Business

Oil Price Rises To $92.79 On Output Cut, May Hit $107

Published

8 months ago

September 11, 2023

Editor

The price of Nigeria’s Bonny Light, weekend, rose to $92.79 per barrel, from $90.88 per barrel, recorded last Tuesday as the impact of extended output cuts hit the market.

Russia extended its voluntary crude oil export cut by 300,000 barrels daily until December 2023, while Saudi Arabia extended its 1 million daily supply cut into October 2023 to boost price stability.

The price, which is the highest in 2023, showed an excess of $17.79 per barrel against the 2023 budget benchmark price of $75.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Commodities Research, Saturday, predicted that oil supply cuts could lead to oil prices hitting $107 a barrel in 2024.

In an interview with Vanguard, an sector analyst, Prof. Omowumi Iledare, said Nigerians and others should expect prices to rise further, especially as oil inventories have reduced drastically in the United States.

Iledare who is the Executive Director of Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation, stated: “Certainly, rising crude price is expected even though it may not be exactly $100 per barrel in the short run for some reasons. First, it will continue to rise because demand is growing.

“Second, supply is declining because of geopolitics and inventory becoming low in the US. Interestingly too, reserves replacement is low, thus placing future supply at risk. Price, therefore will continue to inch up.”

Similarly, in another interview with Vanguard, the lead promoter, EnergyHub Nigeria, Prof. Felix Amieyeofori, said: “It is very possible that oil prices will cross the $100 per barrel level. First, the renewable sector is attracting more investment than oil globally. Some economies, including Saudi Arabia, have keyed into the global quest for a cleaner environment. Second, low investment, low production and export would continue to impact on the market in terms of price. Except, if something happens, we will likely witness a significant increase in price.”

He also pointed out that consumers would have to pay more for petrol as refiners; currently paying more for crude oil stands to transfer the cost in the form of high fuel prices.

Already, OPEC has identified Nigeria, as the least refining member with an average equivalent of 10,600 barrels per day, bpd in five years.

In its Annual Statistical Bulletin 2023, obtained by Vanguard, OPEC disclosed that the nation refined an equivalent of 33,000 bpd, 8,000 bpd, 1,000 bpd, 5,000 bpd and 6,000 bpd in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia emerged as the highest refining OPEC member with an average equivalent of 2.6 million barrels per day, mb/d, during the period.

Specifically, Saudi Arabia refined 2.8 mb/d, 2.6 mb/d, 2.3 mb/d, 2.5 mb/d and 2.9 mb/d in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Checks by Financial Vanguard indicated that major and independent marketers have abandoned fuel importation, due mainly to market uncertainties.

But the lifting of fuel was ongoing at both Ijegun and Satellite Town depots in Lagos, even though many filling stations remained shut against motorists and other users of the product.

Business

CAC Opens Centre For Registration Of PoS Operators

Published

3 days ago

May 9, 2024

Editor

The Corporate Affairs Commission has inaugurated a centre for bulk registration of Point of Sale operators in its database.

The CAC Registrar-General, Hussaini Magaji, said this while inaugurating the centre stationed at its Federal Capital Territory Office in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to Magaji, the importance of registering the PoS operators in the commission’s database cannot be over emphasised.

He said the centre was well equipped with all the necessary facilities to operate 24 hours a day and ensure the commission’s achievement of its purpose.

“What we did was accommodate the request from the Fintechs.

“We have allowed them to integrate with the Corporate Affairs Commission; they have developed their structure, and we gave them access.

“Once they supply the necessary details for registration on their platform, the certificate is generally generated and transmitted directly to their platform without them having to contact anyone.

“We have done this to ensure that everyone gets it easy without hitches, but if they choose to apply manually, we have a secretariat open for them to do so,” he stated.

