Business
Tinubu’s two weeks in office leave investors excited about Nigeria
Tinubu’s two weeks in office leave investors excited about Nigeria
President Bola Tinubu has pulled the right levers for markets: ridding the country of a costly fuel subsidy, removing a controversial central bank governor, and promising to unify a web of varying exchange rates.
Already, foreign investors have embraced those decisions, sending Nigeria’s dollar debt surging on Monday. Tinubu set the tone in his inauguration speech on May 29, when he announced that the country’s gasoline subsidy was “gone” — a bold move that had set off riots when previous leaders attempted it.
“Overall, President Tinubu has shown that he’s willing to take on two of the most important factors investors are focusing on, which is fuel subsidies and FX reform, in a very short space of time,” said Thys Louw, a portfolio manager at Ninety One in London.
“Reform momentum in Nigeria has picked up considerably, although from a low level and sustaining this will be important given poor economic conditions Tinubu inherited.”
In two major moves, Tinubu suspended central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele on Friday, and on Monday a senior adviser said it would be a matter of months before he unified its exchange rates, a key demand of investors and multilateral institutions like the World Bank. Emefiele is widely considered the chief architect of a set of unorthodox policies — including propping up the naira, allowing a complex regime of multiple exchange rates, and lending tens of billions to the government of Tinubu’s predecessor — that have been blamed for crippling Africa’s largest economy.
Nigeria’s State Security Service detained Emefiele Saturday for “investigative reasons,” and Folashodun Shonubi, a deputy governor in charge of operations at the bank, took over in an acting capacity.
Nigeria’s international bonds due in 2029 jumped the most among emerging-market peers on Monday, a public holiday in Nigeria.
Those notes jumped as much as three cents before closing around 88 cents on the dollar, the highest since January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The extra yield investors demand to hold the nation’s debt over US Treasuries fell 38 basis points to 7.19 perctange points, according to a JPMorgan index.
The changes at the central bank “could spell the end of unorthodox and often conflicting and confusing monetary policies that held back economic growth and destroyed local and foreign investor confidence,” Ayodeji Dawodu, head of Africa sovereign and corporate credit research at BancTrust & Co in London, said.
Under Emefiele, the CBN offered the US dollar through several windows at tightly controlled rates, with little liquidity, to businesses and individuals.
This forced many to the black market, where the dollar traded more freely but at about a 60% premium to the official rate.
Wale Edun, an influential member of Tinubu’s advisory board, told Bloomberg on the telephone on Monday that the unification of exchange rates was “imminent.”
“I would say it would have to be done within a quarter as rather than within a year,” he said. “ I think you’re talking, think quarters rather than years, that’s where I would put it.”
Emefiele was widely seen as acting in lockstep with the administration of Tinubu’s predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. That government was perceived to be more statist and socialist in its approach, said Yemi Kale, chief economist for Nigeria at KPMG LLP and the nation’s former statistician general. “The markets will respond positively to an administration it believes to be more market oriented,” Kale said.
Source: Bloomberg
Auto
Chery celebrates automobile excellence, creativity at Lagos roadshow
Chery celebrates automobile excellence, creativity at Lagos roadshow
Chery Nigeria on Friday held many Lagos fans of elegant new vehicles spellbound during its spectacular roadshow.
The event featured a captivating procession from the Carloha showroom to The Palms in VI passing through scenic routes such as the Third Mainland Bridge, Ikoyi and Victoria Island, ending with a celebration at the iconic shopping mall.
The roadshow not only showcased Chery’s exceptional vehicles but also celebrated the spirit of creativity and community.
The event provided a platform for guests to savour and enjoy the unique display of new work of art and automotive excellence.
The roadshow extravaganza, as the organisers called it, was revealed Chery’s commitment to engaging experiences, showcasing the brand’s latest masterpiece, the Tiggo 8 Pro,Tiggo 4 Pro and Arrizo 5, in an unforgettable way.
The highlight of the event was a unique “Sip and Paint” session led by a notable artist, who skilfully captured the essence of the Tiggo 8 Pro on canvas.
Guests were invited to unleash their creativity as they painted their own interpretations of the iconic Chery logo, adding personal touch.
