Africa Business News

The Minister of Mines and Steel development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite, has reiterated the federal government’s commitment to boosting activities in the Gold and precious metals sector.
Adegbite said this during the formal launch of ‘Kano Gold Durbar,’ organised by Kian Smith Trade & Co. Limited and other stakeholders.
Adegbite commended the organisers, saying the event was a step in the right direction in showcasing Nigeria’s potential in gold craftsmanship.
He said what they are doing here presently is actually to convert gold in its raw form into derivatives that is jewelries, trinkets ornaments and more and that is why we are in Kano.
He said the government would support the sector by training people in the art of making jewelries. It will be 9-month a program and they are in the process of selecting people that they would train and who would now form trainers to others in Nigeria.

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The Nigerian Postal Service on Sunday said its stamp duty account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the Treasury Single Account.
The FIRS had claimed in a series of tweets last week that NIPOST operated an illegal Stamp Duty Account.
It also vowed to ensure that all monies in the account were recovered and transferred into the Federation Account, adding that NIPOST must account for every kobo in the account.
The postal agency in a statement issued on Sunday by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Frank Alao said they hereby state categorically that the statement is false and made to misinform and mislead members of the public.
It said the name of the account was NIPOST Stamp Duties Collection Account, adding that the CBN gave instruction to Deposit Money Banks to commence the deduction of N50 stamp duties from bank customers accounts at the time.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Sunday put the worth of crude oil and gas exported from Nigeria between May 2019 and May 2020 at $4.47bn.
It also stated that the corporation remitted a total of N1.83tn to the Federation Account Allocation Committee during the same period.
The oil Firm in its just released financial and operations report for May 2020 further noted that a total export sale of $174.80m was recorded in May 2020, representing a 10.73 per cent decrease when compared to the preceding month.
It said crude oil export sales contributed $120.50m (68.94 per cent) of the dollar transactions for the review period, compared with $148.86m contribution in the previous month, while the export gas sales amounted to $54.29m in the month of May 2020.
According to the NNPC, the contribution from crude oil amounted to $105.08m, while gas and miscellaneous receipts stood at $8.71m and $19.37m respectively.

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Fidelity Bank says it has reviewed its card spending limit amid the lingering foreign exchange scarcity in the country.
The bank in an email to its customers said the spending limit for debit card was pegged to $300 monthly, while credit card remained unchanged at $1,000.
The email read in view of the ongoing foreign exchange scarcity, monthly international spend limit has been reviewed as follows: Debit card – $300; and credit card – $1,000.
Fidelity Bank in an email sent out in April to its customers said informed that the spending limit on your Fidelity naira Visa and Mastercard is now $1,000 monthly for international transactions.

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This episode is sponsored by
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The Central Bank of Nigeria on Saturday officially changed the exchange rate of the naira to the dollar from N361 to N379 on its website.
The apex bank had earlier expressed its decision to unify the exchange rates in the country as forex scarcity persisted.
It was however yet to announce if this would be the official unified exchange rate. Experts have continued to clamour for a single exchange rate in the country.
The President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said, It will ease regulatory supervision, ensure transparency and effective price discoveries, and deepen market perfections.”
The Senior Partner, Regulatory and Technology, Stransact Partners, Eben Joels, said the gap between the various exchange rates operating in Nigeria created arbitrage opportunities for highly connected individuals.

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This episode is sponsored by
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Osinbajo in a statement on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande, said FG will use part of N2.3tn ESP stimulus as buyer of last resort – VP Osinbajo.’
The statement said he disclosed this at the virtual edition of the 2020 presidential policy dialogue of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He said as part of measures put in place to support small businesses, working with the central bank, they try to ensure that they are able to put in place a system whereby many businesses that have taken loans will be able to restructure those loans.
He said there is an ongoing conversation and they intend to keep the banks reassured that allowing generous restructuring programmes will be supported by the central bank and that the central bank will not throw them under the bus.”
He said the priority of the Federal Government in response to the economic challenges posed by COVID-19 was essentially to ward off a deep recession and to save jobs.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Virgin Atlantic Airways has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York, the United States, as the global airline industry reels from the coronavirus pandemic.
The protection under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code allows a foreign debtor to shield assets in the country. The crisis-hit Airline in July received a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) rescue deal to keep it solvent just days before it was due to resume passenger flights.
The carrier said the recapitalisation plan would be deployed over 18 months and has the support of shareholders, new investors and existing creditors.
Virgin Atlantic’s US bankruptcy court filing stated that it had negotiated a deal with stakeholders for a consensual recapitalization that will get debt off its balance sheet and immediately position it for sustainable long-term growth.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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US President Donald Trump has reimposed a 10% tariff on some Canadian aluminum products, saying it was done to protect US industry.
Canada and the US reached a deal last year to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that had been imposed on grounds of "national security".
The US had imposed a 25% tax on steel and 10% on aluminum on Canada in 2018.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said he believes a new levy would have "no justification".
Mr Trump while speaking in Ohio on Thursday, said the tariffs were necessary to defend the US aluminum industry because Canadian producers had broken their commitment to stop flooding the US market with a cheaper product.
He said the step was absolutely necessary to defend our aluminum industry.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg personal wealth rose to $100bn (£76bn) after the launch of a new short-form video feature.
On Wednesday, Facebook announced the US rollout of Instagram Reels, its rival to controversial Chinese app TikTok.
Facebook shares rose by more than 6% on Thursday. Mr Zuckerberg holds a 13% stake in the company.
He joins Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates in the exclusive so-called 'Centibillionaire Club'.
Technology bosses have been in the spotlight recently as the size and power of their companies and their personal fortunes continue to grow.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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Beijing on Friday accused the United States of suppression after President Donald Trump ordered sweeping restrictions against Chinese social media giants TikTok and WeChat.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing that the US move came at the expense of American users and companies.
Trump’s executive orders, which take effect in 45 days, bar anyone under US jurisdiction from doing business with the owners of TikTok or WeChat.
They come as the world’s two biggest economies clash over a host of issues from the coronavirus to Hong Kong and Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
Trump’s orders say the social media giants are a threat to US “national security, foreign policy, and economy”, as the president seeks to curb China’s power in global technology.

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This episode is sponsored by
· Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA

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