Manufacturers lose N348.6bn to new forex policy
Manufacturers who had outstanding dollar requests and Letters of Credit (applied for at N197/dollar) before the new foreign exchange policy came into existence lost approximately N348.6bn by Monday, June 20, 2016, the day the policy commenced, findings by our correspondent have revealed.
The outstanding LCs and dollar requests totalled $4.02bn and they were filed when the naira exchange rate was 197 to a dollar. The requests were honoured on the day the new policy commenced but at the new exchange rate of N280 to the dollar. PUNCH
Buhari receives, approves arms probe report
The presidential panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari through the Office of the National Security Adviser to probe arms procurement between 2007 and 2015 has submitted another report to the President, The PUNCH has learnt.
The latest report was the third report so far submitted to the President by the committee.
While the first interim report was submitted in November 2015, the second report was submitted in January following which Buhari ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate 18 serving and retired military officers, mainly from the Nigerian Air Force. PUNCH
Others Shrink Banks in Competitive FX Trading as Demand for School Fees, Others Shrink
Trading on the recently introduced Nigeria Interbank Foreign Exchange (NIFEX) has revealed huge volume of activities by both commercial and merchant banks with competition among the financial institutions heightening as they seek to satisfy their clients.
The returns on forex utilisation and source of funds (purchases) for the week ended June 24, 2016, which was published by banks last week, also showed that forex demand for the payment of school fees and other invisibles such as personal travel allowance (PTA) and business travel allowance (BTA), that used to be dominant activities, have all thinned out. On the other hand, dollar sales to customers for the importation of industrial raw materials and other visibles dominated activities. THISDAY
Total enforcement of ban on street trading starts today
Following the directive by Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on the enforcement of Law against hawking in the state, most streets and highways at the weekend seemed deserted by traders for fear of being arrested.
This came as the Lagos State Taskforce on Environment and Special Offences, vowed to commence a total enforcement on street trading across the state as directed by the governor today. VANGUARD
Nigeria’s economy slides into recession in Q2
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday reported that economic activities declined faster in June, confirming that the nation’s economy formally entered into recession in the second quarter of the year. Economic recession is a period of general decline in economic activities and it is typically defined as a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters. Nigeria’s economy contracted in the first quarter of the year, as it recorded negative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the quarter. According to the National Bureau of Statistics the nation’s GDP in Q1 2016 contracted by 0.36 per cent, the first negative growth in many years. VANGUARD
Fuel importers face fresh hurdles over $950m debt
Uncertainty is dogging in the supply of petroleum products for local consumption as some banks overseas have suspended short and medium-term credit lines to their Nigerian counterparts due to the inability of marketers to pay matured foreign currency obligations of over $950 million.
The Guardian learnt at the weekend that unless the Federal Government intervened in the payment of the money, marketers would have no choice but to continue to rely on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for supply which they have always claimed to be inadequate. GUARDIAN
Manufacturers renew complaints over forex crises
Piqued by inability to import raw materials due to paucity and high cost of foreign exchange (forex), industrialists have appealed to the Federal Government to create alternative measures to enable genuine manufacturers access forex for enhanced production.
The Managing Director of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Taiwo Adeniyi, lamented that under the new regime, forex supply to manufacturers is now classified under futures placement requirement, which takes 90 days before forex it could be accessed. GUARDIAN
Minimum wage panel begins talks
The 15-man committee inaugurated by the Federal Government on the implementation of the new minimum wage for workers has started sitting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered from some members of the committee at the weekend that it had met once.
Mr Chris Onyedika, acting general secretary of a faction of the NLC and a member of the 15-man committee, confirmed that it had started deliberations on the agreement reached between the Federal Government and factions of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in May, this year. The Nation
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