MPC meeting, Twitter rebrand… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — July 24 to July 28.

CBN TO HOLD MPC MEETING

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will meet to decide on key lending rates on July 24 and July 25, respectively.

This would be the first time the committee would assemble to deliberate on critical economic issues without Godwin Emefiele, who was suspended as the CBN governor last month.

The monetary policy rate (MPR) is the baseline interest rate in an economy, every other interest rate used within the economy is built on it.

In May 2023, the committee raised the interest rate from 18 percent to 18.5 percent, as inflation surged to 22.79 percent.

TWITTER TO REPLACE BIRD LOGO WITH ‘X’

Elon Musk, owner and chief executive officer of Twitter, said he would change the logo of the social media platform to an “X”, from the famous bluebird.

The change in the Twitter logo marks a major alteration since he bought the social media platform.

In a series of posts on his Twitter account, Musk said he is looking to effect the change worldwide as soon as Monday.

“And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk tweeted.

NCAA TO PROBE CONTAMINATION OF AIRCRAFT FUEL TANKS 

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it would intensify its investigation to establish the root cause of contamination in the fuel tanks of some aircraft.

Musa Nuhu, NCAA director-general, spoke during a meeting with all domestic/international operators, aviation fuel suppliers, and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) in Abuja on Thursday.

According to Nuhu, the authority began the investigation due to the recent incident of a safety breach where water was found in the fuel tanks of some aircraft in the country.

TheCable had reported that Max Air, a domestic carrier, was indefinitely suspended from operating all Boeing 737 aircraft over unsafe occurrences.

RUSSIA WITHDRAWS FROM GRAIN EXPORT DEAL

The Russian government, on Monday, halted its participation in a deal that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea despite a wartime blockade.

The deal, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.

The initiative was set up in July 2022 to abate a global food crisis after Russia invaded Ukraine, a neighboring country and fellow key grain exporter. Since then, it has been repeatedly extended.

The Black Sea deal was vital to keeping food flowing from Ukraine to the wider world, especially countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

FG ESTABLISHES INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS FOR STATES

President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, approved the establishment of the infrastructure support fund (ISF) for the 36 states as part of measures to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal.

Dele Alake, special adviser to the president on special duties, communications, and strategies, spoke on the development at the monthly meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja.

Alake said the infrastructure fund would enable the states to “intervene and invest in critical areas” so as to improve “economic competitiveness, create jobs and deliver economic prosperity”.

He listed the areas as “transportation, including farm-to-market road improvements; agriculture, encompassing livestock and ranching solutions; health, with a focus on basic healthcare; education, especially basic education; power and water resources”.

EMADEB BECOMES FIRST PRIVATE OIL FIRM TO IMPORT 27M LITRES OF PETROL

Emadeb Energy Services Limited says it has imported about 27 million litres of petrol into the country, making it the first private company to do so in the post-subsidy regime.

Speaking at the company’s jetty in Lagos on Wednesday, Adebowale Olujimi, Emadeb’s chief executive officer, said the product arrived in a cargo valued at over $17 million.

Prior to the development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited was the sole importer of petrol in the country.

Olujimi explained that the decision to import the goods was motivated by the necessity to strategically position the company to capitalise on the potential made possible by the new marketing regime.

FG UPDATES LIST OF APPROVED DIGITAL LENDERS, DELISTS FIRMS OVER ILLEGAL PRACTICES

On July 20, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) updated its list of registered and approved digital money lenders (DMLs) to avoid illegal practices.

The FCCPC said it observed a resurgence in the occurrence of prohibited loan recovery methods and practices in the past weeks.

The commission explained that its investigations showed that DMLs approved to be on Playstore and other financial services providers resorted to using Android Package Kits (APK) file formats to attract undiscerning clients.

FCCPC said the illegal DMLs provide links to consumers to visit unregistered websites using their Android devices/phones.