Lexy Blog

Lafarge Pakistan Cement    Recently, the Federal Government announced its preparedness to become self sufficient in cement production as manufacturers are expected to begin production in their respective expansion projects. While this has received applause, Nigerians are on the lookout for cheaper product, writes Alexander Chiejina If policy pronouncements alone could translate into good governance, the present administration would have been riding on high public approval rating. One of such pronouncements is the recent promise by President Goodluck Jonathan to stop the importation of cement into the country by the first quarter of 2012. This statement is in several quarters as a move towards making the nation self-sufficient in cement production for export to countries within the West African sub region, given the incentives in place to encourage trading and the African continent at large. With worldwide cement consumption projected to reach a record 3859 metric tonnes by 201

Customers at a Bank's ATM The desire to drive development of the payment systems in the country as well as improve effectiveness of monetary policy informed the introduction of the cash-lite policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This policy has however been greeted with several bottlenecks, even as the April deadline for full compliance hots up, writes Alexander Chiejina. As global financial systems become more connected, economies around the world gradually shift to the use of electronic system of payments to quicken the delivery of financial services. This is however prominent in developed economies and ‘The Asian Tigers’ where the use of technological devices have become ubiquitous. While several countries have continued to make giant strides in this direction and as a result, boosted trade and other economic activities, Nigeria and indeed several African countries have lagged behind as most businesses are conducted in heavy cash transactions. In its effort to r

Reactions have continued to trail last week's devaluation of the nation’s currency-Naira-particularly its impact on an import dependent economy, with Nigerians watching with keen interest as to how this will bring respite to the currency, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA Shortly after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Nigeria and spoke with the government, private sector, banks including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in March this year, the Fund revealed that the nation’s currency- the Naira was overvalued. The view by the IMF came on the heels of a report it released berating the Apex Bank for running down the external reserves to prop up the Naira rather than allowing it to depreciate in tandem with existing realities on the ground. The Fund stated that the CBN was not in a position to fund the foreign exchange market the way it is doing- dipping into already dwindling reserves -and that a managed depreciation of the Naira is much more preferable to an unavoidable fre