Nigeria plans to use a $3 billion (Dh11.01bn) loan it’s negotiating with the World Bank to tackle mounting debt in the power sector that risks the collapse of companies running the national grid.
“Distribution companies are not collecting enough revenue to pay their bills to the power-generation companies, who then can’t pay their bills to the gas companies supplying them,” Shubham Chaudhuri, the country director of the World Bank, said in an interview in Abuja, the capital. “The federal government has been stepping in to cover the bills for now, because otherwise the power will shut off.”
Africa’s most populous nation with almost 200 million people struggles to meet its electricity needs even after state-owned power assets were sold to private investors in 2013 in a bid to boost supply. Electricity production per capita is less than 15 per cent of the average of emerging-market economies and less than 25 per cent of the sub-Saharan Africa average, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Almost everyone in Nigeria depends on generators for regular electricity supply, adding drastically to costs for businesses.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s government has asked for World Bank assistance to turn around its power industry. Mr Chaudhuri said some of the solutions may be new policies and regulations, along with additional financing.
“What we’re trying to do is to help the government figure out what combination of reforms and financing will be needed to get the power sector on track,” he said.
The World Bank is also encouraging the West African country to improve its business environment to create the space for businesses to thrive, create jobs, and address the country’s poverty. Nigeria has climbed 15 places to 131 in the latest ease-of-doing-business rankings.
Using Lagos and Kano, two of the country’s biggest cities, substantial improvements were found in the speed of registration of companies, streamlining of payments, quick issuance of construction and electricity-connection permits for new businesses.
“It’s a combination of action at the federal level and the state levels,” said Mr Chaudhuri. “It’s a conversation between the federal, state governments, the private sector and international partners.”
MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
The years Ramadan fell in May
