China has announced it will open up its automobile market by significantly slashing import tariffs on vehicles from July 1st. The announcement by China's State Council on Tuesday will be greeted with enthusiasm by car manufacturers eager to sell their products on an ever-expanding Chinese market.

For car imports, the 25-percent tariff levied on 135 items and the 20-percent duty on four items will both be slashed to 15 percent.

Meanwhile, import tariffs for 79 items of auto parts will be reduced to 6 percent from the current levels of 8 percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, 20 percent, and 25 percent.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday, May 21 to step up collaboration to boost Africa’s industrialization.

“The Bank launched in 2016 its Industrialization Strategy for Africa 2016-2025, which was the outcome of collaborative work with UNIDO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The signing of the present MoU is key to our Strategy’s implementation,” said African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina. “The Bank already benefits enormously from UNIDO’s expertise in developing policies, programmes and knowledge tools which supports our member countries to industrialize.” In 2017, the Bank allocated US $1.2 billion to Industrialize Africa – one of the Bank’s High 5 development priorities – mostly to projects for financial sector operations.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah stated that not less than 17 billion dollars investment has been recorded in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2018. He made the disclosure at the maiden edition of the Direct Investors’ Summit organised by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council in Abuja.

Over 300,000 tonnes of cocoa was exported from Nigeria last year, Executive Director, the Partnership in the Niger Delta, (PIND), Dr. Dara Akala, has said. Akala spoke in Akure, Ondo State capital, during the Cocoa Value Chain Study Validation Workshop.

U.S. stocks edged higher on Tuesday, led by financial and energy stocks, as the United States and China made progress on ironing out their trade differences and reach an agreement.

Washington neared a deal to lift its ban on U.S. firms supplying Chinese telecoms gear maker ZTE Corp (000063.SZ), sources said on Tuesday, while Beijing said it will steeply cut import tariffs for automobiles and car parts.

Elephant Group Plc has got more than 30,000 rice paddy for processing as the company keys into the Federal Government’s economic diversification move.

Executive Director, Operations of the company Akin Ogunbiyi, who revealed this recently, also noted that Nigeria could become one of the leading nations in rice production.

The Director General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, says the Federal Government must take loans to fund the 2018 budget and the capital projects. Speaking on Monday at the public presentation of the Spring 2018 issue of the International Monetary Fund Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, Oniha said Nigeria cannot claim to be an oil-producing nation like Saudi Arabia.

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Thursday declared force majeure on the exports of Nigeria’s major crude oil, the Bonny Light, effectively cutting off sales of around 250,000 barrels per day (b/d) of the country’s crude from the market. Brent crude, the international benchmark against which Nigeria’s crude oil is set, briefly hit $80.18 before pulling back to trade up 57 cents at $79.67 per barrel, Reuters reported.

Ghana’s Central Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 17 percent.

The bank’s Governor, Ernest Addison, said in the capital, Accra, on Monday that the apex bank “is on track to meet its medium-term inflation target” as the economy had stabilised.

State governors have accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of fraudulently doubling the nation’s daily petrol consumption from about 30 million to 60 million litres.

The governors made this known on Wednesday after a delegation led by Abdulaziz Yari, chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and governor of Zamfara state, met with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa in Abuja.

At the meeting, the governors demanded a thorough probe of oil subsidy payments from 2015 to date, while they demanded that all petrol stations less than 10 kilometres to the nation’s borders be immediately shut.