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Category: Business and Economy

COVID-19: FIRS boss urges personnel to brace up for more revenue generation
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has urged hisvpersonnel to brace up to generate appreciable revenue especially now that other revenue sources have been affected by COVID-19 outbreak.
The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr Muhammad Nami gave the charge at a retreat organised for its tax operations group in Abuja on Monday.
He urged the staff to take up the challenge and justify the confidence the country had reposed in them, especially at this critical time when virtually all the other sources of revenue for Government were being challenged by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Muhammad explained that the downward slide in the price of oil at the International Market for as low as 30 dollars per barrel against 57 dollars benchmark used for the budget was worrisome.
“This gap has to be bridged somehow, and you are that bridge. Therefore, at the end of this retreat, I expect you to go back to your respective stations with the work plans and a renewed determination to face this challenge squarely.
“I assure you very strongly that this administration will always support you all the way. I want you to also note that this administration is mindful of your welfare as well as conscious of your need for necessary tools and facilities to enhance your work.
“We shall not relent in providing the right environment for you to succeed. That is why since I came on board, I have taken the following decisions to facilitate your delivery on the job.
“We reverted certain authorisation domiciled at Headquarters to you for instance, utilisation of credit notes, Operational letters, issuance of TCCs to mention a few.
“Examination of account has also been restored as well as proper segmentation in tax Administration consistent with global best practices was reinstated
“When the Federal Government set the N8.5 trillion target, it must have realised that we are equal to the task. As hub of the operations of the service, you are therefore, expected to deliver the bulk of the Target while the other groups support you.”
Nami said that the retreat essentially provided the opportunity to inform the group the goals and objectives for the year which were earlier agreed upon at the Corporate Retreat of the Service. (NAN)
March 24, 2020
COVID-19: NSE to shut trading floors effective March 25, resorts to remote trading
Following the raging effect of COVID-19 in country, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will effective March 25 temporarily close its trading floors and engage in remote trading.
Mr Oscar Onyema, NSE Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement on Monday in Lagos that the decision became imperative due to recent developments in the country.
“Over three weeks ago, we activated precautionary health measures across our offices where we screened visitors with thermometers, provided sanitizers and minimized access into our premises.
“Further to this and with the significant growth in new cases, effective March 24, we have activated a 30-day remote working plan for our employees excluding essential staff.
“In order to give our dealing members enough notice, effective March 25, all our trading floors will be temporarily closed, although remote trading will continue and NSE staff will be available through all our digital platforms to provide support.
“We regret any inconvenience this may cause in the discharge of your business activities, but we must act in the best interest of all stakeholders at this time.
“In line with our robust Business Continuity Management framework, we would like to reassure you that we have put in place measures to ensure our operations and trading activities continue seamlessly throughout this period.
“As an exchange, we will ensure that all relevant information continues to flow into the market to ensure the pricing of risk assets remains transparent and reliable across asset classes to allow investors to value their portfolios and make informed investment decisions under these volatile conditions.
“Dealing members are, therefore, encouraged to continue to trade remotely via our electronic platforms such as FIX protocol and XNET, and reach out to their Compliance Officer if any support is required. Please note that we will provide manual support to members without remote access during this period.
Issuers who have any business to conduct with The Exchange can reach out to their Relationship Manager for guidance.
“You should continue to submit all regulatory filings via Issuers’ Portal (X-Issuer).
“As the Exchange embraces social distancing as prescribed by Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), we have further engaged with the Federal Government on issues of Annual General Meetings, maturing financial instruments, financial reporting, to mention a few and appropriate updates will be provided in due course.
“Furthermore, all physical meetings within and outside our office premises have been suspended until further notice. We have instructed our employees to leverage technological tools to conduct meetings virtually. We assure you that our virtual lines of communication will remain open to engage with you and attend to your need.
“Please contact us via e-mail, mobile phone or other digital channels if you have any questions, comments, complaints or observations in this regard.
“We understand that these are trying times, but we are committed to ensuring we do not experience any disruptions to our operations. As we navigate this new reality, we encourage you to follow our various communication channels as we continue to share relevant updates,” Onyema said. (NAN)
March 24, 2020
FIRS collects N338.1bn revenue in January
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS ) has collected the sum of N338.1 billion revenue for January 2020 as a against N620.2 billion tax target for the month.
According to an FIRS document obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, he figure represents the aggregate collection by states’ coordinating units on monthly basis.
The new Executive Chairman of FIRS, Mr Muhammad Nami, was given a tax collection target of N8.5 trillion for 2020 fiscal year.
The document indicated that the state coordinating units of Adamawa, Gombe and Taraba had January target of N1,496,937,795.22 but collected N2,237,217,349.37 represented 149.45 per cent collection.
