CBN warns Nigerians of illegal financial operators
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC), Monday warned the general public of unlicensed or illegal financial operators (IFOs), saying they should refrain from dealing with them.
According to the committee, the warning comes because these illegal financial operators lure and defraud unsuspecting members of the public by offering extra-ordinary returns on investments as bait.
The FSRCC drew the general public’s attention to the worrying increase in the activities of the Illegal Financial Operators, which portends grave risk to public confidence and the stability of the Nigerian Financial System, in a statement published by the CBN on its website on Monday.
The CBN advised the general public to check the websites of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other relevant member agencies of the FSRCC before investing in such companies and schemes. Read more
FG’s N1.3 trillion electricity intervention fund failed to produce desired result – Zainab Ahmed
Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget, and planning, says the federal government’s N1.3 trillion power sector intervention fund had failed to produce any major results.
The minister recommended that the FG raise funds through the sale of make-up gas to address the financial challenges in the sector.
In a letter which has since gone public, the minister stated that the power sector requires the sum of N85 billion per month to pay for gas, generation, transmission and distribution operations.
The minister expressed her disappointment, saying that the N701 billion and N600 billion payment assurance facilities (PAFs) secured from the CBN between 2017 and 2019, which were intended to address some of the FG contingent liabilities within the sector, had failed to produce any “significant result.” Read more
UPS partnership drives 30% rally in Jumia’s New York shares as market value hit $1.2 bn
Jumia Technologies’ share price jumped more than 30 percent, the highest in 20 months, following news of a partnership between the company and United Parcel Services Inc. (UPS). A partnership which will see the American company, UPS, expand its presence on the continent.
According to Bloomberg, Jumia’s American depositary receipts jumped as much as 30% at 11:07 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange, the biggest gain since Aug. 3, 2020.
An online market analyst who spoke with Bloomberg said that this deal will definitely help increase UPS’s presence in a number of African markets.
He believes that a strategic deal of this nature has the potential to increase the value of online trade to roughly $180 billion by 2025.
The analyst also believes that a deal of this magnitude will enable growth in trade and commerce not only in Africa but also across other continents.
The rally helped Jumia drive its market share value to $1.2 billion, up from $934.6 million on Friday.
Unfortunately, the financial terms of the deal weren’t provided.
Shanghai Covid-19 cases top 13,000 as millions are locked down
Shanghai reported more than 13,000 daily COVID-19 cases for the first time, as a comprehensive lockdown of its 25 million citizens and massive testing effort revealed widespread spread of the extremely.
According to a local government statement, the Chinese financial hub recorded 13,354 local cases on Monday, up from 9,006 the day before and practically none at the start of March. A total of 13,086 infections are asymptomatic.
Bloomberg reported that the surge in cases in Shanghai has lifted the national daily total to levels not seen since the original epidemic around Wuhan in early 2020, casting doubt on the world’s second-largest economy’s development prospects and threatening to disrupt the global supply chain.
African Development Fund commits $21.6 million to upgrade national road network in Comoros
The African Development Fund’s Board of Directors authorized $21.6 million in financing for the Union of Comoros’ third phase of the National Road Network Rehabilitation Program on Thursday in Abidjan.
According to information made available on the African Development Bank website, the grants comprise $14.1 million from the African Development Fund, the African Development Bank Group’s concessional window, and $7.5 million from the Transition Support Facility. A special-purpose organization within the Bank Group that offers finance in addition to the Bank Group’s other instruments.
The third phase of the project will concentrate on renovating the RN2 (Ourovéni-Foumbouni) roadway in Grand Comores, the main island, the RN21 (Domoni-Mrémani) roadway on Anjouan Island, and the RN32 (Wallah-Nioumachoua) roadway in Mwali. All three are in places with significant economic and tourist potential.
The program team leader, Pamphile Codo, said that “these road improvements will increase access to inland regions of the country and promote economic growth that is hindered by the deplorable nature of the country’s transport infrastructure.”
