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Tag: recession

  • Nigeria, South Africa out of recession – Report

    Nigeria, South Africa out of recession – Report

    Nigeria’s economy is out of recession, a report said on Sunday.

    The economy broke out of a long slump in the second quarter with a median forecast for 1.55 per cent year-on-year growth, the Reuters report said.

    The report also shows that South Africa quit shrinking with 2.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth.

    South Africa and Nigeria have a lot in common. They are Africa’s two biggest economies and are both making their ways out of recession.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Nigeria slipped into recession late 2015 while South Africa confirmed a technical recession in the first quarter of this year.

    Reuters report shows strong growth will not show up until business confidence is restored.

    The report indicated that Nigeria and South Africa have both benefited from a recovery in commodity prices since early 2016.

    CEO of Rich Management in Nairobi Aly-Khan Satchu said: “Both countries have bounced off the bottom, but the sustainability is in question. Nigeria needs a single FX policy and South Africa needs more policy certainty.”

    “We expect a return to positive year-on-year growth in Nigeria, helped by improved foreign exchange availability and a recovery in oil production,” said Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered.

    Gaimin Nonyane, head of economic research at Ecobank, said she expected the positive growth trajectory to be maintained.

    In South Africa, catering and accommodation sector was the worst performer in the first quarter. The sector contracted 5.9 percent. The key manufacturing sector shrank 3.7 percent.

    “Recovery in manufacturing in the second quarter should help drive a quarter-on-quarter acceleration, but growth is expected to remain weak overall,” said Khan.

    Khan added that agriculture should provide some lift to growth but other sectors are likely to only see negligible growth because of waning confidence.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Federal Government and other financial and economic experts have earlier expressed optimism that the nation will exit recession before the last quarter of 2017.

  • FG’s economic reforms will end recession soon – Adeosun

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has stated that the ongoing economic reforms by the federal government is aimed at tackling recession to its end.

    The minister who spoke on Thursday also said the reforms will enhance fiscal discipline, improve revenue generation, and promote allocation and efficient use of resources by the three tiers of government.

    Adeosun noted further that the reforms were geared towards wealth creation, employment generation, poverty reduction, development of the non-oil sector and value re-orientation.

    The minister spoke through the permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, in a keynote address she sent to a retreat in Uyo organised by the ministry in collaboration with the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC on the theme “Enhancing the Effectiveness of FAAC.”

    Adeosun underlined the need to refocus attention on quality investments in sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, mines and steel as well as the promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises, MSMEs as the critical contributors to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

    “The promotion of MSMES, initiation of N-Power and a number of other programmes were designed to empower the citizenry, encourage private enterprises and change the way government does business,” she said.

    “It is my firm belief that the pursuit of economic diversification through the promotion of private enterprises is one of the ways we can unlock the untapped socio-economic potentials for social progress, economic growth and national development,” Adeosun said.

    She said she was glad the present administration was intensifying efforts to diversify the economy, assuring that the multiplier effect would soon become obvious.

    The retreat, which was attended by all the commissioners of finance and accountants-general from the 36 states of the federation, is coming at a time the country is combating recession in the face of dwindling revenues.

    This retreat, she further explained, was predicated on the need to provide participants with the platform to contribute to the ongoing efforts to mitigate the shocks the economy was experiencing as a result of the revenue shortfalls.

    Adeosun urged participants to collectively come up with constructive ideas that would facilitate the implementation of the present government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, ERGP, aimed at achieving sustained inclusive growth through structural transformation and diversification of the economy.

    The three tiers of government, she noted, should apply the best international best practice in public financial management by blocking all loopholes and strengthen financial management.

    Adeosun also said there was a need to reposition FAAC for enhanced performance through efficient management of accrued scarce resources for national development.

    The Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, who was represented by his deputy, Moses Ekpo, reiterated the call for the review of the current revenue allocation formula by the National Assembly.

    “Given our common experience about development in our country, our revenue sharing formula should be weighted more towards the states and local government councils than the practice today,” Mr. Emmanuel said inter alia.

    The governor used the occasion to announce that Akwa Ibom has successfully launched itself as a major producer of tomatoes, onions and cassava in commercial quantity as a result of efforts by his administration to diversify the economic base of the state.

    “Our state has joined the league of others in the production of cocoa, rice and other cash crops in commercial quantities,” he added.

     

  • Nigeria needs to appease children to get out of recession- Majek Fashek

    Nigerian Reggae legend, Majek Fashek fondly called the rain maker has urged the federal government to appease Nigerian children in order to get the country out of the prevailing economic recession.

