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BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Covid-19 N5bn insurance cover for Lagos health workers; jerk in oil prices. See other stories that made our pick

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Private sector got over N46trn in loans from banks in 9 months –NBS

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:

  • Leadway, AIICO, 4 others put together N5bn insurance cover for Lagos health workers
  • NERC directs power companies to continue operations
  • Oil price climbs near $35 on hopes of output deal
  • World Bank excludes Nigeria from its $1.9bn COVID-19 response fund

Summary:

A coalition of six insurance companies in Nigeria has on Saturday, April 4, announced an insurance cover of N5billion for health workers and volunteers in the frontline against coronavirus in Lagos State.

The premium, according to a statement signed by the Chief Executive Officers of the insurance firms, covers medical, disability, incapacity and term life insurance for up to 1000 doctors, nurses, and other health workers in the state. Lagos, regarded as the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has over 100 cases of the disease, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Read more

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has on Friday, April 3, released guidelines for power industry operations during the coronavirus crisis, instructing stakeholders to maintain continuity of service as long as the emergency lasts.

In the Business Continuity Plan to be devised by operators, the NERC mandated the stakeholders to include “minimum manpower requirements to maintain business operations; contingency plans for accommodating essential staff on site; health and isolation facilities for localized outbreak of COVID -19; alternative channels for engaging with customers” among others.Read more

Oil prices have risen for the second consecutive day on Friday, April 3, with Brent (the international benchmark for Nigeria’s crude) climbing up further to $34.91 per barrel. It had surged by 47% on Thursday and the further growth achieved yesterday was “the largest weekly percentage gain on record,” according to oil market reports.

The positive trend is a reaction to US President, Donald Trump’s hopes that Russia and Saudi Arabia will broker a deal to cut oil output next week. It is widely anticipated that the OPEC will achieve up to 10% reduction in global oil production at the end of deliberations on Monday.Read more

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors hasexcluded Nigeria from the list of 25 countries that will benefit from its $1.9 billion first set of emergency support operations for nations that had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Exchange rate rises to N402; World economy enters recession; See other stories that made our pick

The decision, the World Bank said in a statement, was reached by the board on Thursday and it was prepared to deploy about $160 billion in the next 15 months to help countries deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and quick economic recovery. Read more

On NSE ROUNDUP: Trade volume remains low amidst remote trading constraints

Market activities this week were sorely affected by inevitability by investors and traders to conduct business away from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) building as the capital market’s own bit in the war against coronavirus. Resorting to online platforms, which a number of investors are not familiar with, came with its own hitches as the week witnessed a substantial contraction in trade volume, the second lowest recorded in seven weeks.

All the key market performance indicators closed lower this week. A negative market breadth was recorded as 34 losers emerged against 15 gainers. The All Share Index (ASI) and the Market Capitalisation both diminished by 3.51% with the former dipping to 21,094.62 basis points and the latter to N10.994 trillion. 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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