Business News

Monday, 13 January 2020 05:42

Behind the hype, is Dangote’s refinery a game changer?

In December 2019, an ambitious refinery project in the remote Ibeju-Lekki suburb of Lagos, Nigeria, took delivery of the world’s largest single crude distillation column, to much fanfare. After years of hopes and delays, Aliko Dangote’s 600,000 barrels a day refinery – one of the world’s second biggest – is due to start operations in just over a year’s time. Government officials and citizens are united in the hope that the Dangote refinery complex, which will also produce fertilizer and petrochemicals will do for Nigeria’s stalled economy something comparable to what signing a 26 year-old Cristiano Ronaldo would do for…

Monday, 13 January 2020 05:41

Angola has frozen personal assets of Africa’s richest woman. This is why

Chidinma I. Nwoye When an Angolan court froze the assets of Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman it was widely seen as the strongest signal the country’s president, Joao Lourenço’s is intent on cracking down on ending corruption and decades of crony capitalism in the country. But for Isabel dos Santos, the 46-year-old daughter of former Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos the move is part of a concerted campaign to discredit what she often describes to journalists as the self-made success and hard work which made her a billionaire. Last month, the Angolan court froze the personal bank accounts…

Monday, 13 January 2020 05:39

Why you should think twice before saying 'Thank You' in a business email

Be specific about what you're thankful for. We thank people all the time. We thank them in person, on the phone, and in emails. It's a social custom. Good graces. Parents and school teachers tell their children all the time: "Mind your P's and Q's. Remember to say 'Thank you.'" Plus, experts explain that practicing gratitude is one of the best ways we become happier human beings. The question is: when you're typing that business sign-off, is your gratitude just a platitude -- or are you being authentic and really expressing thanks? So many people write an email and sign…

Saturday, 11 January 2020 05:03

MTN withdraws ‘tax dispute’ suit against FG

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc on Friday said its case with the federal government over alleged revenue indebtedness of N242.24 billion and $1.28 billion had been withdrawn. MTN stated this in a regulatory filing to Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) signed by its Company Secretary, Mr Uto Ukpanah. The company said its legal counsel received a letter from Attorney General of the Federation, which formally withdrew the government’s demand for the funds. “MTN Nigeria is pleased to report that its legal counsel has received a letter dated Jan.8 2020 from Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice formally withdrawing the…

Thursday, 09 January 2020 19:14

BUA Cement listing boosts NSE with N1.18trn, emerges third largest listed company

BUA Cement Plc achieved a feat on Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with the listing 33.86 billion ordinary shares at N35 per share, emerging as the third largest company on the bourse. Listing of the company’s shares on Thursday added N1.18 trillion to NSE market capitalisation. NSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr Oscar Onyema, while speaking on the listing in Lagos, said it was exciting for the exchange to record such major listing at the beginning of the year. Onyema said it was another opportunity for investors to have access to a company with good track record. He explained that the company…

Thursday, 09 January 2020 18:51

Dangote acquiring office in New York to diversify wealth

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, plans to take office space in New York to help diversify his investments and avoid the risk of currency fluctuations on his home continent. The owner of the biggest cement company in sub-Saharan Africa will use the base and an existing one in London to become more global after the completion of a $12 billion, 650,000 barrel-a-day refinery currently under construction in Nigeria. “In Africa, you know we have issues of devaluation, so we want to really preserve some of the family’s wealth,” Dangote told Bloomberg TV’s David Rubenstein Show. The 62-year-old Nigerian businessman became…

Thursday, 09 January 2020 18:46

Oil slips as focus shifts from Iran tensions to U.S. crude stocks

Oil prices retreated further on Thursday after sharp losses in the previous session, as the market shifted its focused towards rising U.S. crude stocks and away from fears of an imminent escalation of conflict between the United States and Iran. Broadly, prices were moving back towards where they stood before the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, prompting an Iranian rocket attack on Iraqi airbases hosting U.S. forces. These events had pushed crude to its highest in four months. After a 4.1% fall on Wednesday, Brent crude futures were down 39 cents at $65.05 a…

