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BUSINESS ROUNDUP: $9.7bn debt relief from G-20; 34% growth in online transactions; See other stories that made our pick

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BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Nigeria to disconnect Togo and Benin; China displaces America. See other stories that made our pick

Hello, and welcome to Business Roundup this week. Here, we bring you highlights of events that happened during the week -from the capital market, mainstream business activities while not forgetting the tech/economy build up.

Here are the Headlines:

  • Nigeria to get $9.7bn debt relief from G-20
  • AU canvasses debt relief for Nigeria
  • Nigeria’s crude falls to $12 as millions of barrels remain unsold
  • Online transactions grow by 34% to N11.44tn in March

Summary:

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, and the President of the World Bank, David Malpass Friday, April 17, declared that China and other G-20 member nations had reached an agreement to offer debt relief to the International Development Association (IDA), a group to which Nigeria belongs.

Mr Malpass made the announcement during a joint press conference at the World Bank Group/IMF 2020 virtual Spring Meetings in Washington. According to the latest report by the Debt Management Office, released on 30th March, Nigeria’s indebtedness to the IDA as of the end of last year was over $9.692 billion. Read more

The African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council, Nigeria office has enjoined Nigeria’s bilateral creditors – China, Japan, India and France – to either write off the country’s debt or offer it a two-year repayment holiday.

Oba Olasunkanmi, the AU agency’s Nigeria representative, said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday that the countries, being major lenders, should grant Nigeria forbearance to allow the country enough fiscal room to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

Nigeria’s premium crude oil grade, Bonny Light, dropped to about $12 or $13 per barrel this week, according to traders monitoring the West African Market.

The profoundly low level reveals the yawning gap between the prices offered by oil producers and benchmark futures contracts like Brent, which stood at around $28 on Friday. A large part of Europe, the main market for Nigeria’s crude, has been locked down in an effort to contain COVID-19. Read more

The value of transactions executed online by bank customers rose to N11.44 trillion in March 2020, the latest statistics from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) have revealed. The March figure expanded by 34% when compared with the one posted in the corresponding period of 2019, which was N8.54 trillion.

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Oil output down by 10m bpd; Local flights still suspended; See other stories that made our pick

Customers conducted the transactions using payment channels such as the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP), Point of Sales (POS) terminal and e-Bills. NIP was the most preferred platform in March 2020, accounting for N10.97 trillion of the total sum with customers using bank branches, mobile apps, internet banking, Automated Teller Machines and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data to carry out such transactions. Transactions completed through POS terminals in the month came to N368.86 billion. Read more

On NSE ROUNDUP: Nigerian Breweries, Conoil, Champion Breweries lead weekly gainers

The market recorded gains in all its four sessions this week with no activity recorded on Monday being public holiday commemorating Easter. Nigerian Breweries, Conoil and Champion Breweries led the gainers chart followed by 34 other advancers.

All the key market performance indicators closed lower. A positive market breadth was recorded this week as 37 gainers emerged against 21 losers. The All Share Index (ASI) and the Market Capitalisation both increased by 7.19% to 22,921.59 basis points and N11.946 trillion respectively.

Trade Volume of 1,495 billion shares worth N12.894 billion was recorded in 20,982 deals this week compared to the 2.440 billion shares valued at N19.932 billion posted in 18,918 deals last week. Read more

Thanks for joining the roundup this week. See you next week for another serving of Business Roundup. Don’t forget, for the latest news and updates from around the globe, keep reading Ripples Nigeria.

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