     

    He emphasized that the government needs to pay attention to children and cater for their well-being . The revered Reggae legend also stated that he was never on drugs contrary to what many believe.

     

    Speaking with newsmen at a media parley organized to commemorate his 30 years on stage concert, he said:” The government doesn’t care about children. Nigeria needs to appease the children to get out of recession. That is why my new album is titled Weep not my children.

     

    The veteran singer also debunked the widely circulated reports that his addiction to drugs led to his sickness and music decline

    According to him: “I spent 25 years in the United States instead of them to promote me, they said I was on drugs. I never do cocaine, I never do drugs. I was just sick” he told journalists.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BYEQ6J7BfVX/?taken-by=thenewsgurung

     

  • Nigerian economy ‘steadily exiting recession’ — Bankers’ Committee

    The Bankers’ Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Thursday declared that the Nigerian economy was steadily pulling out of recession.

    The Committee gave the review at the end of its 331st meeting in Abuja.

    It said indices on non-oil sector growth in the second quarter of the year showed the economy could recover earlier than expected.

    The CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Ahmed Abdullahi, told reporters after the meeting that the apex bank in particular realized about $4 billion in May from the export and investors’ window it created in the foreign exchange market.

    Abdullahi, who was accompanied to the briefing by the Managing Director of Union Bank, Emeka Emuwa, said the fund was part of efforts by the banks to join forces with other key interest groups to accelerate the country’s economic recovery.

    He said the $4 billion was not only a reflection of the volume of trading through the export and investors’ window, but also the banks effort to rally support towards economic recovery.

    “It shows the banks have contributed massively to bring foreign direct investments, FDIs, into the market. We think things will be looking up. We are hopeful things are going in the right direction,” Mr. Abdullahi said.

    “Although the numbers are not yet out from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the fact that major non-oil sectors have witnessed positive growth make analysts believe the economy could be out of recession by the second quarter of 2017,” he said.

    “We await the number from the NBS. But if one looks at the performance of the capital market and the stability in the foreign exchange market, one would see that a lot of progress has been made in getting the economy out of recession.

    Emuwa noted further that the committee was generally happy with the progress in the economy, saying the positive development was capable of generating a ripple effect on banking and other sectors of the economy.

    To further provide access to funding of small-scale agricultural activities, he said the board of the Agriculture and Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Fund was inaugurated, along with a project review committee, to facilitate the disbursement of N26 billion equity fund for agriculture and small businesses in the country.

    “Those interested in accessing funds or looking for equity to support their agriculture or small and medium enterprises, SMEs, should approach their banks now and apply to enable them conduct preliminary reviews before passing such requests to the project review committee,” he said.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the board consists of the Managing Directors of Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank, First Bank, Zenith and UBA, along with CBN Directors of Banking Supervision and Development Finance.

    The project review committee comprise the Managing Directors of FCMB, Unity, and Sterling banks.

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment scheme is a voluntary initiative of the Bankers’ Committee as a response to the Federal Government’s concerns and policy measures to promote SMEs as vehicles for rapid industrialization, sustainable economic development, poverty alleviation and employment generation.

    The scheme requires all commercial banks in the country to provide ten percent of their profit after tax, PAT, for equity investment and promotion of small and medium enterprises.

    The provided fund would be invested in small and medium enterprises as the banking industry’s contribution to the Federal Government’s efforts towards stimulating economic growth, developing local technology and generating employment.

    The funding to be provided under the scheme will be in the form of equity investment in eligible enterprises.

    Indications are that the fund would be used to finance eligible bankable projects to support export of all import substitution products.

    Although banks are expected to give out the money to businesses as loans, they would however do so in the form of equity contributions to such companies for a maximum of 10 years.

    This means that rather than charge interest on such loans, the banks would be entitled to dividends during the period of their investments.

     

     

  • Nigeria already exiting recession – Udoma

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, on Thursday said that the country is already moving out of economic recession.

    Udoma stated this in Abuja while inaugurating the Joint Planning Committee for the 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit.

    The summit to be held in October this year is the single largest gathering of economic and financial experts from the private and public sector.

    The theme of this year’s summit is “Actualising the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan: Opportunities, productivity and employment.”

    Udoma said that while national debates in the past had centred around how the country could get out of recession, such was no longer the case with the adoption of the ERGP.

    He said as the country is already on its way out of economic recession, the current efforts of the Federal Government is on how to build the current momentum of this growth trajectory.

    This, according to him, became imperative so as to ensure that the growth is maintained post-recesssion with positive impact on the people.

