The International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Monday said Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan countries would grow their economies by an average of 3.4 per cent in 2018, from 2.8 per cent in 2017. IMF’s country Senior Representative, Amine Mati, said this during the public presentation of the Spring 2018 Issue of the Sub-Saharan African Regional Economic Outlook (REO) in Lagos.

The Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, NACC, has disclosed that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are to feature at the 2nd African Food and Products Conference and Exhibition (AFPE) in Lagos state. According to a statement by the chamber, the annual bilateral exhibition and conference, themed:

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has given the management of Ikeja Hotels the approval to resume trading after reviewing the two-year suspension placed on the shares of the company on Nov. 10, 2016. According to a ‘facts behind the restructuring’ document released by Ms Tinuade Awe, NSE Executive Director Regulation, trading would commence on the shares of the company on May 21.

After dropping for two consecutive days, trading at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday reacted positively to the April inflation and 2018 budget passage by the Senate. The Share Index rebounded by 377.55 points or 0.93 per cent to close at 40,992.97 against 40,615.42 on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.95% Year-on-Year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2018, indicating a stronger growth from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Monday said in its Q1 2018 Nigerian GDP report. Nigeria’s Real Gross Domestic Product for Q1 rose by 1.95% in Q1 2018 compared to 2.11% in Q4 2017 and -0.91% in Q1 2017.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the release of N1 billion from the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF) for disbursement to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Niger State, north central Nigeria. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said more than 1000 women and youth across the state would benefit from the fund.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Nigeria’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B+’ with a negative outlook. While B+ is encouraging as the nation continues to recover, the negative outlook serves to highlight how Nigeria must break away from its reliance on oil. With Fitch expressing concerns over “the sustainability of the economic growth momentum”, the nation must strive to derive growth from other sustainable sources other than rising oil prices.

In another round of intervention, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected 210 million dollars into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market to boost liquidity in the system. The acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, in a statement in Abuja, said the CBN allocated 100 million dollars to dealers in the wholesale sector.

The Naira on Friday depreciated against the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos, the according to reports. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian currency lost one point to exchange at N363, weaker than N362 posted on Thursday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N496 and N429, respectively.

Contrary to claim by the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki that the recently-passed Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) has been transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang has stated that the National Assembly was yet to do so.