7 Business Stories To Follow This Week: Interest Rate Up 18%, Capital Import

This week, there are seven important business news to follow. They range from May 29 to June 2.

On May 29, Nigeria will inaugurate its new presidents and governors.

Tinubu and Shettima are becoming President-elect and Vice-President-elect today. It's the start of a new administration in Nigeria's history of democracy.

The inauguration is big. 24 governors will go. It will decide the economy for four years.

New officials have to deal with economic issues after taking an oath. These issues include inflation, currency devaluation, insecurity, and petrol subsidies. The petrol subsidy was a crucial part of the new president's campaign.

NBS has a report about pensions and capital inflow. It shows that the pension fund assets increased by 11.02% in 2019. Total pension contributions increased by 16.49% in the same year. Capital inflow into Nigeria also increased by 53.97% in 2019. This shows that Nigeria is attracting more foreign investment. The report gives useful insights for investors and policymakers.

The NBS will soon give out a report on pension assets and membership data for Q1 2023. They will also give out telecoms data.

The bureau plans to put out a report on Nigerian capital importation for the first quarter of 2023.

The Senate has allowed the federal government to borrow more money from the Central Bank of Nigeria. The limit has been raised to 15%. This means that the government can now borrow up to 15% of its previous year's revenue. This decision was made to help the government address the economic challenges facing the country. However, many Nigerians are concerned about the increasing level of debt and how it will impact the country's future.

The Senate changed the CBN act. They raised the amount the government can borrow without collateral. It is now 15%, which is three times more than before. The new rule is to help the government raise money for important projects.

On Saturday, there was an emergency session. During this session, there was a sudden rise.

Ways and means is a loan option for CBN. It helps to finance government's budget shortfalls.

The government can borrow money from the apex bank when they need it for urgent projects. This is for short-term or emergency finance. The facility enables this to happen.

CBN lifts MPR to 18.5%. Purpose: to control inflation.

Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said the interest rate increased. The announcement was made at the end of the monetary policy committee meeting. The new rate is now 18.5 percent.

Emefiele said that previous rate increases had worked in controlling inflation. The bank's monetary policy department conducted a study to show this.

The inflation for April was 22.22 percent. The man said it could have been over 30 percent.

Nigeria's GDP grew 2.31% in Q1 2023. That's lower than the 3.11% growth from Q1 2022.

The latest GDP report by NBS for Q1 2023 is out. The figure is lower than the 3.52 percent in Q4 2022.

During the quarter, slow growth happened. Cash crunch caused this. Data bureau says so.

Sirika announces Nigeria Air even though court ordered to halt launch.

The government showed off the national carrier, Nigeria Air, on Friday. This happened in the capital city.

At an event in Abuja, Hadi Sirika talked about the new deal. The minister of aviation said that the Ethiopian Airlines (ET) will work with Nigeria Air. This partnership will open up new connections between the two countries.

Sirika said there will be a demonstration flight soon. This is part of the process to start operations. It is not fully operational yet.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) don't want the government to start a new airline. They say a court has stopped the government from taking any action.

The NUPRC has released seven new rules for the oil and gas industry. These regulations aim to ensure safety and environmental protection. Companies must comply with the rules to continue operating. The regulations cover areas such as exploration, production, transportation, and storage. There are also rules for emergency response and disaster management. The NUPRC said that the regulations would help to improve the industry's image and reputation. The new rules will go into effect immediately.

NUPRC in Nigeria has agreed on seven regulations. These will help the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 to be followed.

On Friday, Gbenga Komolafe (NUPRC CEO) signed new regulations. These are the Nigeria upstream petroleum measurement regulations, 2023; production curtailment and domestic crude oil supply obligation regulations, 2023; frontier basins exploration fund administration regulations, 2023; and Nigeria upstream decommissioning and abandonment regulations 2023.

There are three new rules for oil and gas in Nigeria. They include regulations for crude oil and gas discovery, gas flaring, and methane emissions. These rules will come into effect in 2023. They are important for preventing waste and pollution. They will also regulate the sharing of resources in the oil and gas industries.

Buhari Dangote Refinery will start working. NNPC is oil drilling again in Chad Basin.

President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the Dangote Refinery last week.

Aliko Dangote spoke at a ceremony. He's a billionaire businessman from Nigeria. He said the refinery will supply petroleum before July ends.

The project is in Lagos. It is a big project worth a lot of money. The project will make 650,000 barrels of oil each day.

The NNPC is back to drilling oil at Wadi-B well in Jere LGA of Borno state.

The well can make jobs and give energy security.