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BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Inflation rate rises to 18.17% in March 2021; Qatar to invest $5bn in Nigeria; Other stories

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Nigeria retains position, scores lower in global competitiveness index

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:

  • Tech investor defends cryptocurrency against Godwin Emefiele’s claims
  • CBN, SEC in talks over cryptocurrency market, regulation
  • Nigeria’s inflation rate rises to 18.17% in March 2021
  • Qatar to invest $5bn in Nigeria

Summary:

Tech consultant and investor, Victor Asemota, has defended bitcoin and cryptocurrency against claims made by Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that the digital assets are used by criminals.

In the wake of Coinbase listing on Nasdaq, the world’s second largest stock market, there have been reflections on the decision of CBN to ban cryptocurrency in February. Read more

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are in talks over cryptocurrency market in the country.

The apex bank had banned the transaction of the cryptocurrency.

The discussions are centered around understanding and regulating the cryptocurrency which has become a global phenomenon as investors migrate from several investment vehicles to store their wealth in bitcoin and altcoins. Read more

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 18.17% in March 2021, from 17.33% recorded in the previous month. This represents the highest inflation rate recorded in four years(49 months).

This is according to the latest inflation report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The last time Nigeria recorded an inflation rate this high was in Janaury 2017. Read more

Nigeria is to benefit from oil-rich Qatar, as the Arab country plans to invest $5 billion into Africa’s largest economy.

The investment decision was made following an exchange visit by leaders of both countries.

In 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari had visited Qatar, while His Highness Tamim Bin Hammad Al-Thani visited Nigeria in 2019. During these periods, there have been talks about partnerships. Read more

On NSE ROUNDUP: Nigeria’s stock market closes with N20.3tr

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Nigerian govt moves against fintech firms; Nigeria’s stock market investors lose N78bn; Other stories

The Nigerian stock market ended business on Friday with the equity capitalization standing at N20.31 trillion.

The All-Share Index increased by 0.61 percent to settle at 38,808.01. Investors traded 262.51 million shares worth N2.43 billion in 3,525 deals.

Chams led the gainers’ chart after its share price rose by 10 percent to move from N0.20kobo to N0.22kobo per share. Read more

On the tech scene, the week is better tagged as the week of the great debate following the Twitter’s choice to situate its African headquarters in Ghana.

Some stakeholders and concerned Nigerians have expressed their displeasure, arguing against the development and feeling entitled and deserving as better host to the microblogging company.

While the move is seen as a complete rob-off on the face of the Nigerian government, other developments didn’t compensate for the loss as many other significant milestones were recorded during the week by Rwanda, South Africa and Ghana. 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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