the issued share capital.For instance, a publicly traded company can have an authorised share capital of N5m and out of which they can have an issued share capital of N3m.

     The stock exchange market regulator of any country requires a company to have a minimum amount of authorised share capital before they can be listed on the market.

Exchange rate as at this morning 24/02/2016

COUNTRY          CURRENCIES       IN NGR(Naira)
 EUROPE                     EUR                         N320/Euro
US DOLLAR               USD                          N310/Dollar

GBPOUNDS               GBP                          N407/Pound

Lagos state government to set up a micro-finance bank

   Lagos state government last week announced that conclusion had been made in setting up a microfinance bank in the state.

    “We have met with the CBN governor and we believe we should set up a Micro-finance Bank quickly and get our license running to help the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) and artisans,” Mr Akinwunmi Ambode said.

      The governor also said that the bank would be lending to the sector at three per cent rate. The governor said he was passionate about locally produced goods, explaining that the Employment Trust Fund established by his administration and the Micro-finance Bank would boost the state’s economy and reduce unemployment.

EY urges FG to encourage entrepreneurship as a means of growing the economy

“ For Nigerian economy to grow, entrepreneurs must be encouraged by the government . Entrepreneurs are critical for the health of the global economy. They create jobs, generate wealth and encourage creativity and competition. They also drive innovations that address some of the world’s most pressing problems. And they inspire the next generation to innovate.”

    That was a statement made by Mr Henry Egbiki, EY Country Leader and Regional Managing Partner for West Africa at the EY Gala Award Dinner held in Lagos,Nigeria. He also said that Entrepreneurs fulfill & build a better working world.they drive innovation and economic growth, and create jobs.

N4.80k dividend per share to be enjoyed by Nigerian Breweries shareholders

     

      The 2015 audited results filed with the NSE shows that the company’s shareholders would enjoy a total dividend of N4.80 (Four Naira Eighty Kobo) per ordinary share of fifty kobo each for the 2015 financial year. If approved by shareholders at the upcoming Annual General Meeting, AGM. The amount would be the highest dividend ever paid by the company in its 70 year history.

         According to the statement, the proposed final dividend will be subject to deduction of withholding tax at the appropriate rate and will be payable on the 12th of May, 2016, to all shareholders.The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of N9.5 billion that is, N1.20 per share.Thus, the final dividend will be N28.5 billion(i.e N3.60 per share)
  
       The audited financial statement shows a profit before tax of N54billion and profit after tax was N38 billion

     The issued share capital as at 30th September,2015 stood at N3,964,550,444 divided into 7,929,100,888 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. Heineken N.V has a majority shareholding of approximately 54.29% while 45.71% is held by Nigerian and foreign individuals and associations.

    In a statement signed by Mr. Uaboi Agbebaku, Company Secretary and Legal Adviser, says that the Company was able to achieve strong results and deliver good return on investment to shareholders due to its twin agenda of Cost Leadership and Market Leadership supported by Innovation. The statement adds that 2016 will see a continuation of the tough operating environment of 2015, but barring any unforeseen circumstance, the Board remains confident that with the company’s strong portfolio and its Cost Leadership agenda, it should be able to take advantage of any upswing in the market.

