IITA floats five-year plan to raise Nigeria’s cocoa productivity

Temitayo Ayetoto3 hrs

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan on Tuesday launched a five-year “Cocoasoil Project’’ to improve cocoa production in Nigeria. Richard Asare, the project coordinator, said the major objective of the project  is to develop Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) recommendations that will be integrated into extension messages for cocoa intensification and avoid deforestation. […]

28 global banks to sign responsible banking pact

October 15, 2018

Group with $17trn in assets has  Access Bank as Nigeria’s only member A group of 28 leading global banks with $17 trillion in total assets will gather next month in Paris, France to sign off on a new draft of what has been termed Principles for Responsible Banking, designed in the wake of the global financial […]

Barkindo says oil prices rising on perceived supply shortages amid OPEC’s revised oil demand forecast

Bukola OdufadeOctober 12, 2018

Current oil prices reflect market “perceptions” of a potential supply shortage rather than an actual inability of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its key producer allies to pump oil, Mohammad Barkindo, the cartel’s secretary general has said. But despite the belief held by Barkindo that the global oil market remains “well supplied”, the […]

Buhari gets senate approval to spend N234.5bn for 2019 elections

October 12, 2018

Senate on Thursday approved N234.5 billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the 2019 general election. The red chamber also refused to approve the budget for security agencies as requested by President Muhammadu Buhari. It added N45.5 billion to the initial N189 billion approved by the Senate Committee on INEC. This brings the […]

Nigerian stocks rebound on bargain hunting in bellwethers, benchmark index up 0.11%

Adesola AfolabiOctober 11, 2018

Nigerian stocks Thursday rebounded on bargain hunting in bellwethers especially STANBIC (+4.8%), NESTLE (+0.7%) and FLOURMILLS (+7.6%), which drove the All Share Index (ASI) up by 0.11 percent to 32,417.82 points. Consequently year-to-date (YTD) loss moderated to -15.2 percent just as market capitalisation increased to N11.8 trillion. Also, activity level strengthened as volume and value […]

IMF, World Bank launch guidelines for policymakers on fintech

October 11, 2018

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have jointly released a paper that will guide policymakers around the world in their handling of the rise of financial technology — commonly known as fintech. The paper, called the Bali Fintech Agenda, was launched Thursday on the Indonesian island where the IMF and the World […]

AFC gets $300m facility from Chinese export-import bank

Adesola AfolabiOctober 11, 2018

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), an infrastructure development finance institution, has announced its successful acquisition of a $300 million loan facility from the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM). The acquisition consists of a $200 million 5-year loan and a $100 million 5-year standby facility for general corporate purpose. The facility from CEXIM marks AFC’s inaugural financing […]

World Bank’s new human capital index says Nigeria is underinvesting in its people as it ranks 152 out of 157 countries

Adesola AfolabiOctober 11, 2018

A recent World Bank Human Capital Index (HCI) launched Thursday in Bali, Indonesia has ranked Nigeria at the 152nd position amongst indexed countries of the world. The HCI constructed for 157 countries measures how much countries lose in economic productivity by under-investing in their people. Specifically, it conveys the productivity of the next generation of […]