$500m bond auction, duty-free food imports… business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — August 19 to August 24.

FG LAUNCHES $500M DOMESTIC BOND, AUCTION TO BEGIN TODAY

The federal government says its dollar-denominated domestic bond will be issued today.

Gbadebo Adenrele, managing director of investment banking, at United Capital Group, spoke on August 15 during a hybrid roadshow with investors organised by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

Adenrele said the bond is expected to offer periodical repayments at maturity in dollars and full repayment of the principal amount at the end of a five-year term and will be listed on the Nigerian stock exchange.

NIGERIA’S INFLATION RATE DROPS TO 33.4% — FIRST DECLINE IN 19 MONTHS 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had said Nigeria’s inflation rate declined to 33.4 percent in July, below the 34.19 percent reported in June.

This is the first decline in 19 months.

In the consumer price index (CPI) — which measures the rate of change in the prices of goods and services — published on Thursday, the NBS said the inflation rate decreased by 0.8 percent.

The bureau said the headline inflation rate in July showed a “0.3% points lower when compared to the June 2024 headline inflation rate”.

CUSTOMS BEGINS IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD IMPORT DUTY WAIVER 

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has begun the implementation of the zero percent import duty and exemption of value-added tax (VAT) on basic food items.

The ministry of finance, in a letter seen by TheCable on August 14, informed customs that President Bola Tinubu had approved the implementation of the policy.

Following the approval, the NCS said the duty waiver took effect from July 15 to December 31.

However, Bashir Adeniyi, comptroller-general (CG) of NCS, said the importation of rice through the land borders remains prohibited.

‘NO PLAN TO POSTPONE AUGUST DEADLINE FOR PETROL SUPPLY’

Dangote Petroleum Refinery says it will begin petrol supply in August.

Reports had claimed that the delivery date of petrol supply was postponed.

Speaking to TheCable on Wednesday, Anthony Chiejina, chief branding and communications officer of Dangote Group, said reports are false.

Chiejina said the refinery is on track to produce petrol as planned.

NMDPRA TO SUSPEND LICENCES OF FILLING STATIONS SELLING PETROL TO BLACK MARKETERS

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has warned filling stations against selling premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to black marketers.

The NMDPRA, on August 15, said failure to comply would result in the suspension of licences.

“NMDPRA embarks on a war against the illegal sale of petroleum products, especially PMS, in jerrycans,” the regulator said.

“Filling stations are advised to desist from servicing illegal peddlers; failure to do so will result in the suspension of retail licences.”

SEC APPROVES ALL OFFERS RECEIVED FROM BANKS ON RECAPITALISATION

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it has approved all the offers it received from commercial banks amid the ongoing recapitalisation exercise.

Emomotimi Agama, SEC’s director-general (DG), spoke at a news conference held after the capital market committee (CMC) meeting on August 15.

Speaking at the briefing, Agama highlighted significant developments in the Nigerian capital market for 2024, particularly in the primary market.

“You are all aware that the capital market has become a very important tool in the achievement of the recapitalisation effort of the Central Bank of Nigeria for banks,” he said.

“We are proud and happy to state clearly that for all of the offers that we have received at the SEC, we have approved within record time.”

NIGERIA’S CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION INCREASED TO 1.3M BPD IN JULY 

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production increased to 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in July.

OPEC said direct communication with Nigerian officials served as the basis for the production data in its monthly oil market report, released on Monday.

The oil cartel receives data on crude oil production from two sources: direct communication — which is from member countries — and secondary communication, such as energy intelligence platforms.

According to OPEC, the current output figure represents a 2.36 percent rise from the 1.27 million bpd recorded in June.