Recall that the Federal Government through the CAC on Tuesday issued a two-month registration deadline to Point of Sales companies, to register their agents, merchants, and individuals with the commission in line with legal requirements and the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, at the event, the registrar-general reiterated that the centre would be opened to all operators in the fintech industry who voluntarily submitted their agents and merchants for regularisation with the CAC.

Magaji said that the registration was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s desire to ensure financial inclusion for the youth and strengthen the fight against fraud, finance and other crimes in the country.

He further expressed his resolve to ensure compliance with the provisions of Section 863 (1) of the Companies and Allied Matters, CAMA 2020, and the CBN guidelines for Agent Banking, 2013.

On security, the CAC boss said that if a crime were committed using the PoS, the government would easily trace the perpetrators to the CAC data platform if such machines were registered.

“If an incident happens and they report it to CAC, if we do not have the operator’s details, we cannot respond, and that is the essence of this registration.

“The registration ensures that every detail of the person is provided, including NIN, passport photograph and all other useful documents.

“And it is an opportunity for more people to be captured into the formal sector,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Special Adviser to the President on ICT Development and Innovation, Tokoni Peter attended the event.

The event was attended by Dr Salihu Dasuki, the Special Adviser to the President on ICT Policy Office, the PoS operators, and other stakeholders.

(NAN)

Business

FULL LIST: CBN Publishes List Of Licensed Deposit Money Banks

Published

4 days ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria has released a comprehensive list of licensed Deposit Money Banks operating within the country.

The list, which was made public on the CBN’s official website on Tuesday, provides insights into the banking landscape in Nigeria.

Banks with international authorisation include Access Bank Limited, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Limited, First Bank Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited, United Bank of Africa Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc.

Commercial banks with national authorisation include Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Heritage Bank Plc, Globus Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Sterling Bank Limited, Titan Trust Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Premium Trust Bank Limited and Optimus Bank Limited.

Commercial banks with regional licenses are Providus Bank Limited, Parallex Bank Limited, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited, and Signature Bank Limited.

Players in the non-interest banking sector with national authorisation include Jaiz Bank Plc, Taj Bank Limited, Lotus Bank Limited, and Alternative Bank Limited.

In the merchant banking category, the apex banks listed, are Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, FBN Merchant Bank Limited, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Nova Merchant Bank Limited, and Rand Merchant Bank Limited.

The financial holding companies listed were Access Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, FSDH Holding Company Limited, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Limited.

The Mauritius Commercial Bank Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited was listed as the sole representative office.

Business

[ICYMI]FULL LIST: 16 Banking Transactions Exempted From CBN’s New

Published

5 days ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday directed all banks to commence charging a 0.5 per cent cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions within the country.

The apex bank stated this in a circular signed by the Director, Payments System Management Department, Chibuzo Efobi; and the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, Haruna Mustafa; a copy of which was obtained by The PUNCH.

The circular, which was directed to all commercial, merchant, non-interest, and payment service banks, among others; noted that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from Monday, May 6, 2024.

“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy,’” the circular partly read.

In this piece, The PUNCH highlights all the 16 banking transactions that are exempted from the CBN’s new cybersecurity levy:

Loan disbursements and repayments
Salary payments
Intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer
Intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank
Other Financial Institutions instructions to their correspondent banks
Interbank placements,
Banks’ transfers to CBN and vice-versa
Inter-branch transfers within a bank
Cheque clearing and settlements
Letters of Credits

Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding – only bulk funds movement from collection accounts
Savings and deposits, including transactions involving long-term investments such as Treasury Bills, Bonds, and Commercial Papers.
Government Social Welfare Programmes transactions e.g. Pension payments
Non-profit and charitable transactions, including donations to registered non-profit organisations or charities
Educational institutions’ transactions, including tuition payments and other transactions involving schools, universities, or other educational institutions
Transactions involving bank’s internal accounts such as suspense accounts, clearing accounts, profit and loss accounts, inter-branch accounts, reserve accounts, nostro and vostro accounts, and escrow accounts.