Gainers list as at 22nd February 2016

Gainers list
Stock Code		Name	Price	Price Change		High	Low
LEARNAFRCA		LEARNAFRCA	0.89	0.08		0.89	0.85
SDJAIZ		SDJAIZ	1.56	0.14		1.56	1.56
SEPLAT		SEPLAT PETROLEUM	318.00	15.52		318.00	318.00
UNITYBNK		Unity Bank Plc	0.63	0.03		0.63	0.63
GLAXOSMITH		GLAXOSMITHLINE NIG. PLC	25.33	1.16		25.37	24.99
ETERNA		ETERNA	1.84	0.08		1.84	1.84
NSEOILGAS		NSEOILGAS	377.35	16.40		0.00	0.00
NEM		N. E. M. Insurance Co. Plc	0.76	0.03		0.76	0.75
FLOURMILL		Flour Mills Plc	19.00	0.60		19.00	18.99
DANGSUGAR		Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc	5.61	0.17		5.61	5.36
MCNICHOLS		MCNICHOLS	1.21	0.03		1.21	1.21
VETINDETF		VETINDETF	18.07	0.40		18.07	18.03
STERLNBANK		Sterling Bank	1.76	0.03		1.76	1.73
FG122020S1		FG122020S1	112.50	1.49		0.00	0.00
ACCESS		Access Bank Plc	4.10	0.05		4.10	4.06
MANSARD		MANSARD	2.06	0.02		2.06	2.04
NSEMAINBOARD		NSEMAINBOARD	1,167.61	11.09		0.00	0.00
TIGERBRANDS		TIGERBRANDS	1.27	0.01		1.27	1.21
VETGRIF30		VETGRIF30	11.09	0.08		11.09	11.09
GUINNESS		Guinness Nigeria Plc	118.85	0.85		118.85	117.01
WAPCO		West African Portland Cement Plc	80.50	0.50		80.50	80.50
CHAMPION		Champion Breweries Plc	2.85	0.01		2.85	2.70
NSEASEM		NSEASEM	1,206.57	1.24		0.00	0.00
UNILEVER		Unilever Nigeria Plc	28.00	0.02		28.00	28.00
NSECNSMRGDS		NSECNSMRGDS	600.37	0.20		0.00	0.00

Foreign Exchange rate obtainable at parallel market

  
COUNTRY          CURRENCIES       IN NGR(Naira)
 EUROPE                     EUR                        N395/Euro
US DOLLAR               USD                          N370/Dollar
GBPOUNDS               GBP                          N505/Pound

IFRS's

   In reference to the last post made on International accounting standards(IAS) ,lets continue with the International financial reporting standards;

IFRS 1 - First time adoption of IFRS
IFRS 2 - Share-based payment
IFRS 3 - Business Combination
IFRS 4 - Insurance Contracts
IFRS 5 - Non current asset held for sale & discontinued operations
IFRS 6 - Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral assets
IFRS 7 - Financial Instruments- Disclosures
IFRS 8 - Operating Segments
IFRS 9 - Financial Instruments
IFRS 10- Consolidated financial statements
IFRS 11 - Joint Arrangement
IFRS 12 -Disclosures of Interests in other entities
IFRS 13 - Fair value measurement
IFRS 14 - Regulatory deferral accounts
IFRS 15 - Revenue from contracts with customers
IFRS 16 - Leases

International Accounting Standards & International Financial Reporting Standards

Do click the hashtag #Think Accounting Think IFRS


        As promised that i will be making a post regarding the various Financial reporting standards as issued by International accounting standard board(IASB),do find as you read ahead...

Continue after the cut;

Nigeria's Foreign External Reserves depleted to $27.840 Billion

        Nigeria's foriegn exchange reserves depreciated by by $251 million this month.The reserve stood at $27.840b compared to an amount of $28.091b which the reserve was holding as at the beginning of the month.

  There are projections that the reserves may depreciate further considering international obligations and bilateral agreements that had been entered by the country whose payments are from the reserves as well as the settlement of large swap positions between the banks and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).  

Crude oil prices continued to march higher in choppy trade on Monday, gaining on hopes of production cuts to help re-balance an oversupplied market. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March rose 39 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to $29.83 a barrel, while April Brent crude gained 31 cents to $33.67 a barrel.

Bizblog term of the week: Foreign Exchange reserve

       Foreign exchange reserves are asset held by the central bank of a country in various foreign currencies(To a larger extent,US dollar form part of the currency in the reserve,also currencies like but not limited to Pound sterling,Euro and Japenese also are part of the reserve).

   A currency reserve is a currency that is held in large amounts by governments and other institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. Reserve currencies usually also become the international pricing currencies for products traded on the global market such as oil, gold and silver. 

 Foreign-exchange reserves should only include foreign banknotes, foreign bank deposits, foreign treasury bills, and short and long-term foreign government securities.

Foreign-exchange reserves are stated as reserve assets in the balance of payments and are located in the capital account. FX reserves serves as a means to pay-off international debt obligations, or to influence their domestic exchange rate.

Bank of Industry records a N12b PAT(Profit after tax)

       The Bank of Industry (BoI) has announced a profit after tax of N12 billion and an exceptional income of N37 billion from the disposal of WAMCO shares for the financial year.

     A breakdown of the bank’s earnings for the year showed that the bank also recorded an unaudited Profit Before Tax of N50.4billion for the year ended December 31, 2015, representing an operating profit of N12 billion up by 100 per cent from N6 billion achieved in 2014.

