29 June 2018 ( Lagos )

World Bank approves US$2.1bn loans for Nigerian projects: The World Bank said on Thursday it had approved a total of US$2.1bn in concessionary loans to fund projects in Nigeria aimed at improving access to electricity and promoting governance. The World Bank said more than half of the loans would be used to fund power and climate change projects and boost fiscal transparency. It also approved a US$7m grant for nutrition. (Source: Reuters)

CCNN, BUA’s Kalambaina Cement Company set to merge: The Board of Directors of Cement Company of Northern Nigeria said it had informed the Nigerian Stock Exchange of its proposed merger with the BUA-owned Kalambaina Cement Company Limited. (Source: Punch)

NNPC underpayment: Adeosun asks Buhari, govs to act: The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun said she had briefed President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and state governors on the monthly meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee that ended in a deadlock on Wednesday. (Source: Punch)

Late budget passage erodes 13% of GDP — LCCI: The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday said the late passage of budgets was costing the country a lot in monetary terms, time and other resources, leading to about 13 per cent drop in the value of the Gross Domestic Product. (Source:Punch)

FG orders CCECC back to Lagos for the Lagos-Ibadan railway project: The federal government has directed the contractor handling the modern Lagos-Ibadan rail line, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), to commence work on the Lagos-end of the project, having cleared most of the huddles hindering the job, including right of way issues. (Source: Punch)

NCC withdraws 36 million redundant lines: The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday that about 36 million redundant lines of subscribers have been withdrawn in the past few months so as to give room for effective management of telecom facilities. (Source: The Nation)

41.6 million Nigerians excluded from financial services, insurance: About 41.6 million Nigerians are excluded from financial services, including insurance services, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has said. The commission also said 40.1 million who live in the rural areas are excluded from any form of financial services. (Source: The Nation)

TCN to build 1,320KVA stations in Ogun: Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Thursday said it would boost the power supply in Ogun State with the construction of four substations of 330KVA capacity each across the state. The sub–stations which are sited in Ogijo, Agbara, Lagos–Ibadan expressway and Arigbajo would be completed soon. (Source: The Nation)

Bearish sentiment persist as Dangote Cement, GTBank led losers: The bearish sentiment persisted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE on Thursday as declines in market bellwethers pushed the All Share Index (ASI) 0.6% lower to close at 37,733.44 points while Year to Date loss deteriorated to 1.3%. (Source: Vanguard)

CBN set to issue guidelines to regulate FinTechs: The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is currently drafting guidelines that would enable the regulation and supervision of the activities of Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) in Nigeria. This was disclosed by the regulator’s Director of Banking and Payments System, Dipo Fatokun. (Source: Vanguard)

Banking Industry Fraud Hits N5.571bn in Three Years: The Nigerian Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) has put the value of electronic banking fraud cases over the last three years at N5.571 billion. (Source: Thisday)

Ease of  doing business - Government Agencies and Customs Agents Trade Blame over Delays at Ports: Following declaration by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo that some government agencies were frustrating the federal government’s Ease of Doing Business policy, licenced customs agents and government agencies operating at the ports are trading blames over delays in cargo clearance at the ports. (Source: Thisday)

Chinese firms’ investments in Nigeria telecoms hit $16bn - Shittu:  The Minister of Communication, Dr. Abdur-raheem Adebayo Shittu, yesterday, said Chinese companies have invested over $16 billion in Nigeria’s telecommunication industry. (Source: Daily Trust)

Nigeria’s solid mineral revenue hits N262bn in nine years: According to data provided by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit dashboard, Nigeria’s total revenue from the solid mineral sector in the past nine years stands at about N262bn (US$725m). Revenue from the sector was N8.1bn (US$22.4m) in 2007. (Source: Guardian)

Reporting for EasyKobo on Friday , 29 June 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria