CAPITALDIGEST, DAILY NEWS. MARCH 4, 2022.

MONDAY 25/4/2022 – NIGERIA’S CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION RIGS DROP BY 37.5%, SAYS OPEC The number of functional crude oil production rigs in Nigeria decreased by 37.5 per cent to just 10 operational rigs in March 2022, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said. An oil rig, offshore platform, or oil and/or gas production platform is a large structure with facilities to extract, and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Nigeria is a strong member of OPEC and has been championing activities of the group for decades, though failing lately in meeting its monthly oil production quota as approved by the organisation. Data obtained by our correspondent on Friday from OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report for April 2022 showed that Nigeria’s operational oil rigs had been on the decline since 2019. In its world rig count and units, OPEC stated that in 2019 Nigeria had an average of 16 functional rigs, but this dropped to 11 in 2020 and crashed further to an average of seven in 2021. In fact, the organisation revealed that the country’s rigs dropped to as low as five in the second quarter of 2021, before picking up to 10 in the third quarter of same year, but eventually dropped again to seven in the fourth quarter of last year. It moved up to eight functional rigs in the first quarter of this year, going by OPEC data, as the organisation’s report further showed that Nigeria’s oil rigs were eight in February 2022.   TUESDAY 26/4/2022 STOCK MARKET: INVESTORS’ DIVIDEND EARNINGS UP 47.1% TO N1.1TRN Stock market investors are set to enjoy a 47.1 per cent YoY increase in dividend earnings to N1.1 trillion for the financial year ended 2021, up from N732.9 billion the preceding year 2020. The Return on Investment, RoI, which outperformed the economy by 43.7 percentage points, follows the proposed dividend payout from 23 of the companies listed on Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX. Capital market operators attributed the improved RoI to the economic recovery witnessed in 2021, resulting in Gross Domestic Product, GDP growth of 3.4%, Year on year, YoY, in 2021, the fastest in seven years. The last time Nigeria’s economy grew more than 3.4% was in 2014, when the real GDP expanded by 6.22% YoY. Financial Vanguard investigation shows that as at the close of business on Friday, 23 companies on the NGX across seven sectors namely: Consumer Goods, Financial services, Industrial goods, Oil and Gas, Services, Healthcare and IT, have declared N1.077 trillion as final dividend payout for the year ended December 31, 2021.   WEDNESDAY 27/4/2022 – ECONOMIC CRISIS WORSENS AS FOREX INFLOWS FALL BY $9.58BN Foreign exchange inflows into the economy declined in the fourth quarter of 2021, owing to lower receipts from the Central Bank of Nigeria and autonomous sources. This is an indication of a worsening crisis for a forex-strapped economy. The latest figures from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s quarterly report on “Foreign Exchange Flows through the Economy” said the FX inflows fell by 31.7 per cent. It stated “Foreign exchange inflow into the economy fell by 31.7 per cent to $20.62bn, from $30.2bn in the preceding period. The development was driven by the 45.5 per cent and 14.4 per cent lower inflow through the CBN and the autonomous sources, respectively. “Foreign exchange inflow through the Bank at $9.18bn fell below the $16.83bn in the preceding quarter as both oil and non-oil receipts declined, as a result of lower receipts from interest on reserves and interbank swaps.” A disaggregation showed that proceeds from oil-related sources declined by 12.2 per cent to $1.63bn, relative to the preceding period. Similarly, receipts from non-oil sources fell to $7.54bn, compared with $14.97bn in the preceding quarter.   THURSDAY 28/4/2022 – NAIRA APPRECIATES, CLOSES AT 418.50 TO DOLLAR The Naira exchanged at N418.50 to the dollar at the Investors and Exporters window on Thursday, a -0.20 per cent appreciation, compared to 419.33 to the dollar on Wednesday. The open indicative rate closed at N417.23 to the dollar on Thursday. An exchange rate of N444 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N418.50. The Naira sold for as low as N410, to the dollar within the day’s trading. A total of 146.81 million dollars was traded in foreign exchange at the official Investors and Exporters window on Thursday.   FRIDAY 29/4/2022 – CBN URGES NIGERIANS TO LEVERAGE ON ITS INTERVENTIONS FOR FINANCIAL STABILITY The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued to sensitize Nigerians to embrace its intervention programmes so as to promote financial stability and economic development. CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Osita Nwanisiobi said this at the opening session of a two- day fair organized by the Bank in Owerri.  Nwanisiobi, represented by the Deputy Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr Sam Okogbue, said that the intervention programmes were aimed at business emancipation and poverty reduction. Speaking on the theme:  “Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development,” Nwanisiobi said that the CBN had rolled out interventions in the agricultural, manufacturing and other sectors.  He added that the CBN’s Anchor Borrower’s programme was the Nation’s saving grace for increased availability of rice during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic.  “During the COVID-19 pandemic, rice was the most single popular component of our palliatives. This is a result of the CBN’s Anchor Borrower’s programme for rice farmers,” he said.