June inflation, Lagos Startup Week… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business news you need to track this week — July 10 to July 14.

LAGOS STARTUP WEEK

Lagos Startup Week, one of Nigeria’s most prominent tech festivals is set to hold on July 10, 2023 to July 15, 2023.

The festival seeks to inspire growth, produce unicorns and showcase the potential of a better Africa.

Trailblazers, decision-makers, and industry giants gather to exhibit ground-breaking products, demo new technologies and share inspiring thought leadership. 

This is the chance to network with founders, investors, government officials, and technology providers and to accelerate your product, business, or idea.

NIGERIA’S JUNE INFLATION

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 energy and environmental statistics as well as the labour force report for 2022/2023.

FG SUSPENDS IMPLEMENTATION OF 2023 FINANCE ACT TO SEPT 1

President Bola Tinubu has signed four executive orders, including the suspension of the 5 percent excise tax on telecommunication services, as well as the excise duties escalation on locally manufactured products.

Dele Alake, special adviser to the president on special duties, communications, and strategy, said the president on Thursday signed the Finance Act (effective date variation) Order which deferred the commencement date of the Act from May 23, 2023, to September 1, 2023. 

The president also signed the customs excise tariff amendment order to move its effective date from March 27, 2023, to August 1, 2023, in adherence to the 90-day advanced notice requirement outlined in the 2017 national tax policy. 

Alongside the deferment orders, Tinubu suspended the 5 percent excise tax on telecommunication services and excise duty. 

CBN WARNS BANKS AGAINST TRANSACTIONS WITH CAMEROON,VIETNAM

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says banks and other financial institutions must pay particular attention when conducting transactions with businesses and individuals in certain countries.

The countries specified by the apex bank include Cameroon, Croatia and Vietnam.

In a circular on Thursday, Chibuzo Efobi, director of CBN’s financial policy and regulation department, said the CBN’s decision to issue the warning is based on the resolutions reached at a recent plenary session of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

FATF is an intergovernmental policy-making body that seeks to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

According to FATF, jurisdictions under increased monitoring are actively working with it to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.

FG ASK POS OPERATORS TO DESIST FROM INCREASING TRANSACTION FEES

The federal government has asked point-of-sale operators (PoS) to desist from attempts to increase transaction fees, warning of serious consequences and sanctions.

This followed the announcement of a new price list by the Lagos chapter of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) for PoS transactions in the state.

In response to the move, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) asked agent bankers to shun such plans.

Babatunde Irukera, FCCPC’s executive vice-chairman and chief executive officer, said price-fixing was against the law and distorts the market, prevents innovation and efficiency, and impacts consumers negatively.

The commission added it is currently investigating the price-fixing attempts by the PoS agents and will sanction them if they are found guilty.

Also, Zenith Bank says the changes in the transaction fees for point of sale (PoS) services cannot be implemented by its registered agent bankers.

OIL PRICE RISES TO $77

Oil prices rose marginally on Friday amid supply concerns in the global oil market.

Brent crude rose by 1.7 percent to reach $77 a barrel — the first time since May 24. 

The US West Texas Intermediate crude, meanwhile, gained two percent to hit $73 a barrel.

Meanwhile, in addition to prior output cuts, Saudi Arabia and Russia also announced fresh production cuts. Saudi  Arabia said it would extend its voluntary output cut of one million barrels per day (bpd) until August, while Russia pledged to reduce production by 500,000 bpd. 

META LAUNCHES THREADS – TWITTER’S ALTERNATIVE

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has launched its new app — Threads — to rival Twitter.

Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Meta, is challenging Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, in a battle that could determine the future of social media.

The platform was launched on July 6, 2023, and has been described by many as a “Twitter-like microblogging platform”.

Both founders agreed to pair up for a ‘cage fight’.

On  Thursday, Zuckerberg, the creator of Threads, revealed the new text-based social media platform has recorded 10 million sign-ups in its first seven hours.

“10 million sign-ups in seven hours,” the tech billionaire posted on his Threads page.