Business

Cooking Gas Price Rises by 20% As Naira Weakens

Published

3 years ago

December 23, 2020

Eric

The price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly known as cooking gas, sold to marketers in the country has risen by over 20 per cent in the past one month, with consumers paying more for the product.

The naira plunged on November 30 to 500 per dollar at the parallel market, its lowest level in more than three years, from around N462/$1 at the start of the month. It traded at 476 against the greenback on Tuesday.

Our correspondent gathered that terminal operators and importers increased the price of 20 metric tonnes of LPG to N5.3m on Monday from an average of N4.4m a month ago.

A gas plant in Lagos visited by our correspondent refilled a 12.5kg cylinder for LPG for N4,000 on Tuesday, up from N3,200 in November. Our correspondent gathered that the plant had refilled a 12.5kg cylinder for N3,500 on Monday.

Some of the retail shops visited by our correspondent put the price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at between N4,000 and N4,500 on Tuesday.

Marketers said the price of cooking gas had continued to increase in recent months as the depreciation of the naira against the dollar and increased global demand pushed up the cost of importing the product into the country amid inadequate local supply.

Nigeria, which is home to the largest natural gas reserves in Africa and the ninth largest in the world, imports a chunk of the cooking gas being consumed in the country.

Terminal operators sold 20 tonnes of LPG at between N5.2m and N5.3m on Tuesday, up from N4.9 to N5m at the start of December and N4.25m to N4.45m on November 20, according to LPG in Nigeria, an advocacy organisation championing the use of LPG in the country.

“International prices continue to go up, which is a major factor in our local LPG pricing. LPG price just hit $400 per MT for the first time since February 2019. We expect that prices will ride the winter demand, then begin a steep fall,” it said.

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Association of LPG Marketers, Mr Bassey Essien, told our correspondent that the association had noticed the gradual increase in cooking gas price in recent months.

According to Essien, about 35 per cent of the LPG consumed in the country is from domestic supply while 65 per cent is imported.

He said many privately-owed terminals had to depend on importation because they could not get supply from the Nigeria LNG Limited.

“In the process of importing LPG, the CBN does not have any particular foreign exchange window for LPG importers like it has for other sectors. So, they find their own forex whatever way they can. At a point, the naira was 500 per dollar,” he said.

Essien said another factor responsible for the price hike was the increased global demand for gas during winter.

“Since a greater chunk of what we consume is imported, we have to face the problem of foreign exchange dynamics. It is not something we are happy about,” he added.

The NLNG said in September that its board of directors had approved an increase in its dedicated volume of LPG supplied to the domestic market from 350,000 metric tonnes per annum to 450,000 mtpa.

The Punch

Business

FirstBank Appoints New MD/CEO, Alebiosu

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Eric

First Bank of Nigeria has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as its new Managing Director with effect from April 2024.

The Bank stated this in a release signed by its acting company secretary Adewale Arogundade.

Alebiosu takes from Adesola Adeduntan, who resigned abruptly on Saturday with eight months left to complete his tenure in December 2024.

The release stated that “following the resignation of the managing director/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Board of Directors has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as the acting CEO of the 130-year-old institution.

“The appointment takes effect immediately and is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The release stated that Alebiosu was until this appointment the executive director, chief risk officer and executive compliance officer since January 2022. Prior to that, he was the Group executive/ chief risk officer, a position he held since 2016.

“Alebiosu brings to the executive management of FirstBank over 28 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry with cross-functional exposure to Credit risk management, Financial planning and control, Credit and marketing, Trade, Corporate and commercial banking, Agriculture financing, Oil and Gas, Transportation (including Aviation and Shipping) and Project financing.”

It added that the new acting MD/CEO commenced his professional career in 1991 with Oceanic Bank Plc (now EcoBank) and prior to joining FirstBank in 2016 served as Chief Risk Officer at Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, Chief Credit Risk Officer at African Development Bank Group and Group Head, Credit Policy & Deputy Chief Credit Risk Officer at United Bank for Africa Plc.

“He is an alumnus of Harvard School of Government and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management. He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“He is a member of various professional bodies namely, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), Associate, Nigeria Institute of Management (ANIM), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Member, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.”

Business

Again, Naira Slumps Against Dollar, Trades at N1,169/$1 in Official Window

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Eric

The Naira, on Friday, slumped for the second consecutive day against the American dollar at the official window trading at N1,169/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

At the end of trading on Friday, the Naira lost N15 against the dollar when compared to the previous exchange rate of N1,154/$1 on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

The intra-day high and low recorded during the day were N1,236/$1 and N1,021/$1 respectively, representing a lean spread of N215/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the dollar at the parallel market for the second consecutive day to trade at N1,150/$1 representing a loss of N50 when compared to the N1,100/$1 it traded the previous day.

The British Pound also slumped against the Naira by N50 to trade at N1,500/£1 as against the previous trading price of N1,450/£1 representing a loss of N50 for the local currency,

The Canadian dollar however closed flat against the Naira to trade at N1,000/CA$1 same as the previous trading day rate of N1,000/ CA$1.

The Euro also slumped against the Naira to trade at N1, 280/€1 as against the rate of N1,200/€1 the previous trading rate indicating a gain of N80 in the European currency.

Business

Glo Launches New Internet Solution Products for Homes, Businesses

Published

2 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Eric

Two new products, which provide internet connectivity solutions specially designed for Residential and SME commercial customers, have been unveiled by digital solutions company, Globacom.

The products, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) were packaged for Glo customers to enjoy reliable and high speed internet through linked fibre services.

Globacom said in a statement in Lagos “With these services, businesses and homes can access dedicated internet speeds of up to 1GBps, allowing unlimited internet usages for seamless video calls, video and music streaming and a whole lot of other dedicated usages to promote business success and equally provide endless entertainment for homes”.

It explained that the new product comes with a unique opportunity for “Residential Estates, High Rise Apartments, Commercial SME Estates to enjoy dedicated high speed internet in their cluster”.

These services, according to Globacom, give exceptional experience and unmatched speed for users at home or in offices and are provided through hi-speed fibre – unlike copper which was being used in the past.

Positioning itself as the premier provider of innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes, Globacom assured customers of the best value for money with the new offerings, adding that users who sign on for these services will also enjoy fully dedicated bandwidth.

“We are committed to delivering the most cost-effective data connectivity experience for homes and businesses in addition to providing dedicated and reliable services.” Globacom concluded.