NLC strike, CBN probe… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business stories you need to track this week — July 31 to August 4.

NLC PROTEST

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), last week gave the federal government a seven-day ultimatum to reverse all “anti-poor” and “insensitive” policies.

The policies, according to the union, include the recent hike in the price of petrol, increase in public school fees, among others.

The labour union threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from Wednesday, August 2, 2023, if the federal government fails to meet its demands.

Meanwhile,  in a statement, the federal government said the union is restrained from embarking on any strike regarding the removal of petrol subsidy as ordered by the national industrial court.

The group was ordered to refrain “from embarking on the planned industrial action/or strike of any nature, pending the hearing and determination of the pending motion on notice”.

TINUBU HIRES JIM OBAZEE, EX-FRC BOSS, TO PROBE CBN

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Obazee, former chief executive officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, as a special investigator.

Obazee’s major task is to investigate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and related entities.

In a letter seen by TheCable, dated July 28, 2023, the president said the appointment would take effect immediately and Obazee is expected to report directly to his office.

Tinubu said the special investigator would also work on a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments.

IMF RAISES GLOBAL ECONOMY GROWTH TO 3%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its growth forecast for the global economy to 3 percent in 2023 — up from a 2.8 percent projection in April.

In its latest world economic outlook (WEO), titled, ‘Near-Term Resilience, Persistent Challenges (July 2023)’, IMF said though the forecast for 2023 was modestly higher than predicted in the April 2023 WEO, it remained weak by historical standards.

CBN UNFREEZES ACCOUNTS OF 440 COMPANIES INDIVIDUALS

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked commercial banks to vacate a post-no-debit restriction placed on the bank accounts of 440 individuals and companies.

A post-no-debit means that all debit transactions, including ATMs and cheques, on the accounts, have been blocked but can receive inflows.

The CBN also instructed banks to notify the concerned customers of the development.

In 2021, CBN instructed banks to freeze accounts of 18 companies, ranging from bureaux de change (BDCs), construction firms, investment companies, laundering services, and property companies.

GOOGLE PARTNERS VERVE TO ALLOW NIGERIANS PAY IN NAIRA ON PLAYSTORE

Google says it partnered with Verve, the largest domestic card scheme in Africa, to enable Nigerians to use their Verve naira cards to make digital transactions on the Play Store.

With this development, Nigerians can make purchases with ease, thereby strengthening the digital ecosystem in the West African country the company said.

Under the partnership, Google said Verve transactions will be processed within Nigeria.

FEARS OF TIGHTER GLOBAL SUPPLY PUSHES OIL PRICE TO $83

Oil price, on Thursday, rose to $83 a barrel.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.75 percent to trade at $83 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate jumped 0.86 percent to $79.

The development came on the back of expected tightening of supply due to production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, as well as some involuntary outages.

Also, OPEC+ ministers are expected to meet on Friday, August 4, to review the oil market.

CBN HIKES NIGERIA’S INTEREST RATE TO 18.75%

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of the CBN has raised the monetary policy rate (MPR), which benchmarks interest rates, from 18.5 percent to 18.75 percent.

The committee members voted to hike the rate by 25 basis points to 18.75 percent, adjust the asymmetric corridor to +100 and -300 basis points around the MPR, retain the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 32.5 percent, and liquidity ratio at 30 percent.

The aim of a moderate rate hike is to sustain efforts at anchoring inflation expectations, narrow the negative real interest rate gap and improve investor confidence.