    He said, “The 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit is coming at a time when the national debate is no longer about how to get out of recession-we are already moving in that direction with the adoption of the ERGP.

    “Focus will, therefore, be on specific sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, renewable energy, housing, agribusiness, creative industries, retail trade and digitalisation.

    “The summit will essentially be used to see how we can intensify efforts to implement the ERGP to create opportunities, tackle unemployment and improve productivity in Nigeria.”

    Udoma added that the summit would be used to get stakeholders’ commitments toward a private sector led investment approach as set out in the ERGP.

    He explained that the summit would also complement the Federal Government’s effort to create over 15 million direct jobs by 2020 through agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and services among others.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr Laoye Jaiyeola said the committee will deliver a summit that would meet all expected outcomes.

    He told the minister that the committee will use the summit to promote and support the actualisation of the ERGP.

  • Nigeria is exiting recession – Usman

    Nigeria is exiting recession – Usman

    An economist, Dr Aminu Usman, says Nigeria is exiting recession with the various programmes and policies put in place by the government.

    The Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun had said that the country is already out of recession to an extent.

    She said that the economy would also witness a seven to eight per cent growth soon at this rate.

    Usman, Head of Economics Department, Kaduna State University, told NAN on Sunday in Abuja that despite this assurance the country had yet to fully come out of recession.

    “Yes, I share her sentiment that Nigeria is almost certainly exiting the recession, but until the government is able to translate these gains to improvement in the life of average Nigerian, we are technically still in recession.

    “The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) anchors economic policy of the government but its implementation schedule and measurable targets are not made clear for assessment.

    “I still doubt that it was packaged in such a way that it will propel the economy to sustainable growth as expressed by the Honourable Minister,’’ the economist said.

    He said that the inflation figures and stability in the crude oil price are some of the indicators the country was on its way to further prosperity.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its latest report said that the country’s inflation as measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI) further dropped to 16.10 per cent in June from 16.25 per cent in May.

    According to NBS, this is the fifth consecutive decline in the rate of inflation since January.

    “I think the minister is saying with the previous inflation figures and the continued stability in the price of crude oil Nigeria is sure to exit the recession any time soon.

    “She is also optimistic because projections has shown that the price of crude oil will be stable for the next few months and the criminal activities in the Niger Delta region will continue to be contained,’’ Usman said.

    According to him, the current challenge was the fact that despite the stability of the principal revenue sources of government, the life of the average Nigerian has not changed substantially.

  • FG’s efforts on economy positive, we should exit recession soon – Lai Mohammed

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says in spite all the challenges, the federal government is making very positive impact on the economy.

    The minister stated this in Abuja on Friday when he received a delegation from the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOC), led by its Nigerian representative, Tunji Asaolu.

    According to the minister, the federal government is confident that very soon, the country will exit recession.

    “As we all know for the fifth month consecutively, the inflation index has come down.

    “For two quarters consecutively, the manufacturing sector has recorded positive growth.

    “We have been able to add over seven billion dollars to our external reserve and 250 million dollars to Sovereign Wealth Fund,’’ he said.

    The minister said that the government was committed to its avowed objectives of revamping the economy, making Nigeria safe and putting the nation on the path of probity.

    Mohammed reaffirmed government’s commitment to protecting local creative talents and generating employment.

    He said that the government would not be stampeded into abandoning its ongoing efforts to amend the Nigeria Broadcasting Code to ensure local production of programmes with Nigerian content.

    He said those who deliberately twisted his comments to allege that the Federal Government would ban the shooting of films and music videos abroad were being mischievous.

    “We will not be intimidated or stampeded by anybody,” he said.

    The minister said the amendment of the code would also encourage people to invest in the establishment of world-class studios in Nigeria to ensure that producers got the same quality of work as obtained abroad.

    “We are not going to export jobs to other countries and say our economy will grow.

    “Most of the arguments which are being proffered, honestly, are unrealistic.

    “One of them said where in Nigeria are we going to produce our music and our films when there are no studios.

    “What they don’t understand is that nobody is going to invest in (building studios) in Nigeria if the law allows you to go and do the same thing outside Nigeria,” he said.

    He said the Federal Government was consciously developing the Creative Industry in its renewed drive to diversify the economy away from oil.

    The minister pledged the ministry’s support for the African Festival of Arts and Culture to be hosted in Nigeria in November.

    Earlier, Asaolu said the AU was presently implementing Agenda 2063, which was a framework to promoting growth and social development in Africa.

    “Out of this Agenda 2063, Aspiration No. 5 talked about Africa with strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics.

