18% interest rate hike, capital importation… 7 business stories to track this week

Here are the seven top business news you need to track this week — May 29 to June 2.

NIGERIA SWEARS IN NEW PRESIDENTS, GOVERNORS MAY 29

Bola Tinubu, President-elect, and Kashim Shettima, Vice-President-elect, will be sworn in on May 29 (today), marking the beginning of a new administration in Nigeria’s history of democracy.

The inauguration, which will include over 24 governors, will shape the country’s economic trajectory for the next four years.

Once sworn in, the newly elected public officials will be expected to tackle a stream of economic challenges like inflation, currency devaluation, insecurity, and petrol subsidy — a major campaign pillar of the incoming president.

NBS’ PENSION AND CAPITAL INFLOW REPORT

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release a report on pension asset and membership data as well as telecoms data for the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.

The bureau will also release a report on Nigerian capital importation report for Q1 2023.

SENATE INCREASES FG’S BORROWING LIMIT FROM CBN TO 15%

The Senate, on Saturday, amended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) act — increasing the “ways and means borrowing” threshold for the federal government from 5 percent to 15 percent.

The sudden rise came during an emergency session on Saturday.

Ways and means is a loan facility through which the CBN finances the government’s budget shortfalls.

The facility allows the government to borrow from the apex bank if it needs short-term or emergency finance to fund important projects.

CBN RAISES MPR TO 18.5% TO TAME INFLATION

At the end of the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on Tuesday, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced an increase in the interest rate to 18.5 percent.

According to Emefiele, past rate hikes had been effective in containing inflation based on a counterfactual study of the bank’s monetary policy department.

He added that April inflation, which came in at 22.22 percent, would have exceeded 30 percent.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.31 percent year-on-year in the first quarter (Q1) 2023 — indicating a decline from 3.11 percent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

According to the latest GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for Q1 2023, the figure is also lower than the 3.52 percent recorded in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022.

The data bureau attributed the slow growth to the adverse effects of the cash crunch experienced during the quarter.

SIRIKA UNVEILS NIGERIA AIR DESPITE COURT ORDER STOPPING TAKE OFF

The federal government unveiled Nigeria Air, the national carrier, on Friday in the country’s capital city.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Abuja, Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, said the partnership with the Ethiopian Airlines (ET) consortium, the preferred bidder for Nigeria Air, will connect the market of both countries.

Sirika also said a demonstration flight would commence soon as part of the procedure to commence operations fully.

Meanwhile, domestic aviation firms, under the aegis of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), had opposed the floating of the airline, saying a federal high court in Lagos had restrained the government’s actions.

NUPRC UNVEILS 7 REGULATIONS FOR OIL, GAS INDUSTRY

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has signed seven key regulations to further ensure the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.

Gbenga Komolafe, chief executive officer (CEO), NUPRC, while signing the regulation on Friday, listed the new regulations as the Nigeria upstream petroleum measurement regulations, 2023; production curtailment and domestic crude oil supply obligation regulations, 2023; frontier basins exploration fund administration regulations, 2023; Nigeria upstream decommissioning and abandonment regulations 2023.

Others are the significant crude oil and gas discovery regulations, 2023; gas flaring, venting, and methane emission (prevention of waste and pollution) regulations, 2023; and the Nigeria upstream petroleum unitisation regulations, 2023.

DANGOTE REFINERY TO COMMENCE OPERATIONS AS NNPC RESUMES OIL DRILLING IN CHAD BASIN

The Dangote Refinery, last week, was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire businessman, said the refinery will supply its first tranche of petroleum products to the market before the end of July.

Located in the Lekki free trade zone area of Lagos state, the multibillion-dollar project will produce 650,000 barrels of oil per day (BPD).

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has resumed an oil drilling campaign at the Wadi-B well in Jere LGA of Borno state.

The oil well is expected to create jobs as well as provide energy security.