It disclosed that Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River had a monthly target of N2,175,116,159.19 but their actual collection in January was N2,010,374,940.81 which represented 92.43 per cent.
Lagos Mainland East had January target of N50,272,057,644.57 but its actual collection of N39,177,218,569.19 amounted to 77.93 percent.
Jigawa, Kano and Katsina had collection target of N5,203,823,553.44. Their actual collection was N3,606,224,711.59 representing 77.93 percent. Ogun, Osun and Oyo had target of N6,268,435,732.91 while their actual collection during the period stood at N4,167,880,594.20, indicating 66.49 per cent collection.
According to the document, Lagos Mainland West was given a January target of N4,988,901,182.24 but collected N3,033,847,030.11 representing 60.81 per cent.
It added that Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu had a target of N2,503,697,840.31 but they were able to collect N1,356,428,894.51, which represented 54.18 per cent.
“Benue, Kaduna and Niger had tax collection target of N3,848,560,125.77, they made actual collection of N2,003,203,450.93 indicating 52.05 per cent. Delta, Edo and Rivers collectively had January target of N17,790,368,169.50 but recorded actual collection of N9,251,413, 039.13 indicating 52 percent.
“Lagos Island was given a target of N459,548,646,637.50 in January, but it collected the sum of N238,708,658,042.72 translating to 51.94 per cent. Bauchi, Plateau, Borno and Yobe had a collection target of N2,793,435,123,22, but their actual collection was N1,446,670,932.56 indicating 51.79 per cent.
“The FCT, Nasarawa and Kogi had the target sum of N61,680,175,079.81, but collected a total of N30,248,678,333.46 representing 49.04 per cent. Ekiti, Kwara and Ondo had tax collection target of N1,726,864,502.79, but ended up with actual collection of N757,471,765.95 representing 43.86 per cent.
“Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara were mandated to collect N1,457,022,041.29 tax, their actual collection was N532,837,594.78 indicating 36.57 per cent while Anambra and Imo had target sum of N1,457,022,041.29, actual collection sum of N384, 986,673.78 reflecting 26.42 per cent” it explained. (NAN)
March 23, 2020
Coronavirus: We’re not shutting down operations – Union Bank
The Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, on Sunday, denied social media report that it would shut down its daily operations, beginning from March 23 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Head, Corporate Communication and Marketing of the bank, Ogochukwu Ekezie-Ekaidem, said in Lagos on Sunday that the financial institution would be opened and fully operational.
“Union Bank branches will remain open and fully operational to serve customers during these Covid-19 crises.
“In addition, with the exception of customers serving employees and critical operations and technology functions, most other employees will be required to work remotely from home.
“However, we have adopted safety protocols to protect our customers and employees during this period,” she said.
Ekezie-Ekaidem added also that the bank had essentially activated its flexi-work policy for those employees who could still perform their duties remotely.
She gave the assurance that the bank would continue to assess the situation and make necessary adjustments as events unfolded.
Besides, she said that the bank branches were now operating under a heightened hygiene protocol, all in a bid to ensuring safe banking halls for all. (NAN)
March 23, 2020
BUA Group acquires majority holding in construction company
BUA Group has acquired majority shareholding in P.W. Nigeria Ltd., one of Nigeria’s largest construction, engineering and mining companies.
Abdul Samad Rabiu, Executive Chairman of BUA Group said in a statement on Sunday that the acquisition was necessary to further deepen its investments in the infrastructure business in sub-saharan Africa.
“This acquisition marks the beginning of the next phase of our medium term strategy for our infrastructure business following the completion of the consolidation of our cement arm, BUA Cement, in January 2020.
“BUA’s acquisition of majority holdings in P.W. Nigeria Ltd provides a prime opportunity to increase our investments in the entire value chain of the cement, mining and construction industry where we already have BUA Cement Plc.
“We believe P.W. Nigeria Ltd with its solid experience in building dams, roads, airports, water projects and other infrastructure projects in Nigeria provided a strong value proposition too difficult to ignore,” he said.
Rabiu said it became imperative for BUA to position itself strategically to support critical investments and government effort and unlock latent opportunities in the infrastructure development space.
He noted that the acquisition of P.W. Nigeria extends BUA’s investments, leadership and capacity in the infrastructure space and projects were expected to benefit from a tight integration of BUA’s cement business and PW Nigeria’s construction business.
P.W. Nigeria Ltd., originally founded in 1948 in Ireland, later began operations in Nigeria in 1974.
It has over 45 years of experience working in Nigeria, and throughout the West Africa region.
P.W. Nigeria Ltd. has an extensive modern fleet of construction equipment and a team of highly trained and professional staff.
BUA Group, established in 1988, has grown over the years to entrench its place as a leading player in the foods, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure space in Africa, with major investments in cement, mining, real estate, steel, port operations, sugar and agribusiness.
