Electricity tariff review, food prices… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business news you need to track this week — July 17 to July 21. 

NBS REPORT ON INFLATION, FOOD PRICES

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to publish a report on the consumer price index (CPI) for June 2023.

In May, the CPI, which measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services, rose to 22.41 percent — up from 22.22 percent in the previous month.

The bureau also intends to release a report on household kerosene price and premium motor spirit (petrol) price watch for June 2023.

The bureau will also release reports on selected food prices as well as transport fare price watch for the previous month.

CBN: NIGERIANS CAN NOW COLLECT DIASPORA REMITTANCES IN NAIRA 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says naira, the country’s legal tender, is now a payout option for diaspora remittances.

The apex bank also said investors and exporters (I&E) window foreign exchange rate should be used in determining the rate for such naira payout.

The directive is contained in a circular dated July 10, 2023, and signed by O.S. Nnaji, director, trade & exchange department, CBN.

The development means recipients of diaspora remittances will now have the option to receive their proceeds in naira, in addition to the existing options of dollar and eNaira

UK TO INCREASE MIGRANTS’  APPLICATION  COST FOR VISAS

The UK government says the state-funded national health service (NHS) will increase from £624 per year to £1,035 per year.

John Glen, chief secretary to the UK treasury, on Friday said the prices of visit and work visas, post-study work (PSW) visas will rise.

Similarly, he said the cost of study visas, certificate of sponsorship (COS), indefinite leave to remain (ILR), settlement status, and others will be more expensive.

Meanwhile, a day before announcing the rates,  Rishi Sunak, the UK prime minister, had said the government intended to raise over £1 billion to pay teachers, police, junior doctors and other public sector workers.

11 DISCOS SEEK ELECTRICITY TARIFF REVIEW

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says eleven distribution companies (DisCos) have applied for a review of tariff rates. 

The commission communicated the development in a notice on Friday. 

NERC said the application for tariff review is based on the need to “incorporate changes in macroeconomic indices” and other factors affecting the “quality of service, operations, and sustainability” of DisCos.

The development is coming a month after reports about a planned 40 percent increase in electricity tariff from July 1, due to rising petrol prices,  surfaced. 

FG TO SHARE N8K TO 12M HOUSEHOLDS

The federal government seeks to provide a sum of N8,000 monthly to 12 million poor and low-income households for six months.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu asked the senate to approve a borrowing request of $800 million.

The president’s request was in a letter read by Godswill Akpabio, senate president, during plenary on Thursday.

Tinubu, in the letter, explained that the loan will be used to scale up the national social safety net programme.

He said the new borrowing will be sourced from the World Bank.

He assured that the money would be transferred directly to identified beneficiaries’ accounts.

CBN GIVES NEW GUIDELINES FOR FINANCIAL COMPANIES

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has restricted the acquisition of controlling stakes in financial holding companies (FHCs).

The apex bank said any investor looking to acquire up to 5 percent of any FHC would need prior approval from it.

The directive is contained in a circular dated July 13, 2023 and signed by Chibuzo Efobi, director of the financial policy and regulation department.

The circular titled ‘Corporate Governance Guidelines’ was addressed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks, and financial holding companies.

The CBN said the effective date of the new guidelines is August 1, 2023.

In the circular,  the apex bank also specified that the tenure of a bank’s managing director or chief executive officer (CEO) can only last for a maximum of 12 years.

NIGERIA’S OIL PRODUCTION ROSE IN JUNE

Nigeria’s oil production increased to 1,248,960 barrels per day (bpd) in June 2023.

This is contained in the latest crude oil and condensate production data of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

According to the report, the current oil output represents a 5.51 percent increase compared to May 2023 when production was 1,183,691 barrels per day (bpd). 

The figure also signifies a second consecutive month-on-month increase, following a drop below 1 million bpd in April.