Economy
Excitement as World Bank/IMF Hold Meetings in Marrakech
Stakeholders from across the globe have converged on Marrakesh for the 2023 World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings.
Reports says that the meetings are holding after Marrakech experienced a devastating earthquake, which swept through other cities in the country.
The hosting of the meetings by Morocco appears to have brought relief to residents of the city, many of whom are already taking advantage of the influx of visitors to make brisk business.
At the Marrakech Airport, hundreds of residents came with vehicles to convey delegates to their destination at exorbitant fees.
Some home owners in the beautiful city also vacated their homes and rented them out to delegates, charging between 300 dollars to 3009 dollars for the one week duration of the meetings.
A taxi driver Osmae Awal, told NAN that the residents of Marrakech were happy at the presence of many participants from across the world for the meetings.
“Welcome to Marrakech. We are happy to have you all here. Morocco is a beautiful country and I am sure you will enjoy your stay,” he said.
Adil Imam, another resident of Marrakech, said that the influx of people into the city was a huge relief from the recent tragic earthquake.
“We are happy that people are coming in here from all over the world.
“We will do everything to make you enjoy your stay here,” he said.
NAN reports that the 2023 annual meetings of the World Bank group is scheduled to hold between Oct. 9 and Oct. 15.
The managements of the World Bank and the IMF, and the Moroccan authorities agreed to hold the meetings in Marrakech in spite the recent devastating earthquake experienced by the country.
According to the World Bank President, Ajay Banga, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva; and Kingdom of Morocco Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah Alaoui in a joint statement, the meetings will hold by “adapting the content to the circumstances”.
They said that since the earthquake in Morocco on Sept. 8, the World Bank and the IMF staff had worked in close coordination with the Moroccan authorities and a team of experts to thoroughly assess Marrakech’s capacity to host the Meetings.
“In undertaking this assessment, key considerations were that the meetings would not disrupt vital relief and reconstruction efforts, and that the safety of the participants can be assured.
“Based on a careful review of the findings, the Managements of the World Bank and IMF, with the Moroccan authorities, have agreed to proceed with holding the 2023 Annual Meetings in Marrakech.
“The meetings will be conducted in a way that does not hamper the relief efforts, and respects the victims and Moroccan people.
“At this very difficult time, we believe that the annual meetings also provide an opportunity for the international community to stand by Morocco and its people, who have once again shown resilience in the face of tragedy.
“We also remain committed to ensuring the safety of all participants,” they said.
NAN reports that the World Bank plays a key role in the global efforts to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.
Working in more than 100 countries, the bank provides financing, advice, and other solutions that enable countries to address the most urgent challenges of development.
The IMF is a global organisation that works to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity for all of its 190 member countries.
It does so by supporting economic policies that promote financial stability and monetary cooperation, which are essential to increasing productivity, job creation, and economic well-being. (NAN)
The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion.
Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which opened at N59.532 trillion, gained N184 billion or 0.31 per cent to close at N59.715 trillion.
The All-Share Index also added 0.31 per cent or 303 points, to settle at 98,509.
68, against 98,206. 97 recorded on Tuesday.Consequently, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased to 31.
74 per cent.Gains in Aradel Holdings, Zenith Bank, United Bank For Africa(UBA), Oando Plc, Nigerian Breweries among other advanced equities drove the market performance up.
Market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers and 17 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Africa Prudential, Conoil and RT Briscoe led by 10 per cent each to close at N14.30, N352 and N2.42 per share, respectively.
Golden Guinea Breweries followed by 9.95 per cent to close at N7.18, while NEM Insurance rose by 9.74 per cent to close at N10.70 per share.
On the other hand, Julius Berger led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N155.25, Secure Electronic Technology Plc trailed by 9.52 per cent to close at 57k per share.
Multiverse lost 7.63 per cent to close at N5.45, Haldane McCall dropped 6.07 per cent to close at N4.95 and Honeywell Flour shed 5.62 per cent to close at N4.70 per share.
Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 49.44 per cent.
A total of 320.10 million shares valued at N6.48 billion were exchanged in 7,943 deals, compared with 939.41 million shares valued at N12.81billion traded in 9,098 deals posted in the previous session.
Meanwhile, ETranzact led the activity chart in volume with 70.27 million shares, while Aradel led in value of deals worth N1.22 billion.(NAN)
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the Yuan, weakened 22 pips to 7.1870 against the dollar on Monday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the Yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the Yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)
Arewa Youths Initiative for Energy Reforms (AYIFER), has urged Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to do everything possible to bring Kaduna Refinery back into operation.
National Coordinator of the group, Mr Bashir Al’Amin, stated this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
Al’Amin specifically called on the Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, to do all within his powers to rejuvenate the refinery and bring it up to global standard.
He said that having delivered the Port Harcourt refinery, coupled with the establishment of Dangote Refinery in Lagos, attention should be shifted to Kaduna refinery for easy spread of petroleum products.
“We are calling on Malam Mele Kyari to expedite action on Kaduna refinery so we can be at par with other regions in the country.
“We equally beg the NNPCL to do professional work in rehabilitating the old refinery and deliver a standard and functional petrochemical refinery and not a blending plant.
“Kyari should resist any temptation that could make him do something that can jeopardise his good image,” he said.
Al’Amin said that since the extinction of groundnut pyramid and textiles in Kano State as well as PAN in Kaduna State and with the Kaduna refinery getting moribund, a lot of youths had lost their jobs.
According to him, all their hopes in the north are tied to the legacy refinery, expressing the hope that God would use Kyari to deliver it well and on time.
He said that the group was solidly behind NNPCL in prayer and would be ready to celebrate the company if its expectations were met. (NAN)
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