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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, 8 AUGUST 2018
BUSINESSWORLD REPORT: INCREASED FISCAL SPENDING REQUIRED TO CATALYSE GROWTH low compared to Sub-Saharan Africa average of 17 per cent. “This necessitates the federal government’s drive to aggressively mobilise non-oil revenues.” Therefore, the report noted that given the current state of the economy, increased fiscal spending was required to catalyse and strengthen domestic growth. Hence, it pointed out that increased borrowing was required, saying in a bid to curtail the consequent debt service costs, the federal government had started to channel its debt stock more towards foreign borrowings which are cheaper compared to local debt. It added, “However, we stress that the national leadership must do more to achieve its revenue targets which have consistently underperformed projections.” Also, on the readmission of Nigeria into JP Morgan Bond Index, it said it was imminent factoring to the stability in the exchange rate, liquidity and upward trend in crude prices. In 2015, Nigeria was removed from the JP Morgan Government Bond Index Emerging Market (GBI-EM) on the ground of poor liquidity and lack of transparency in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market. However, following the rally in crude prices and the stability of foreign exchange rates at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, with about $45 billion exchanging at hands at the window in 2017, “it could suffice to say that Nigeria might be readmitted into the GBI-EM soon.” APPETITE FOR COMMERCIAL PAPERS RISE AS STERLING BANK RAISES N35BN Exchange, Mr. Bola Onadele.Koko had said the platform had brought an unprecedented transparency, governance and integrity. “The benefits of transparency and governance offered by FMDQ around its CP quotation process and post issuance of the CPs cannot be over-emphasised as they directly impact, not just the issuers, but investors and the market regulators,” he said.
Group Business Editor
Obinna Chima
Capital Market Editor
Goddy Egene
AgriBusiness/Industry Editor
Jonathan Eze
Comms/e-Business Editor
Emma Okonji
Senior Correspondent
Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents
Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Reporters
Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Cap Mkt)
NEWS
FG Deepens Ease of Doing Business Reforms Nosa Alekhuogie Positively reinforced by its numerous achievements in the past 24 months, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has continued to accelerate its efforts to ensure even better public service delivery and an improved business environment for MSMEs. The Strategy and Communications Adviser to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Bisi Daniels, disclosed this in a statement. “Nigeria must improve its ranking by 45 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index over the next two years to achieve its goal of attaining the top 100 by 2020,” the PEBEC Secretary and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, was quoted to have said this after the presentation of the “2018 Making Business Work Report,” of PEBEC, at a meeting of the council. “Such an ambitious goal requires accelerated and focused execution of Government Executive Order and National Action Plans (NAP),” she added “It is clear that Nigeria must now intensify its reform efforts and the PEBEC will continue to work closely with the public and private sectors to institutionalise its reforms, cascade them to state level, and refine and improve the business environment,” she added. According to the “2018 Making Business Work Report,” the current reform cycle is focused on three pillars to accelerate and expand the impact of completed reforms. They are: deepening existing reforms; through the completion of pending initiatives and ensuring implementation of
completed reforms launched in 2017, including communication and consequence management; making the reforms sustainable; through several measures being put in place to ensure progress is sustainable; and Providing support reforms with a robust operating model to accelerate change and build capacity within MDAs. Continuing, Oduwole said, “Nigeria has come a long way over the past two years, bouncing back from significant macroeconomic distress, and is on the way to becoming a textbook example of how an African country can turn its business.” As part of its implementation strategy, PEBEC is building the
second half of 2018 and into 2019, the PEBEC will focus primarily on regulators, an Omnibus Bill on business facilitation, and consolidating gains for the economy through the deepening of the subnational Ease of Doing Business project.” The PEBEC, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, was inaugurated in July 2016 as the administration’s flagship initiative to reform the business environment, attract investment and diversify the economy to reduce the nation’s reliance on oil. The PEBEC’s principal goal is to make it easier for MSMEs to do business, grow and contribute to sustainable economic activity, and provide
the jobs that are essential to improve social inclusion. One of the key indicators of success would be Nigeria’s performance on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business indicators, which provide a global snapshot of a country’s business environment in comparison to its peers. “All of the reforms introduced over the past 24 months are reversing decades of neglect and internal governance roadblocks, and improving Nigeria’s business environment,” Oduwole said, noting however that there is still work to do to achieve the PEBEC’s aspiration of achieving a top 100 place on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index by 2020.