Thursday, 09 January 2020 06:20

Oil revenue may decline as IOCs move to divest from Nigeria

The nation’s oil and gas sector may not get a much-needed revamp this year as a number of international oil companies operating in the country look set to divest more assets amid a lack of reforms. S&P Global Platts reported that Nigeria’s radical move in November to hike taxes on companies operating in its lucrative deepwater blocks might have raised the government’s share of the revenue from oil but could backfire by deterring IOCs from the country and hindering output growth. The nation’s oil and gas production structure is majorly split between joint ventures onshore and in shallow water with…

Thursday, 09 January 2020 06:19

Nigeria’s GDP growth remains sluggish at 2.1 percent in 2020 - World Bank

World Bank Group, yesterday, raised Nigeria’s growth expectations in 2020 to 2.1 per cent, describing it as an “edge up”, a development that confirms the country’s continued stay in sluggish economic path for another year. It also warned that the macroeconomic framework is characterised by multiple exchange rates, foreign exchange restrictions, high persistent inflation, and a central bank targeting manifold objectives that are not conducive to confidence. Meanwhile, the global economic growth is also forecast to edge up to 2.5 per cent in 2020, as investment and trade gradually recover from last year’s significant weakness, but downward risks persist. World…

Thursday, 09 January 2020 06:16

Miyetti Allah bans night grazing nationwide

Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) yesterday banned night grazing nationwide as part of measures to curb the perennial clashes between herders and Farmers. National Secretary of MACBAN Mr Baba Uthman told journalists after its Annual General Meeting yesterday in Damaturu, Yobe State capital that the decision would become an instruction that would be communicated to every member of the group, including those at the grassroots. “This is a decision that has been taken by the highest decision-making body of the association. As it is taken here, it will go down the ladder down to our members at…

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Wednesday, 08 January 2020 05:52

Oil, stocks, gold zigzag as Iran strikes push Mideast to brink

Financial markets were roiled on Wednesday after Iran fired missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq, sending Asian stocks and U.S. Treasury yields sliding and sharply lifting oil prices as investors feared a wider conflict in the Middle East. Iran’s missile attacks on the Ain Al-Asad air base and another in Erbil, Iraq, early Wednesday came hours after the funeral of an Iranian commander whose killing in a U.S. drone strike has intensified tensions in the region. By late morning in Asia, however, equities had trimmed losses, the yen had stabilised somewhat and U.S. bonds tempered their rally as investors paused…

Wednesday, 08 January 2020 05:49

Nigeria’s foreign reserves drop to two-year low

Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves have hit two-year low at $39.84 billion, an Economic Report by Financial Derivatives Company Limited, has shown. The report also said that quarterly oil revenue could hit $15 billion at the new oil price of $68 to $69 per barrel as the market awaits Iran response to the killing of its military commander, Qassem Soleimani. The foreign reserves level stood at $39.65 billion by November 21, 2019, compared to $40.33 billion as at end of September 2019. CBN data showed that the reserves were at $43.83 billion at end of December, 2012 as against $68 billion…

Tuesday, 07 January 2020 06:02

Companies with less than N25m turnover will no longer pay tax - FG

The Finance Bill 2019, when signed into law, will ensure that small businesses with turnover less than N25m will be exempted from Companies Income Tax. Currently, all companies are expected to pay Federal Government 30 per cent of their profit as Companies Income Tax. However, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said once the bill is signed into law, companies that make a turnover of less than N25m will no longer pay this tax while those that have a turnover of between N25m and N100m yearly will now pay 20 per cent as companies income tax.…

Tuesday, 07 January 2020 05:57

Why heroic efforts are damaging your company’s growth

Dependence on Talent over Systems can Stall Your Growth One of the things we celebrate, particularly in entrepreneurial organizations, is the last-minute effort a person or a team puts in to beat a tough deadline. Maybe it's a product team hustling to complete a prototype against the clock, a group of accountants and lawyers working through the night to close an acquisition, or even a CEO swooping in to save a key account at the last minute. Heroic efforts like these should be celebrated, right? Actually, no. These kinds of heroic efforts are actually damaging the long-term growth prospects for…

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