During the Economic Outlook webinar organized by Nairametrics on Saturday, February 4, economic experts discussed the issue of fuel subsidy removal and how the policy could resolve challenges in the country’s oil industry. Lead Partner at SBM Intelligence, Cheta Nwanze, said that the fuel subsidy has to be removed. However, he doesn’t think it will happen. He provided reasons for his stance: “I think there are too many entrenched interests that will prevent the removal from happening. Nigerians are too addicted to cheap petrol and one thing that we need to understand is that you don’t throw an addiction out…
Author: Oladi Samuel
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Tech giant, Google, said it has deployed a new AI technology, Open Buildings, to map buildings across Africa. Google’s Open Buildings is different from Google Street View and uses AI to provide a digital footprint of buildings. It also provides the exact location and polygon outline of each building, its size, a confidence score for it being detected as a valid building, and a Plus Code. Google set the full dataset of the AI encompasses 50 African countries and includes the outlines of at least 500 million buildings across the continent, the majority of which are less than 20 square…
The Nigerian equities market closed bullish during the week ended February 3rd, as the All-Share Index appreciated by 2.95%. This is according to the information contained in the weekly stock market report, released by the Nigerian Exchange Group. The benchmark index, ASI, appreciated by 2.95% from 52,657.88 points recorded as of the end of last week to close the week at 54,213.09 index points, while the market capitalization followed suit to close at N29.528 trillion. This brings the month-to-date performance of the Nigerian stock market to 1.83% and a year-to-date gain of 5.78%. Equity market performance A total of 3.789…
The Chief Commercial Officer of Mixta Africa, Rolake Akinkugbe-Filani, has said that the proposed removal of fuel subsidy may not happen in June because it would be too early for a new administration to take such a critical decision. Akinkugbe-Filani stated this at a webinar on Nigeria’s Economic Outlook for 2023, organised by Nairametrics. Although the major Presidential candidates in the 2023 general elections have all promised to remove the fuel subsidy, Akinkugbe-Filani said it is not what any government would want to do in the first month of assumption of office as promised by the present administration. A monumental…
Kalu Aja and Cheta Nwanze, two experts who spoke during the Nairametrics Economic Outlook webinar earlier today, have recommended two important steps that Nigeria’s incoming President should take to address some of the economic challenges bedevilling the country. According to Financial Analyst Kalu Aja, Nigeria’s Ways and Means loans which are currently at N23 trillion, are now more than Nigeria’s foreign reserves. As such, it needs to be brought under control. To this end, he recommended that the incoming President should prioritise selling about 5% of Nigeria’s assets to pay down the principal of Nigeria’s foreign currency loans. Meanwhile, the…
Cheta Nwanze, the Lead Partner at SBM Intelligence, said the japa wave currently sweeping through Nigeria can be perceived as both good and bad. He explained that though the trend portends negative consequences in the short term due to a skilled class of Nigerians leaving, it will become very beneficial to the economy in the long term through remittances and foreign policy collaborations with politicians of Nigerian blood in the West. He further noted that Nigeria has long been an exporter of people for centuries, citing that part of the reason for the japa trend is because the economy not generating…
Oil prices plunged to more than three-week lows on Friday. This came after a strong jobs data from the United States triggered concerns about rising interest rates, even as investors sought more information on the EU embargo against Russian refined products. After reaching a session high of $84, Brent crude futures dropped more than 270 basis points to close at $79.84 per barrel. It dropped to its lowest session point, $79.72, on January 11. After fluctuating between $78.00 and $73.13, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) finished down 3.3% at $73.39, its lowest level since January 5th. This past week,…
If you have been monitoring recent crypto trading charts, you must be aware of the newfound rally in major cryptocurrencies since the start of 2023. The truth of the matter is that the prices of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ripple are going northward and are gaining more traction among existing and new traders, businesses, and investors. Moreover, Big Eyes Coin has also joined the party by raising more than $21 million by Stage 10 of its presales. However, the presale phase is about to reach its end and if you are yet to pounce on the opportunity to grab a…
Digital Nomad Visas (DNV) is sometimes criticized for being quite difficult to obtain or too expensive even though they open many doors. The financial requirements imposed by the immigration authorities in the individual countries have proven to be a significant barrier for middle-income nomads, including long-term travellers hoping to temporarily relocate abroad, although these visas are growing in popularity. Naturally, there are some exceptions to this rule. Based on eligibility criteria, Nairametrics examines the countries that grant DNVs and selects three countries that can grant these visas to individuals making $2000 or less per month working remotely. Here are some…
Anyone starting a business or running an existing one may be required to obtain loans to keep the business operational. Access to funding is crucial to the success of a business, as it can determine whether a business can succeed or fail. Business owners should know their business type and identify the right financial institution that can offer a loan. In July 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) set guidelines to direct low-yielding funds to MSMEs through participating financial institutions to improve their access to financial services. These guidelines are set for new businesses, business growth, and reviving struggling…