The bank explained that loans to large enterprises went to companies in Nigeria’s real sectors such as agro-processing, food processing, solid minerals, gas value-chain, engineering & technology and light manufacturing,the loans for small and medium enterprises were disbursed to companies in the various SME clusters such as fruit juice, cassava processing, fish farming, bakery, furniture, among others, adding that the loans resulted in the creation of over 90,000 jobs in 2015.

In a statement by the bank: “The bank’s operating results are underpinned by strong growth in the bank’s balance sheet, improvement in the bank’s non-performing loan ratio from 18 per cent in May 2014 to four per cent in December 2015, and efficient cost management which saw the growth in operating expenses limited to only 12 per cent in 2015”, 

Excepts from ThisDay

An Indigenous firm to build a 20,000 capacity modular refinery

   Integrated Oil and Gas Ltd,an indigenous company has been given initial license to commence preliminary work for a 20,000 capacity modular refinery in one of the islands on the coast of Lagos.

OIL & GAS

The CEO of the company, Capt. Emmaneul Ihenacho, said Ihenacho,said that his company has gotten preliminary approval from the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, and has commenced work on the Environmental Impact Assessment, EIA. He explained that the company is working on other necessary requirements needed before the final approval for the refinery can be granted.

He described the process leading to the final licensing for the project as a “continuous” one which is given in stages, saying that he intends to get funding for the project from both foreign and local banks. According to him, “If you go to the DPR website you will see all the terms and conditions for granting of refinery licenses. The DPR gives you license in stages, it gives you license to establish, license to construct and after that it gives you license to operate. “DPR would not sit down and say let us go and do an EIA and after that they will give you license. They give you license based on the technology that is used for refining and your ability to give then very good presentation on that subject before they say alright go and start it.” He also noted if the refinery is constructed without the capacity to produce Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, Automated Gas Oil, AGO and the like, the cost would be around $75 million (N25.8 billion), whereas if those components are included, the cost would be around $200 million (N69 billion). Ihenacho also said that several meetings have been held between the company’s management and the traditional rulers (about 16 Baales) around the area, with a view to having the consent of the host communities.

Central securities clearing system(CSCS) trains NPF personnel

    

  The Central securities clearing system had last week concluded a 2-day workshop for officers of the Nigerian Police Force in support of the fight against financial theft.

     Mr. Joe Mekiliuwa, General Manager, Operations, CSCS, said that;

   The objective of the workshop was to expose the participants to the operations of CSCS and market dynamics so as to assist them in carrying out capital market related investigations successfully and improve collaboration between CSCS and the Nigerian Police Force.Also,he said the training has become necessary in order to collectively fight criminals in the capital market by sharing with you information you need to know about the operations of CSCS that will assist in your investigations on capital market related cases. And at the same time foster the relationship between our organisation and the Nigerian Police Force.”

       Speaking on behalf of the participants after the two-day workshop, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP)  Yusuf Abdulrazaq, commended the management of CSCS for organising the workshop, which he said had broadened their knowledge about the operations of the capital market.

FIRS Chairman, PwC,to Speak at Economic Summit .

  An Economic summit will be hosted by the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Victory Chapel, Lagos Province 21 Headquarters, Magodo on the 20th of  February 2016 between 9am and 1.00pm.

  The theme for the summit is: “Thriving in a Period of Economic Uncertainty’’.

In a statement, the church said the event will be taking place this Saturday at the church auditorium, in Maye Ogundana Street, Magodo GRA phase 11, Lagos between 9am and 1.00pm.

In a statement,the church said the summit was meant to boost the socio-economic/spiritual
development of its members. The summit will give participants opportunity to discuss “Tax Revenue and You,” where Fowler; Folarin Ogunsanwo, Chairman, Lagos State Board of Inland Revenue; Albert Folorunsho, CEO Pedabo and Oyedele will be speakers.

Also, “changes in business models” will be discussed by Tonye Cole, Co Founder and Managing Director, Sahara Group; Hakeem Ogunniran, CEO UACN Property Development Company Plc; Dolapo Oni, Head Energy Research, Ecobank Nigeria and Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria.

