Last Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Bill 2019 (now Finance Act) into law, which among other objectives, seeks to increase government revenue while supporting small businesses in Nigeria.
The new law states that small businesses with a turnover of less than N25 million are to be exempted from Companies Income Tax, while it lowers the tax rate for companies making up to N100 million from 30 percent to 20 percent. More details here.
Below is the Ventures Africa Weekly Economic Index, for the week ending 17th of January, 2020. This economic index gives you a glimpse into other recent activities in Nigeria’s economy as well as changes and prices that could affect the economy:
Nigerian Stock Exchange
Data released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as of January 17, 2020, showed that the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalization appreciated by 0.69 percent and 0.54 percent to close the week at 29,618.52 and N15.256 trillion respectively. However, all other indices finished lower with the exception of NSE 30, NSE CG, NSE Premium, NSE Banking, NSE AFRI Bank Value, NSE MERI Value and NSE Oil/Gas index while NSE ASeM Index closed flat
Top five price gainers and decliners in the week under review:
Top five price gainers
Forte Oil Plc.
Beta Glass Plc.
Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc.
C&I Leasing Plc.
Top five price decliners
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc.
NEM Insurance Plc.
BUA Cement Plc.
Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc.
B.O.C. Gases Plc.
How did the Naira fare?
The Nigerian currency slid against the dollar at the close of last week, trading at 362 Naira per dollar, a decrease on the N361 per dollar recorded a week before.
How did the price of oil fare?
Brent oil prices closed out the week on the 17th of January, 2020 at $65.10 per barrel, a decrease from $65.24 a week earlier. But prices jumped on Monday after two large crude production bases in Libya began shutting down after a military blockade combined with tensions in Iraq. Brent crude futures were up by 75 cents or 1.2 percent, to $65.60, having earlier reached $66.00 a barrel, the highest since January 9.
