BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Food inflation soars; Naira weakens 40% against dollar; Other stories

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:

• Foreign capital inflow drops 9% in Q2 of 2023
• Food inflation soars as prices of foodstuffs increase
• Naira weakened 40% against dollar since June, World Bank declares
• NNPCL denies plans to hike petrol price

Summary:

A report by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that Capital importation into Nigeria dropped by 9 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023.

According to the NBS report, the total capital imported stood at $1.03 billion, down from the $1.13 billion recorded in Q1 2023.

The bureau said this marks a 9 percent decline on a quarter-to-quarter basis, and a 32.9 percent drop on a year-to-year review.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has denied widespread reports that it is planning to increase pump price of petrol, otherwise known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

Describing the reports as unfounded lies meant to cause panic in the polity, the company urged Nigerians to disregard the rumours as there are no plans whatsoever to increase the price of petrol.

The reaction from NNPCL was necessitated following a report that the landing cost of the product at official depots has risen to N720, from the previous price of N651 per litre in August, which led to speculations that this could force a price hike.

There are fears that the prices of fuel products may increase as irregular foreign exchange rate fluctuations, has left many petroleum product depots vacant.

READ ALSO:BUSINESS ROUNDUP: UK drugmaker GSK exits Nigeria, Naira devaluation impedes MTN Nigeria’s earnings and other stories

Consequently, oil marketers, on Thursday, expressed worries, stressing that the rise in the landing price of Premium Motor Spirit, more commonly known as petrol, mags risen to N720 per litre.

The National President of Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria, NOGASA, Benneth Korie, underlined the severe circumstances many depots are now experiencing while speaking at the National Executive Council meeting of the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja.

The World Bank has said that the Nigerian currency, Naira has weakened by 40 percent since mid June 2023 devaluation and is one of the worst-performing currencies in Africa.

The World Bank said this in its report titled, ‘Africa’s Pulse: An analysis of issues shaping Africa’s economic future (October 2023 | Volume 28).’

“So far this year, the Nigerian naira and the Angolan kwanza are among the worst performing currencies in the region: these currencies have posted a year-to-date depreciation of nearly 40 per cent.

The prices of basic food items in Nigeria have continued to soar as food inflation rate has climbed another notch in the month of August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

In a new report titled ‘Selected Food Prices Watch (August 2023)’, released on Monday, the NBS disclosed that prices of items like beef, tomatoes, beans, garri, yam, and other food commodities were on the increase in August.

The report which the NBS said was a result of a nationwide survey, showed that the prices of food items have skyrocketed, leaving many people unable to afford staple foods.

On NSE ROUNDUP: Stocks rebound as equities market gain N213bn

The Nigerian equities market, on Tuesday, gained N213 billion, on the first trading day after the public holidays after the market ended last week with All-Share Index (ASI) and equities capitalisation at 66,382.14 points and N36.331trillion.

The ASI and the equities capitalisation, however, rose to 66,770.97 point and N36.544 trillion on Tuesday.

Stocks of BUA Cement, Beta Glass, UACN, FTN Cocoa and Oando were on demand as trading begins in the new month. This positive record also pushed higher this year’s return to +30.28 percent.

On the tech scene, MoneyHash, ETAP, Lengo AI, CrossBoundary Access, Capifly, Starlink, Stitch, Bizzyyn, Sanari Capital, Jisr, were some of the names that made the headlines this week.

CrossBoundary Access has signed a new partnership deal with Mobile Power to expand its business across Nigeria.

Also, Jordan-based fintech, Capifly, has announced securing a $1 million pre-Seed funding round.

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