Similarly, on foreign exchange, trade and commerce, speakers would include Opeyemi Agbaje, CEO RTC Advisory; Muda Yusuf, Director-General Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; George Onafowokan, CEO Coleman Wires and Remi Ogunmefun, Director General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria.

Nigeria to commence 24 hours trading settlement cycle

     

       Nigeria is set to commence dividend payment within 24 hours through the e-Dividend Payment Platform.The proposed system will automatically allow dividends to be credited directly into shareholders’ accounts within 24 hours of payment by the company.

         Mounir Gwarzo,the Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),stated that this was one of the initiatives being implemented by the commission as part of its 10 year Capital Market Master Plan to encourage retail investors to return to the market and thereby deepen the market.

According to him “One of our strategies is to target the retail investor, the only way we can deepen the market and ensure that the market is within our own grip is to ensure that the retail investor comes into the market. It is only the domestic investor that no matter the condition of the market, will stay with us, what we have been experiencing in the market is the dominance of the foreign investor where anytime they want to move out of the market they get out and anything they want to come in they do so. Seeing what happens in the market, we decided that the best thing it to get the retail investor and our approach is not to go to them and be telling them to come back.  

“But our approach is to identify the issues why they are not in the market and deal with such issues. If you meet any retail investor, he is going to complain about not getting his dividend. So how do we address some of these issues and that brought about the issue of Road Show where we meet the retail investors one on one and tell them why they need to key into the e-dividend. It has been quite successful so far”.

     
         The Executive Director Market Operations and Technologies of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), Ade Bajomo commended SEC in its quest to ensure that every Nigerian that invests in the market gets what is due them in good time. 

AMCON Seeks Investors for Keystone Bank

      The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) who owns majority shareholding in Keystone bank has invited prospective investors for the acquisition of its shares in the bank. AMCON announced yesterday that it was seeking prospective investors to buy Keystone Bank.

      According to report ,Citibank Nigeria Limited and FBN Capital Limited  are appointed as financial advisers and Banwo & Ighodalo and Crosswrock Law as legal advisers on the divestment.

   

     The audited financial statement of the bank as at June 30, 2015 shows total assets value as N317.6 billion, customer loans  stood at N98.2 billion, customer deposits at N245 billion and total equity at N18.9 billion.Keystone Bank had four operational subsidiaries of which two are international; and a distribution network of 156 branches, 22 cash centres and 306 ATMs.

      Interested buyers were requested to indicate their interest by submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) with documents such as description of acquiring entity or vehicle with evidence of registration or incorporation; ownership of the acquiring entity or vehicle, identifying all shareholders with a five per cent or more stake; and strategic rationale for the acquisition of Keystone Bank Limited.The submissions of EOI are expected to be sent not later than March 4, 2016.

     The Managing Director of AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru revealed that the sale of Keystone Bank Limited would be completed in the next five months. 

Nigeria’s budget at risk - IEA warns

    The International Energy Agency, IEA, said that demand for the oversupplied commodity is unlikely to witness significant growth in 2016. This is as Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia — all members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, ramp up production.

In a statement made by International Energy Agency;

 “Having peaked at a five-year high of 1.6 million barrels per day in 2015, global oil demand growth is forecast to ease back considerably in 2016, to 1.2 million barrels per day, pulled down by notable slowdowns in Europe, China and the United States,” Paris-based IEA said in its monthly market report. It added that the recent uptick in the price of Brent crude to $33.31 a barrel from January’s 12-year low of $27.15 a barrel could be a “false dawn.” “With the market already awash in oil, it is very hard to see how oil prices can rise significantly in the short term,” the IEA report said. “In these conditions the short term risk to the downside has increased.” This prediction puts Nigeria’s budget on the edge as it is predicated on $38 per barrel, with oil accounting for more than 80 percent of the country’s revenue.

National bureau of statistics gives a prospective look at the Nation's economy in 4 years time

      In a report released last weekend,NBS said “growth in 2016 is expected to be tepid at best”. Economic tepidity is one characterised by dull activities in key market segments and performance areas. NBS’ prediction was based on the happenings in the economy recently especially in 2015 marked by huge negative impact of its dependency on oil revenue amidst price shocks. It noted “years prior to 2015, the Nigerian economy was largely supported by the non-oil sector as supply disruptions hampered oil output. In 2015 however, various factors including political uncertainty prior to and six months after the elections, and intermittent supply shocks of refined petroleum products, and others weighted on both oil and non-oil output. The entire economy took a hit”. Consequently GDP which is the key indicator of economic health of a country was on the downside, declining in the first and second quarter with marginal recovery in the third quarter 2015.