    “So, even this aspiration alone if you put it out to the market it can
    solve the problems that we are facing in Africa,” he said.

    The AU-ECOSOC, which is the AU’s platform for the Civil Society, used the opportunity of the courtesy visit to confer the Distinguished Fellowship of African Arts and Culture on the minister.

    (NAN)

  • Nigeria is out of recession – Adeosun

    Nigeria is out of recession – Adeosun

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has said the country is already out of recession “to an extent.”

    “We are out, we’re out to an extent and we hope that the figures will reflect the fact that we’re out. We shouldn’t focus too much on when, what we should focus on is growth. Getting out of recession is not enough, we have to grow and grow aggressively.

    “The ERGP has plans that will have us seeing seven or eight percent growth and that is the kind of growth we need for our population growth and I’d like to focus less on when we’ll get out of recession,” Adeosun said in an interview on AIT.

    The Minister also added that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration recovers loot daily.

    “It’s a process that we are reconciling and I’m sure that very soon, we will put out some data; I think Lai Mohammed put out some figures and since then we have improved our reconciliation methods and we have an asset tracking team.

    “I’m confident that very soon we’ll put out updated figures of course recovery changes day to day because on a daily basis, money is being recovered from various places but soon we’ll put out comprehensive figures on that.

    “The recovered funds are still with me, part of it is to be used for budget. The acting president has insisted that we identify projects in the budgets that will have national impact so we are going through the budget to identify and release funds for that especially in the area of health. Stolen funds will be used for capital projects, not paying of salaries,” Adeosun remarked.

  • Nigeria will be completely out of recession in 12 months – Buraimo

    Sauve and astute investment banker and Pastor, Ade Buraimo, sat with TheNewsGuru.com Publisher, Mideno Bayagbon, in a surprising rainy break over Lagos, and an insightful, reassuring, peep into the economic future of Nigeria, emerged.

    ECONOMIC RECESSION ENDS IN 12 MONTHS

    Ade Buraimo, Group Managing Director of AlphaMorgan Capital, one of Nigeria’s top investment banks, has predicted that going by current economic scenario today, Nigeria will be completely out of the recession which has held the nation in a vice grip in the last two years, within the next 12 months.

    In an exclusive chat with TheNewsGuru.com, the former MD of Guaranty Trust Bank, Sierra Leone, said “with the agility of the president and the acting president, I am sure in the next 12 months the story will change, positively. ”

    The Alpha Morgan Capital MD, however, noted that though we can predict the future, looking at certain economic indices, “we have to touch on what has happened: the economy has gone into recession, borrowing has been very difficult: the banks are not lending and inflation is very high, almost 17 percent. Treasury borrowing is almost at 22 percent. Notwithstanding, the new government is trying to put things together, though they lost six months when they started.”

    WHY 12 MONTHS?

    Asked to comment on the economic team in government predicting an end to recession in the near future, Mr Buraimo said, “they predicted that we will be out of the recession in 18 months, but I can assure you that with the speed at which they are going, the speed at which the economy is growing; the growing interest and confidence of investors: foreign investors are coming back gradually, and even the local investors are investing now, I am sure within the next 12 months the economy will be completely out of recession.

    “The foreign investors are coming back and the interesting things is that we are not losing money. Gradually, as things are settling down, others will follow the few that came back two, three months back.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq8DUsq4fKc

    FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT TO TOP $10 BILLION BY DECEMBER

    Sounding very optimistic, Mr Buraimo who was also managing director of GTHome before leaving to found Alpha Morgan Capital, enthused that by December, this year, foreign direct investment into the economy will have topped $10 billion.

    With that he says, “the dollar to naira exchange rate will improve, unemployment will reduce, factories that are shut down, most of them will begin to come up; crime rate will automatically go down. Honestly, it’s going to be a major breakthrough for Nigeria.”

    Asked how the economy can experience the breakthrough he predicts when the entire infrastructure architecture of the country is in a shambles, the highly decorated investment banker argues that “well, infrastructurally we are in trouble. But the truth is, with these inflows and the strategy by the government to raise some infrastructure bonds, and increase their cash flow from tax and taxation, I am sure they will fix most of the infrastructural issues. The roads will begin to get better as we progress. That will actually create employment in the construction industry because the construction sector employ a higher percentage of work force. By the time the federal government begins to pump money into infrastructure, the economy is bound to pick up.”

