The Federal Government said the country’s tax revenue increased to 51 per cent in 2017.

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo disclosed this at the FT Nigeria Summit on “Dispelling Uncertainty and Building Resilience’’ in Lagos.

He said the 51 per cent growth year- on-year was due to aggressive tax policies introduced by the Federal Government.

The Nigerian currency- naira has appreciated to N363.5 per dollar in response to measures introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the weekend to boost dollar supply in the country. Meanwhile, Governor of the CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on Monday commenced on-the-spot monitoring of Over-the-Counter (OTC) sales of foreign exchange (forex) by banks to customers in a bid to ensure compliance with the CBN directive that banks sell dollars to all travellers with valid documents across the counter.

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and insurance operators would on June 1 launch an insurance re-branding project to upgrade the industry’s performance. The Vice Chairman, Sub-committee on Publicity of the Insurers’ Committee, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos, that the re-branding was to make insurance a household name.

The former Director- General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Temisan Omatseye, says Nigeria is losing about 300 million dollars yearly for berthing five degrees East on Nigerian waters. Mr Omotseye made this known at the 3rd Annual Conference tagged: “A Day with Nigeria Maritime Students 2018’’ organised by Platforms Communications in Lagos state.

Seeking to tap into Africa’s informal savings groups the Nigerian investment startup Piggybank.ng closed $1.1M in seed funding and announced a new product — Smart Target, which offers a more secure and higher return option for Esusu or Ajo group savings clubs common across West Africa.

The financing was led with a $1 million commitment from LeadPath Nigeria, with Village Capital and Ventures Platform contributing $50,000 each, according to techcrunch.

Founded in 2016, Piggybank.ng offers online savings plans — primarily to low and middle income Nigerians — for deposits of small amounts on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis. There are no upfront fees.

Activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) resumed for the week on Monday still in red with the indices dropping by 0.75 per cent, while value shed 44.41 per cent. The market capitalisation plummeted by N107 billion or 0.75 per cent to close at N14.137 trillion as against 14. 244 trillion on Friday.

Following disruptions of the oil flows on the pipeline feeding the Forcados terminal in Nigeria, the facility faces more than two weeks of delays of oil cargo loadings, and no official June or July loading schedules have been released yet, trading sources told Plattson Tuesday.

The flow of crude oil to the Forcados terminal is said to have resumed last week, but loading delays have continued to accumulate, also delaying the release of June and July loading programs, according to Platts’ sources. A tentative re-schedule plan for June has been prepared, but it is unlikely that the rescheduled loading dates will be kept, and delays could even be longer than expected, trading sources told Platts.

The prices of imported goods might increase after companies like Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company, have announced a hike in rates.

Both companies attributed the increased rates to increased bunker fuel prices which are a result of higher oil prices.

The fuel used to power ships is known as bunker fuel.

South African Airways (SAA) has pledged commitment to the Nigerian route in its ongoing restructuring exercise to return the carrier to profitability.

The Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Vuyani Jarana, said the Lagos-Johannesburg route especially, is one of the most successful in its network and remains critical to the current turnaround plan.

Jarana, who was recently on a familiarisation visit to major stakeholders and partners in Nigeria, said there was plan to restore the Abuja operations, as part of the strategy to grow the West African patronage.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has advised the Federal Government to cut down on recurrent expenditure so as to check the rising debt profile.

MAN President, Dr Frank Jacobs said, in a statement in Lagos, that the savings could be channeled into sectors with multiplying revenue generation capacity like agriculture, production and manufacturing.

Jacobs said that the call became necessary because of the associated service charges and the future economic burden such debt would exert on the nation.