Category: West Africa
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Nigerian policy-maker advised central bank to devalue naira: MPC minutes
A member of Nigeria’s central bank monetary policy committee(MPC) has said the naira should be devalued and allowed to trade within a band, saying that the fixed exchange rate would not work alongside a planned rise in government borrowing. Adedoyin Salami, an academic, said the naira was 10-percent over-valued and voted to move the exchange…
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MTN proposes to pay $1.5bn to settle Nigeria penalty
MTN has proposed to pay 300 billion naira ($1.5bn) to settle a record $3.9bn fine in Nigeria for missing a deadline to disconnect unregistered subscribers, according to a document handed to reporters in the Nigerian Senate. Africa’s biggest mobile-phone company made the offer in order to settle a dispute that has been running since the…
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Africa’s richest man eyes Morocco phosphate deal, rice production
Dangote Group, the company owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, said on Monday it plans to buy phosphate from Morocco and potash from Congo-Brazzaville to feed a planned fertilizer plant. Dangote has raised a $3.3 billion loan to develop a $9 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and top…
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SA’s Clover halts invest in Nigeria
South Africa’s Clover Industries will no longer invest in Nigeria due to a financial crisis there, the dairy products company said on Wednesday. “The current financial crisis experienced in Nigeria which is fuelled by the low oil price is a further cause of concern, thus the group has decided to withdraw from future investments in…
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Oil prices “totally unacceptable”, Nigerian president tells Qatar’s ruler
The OPEC cartel needs to take action to stabilise the oil market because crude prices have fallen to “totally unacceptable” levels, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said on Sunday. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer which earns around 90 percent of its foreign exchange earnings from crude oil exports, has been hit hard by the erosion of…
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Barclays exit of Africa to do with regulations – Bob Diamond
Barclays’ re-evaluation of its African strategy, and possible scaling back of its operations, has more to do with regulation in the UK than it has to do with its vision for Africa, according to Bob Diamond, former Barclays boss and co-founder of Atlas Mara. “Barclays is in a difficult position. This has absolutely nothing to…
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Nigerians are moving towards having their businesses on their phones
The mobile internet is rapidly transforming the way Nigeria is doing business. This is being made possible with the use of cheaper smartphones. Magnus Nmonwu, Regional Director, Sage West Africa told CNBC Africa that the country was also seeing the change in the nature of business due to rapid improvements in telecoms infrastructure, and the…
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Investors told to target Africa’s mega-cities, including Accra
Investors who wish to do business in Africa have been advised to re-strategize and target big and growing cities on the continent such as Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, Kinshasa and Johannesburg. This means that instead of taking a view on the continent as a whole, or choosing one country over another, they can seize opportunities city…
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Nigeria bans credit card use abroad
Nigeria’s central bank has ordered commercial banks to stop customers from using their debit and credit cards abroad, a source has told the BBC. [contextly_sidebar id=”pF2wl8H9jnZqHHhCpHvLlr26oMpqrIcF”]One bank has emailed customers to this effect, stressing it is a “temporary measure”. Access to foreign online retailers will also be affected when the ban takes effect on 1…