With key operations spread across Nigeria and an international presence in London, BUA Group has firmly established a reputation as one of the largest contributors to Nigeria’s GDP.
Its key cement holding, BUA Cement, is the second largest producer of Cement in Nigeria and is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.(NAN)
March 23, 2020
COVID-19: UBA, Transcorp postpone 2019 AGMs
United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transcorp have announced the cancellation of their 2019 Annual General Maeetings (AGMs) to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The companies stated this a statement to their shareholders and stakeholders posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) web site.
UBA’s 58th ATM was initially slated for March 27, at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, while Transcorp was supposed to hold on March 25.
“The Board of Directors of United Bank for Africa Plc hereby announces the cancellation of the Notice of Meeting of the 58th Annual General Meeting dated March 2, 2020.
“Consequently, the 58th Annual General Meeting which was previously scheduled to be held on Friday, March 27, 2020 at the Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos is hereby postponed.
“The cancellation of the notice and postponement of the AGM are hinged on part of UBA’s measures, as a good Corporate Citizen, to avoid the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“A new Notice of Annual General Meeting of the Bank will be published in due course.
“In this trying and uncertain period, the Board of United Bank for Africa Plc would like to assure all our customers, shareholders and other stakeholders that we are here for you throughout the crisis and beyond,” said Bill Odum, the bank’s Group Company Secretary.
In a related development, Transcorp in a statement signed by Chike Anikwe, its Group acting Company Secretary, said the posponement of the meeting was due to novel COVID-19.
Anikwe stated that the meeting earlier scheduled for March 25, had been postponed till further notice.
He noted that the recent developments on COVID-19 and the need to follow the guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation, the National Centre for Disease Control and the Federal Government amongst others, led to the postponement. (NAN)
March 23, 2020
BPE set to carry out 19 transactions in 2020, says DG
The Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex Okoh, has reiterated the Bureau’s plan to carry out 19 transactions in 2020.
A statement issued by Mrs Amina Othman, Head, Public Communications, BPE, on Friday quoted Okoh as disclosing this when he received members of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation in Abuja.
The committee which was led by its Chairman, Chief Theodore Orji, was on an oversight visit to the Bureau.
He said the transactions would be carried out in health, education, energy and other sectors of the economy.
According to him, the transactions are expected to impact on Nigerian economy, especially in the areas of infrastructure development, improved power generation and supply, food security and job creation.
He expressed the Bureau’s willingness to work closely with members of the committee to ensure that BPE delivered on its mandate for benefit of the nation.
Okoh listed some of the challenges facing the privatisation agency in the discharge of its mandate to include: budgetary constraints, non- enactment of some important reform bills, for instance, National Transport Commission Bill, Roads Bill among others.
Responding, Sen. Orji stated that the committee had been anxious to visit the Bureau to know about privatisation and other reform activities of BPE.
He pledged the committee’s commitment to work with the Bureau to overcome the challenges facing the privatisation programme of the Federal Government and deliver the benefits to Nigerians. (NAN)
March 20, 2020
BOI raises €1bn from international capital market
Toward revitalising Nigeria’s industrial sector and creating 10 million jobs, the Bank of Industry (BOI) says it has raised €1 billion (approximately $1.11billion) from the international capital market.
Mr Kayode Pitan, Managing Director of BOI, in a statement on Friday in Lagos, said that the fund was in line with the focus of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Pitan said that the fund would leverage Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to achieve its target.
He said that the transaction was aimed at improving the capacity of the bank to effectively support Micro, Small, Medium and Large enterprises across key sectors of the economy.
According to him, it will help key sectors with affordable loans of medium to long-term tenor, alongside moratorium benefits.
“With the conclusion of the €1 billion medium term syndicated facility, BOI owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated, is poised to catalyse domestic production and job creation on a transformational scale.
“It will also enhance local industry competitiveness, attract domestic and foreign investments as well as integrate local industries into domestic, regional and global value chains,” he said.
The managing director said the fund would also grow export earnings and positively impact the overall economic development of Nigeria in line with its mandate.
The BOI boss said that African Export-Import Bank, Credit Suisse, Rand Merchant Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation were the joint mandated lead arrangers, underwriters and book runners of the syndicated medium-term facility.
He added that the investors include the lead arrangers, alongside 20 other international financial institutions.
Pitan further said that the management team of BoI presented its information memorandum to an audience of about 60 potential investors in London in December 2019.
“The investors were particularly impressed with the business model and corporate governance structures of the bank.
“The transaction was subsequently launched on Jan. 15, with an initial size of €750 million.
“Upon closing on Feb. 19, the deal was oversubscribed by 60 per cent. The deal size was thereafter upsized to €1 billion,” he said.