CAREER WOMEN
L-R: Founder, Rise Networks, Toyosi Akerele Ogunsiji; founder, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Hafsat Abiola-Costello; Chief Facilitator, Women in PoliticsNG, Abosede George-Ogan and founder, Women in successful career, Amina Oyagbola, during the second quarter Meet-A- WISCAR series held in Lagos... recently YOMI AKINYELE
Alternative Dispute Resolution Platform for Mortgage Banks Introduced In a renewed effort to build public confidence as well as engender soundness and stability in the mortgage banking sub-sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has established a sub-committee on Ethics and Professionalism for Mortgage Bankers. The committee will ensure the settlement of disputes between mortgage banks and their customers on one hand and among the mortgage banks on the other. The sub-committee which is a self-regulatory body is the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Platform/ Financial Ombudsman for the mortgage banking sub-sector, has the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) as the Secretariat. In a statement by the Registrar/CEO of CIBN, Mr, ‘Seye Awojobi, he lauded the establishment of the sub-committee, describing the development as “a noble initiative”.
capacity of the MDAs to deliver; strengthening the capabilities of the MDAs for the long-term, to sustain the improvements on an on-going basis; and garnering strong political will and determination by the government to effect changes and improvement. The statement said the Council was also fostering cooperation between the MDAs and across states, National Assembly and the private sector; ensuring effective coordination between all the relevant agencies to provide a unified view of implications and improvements; and ensuring proper planning to eliminate the critical binding constraints. Oduwole stated that “in the
Awojobi, who also doubles as the Secretary of the subcommittee called on mortgage bank customers and the banks to take opportunity of the platform, which is free, to resolve their disputes with the banks and among themselves respectively. The membership of the Sub-committee includes representatives of the CBN, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, CIBN, Haggai Mortgage Bank Limited, Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc, Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN) and Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited. He enjoined mortgage banks to set up a Complaints Desk to handle customers’ complaints, as only the cases the banks are not able to resolve would be brought before the Subcommittee for adjudication and settlement. Also, “the Sub-committee will not handle cases which had already been reported to and handled by the Regulatory
CBN Raises Supply of Lower Denomination Naira Notes Ademola Babalola in Ibadan Committed to flooding markets with lower denomination currencies in the country, officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently drummed support for the bank’s efforts to improve the economic well-being of Nigerians. Under the CBN’s FAIR programme with the theme, ‘promoting financial stability and economic development,’ the central bank which tutored over 1,000 participants, said it had commenced the direct disbursement of N200, N100, N50, N20, N10 and N5 denominations to traders, merchants, shopping malls, stores, supermarkets, among others. The Principal Manager, Consumer Protection Department, Mr. Oludamola Atanda, said this during a sensitisation exercise. They sensitised participants on the rights and responsibili-
ties of the consumers and how to lodge complaints to the apex bank. Oludamola, said customers have the right to complain, assuring that the CBN would wade into customers plight anytime an infringement on their rights by any of the nation’s commercial banks was brought to its notice. Also, an Assistant Director, of the Corporate Communication Department, Mr. Sam Okogbue, said the central bank was ensuring that there are no bottlenecks in the system, in order not to hurt economic growth. He added, “The central bank ensures there is sanity in the financial system and protection of all stakeholders like bank customers, from exploitation and other charges, shareholders etc.” Further to the CBN’s FAIR programme, the central bankers said the Bank’s Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, was determined, more than ever
before, to promote financial inclusion for all segments of the society. In his contribution, an Assistant Director, Currency Operations Department of the CBN, Mr. Benedict Maduagwu, said the Bank recognised the important role market players and other economic agents play in economic transactions hence the need for easy accessibility of the lower denomination currency. Maduagwu, stated that the disbursement had started in Abuja, but has been extended to Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Onitsha, Ibadan, Yola, Gombe, Katsina and Plateau. He added, “The bank has evolved a monitoring framework to avoid abuse,” just as he warned against counterfeiting of the nation’s currency; spraying of the naira and abuse of same,” stressing that the naira remained the Nigeria’s pride, heritage and symbol of nationhood.