South African telecoms firm MTN Group reported on Thursday a 9.1 percent rise in its revenue for the quarter to the end of March, sending its shares five percent higher. Revenue at Africa’s biggest telecoms firm increased due to growth in Nigeria and Ghana, where voice revenue expanded, the company said in a statement. MTN […]
Business
West Africa Crude-Trading activity slow amid plentiful offers
Trading was muted on Wednesday as market participants in Asia and parts of Europe returned after holidays this week. Roughly a third of Angola’s June programme had yet to trade, while some Nigerian barrels could be reoffered, traders said. * While most traders said Asian buying would pick up following holidays in the region, no […]
Forte Oil to sell assets in Nigeria and Ghana
Nigerian energy firm Forte Oil plans to sell its upstream services and power businesses in Nigeria and divest from Ghana to focus on its core fuel distribution operation at home, the company said on Wednesday. Forte Oil, majority owned by billionaire Femi Otedola, did not give a reason for the change in direction but said […]
Nigeria’s Fidelity Bank may issue local debt to boost lending
Nigeria’s Fidelity Bank is considering issuing a commercial paper to boost lending depending on the yield and pricing it can fetch, a senior executive said on Wednesday. Analysts expect the central bank this year to adopt a more dovish stance on interest rates as inflation falls, and see a cut in the coming months. Also, […]
Nigeria’s central bank to sack bank executives that submit late accounts
Nigeria’s central bank plans to introduce regulations that will enable it to remove bank executives if they fail to publish audited annual accounts during the following 12 months, it said. Commercial bank is meant to publish accounts within four months of the end of their financial year. The regulator said in a report that banks […]
NNPC, NCDMB collaboration to shorten contracting cycle – Kachikwu
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board will start using a one-stop shop arrangement before the end of this year for reviewing and approving oil and gas projects and contracts in a bid to shorten the industry’s contracting cycle, The Punch reports. A statement on Friday by the NCDMB […]
CBN to sack CEOs, chairmen of banks with delayed accounts
Any bank which fails to publish its annual account 12 months after the financial year end will have its chief executive sacked, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed. Also to be fired is the chairman of such a bank, The Nation reports. This directive is contained in the CBN’s Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade […]
OPEC Cuts May Go Deeper as Another Member Sees Output Slump
While plunging output in Venezuela captures the oil world’s attention, problems are quietly festering in another OPEC nation. Angola, once Africa’s biggest crude producer, is suffering sharp declines at under-invested offshore fields, with output dropping almost three times as much as the nation pledged in an accord with fellow OPEC members. With the losses set […]
West Africa Crude-Muted trading amid tenders, good availability
The market was quiet amid muted demand from Asian and European refineries for new cargoes at current prices. * The bulk of Nigeria’s June export programme was still available, though sellers were holding off partly because of pending tenders. * The nation will load close to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in June, as […]