The National Bureau of Statistics said Commodity exports from Nigeria to China, India, Spain, Netherlands and South Africa in the first quarter of this year hit N1.87tn.

The NBS disclosed this in its Commodity Price Indices Terms of Trade report released on Thursday.

Petroleum products stood out as the most exported commodities in the first quarter of this year.

The major import into Nigeria came from India during the review period, with a monetary value of N637.5bn while total exports from Nigeria to Spain during the period was N402.9bn, with crude oil accounting for N360.44bn or 89.46 per cent.

Natural gas exported to the country was put at N31.97bn, while partially refined oil worth N5.29bn accounted for the export balance.

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A new report by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday showed Business operators in different sectors showed a lack of trust in the economy in June.

The CBN’s Statistics Department’ disclosed this in its ‘June 2020 business expectations survey’, which was conducted for businesses nationwide.

The report said, respondent firms expressed pessimism on the macro economy. Respondents’ outlook on the volume of total order, financial conditions (working capital), access to credit and average capacity utilisation all remained negative, but optimistic on the volume of business activities.

The report said the respondent firms expected the naira to depreciate in the current month but appreciate from July to December.

The CBN said the survey was conducted in June with a sample of 1,050 businesses nationwide.

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CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Google has begun auto-deleting new users’ search data and location history on a rolling 18-month basis, as the tech giant moves to tighten privacy settings.

The tweak was introduced Wednesday and is the latest attempt by a big online firm to boost public trust after hefty fines were levied against Facebook and Google for privacy violations in recent years.

Pichai in a blog post said they believe that products should keep information for only as long as it’s useful and helpful adding that the changes were designed to keep less data by default.

He further said Current users can already opt in to auto-delete their data every three or 18 months, a setting that has not changed, although existing users will be reminded of the option to do so.

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Telecom operators said Nokia and Ericsson have been chosen as Singapore’s main 5G network providers, leaving Huawei with only a minor role as the Chinese tech giant faces growing US pressure.

Huawei has been dogged by allegations of stealing American trade secrets and aiding China’s espionage efforts, with Washington pushing countries to bar the company from involvement in their next-generation networks.

Huawei has however denied ties with the Chinese government.

Singtel, one of the city-state’s main telecom operators, on Wednesday said it had chosen Sweden’s Ericsson to build its 5G network after the government gave final approval.

Information Minister S. Iswaran insisted that no company had been excluded in the selection process and the Southeast Asian city-state tries to maintain good relations with both the US and China.

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The US Defense Department has determined that 20 top Chinese firms, including Huawei, are either owned by or backed by the Chinese military.

The list, seen by US media, features video surveillance firm Hikvision, China Telecoms, China Mobile and AVIC.

The determination could lay the groundwork for new US financial sanctions against the firms.

It comes as the US has pressured other countries, including the UK, to bar Huawei for national security reasons.

According to BBC, the list has been published in order to inform congressional committees, US businesses, investors and other potential partners of Chinese firms about the role such firms may play in transferring sensitive technology to the Chinese military. The list is also likely to grow.

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Qantas Airline said it will axe 6,000 jobs as part of its plans to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

The cuts equate to about a fifth of the airline's workforce prior to the Covid-19 crisis. In March, it furloughed more than 80% of its staff.

Australia's national carrier said the collapse in global air travel had devastated revenues.

Qantas was prompted to cancel all international flights until late October, except for those to New Zealand.

On Thursday, chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline expected smaller revenues in the next three years, forcing it to become a smaller operation to survive.

He said in a statement that the actions to be taken will have a huge impact on thousands of our people.

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Chile’s Nueva Inversiones Pacifico Sur (IPS) said it has made a proposal to Sun International to buy 50.1% of the South African hotel and casino operator for 22 rand ($1.27) a share.

The firm in a statement said the proposed offer also includes an interim liquidity support in the form of a bridge loan of up to 1.2 billion rand to Sun International.

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Mobile operator MTN Group will launch its 5G commercial network in South Africa next week, joining Vodacom Group and Rain in the race to expand fifth-generation technology in the country.

The firm said it is hosting a virtual launch event on June 30, where MTN South Africa CEO Godfrey Motsa will be present with other officials.

Last November, Swedish mobile telecoms equipment maker Ericsson announced that it had been selected by MTN South Africa to build its new 5G core mobile and radio network.

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South Africa’s rand edged lower in early trade on Thursday, pressured by a budget speech that forecast ballooning debt and a higher government deficit, as well as fading hopes globally of a quick economic recovery.

At 0640 GMT, the rand was 0.32 weaker at 17.4425 per dollar, not far off its overnight close following largely uneventful trade in the wake of Wednesday’s emergency budget which failed to push the currency beyond its 17.50 resistance.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the budget deficit would widen to record 14.6% of gross domestic product in 2020/21, while public debt would top 80% as the country borrowed more to plug revenue holes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Harmony Gold on Thursday said it has raised $200 million after issuing more than 60 million new ordinary shares to partly fund its purchase of rival AngloGold Ashanti’s last remaining South African assets.

Harmony agreed in February to buy AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine, the world’s deepest gold mine, and its Mine Waste Solutions assets for about $300 million.

The deal will make Harmony South Africa’s biggest gold producer.

Harmony said it issued 60,278,260 new ordinary shares at a price of 57.50 rand per share, representing around 11% of the company’s issued ordinary share capital before the placing.

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