Business

No one can create jobs, grow economy under current interest rate – Dangote

Published

5 months ago

July 2, 2024

No one can create jobs, grow economy under current interest rate – Dangote

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, says the current interest rate of 26 per cent charged on bank loans is unfavourable for meaningful business growth.

Indeed, he said the high interest rate had made it difficult to create jobs to grow the economy.

He spoke on Tuesday during the opening session of a three-day summit organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

Dangote said many businesses could not cope with the current rate.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) for the third straight time from 24.75 per cent to 26. 25 per cent.

Dangote said, “Nobody can create jobs with an interest rate of 30%. No growth will happen.”

He also called on the government to protect existing businesses in the country, especially manufacturers by providing an enabling environment for them to thrive.

According to him, an import-dependent country is equivalent to poverty importation.

“No power, no prosperity, no affordable financing, no growth, no development,” he lamented.

Dangote said for the government to address the challenges of unemployment, poverty and insecurity, the manufacturing sector must be empowered to function optimally.

MAN also criticised government policies and attitude, saying they were responsible for the low performance of the manufacturing sector in the country.

The event had in attendance Vice President Kashim Shettima and other government officials. President of MAN, Otunba Francis Meshioye, said over 70 manufacturers had exited the sector between 2019 and 2022.

He said it was time to take stock and rethink a way to support manufacturing businesses to achieve the agenda of the current administration.

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Expect gazette exempting SMEs, farmers, manufacturers from paying withholding tax soon – Presidency

Business

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

Published

6 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Port Harcourt Refinery

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.

A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.

Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.

PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency

Business

Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

Published

6 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.

This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.

The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.

The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.

He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.

The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.

Business

Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

Published

11 hours ago

November 26, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS

Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.

The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.

The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.

“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.

“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.

“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”

Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.

Employment rate – 76%

The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.

“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.

Self-employment – 85.6%

The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.

It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”