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BUSINESS ROUNDUP: FG suspends Emirates flights from Nigeria; CBN bans cryptocurrencies; 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 to the mainstream business activities, while not forgetting the tech/economy build up.

Here are the Headlines:

  • Nigeria gets $500m World Bank loan for DisCos
  • FG suspends Emirates flights from Nigeria
  • 26 Nigerian states record zero foreign investment in 2020
  • CBN bans Nigerians from buying, selling bitcoin, other cryptos

Summary:

The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to improve access to electricity in Nigeria and expand the metered network of power distribution companies.

The money will help distribution companies or DisCos “make necessary investments to rehabilitate networks, install electric meters for more accurate customer billing and to improve quality of service for those already connected to the grid,” the Washington-based lender said in an emailed statement on Friday. Read more

The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, who announced this in a circular dated February 4, said the airline was suspended for violating the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the Federal Government.

According to him, the airline has been airlifting passengers from Nigeria using rapid antigen tests conducted by laboratories not approved by regulatory authorities in the country. Read more

Twenty six states in Nigeria including Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, and 10 other states governments failed to attract investments in 2020, a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed.

Others listed in the report are Kwara, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara. The NBS’s capital importation report for 2020 released on Friday contains the total amount of fresh investments attracted to the Nigerian economy. Read more

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reportedly banned the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, three months after the country became the second largest market in the world for bitcoin transactions.

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Nigerian govt to reintroduce toll gates; GIGL launches plan to help e-commerce merchants boost revenue;See other stories that made our pick

CBN directed financial companies operating in Nigeria to stop transactions relating to cryptocurrencies, citing its concern about risk associated to cryptocurrencies. CBN had stated that Naira is the only legal tender recognised for transactions in Nigeria. Read more

On NSE ROUNDUP: Growth outshines GTBank, other blue-chip companies at trading

The first week of February wasn’t good for the Nigerian capital market as the Nigerian bourse lost N30 billion in market capitalisation having opened the week, Monday, with N22.1 trillion but closed the week with N21.8 trillion on Friday.

The Al Share Index also depreciated to close the week at 41,709.09 ASI five days after opening with 42,257.90 ASI on Monday. Ripples gathered from Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) data that all other indices finished lower, but NSE Growth Index rose by 3.26%, while the NSE ASeM Index closed flat. Read more

MEANWHILE, on the tech scene, the week ended on a high note, with tension across the tech space when, on Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the henceforth banning of Bitcoin transactions.

Foreign investors, stakeholders and bitcoin vendors have continued to react to the new policy from the apex bank. The magnitude of the news nearly overrides other tech developments that happened during the week. Read full review

Remarks

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

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