Rising inflation: NESG boss, Awosika, others proffer solutions
Niyi Yusuf, the Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), other economic experts, and captains of industry on Wednesday advocated a seamless collaboration between the fiscal and monetary policies as a solution to arrest the rising inflation in Nigeria.
NESG proffered this as a solution at the Vanguard Economic Discourse with the theme, “Taming Inflation and Stimulating Growth: The Place of Fiscal and Monetary Policies” in Lagos.
Yusuf urged both the fiscal and monetary authorities to work together to support the economy.
“Nigeria must develop an integrated fiscal management strategy to expand the funding mix through Public Private Partnership PPP, innovative structured finance and contain inflation by reducing government’s recourse to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The CBN also needs to adopt a single market-reflective exchange rate and set a clear monetary policy framework that increases access to finance,” he said.
Read also: What Nigeria can do to tame inflation, says Niyi Yusuf
Nigeria to host Saudi investors in March — Lai Mohammed
Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, said on Wednesday that the Federal Government will host a team of investors from Saudi Arabia in March. The meeting will enable both parties to explore areas of business and investment.
Mohammed, who briefed newsmen in Abuja on the outcome of his recent official visit to Saudi Arabia, said that his visit to Saudi Arabia was part of the decisions reached at the maiden UNWTO Global Conference on Tourism and Creative Industry, hosted by Nigeria in Lagos in late 2022.
He concluded that government officials and businessmen from Saudi Arabia had expressed their readiness to invest in Nigeria, particularly in the tourism and oil and gas sectors.
Industrial action: No major impact on business — NAHCO
The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO) said that the strike action embarked upon by its staff on Monday, which lasted for less than six hours, had no major impact on its business operations.
In a corporate disclosure made available to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. on Wednesday, the company assured shareholders and the general public of its commitment to continually provide aviation services.
It said that a meeting between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and the Department of State Security (DSS) led to a resolution for all parties involved in the dispute.
The company noted that the parties agreed and signed resolutions on the discontinuance of the suit filed against the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association (ATTSSSAN) at the National Industrial Court.
It indicates that negotiations on a salary increment would start on Wednesday, January 25, and be concluded by Saturday, January 28.
Others include the immediate return of all staff to work and the non-victimisation of staff due to their participation in the strike action.
Hitachi Transport to issue preferred share to KKR, raise $975m
As part of its strategy to go private, Hitachi Transport System Ltd. of Japan said on Wednesday that it would raise 127.2 billion yen ($975 million) by issuing a single preferred share to majority shareholder KKR & Co.
It will also issue a second class of preferred shares for 10 billion yen to KKR as an indemnity claim.
Hitachi Transport is set to be delisted on February 24 after the U.S. private equity firm’s successful tender offer for it. This is according to Reuters.
Bank of Canada hikes rates, becomes first major central bank to signal pause
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday became the first major central bank fighting global inflation to put a halt on interest rate increases as it paused the rate at 4.5 percent, the highest in 15 years.
The 25-basis-point rise matched analysts’ expectations. The bank has lifted rates at a record pace of 425 basis points in 10 months to tame inflation, which peaked at 8.1 percent and slowed to 6.3 percent in December, still more than three times the 2 percent target.
“We are turning the corner on inflation,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters. “We are still a long way from our target, but recent developments have reinforced our confidence that inflation is coming down.” This is according to Reuters.
