FAAC allocation, half-year GDP reports… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — September 25 to September 29.

CBN GETS NEW GOVERNOR, DEPUTIES

Yemi Cardoso has assumed office as the new governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside four deputies.

The new deputy governors are; Emem Nnana Usoro, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala M. Bello.

Cardoso as well as the deputies are expected to serve for a term of five years.

Meanwhile, the development followed the resignation and suspension of Godwin Emefiele, former CBN governor, and Fola Shonubi, who was appointed temporarily to the position.

CBN POSTPONES MPC MEETING

Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) has postponed the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting indefinitely.

The meeting was initially scheduled to hold on September 25 and 26, 2023.

This is the second time in the history of the bank that the MPC meeting will be postponed.

The committee’s meeting is expected to address important economic issues as well as decide the country’s monetary policy rate.

The development comes amid the country’s rising inflation, which is a critical consideration in the committee’s monetary policy rate decision.

At the last MPC meeting in July, the apex bank raised the MPR from 18 percent to 18.5 percent — the highest in 22 years.

Nigeria’s inflation rate stood at 25.80 percent in August 2023 — up from 24.08 percent in the previous month.

HALF-YEAR GDP REPORT

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release a report on the federation account allocation committee (FAAC) in August 2023.

The bureau will also release Nigeria’s gross domestic product report (expenditure and income approach) for the first and second quarters (Q1 and Q2) of 2023.

NBS also intends to release the report on Nigeria’s air transportation data for the half-year 2023.

NAIRA DECLINE DUE TO OVERDUE FORWARD PAYMENTS, SAYS WALE EDUN

Wale Edun, the minister of finance, has linked the continued decline in the value of the naira to overdue forward payments of $6.8 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Edun said the naira would recover once the overdue contracts are settled, as it would ensure additional foreign exchange flows into the forex market.

On Friday last week, the naira depreciated to N995 at the parallel section of the foreign exchange (FX) market, indicating a depreciation of N15 or 1.53 percent from the N980 it traded two days before.

FG SEEKS $20BN INVESTMENT TO STABILISE NATIONAL GRID

The federal government says it would boost power generation and stabilise the national grid with an “investment plan of $20 billion”.

Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power disclosed this last week at the Nigeria Energy Summit in Lagos.

Speaking on expansion goals, Adelabu said the federal government would grow the power sector through huge investments.

The minister also said the federal government is ramping up preparations to attain at least 20,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity generation in the next three years.

Adelabu also said Nigeria has a long-term energy expansion plan of about 60,000 MW by 2060, and a medium-term target of 30,000  MW by 2030.

DIESEL PRICE HITSCROSSES N1,OOO IN NIGERIA

The retail price of automotive gas oil, also known as diesel, has surged in some filling stations in Lagos and Abuja.

Checks by TheCable, on Wednesday, show that a litre of diesel crossed the N1,000 mark in filling stations in Abuja, Ogun, Ondo, and Lagos states.

The price hike would inflict more pressure on household income and increase the cost of operation of businesses as the inflation rate recently hit a 25 percent high.

FG PARTNERS NGX TO ENABLE STARTUP LISTINGS

The federal government says it plans to collaborate with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) to stimulate startup listings.

Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, disclosed this recently during a tech event in New York.

Speaking at the event, Tijani said the startup listing will be in line with the objectives of the NGX technology board.

The minister said Nigeria has been grappling with an over-dependence on oil in the last few years, adding that diversifying often requires increasing productivity in other sectors.