The climax of the evening came with a breathtaking moment as Eben, renowned for his impressionistic prowess, unveiled his masterpiece – a stunning portrayal of the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro.
The artwork, met with awe and admiration from attendees, encapsulated the essence of Chery’s dedication to innovation, style, and sophistication.
Representative of Chery brand in Nigeria, Carloha, says it will continue to provide automotive solutions to customers with its six-year free service and six-year warranty or 200,000km, whichever comes first.
Meanwhile, Chery has expressed its gratitude to all attendees, partners and supporters who contributed to the success of this extraordinary event.
“As the brand continues its journey of innovation and inspiration, it remains dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences that captivate hearts and minds,” the firm said in a statement on Saturday.
Business
BDCs consider harmonised retail market as naira depreciates further
BDCs consider harmonised retail market as naira depreciates further
The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said it is working on establishing a unified retail end forex market operations to tackle volatility and boost regulatory compliance within the Bureau De Change (BDC) sub-sector.
This is as the value of the naira depreciated further at the parallel market to N1,450 to the dollar.
From N1,420 which it was on Thursday, the value of the naira, which had depreciated to N1309 to the dollar at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange market (NAFEM) continued to fall at the parallel market.
ABCON president, Alhaji (Dr.) Aminu Gwadabe, said ABCON is carrying out strategic plans meant to unify operators from different cadres of the market including inauguration of state chapters for markets coordination, integration and administering a united market structure.
According to him, ABCON plans to extend its automation policies and platforms to all BDC operators across Nigeria markets and upgrade its Business Process Platform-(formerly called SAAZ Master). He said the new blueprint for a united retail end forex market structure will ensure the deployment of a centralised, democratised and liberalised online real time trading platform.
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He stated that the association will sustain its engagement with regulatory agencies, security operatives and other government apparatus to entrench a secured and thriving forex market that is supportive to regulation and government.
“Part of our vision for a united retail-end forex market include activating geo mapping and automated BDCs physical office verification exercise using the Remote Gravity Physical verification apps. This will enable forex buyers to easily locate where BDCs offices are for effective and seamless transactions”.
He reiterated the benefits of a realistic and vibrant retail end forex market as supporting Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) goal of achieving true price discovery for the naira, balancing of international obligations and national objectives; ensuring ease of regulation, security agencies monitoring and supervision as well as entrenching market visibility for BDC players.
According to Gwadabe, the vision for a united retail end forex market will help in the provision of market intelligence reports, enhance the local and global image of the BDCs and other stakeholders, market operators and boost employment generation.
The successful execution of this plan, Gwadabe said, will help in seamlessly capturing revenues for the government through digitised retail end market and creating a well structured, transparent and competitive platform to checkmate the menace of unlicensed platforms like Binance, Aboki FX, ByBit among others.
BDCs consider harmonised retail market as naira depreciates further
Business
Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund
Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund
Nigerian currency, Naira, appreciated to N1,380 per dollar on the parallel market on Friday, posting a gain of N70 in one single day, compared to Thursday’s close of N1,450/$1.
On the other hand, the the local currency weakened to N1,339.23/$1 on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) window, representing a N29.42 decline, compared to the N1,309.81/$1 it closed at on Wednesday.
However, daily turnover on the NAFEM declined by 2.85 per cent to $309.01 million compared to $318.08 million the previous day.
The highest spot rate stood at N1,410, with the lowest recorded at N1,051.
Meanwhile, as part of efforts to attract and accelerate inflow of foreign currency into the economy, the federal government has unveiled plans to float a $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund.
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The move is expected to among other things, improve FX liquidity in the system as well as strengthen the Naira exchange rate.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, in a notice shared on her X handle (formerly Twitter), yesterday, revealed that the Nigeria Diaspora Fund Multi-sectoral Investment Initiative would be designed and managed by fund managers selected through an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise where winners are expected to emerge.
Owing to this, the ministry has issued an EOI Expression to fund managers for the development and establishment of a multisectoral, multilateral private sector-led investment fund to form the $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund.
Newstrends recalls that Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, had recently said Nigerians living in diaspora remained a key source of foreign capital projection, adding that a diaspora bond would be launched by June.
Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund
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