    However, NBS stated that “in 2016, the economy is expected to grow by 3.78 per cent, as output in the oil and non-oil sectors are expected to perform marginally better relative to 2015”. According to the Bureau, Federal Government’s main economic research agency, “the declines in prices of crude oil and related refined products give the Nigerian government the opportunity for some potential savings as subsidies payments on PMS and other refined products may be diverted into more productive aspects of the economy”. It noted that “the government has taken a step further to repeal subsidies on kerosene products.  

   “In the near term, support to the non-oil sector is expected to come through initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Government at Federal and State levels. “One of such initiatives is the N300 billion Naira export stimulation fund by the CBN. Increased efforts by State governments to boost internally-generated revenue, when combined with more prudent and targeted infrastructure spending, is likely to lead to better output performance”. 

    NBS stated “other measures expected to spur growth include fiscal measures such as the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, TSA, improvements in tax collection efforts and the creation of an Efficiency Unit in the Federal Ministry of Finance to ensure that scarce resources are adequately deployed.


   NBS also projected that inflation may rise to 10.16 by end of 2016. But it also indicated a gradual decline such that over the 2017 to 2019 period, inflation is expected to average 9.01 per cent. NBS’s outlook for the previous year predicted that curbing inflation would be harder to achieve as a result of the devaluation of the Naira, which occurred in November 2014. Indeed the first half of the year recorded more macroeconomic volatility as the headline rate, year-on-year, recorded a wider range relative to the second half of the year. In the Second half of the year speculative pressure on the Naira compounded supply shocks exhibited in the first half of the year. Though administrative measures by the CBN helped curb some inflationary pressure, according to NBS, speculative pressure on the Naira is likely to exist in 2016 in light of the current state of foreign reserves. The Bureau noted, ‘’while administrative measures will help provide some cover, the downside risk of such measures is that by making imported goods more difficult to obtain, they increase the price of such goods, leading to higher inflation. “We expect that the Central Bank’s adjustment of the foreign exchange management framework will be steady in the year and will thus mean a gradual easing in prices beyond 2016”. 


Value of Total Trade is forecast to increase on the margin, increasing by 2.41 per cent as Imports increase by 2.88 per cent and exports increase by 2.16 per cent. “Beyond 2016, a stabilization in oil prices while not expected to reach 2014 levels in the medium term in combination with a more competitive economy is expected to yield a rebound in both imports and exports. “Total Trade is projected to increase by 2.41 per cent in 2016, and grow by an average 15.62 per cent yearly over the forecast period 2017 to 2019”.


Culled from Vanguard

CBN reserved over N1trn to fund real sector

      At the 21st Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors held at Ibadan, Oyo State,The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has set aside over N1 trillion to promote lending to the real sector of the economy with a view to stimulating economic activities in the country.

     Mr. Emefiele who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, justified the massive interventions of the apex bank in financing the real sector of the economy, saying that the current trend in global central banking has gone beyond the core functions of monetary policy management.

   “The interventions included the N300 billion Real Sector Support Facility  RSSF; the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund, MSMEDF; the N213 billion Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Fund; N500 billion Non-Oil Export Stimulation Facility; and the N75 billion Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending, NIRSAL.”

Penalties to be imposed on banks charging fees for e-dividend registration-SEC

    The Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) is to penalize Deposit Money Banks and Capital Market Registrars for charging fees at the on-going e-dividend registration exercise.
  
    The e-dividend exercise which would enable shareholders collect their dividend through their banks, is being undertaken by SEC, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc, NIBSS, Committee of Heads of Bank Operations and the Institute of Capital Markets Registrars, ICMR.

    Investigations revealed that SEC had received much complaints from shareholders who went to banks and their registrars to register for their e-dividend. It was learnt that some registrars bluntly refused to register shareholders,their reasons ranged from lack of internet connectivity, inadequate instruments, non-availability of e-registration forms, to waiting for directives from their headquarters. It was learnt that some banks were charging as much as N1, 200 to register each shareholder when SEC stated the fee to be charged at N100, only after the first 90 days slated for free registration elapsed.