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Nigeria suspends, detains central bank governor
Nigeria’s newly elected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the country’s Central Bank (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for investigative purposes. The Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed that the suspended governor of the CBN is now in its custody for some investigative reasons.
Earlier in the year, Emefiele championed the naira swap policy and other monetary reforms that created a cash crunch during the country’s last general elections in February. Although the CBN governor had argued that the policies were put in place to mitigate vote buying and electoral malpractices, supporters of Tinubu accused the governor of trying to sabotage their election campaign through it. As it stands, only a vote of no confidence by the Senate can remove the CBN governor from office.
Slow global economic growth
The World Bank says global growth is slowing sharply in the face of elevated inflation, higher interest rates, reduced investment, and the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Global growth is expected to slow down to 1.7% from the 3% expected six months ago. According to the bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects, the global economy is projected to grow by 1.7% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2024. The sharp downturn in growth is expected to be widespread, with forecasts in 2023 revised down for 95% of advanced economies and nearly 70% of emerging market and developing economies.
Sadly, emerging economies are at risk of economic setbacks. “Emerging and developing countries are facing a multi-year period of slow growth driven by heavy debt burdens and weak investment as global capital is absorbed by advanced economies faced with extremely high government debt levels and rising interest rates,” says, David Malpass, President, of World Bank Group. “Weakness in growth and business investment will compound the already-devastating reversals in education, health, poverty, and infrastructure and the increasing demands from climate change.
Nigeria halts illegal Binance operation
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stopped Binance’s operations in the West African state. Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally with authentic processes. But the SEC mentioned that a local unit that courted Nigerian investors through a website was illegal. According to the report by Reuters, the company was not registered or regulated, making it illegal.
Two years ago, the CBN issued a circular to deposit money banks (DMBs), non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), and other financial institutions (OFIs) to close accounts of persons or entities involved in cryptocurrency transactions within their systems. It cited concerns over money laundering, terrorism financing, cybercrime and the volatility of cryptocurrencies as reasons for the ban. But a few weeks ago, the country’s capital market regulator issued new laws governing the issuance, exchange, and custody of digital assets in the country.
ICYMI: Market roundup
The Nigerian Exchange Group opened trading on the stock market on Monday, 5th June. The NGX All-Share Index dropped by -0.05% (-27.98) to close the week on Friday, 9th of June, at 55,930.97 points.
- The top gainers were Omatek Ventures +10.00%, N.E.M. Insurance +10.00%, Golden Guinea Breweries +9.88%, Chams +9.52% and FTN Cocoa Processors +9.41%.
- On the other hand, Conoil -9.95%, Associated Bus Company -9.30%, Sovereign Trust Insurance -9.09%, Sunu Assurances Nigeria -8.51% and Courteville Business Solutions -8.00%.
- The naira rose to close the week at N459.47/1$ on Friday compared to the N464.67/1$ recorded the previous week.
- Brent crude closed the week at $75.04, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $70.17.
- The global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $1.06 trillion at 7.43 pm Sunday, 11th of June, 2023. Bitcoin stood at $25,966.13 (a 4.54% decrease in 7 days), Ethereum stood at $1,757.46 (a 7.56% decrease in 7 days), and Binance coin stood at $237.25 (a 22.47% decrease in 7 days).
- Nigeria’s Helium Health raise $30 million Series B funding to expand fintech offering.
- Egyptian e-health startup Rology acquires Saudi company Arkan United.
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