Pitan said the transaction was a further confirmation of the acceptance of BoI in the international financial market, following its first successful fundraising transaction in 2017, which raised $750 million from a syndicate of 16 international banks.
He said that factors that led to the success of the transaction include, the impressive credit ratings of the bank Long Term Issuer Default Ratings of B+, B2 and Aa from Fitch, Moody’s and Agusto respectively.
He noted that CBN’s backing assisted in making the transaction successful, adding that it supported BOI with technical advice, approvals and 100 per cent currency swap to mitigate the foreign exchange rate risk.
The BOI boss said that the facility would be disbursed in Naira at single digit interest rate to borrowers with bankable projects.
Pitan added that the bank in 2019, disbursed ₦234 billion to 10,145 enterprises, and thus created an estimated one million direct and indirect jobs. (NAN)
March 20, 2020
Shanghai records rapid growth in cross-border yuan use in 2 months March 20, 2020 3:17
Shanghai has recorded fast growth in the cross-border use of the Chinese yuan in the first two months of 2020, Central Bank data showed.
According to the bank, the record jumped 33 per cent year on year to 1.83 trillion yuan (about 259 billion U.S. dollars).
It said within January and February, cross-border yuan payment in the financial hub surged 51 per cent from the same period last year.
While cross-border yuan receipt went up to 19 per cent, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Shanghai Head Office.
“The cross-border payment and receipt of yuan in Shanghai accounted for 54 per cent of the national total in the two months.
“Its growth rate has outpaced the national pace of increase by 10 percentage points.
“Thanks to facilitating measures, the cross-border use of yuan on goods trade increased one per cent year on year in the reporting period.
“Bucking a broader declining trend as foreign trade weakened in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak,” the central bank said.
The bank, however, noted that the use of yuan in cross-border direct investment in Shanghai climbed to 46 per cent in the two-month period due to rising use of the two-way cross-border yuan capital pool.
It said that this helped domestic firms facing cash strain during the outbreak obtain funding support from their parent companies overseas in a timely and cost-efficient manner.(Xinhua/NAN)
March 20, 2020
Domestic investors executed transactions worth N165.14bn in January – Uduk
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Friday, said that domestic investors executed transactions worth N165.14 billion in the equities market in January.
Ms Mary Uduk, SEC acting Director-General, stated this at the Capital Market Correspondents of Nigeria (CAMCAN) forum, with the theme: ‘Strategies to deepen retail investors’ participation in the Nigerian Capital Market’.
Uduk said that domestic investors’ transactions during the period outweighed foreign investors execution by 40 per cent, which accounted for N70.32 billion.
According to her, breakdown of domestic investors transactions show that the domestic institutional transactions accounted for N83.47 billion, while domestic retail transactions stood at N81.67 billion.
Uduk, represented by Mr Okey Umeano, SEC Head, Office of the Chief Economist, said that the trend re-emphasised the need for increase retail investors’ participation in the market.
She, however, stressed the importance of not allowing uncertainties to dampen the resolve to attain the strong capital market of the nation’s dream.
“In spite of these trends, clearly, the fundamentals of our markets and economies remain solid and promising as astute investors know.
“I, therefore, urge retail investors to leverage on this and invest in the capital market, which is one of the avenues to build sustainable and long-term wealth,”Uduk said.
She said that the commission, in conjunction with other self-regulatory organisations (SROs), had continued to enhance the regulatory framework through various policy reforms and initiatives to boost investors’ confidence.
“There is, therefore, the need for increased participation of local (retail and institutional) investors in the market and for foreign investors to have higher confidence concerning the safety of their investments,” the acting DG said.
Uduk said that the 10-year Capital Market Master Plan (CMMP) was developed in 2015 to map out strategies for improvement of the Nigerian capital market in areas such as investor protection and education, professionalism and product innovation, among others.
She said that the commission this year would drive several market initiatives in a bid to restore investors confidence, thereby increasing participation in the market.
The acting DG listed the initiatives as deployment of Real Time Automated Market Surveillance System; driving the growth of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS); capital market literacy and completion of the infusion of capital market into schools’ curricula.
Uduk added that SEC would ensure robust engagement with sister agencies like the Central Bank of Nigeria, PENCOM, National Insurance Commission and others to ensure consideration of the capital market in policy making.
She said that the commission would leverage the success of the e-Dividend initiative to drive Direct Cash Settlement and solve the multiple subscription problem in the market.
“Notwithstanding the numerous initiatives and strategies being implemented, the commission realises that more still needs to be done.
“Our market’s performance is reasonably influenced by activities of foreign investors such that their instantaneous exit poses a challenge.
“This is a problem faced by many other countries, but efforts are continually being made by the commission to increase retail investors’ participation in the Nigerian capital market.
“The commission believes that there is a nexus between increased market participation and market efficiency,” Uduk said. (NAN)
March 20, 2020