    WEALTH IS SECURED ACROSS GENERATIONS

    The Alpha Morgan MD, as one of the leading investment banking institutions, professionalism, our ability to meet obligations of investors as at when due, and the fact that we run this organisation as a structured environment, we don’t need to wait for anybody to take decision and the returns you expect from your investments, honestly Alpha Morgan is a place to invest your funds. Aside from that our slogan is very simple: we are securing wealth across generations. You are sure of your wealth; you are sure of your money. You can go to bed and sleep while we are working for you.”

    A PASTOR IN INVESTMENT BANKING

    Asked what a pastor is doing in financial re-engineering and investment, Mr Buraimo, who is a very senior pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, “The good thing about being a pastor or working for God in investment banking is that you put decency into what you are doing. You put God into what you are doing and your word is your bond and whatever you say you will deliver, you deliver it. With that honestly the investors can go home and sleep.”

  • Recession: Emefiele targets single digit inflation rate

    The governor of the apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele on Sunday said the actualisation of a single digit inflation rate is possible in the country.

    Emefiele revealed this on a monitored programme on Arise Television.

    Emefiele explained that with the improvement seen in growth from the negative 1.7 per cent in the last quarter of last year to the negative 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, the inflation target “is achievable in the course of time”.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Nigeria’s inflation rate fell for a fourth straight month in May, dropping to the lowest in a year as growth in prices of most goods, except food, eased. Inflation slowed to 16.25 per cent from 17.2 percent in April, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

    The CBN govenor spoke of huge success in exchange rate stability, based on the intervention of the apex bank had took in the last couple of months.

    In his words: “In 2017, with the improvement we have seen in growth, from the negative 1.7 per cent in the last quarter of last year to the negative 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of this year. We have seen exchange rate stability with some of the actions we have taken in the last couple of months. We do expect that if this trend continues, we should get better. Firstly, with inflation trending downwards, we are hopeful that in the course of time, we will get back again back to single digit inflation.”

    He said the country had developed homegrown solutions to its economic challenges and that the feedbacks from those decisions are positive.

    “ Why needed to adopt Nigerian option, because of our peculiar reasons. On inflation, the CBN had a target of six to nine per cent, unfortunately, it grew to 18.8 per cent and I am happy it is coming down, and I am hopeful it will continue to get better. We looked at the foreign exchange market, and today we have ensured that forex is not N500/$1. It is now between N360 and N370/$1 and we will ensure it gets even better from where it is right now,” he said.

    On some of the stabilisation steps taken by the regulator, Emefiele said the apex bank had opened the market up for more people to come in. “We want more people to in and invest in the economy, and that was why we introduced the Investors’ & Exporters’ Window. We want forex market that will be determined by demand and supply. It has helped in forex flow and led to the appreciation in the naira we are seeing today,” Emefiele said.

    On the real exchange rate for the naira, he said that despite any method used in determining the value of the local currency, the real effective exchange rate should not be above N325/N330 to dollar.

    On the restriction of forex for 41 items, Emefiele said there was need to take a look at what is being imported. “Why should we import toot pick, palm oil and even rice? At a point in time, Nigeria was the largest producer of palm oil, controlling 40 per cent of the market share. Why should we set aside forex for the importation of products that we can produce in the country. My view is that forex should be devoted to critical segments of the economy and for the importation of items that we cannot produce in the country,” he said.

    The CBN boss’ logic is that when items, such as palm oil, are imported, the local producers are made poorer.

    “When we import rice, we impoverish the rice producers in Abakaliki, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina and other parts of the country. We need to look at that very seriously because God has blessed this country, with good climate, good weather, which should be taken advantage of. Since we can produce these things, let’s use them to feed our people so that we can save foreign exchange for the country,” he said

    Emefiele said he grew up seeing the country’s economy thriving in the 60s and 70s, adding that he owed Nigerians an obligation to ensure that the economy rebounds.

    Emefiele also said with the level of commitment shown to agriculture and rice production, many manufacturers were already indicating interest in the supporting government’s efforts.

    “As we continue this plan, we have seen some multinationals coming to say they will join us in rice production, palm oil production among others,” he said, adding that the CBN would continue to support multinational that help in building the economy by supporting government’s efforts at promoting agriculture.

    “If PZ Wilmar Nigeria needs foreign exchange because they have a little shortfall, I will give them because I have seen their contributions to the economy. Coscharis has acquired thousands of hectares of land in Anambra, trying to grow rice. And we were there last year, and this year, we will be there again to see what they have done. Dangote is also investing in rice farming,” he said.

    Emefiele said Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, Anambra and Ebonyi states were showing lots of interest in rice production, adding that with the sustenance of these efforts, Nigeria’s economy will be on the path of recovery.