The Vanguard reports that the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) inflow to the Nigerian economy has recorded massive decline in the first seven months of 2020 amidst growing negative macroeconomic numbers.
The FPI mirrors the confidence level of foreign investors in the economy. The investments are made in the stocks of leading companies in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
According to the report, the total FPI inflow, so far this year, stood at N143.65 billion while ouflow is N287.57 billion, yielding a negative flow of N143.92 billion.
It added that the negative flow is 228 percent higher than the N43.87 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019 and that the trend would lead to further pressure on the Naira exchange rate as the exiting foreign investors pull their cash from the nation’s foreign reserves.
The newspaper says that the implementation of Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act in the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for Nigeria LNG Train-7 Project, Nigeria may have saved $2.0 billion.
The report quoted the Executive Secretary, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote, as saying that the focus of the Nigerian Content implementation was not Nigerianisation, rather it encouraged domiciliation of capacities and promotion of foreign direct investments and homegrown investments.
Wabote made this disclosure during a workshop held for Judiciary officers virtually. The workshop was attended by more than 117 participants, including Justices of the Supreme Court, Appeal Court, National Industrial Court, Federal High Court and external solicitors.
According to him, the ample evidence had proven that sustainable Local Content practice reduced the cost of oil and gas projects in addition to creating job opportunities and economic prosperity.
ThisDay reports that the banking sector’s credit to the private sector rose by N757 billion or 2.57 percent to N30.189 trillion as of July 2020, compared with the N29.432 trillion it was at the end of June.
The latest money and credit statistics from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), obtained on its website yesterday, also showed that net credit by banks to the government increased to N9.522 trillion as at the end of July, higher than the N8.862 trillion it was the previous month.
This is coming as analysts yesterday offered policy recommendations to assist the federal government in arresting the recent decline in foreign capital importation amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country.
The surge in lending to the private sector could be attributed to the central bank’s aggressive development finance as well as measures it introduced to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households and micro, small and medium scale enterprises, in which the banks are the participating financial institutions.
The newspaper says that the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has said that in the last 11 months since he assumed the position, broadband penetration in the country has grown by 10 per cent, from an average growth of two per cent annually since year 2000.
According to the minister, the federal government remains committed to digitalising the Nigerian economy, saying the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the need for the government to aggressively achieve a digital economy.
Pantami, made this remark at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s (CIBN), 2020 Graduates’ Induction/Prize Awards day, which held virtually over the weekend.
The CIBN inducted 1,311 new members and awarded the best performing students in its different professional certification categories.
Speaking on the feat recorded by his ministry, Pantami said: “In less than a year, when I came on board, the broadband penetration was a little higher than 30 per cent, from year 2000 to 2019. But, by the end of July this year, broadband penetration was over 42 percent. We achieved almost 10 percent increase in less than a year.”
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