Browsing: Nigeria

The year began amidst a raging bull market. Global equities have made up all the post pandemic losses and are up 85% (as at 7 May 2021) since their March 2020 lows.

It’s hard to overstate how dramatic this market moment was, or how much panic was in the air. The horror of more than 700 people dying every day in New York City alone for instance was still in the future, with nurses and doctors wearing trash bags instead of medical personal protective equipment (PPE).

Data shows that many investors have missed the bull run altogether or are significantly underinvested, waiting for the ‘right’ opportunity to re-enter. Those who did stay invested through the volatility or re-entered the market in 2020 have a slightly different problem ‘Should I sell?’.

The Covid-19 crisis was the ultimate affirmation of what is called the golden rule of investing, buy and hold. Your …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organization which includes 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, in a blogpost titled, ‘Cryptoassets as National Currency? A Step Too Far’, believes that the adoption of cryptocurrencies as national currencies has more risks and cost that outweighs potential benefits.

Cryptocurrencies had an exceptional year in 2017. Both the technology and the value of virtual currencies have experienced historic breakthroughs. At the same time, the rise of these digital currencies is causing serious concerns in the world of cybersecurity.

The IMF blogpost starts by acknowledging the potential benefits of digital currencies saying that new digital forms of money had the potential to provide cheaper and faster payments, enhance financial inclusion, improve resilience and competition among payment providers, and facilitate cross-border transfers.

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However, according to the post, the IMF …

Four days after the Central Bank of Nigeria {CBN} obtained a court order to freeze the accounts of fintech platforms Rise vest, Bamboo, Trove and Chaka for the next six months, Finance and investment analysts on weekend castigated this decision by such a reputable institution terming it as a desperate move that could hamper the long-term development of the economy.

This came as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited underscored the importance of FinTech’s in achieving an inclusive digital economy.

Market analysts at Cordros Securities said the freezing of the fintech accounts was “a desperate move to preserve the value of the naira” but it could further worsen the country\s economic perception.

“For us, this development could further worsen foreign investors’ perception of the country’s investment climate and may constrain private investment in the fintech space,” Cordros Securities stated.

The CBN had obtained a court order to freeze the account of …

The lockdown occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic saw new e-commerce users rise by 5 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 when compared to the active base the previous year.

This is according to a report by VISA, which attributes this to a preference of e-commerce to fill the void left by the closure of face-to-face retail, which was implemented across many parts of the world, including the region, to fight the viral disease.

The ‘e-commerce developments across Su-Saharan Africa’ report also notes the economic shocks that followed COVID-19 have reduced spending power across the world, including in the region, but the closure of physical stores has provided a growth opportunity for digital payments and e-commerce itself.

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As such, VISA projects that e-commerce sales will grow to US$7 trillion across the globe by 2024, with the Asia Pacific, specifically, China, India, and Southeast Asia, …

It is indeed good news to the Petroleum and other Industry players after Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s President finally appended his signature into law the Petroleum Industry Bill after twenty years of deliberation and revision.

The signing of this historic Petroleum Bill comes barely a month after the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2021 was voted by both chambers of the National Assembly.

After so many questions surrounded the bill after it was passed by the two houses, major one being whether the PIB was going to be the game changer for the industry, pending the President’s signature, it is now the proverbial saying of only time will tell after the President gave the bill a green light.

The new legislation which aims to Overhauling and transforming the Nigerian Oil and Gas is anticipated to drive investment in the sector by providing a framework for almost all aspects of oil and gas …

Historically overlooked by independent oil companies (IOCs) and considered something of an oil and gas frontier state, Namibia is establishing itself more prominently on the international oil and gas map.

Namibia has until recently been largely overlooked by the oil majors. A spate of farm-in agreements over the last six months suggests that this is changing. International oil companies are keen to secure a stake in the southern African country’s oil boom, should one materialize.

Austria’s OMV and Murphy Oil Corporation from Arkansas are the latest companies to make their first foray into the Namibian oil and gas sector, buying 25 and 40 per cent, respectively, of Cowan Petroleum’s licence to explore two blocks off the Namibian coast.

The Wingat-1 discovery by HRT in 2013, which encountered rich oil-bearing source rocks in the Walvis Basin, was the start of this change and, in the years since, the country has become …

Despite Nigeria being the second biggest oil-rich country in Africa after Libya with an estimated 37 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the West African country has been depending on imported refined fuel products due to lack of domestic refining capacity.

Dangote Oil Refinery

However, the situation is set to be changed by the coming of Dangote Oil Refinery, a company owned by the Nigeria-based Dangote Group.

The Dangote refinery, a 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) integrated refinery and petrochemical project under construction in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria, is expected to be the Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility, upon completion.

Light and medium grades of crude

The project which is being developed with an estimated investment of $12bn will process a variety of light and medium grades of crude to produce Euro-V quality clean fuels including gasoline and diesel …

The working-age population of sub-Saharan Africa is set to increase more than twofold by 2050 to become the largest in the world, offering unprecedented opportunity for economic growth, according to S&P Global Ratings.

This burgeoning youth population is both an opportunity and a challenge for the continent. On the positive side, the population provides an opportunity for the continent to address Africa’s sustainable development challenges. While the continent’s natural resources are vital, the creativity and innovation of its youthful population can play a key role in the continent’s economic transformation.

In a report published on Wednesday, the ratings agency estimated that growth in the working-age population would add up to three percentage points to the average annual GDP growth for the next 10 years across key economies in the subcontinent.

According to the Senior economist of the S&P Global ratings,countries in sub-Saharan Africa are now experiencing the “most significant demographic …

Imperial (www.Imperiallogistics.com)is pleased to advise that in F2019 and F2020, it created value of R146 billion ($10.23 billion) and R98 billion ($6.86 billion) for its stakeholders and communities in Nigeria and South Africa respectively, as confirmed by a recent Socioeconomic Impact Assessment study undertaken by Accenture.

“Imperial plays a key role in connecting Africa and the world and improving people’s lives with access to quality products and services. As a purpose-driven organisation with Environmental, Social and Governance imperatives embedded in our business strategy all our businesses remain committed to not just creating but sustaining value for all our stakeholders across our 25 countries of operation”, says Mohammed Akoojee, Imperial’s Group CEO. “We take a holistic approach regarding value creation wherein value is created not only for Imperial but also for other stakeholders in the value chain, including the development of our communities and countries of operation.”

In assessing …

The main goal of ECOWAS is to promote economic cooperation among member states in order to raise living standards and promote economic development. ECOWAS has also worked to address some security issues by developing a peacekeeping force for conflicts in the region.

Thus Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Joint Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Telecommunications and Information Technology are meeting in Ghana to brainstorm the role of telecommunication in achieving regional development.

The meeting which is underway in Winneba Ghana kicked off on 27^th this month and will climax on the 31^st of July under the theme “The role of telecommunications and information technology (TIT) in achieving regional development.”

Delegates at the Meeting are discussing several issues ranging from the influence of TIT on elections in member states, regional roaming issues:…