Women in Business

Dr. Shukurat Bello To Speak on Women in Business

Dr. Shukurat Bello To Speak on Women in Business and Ethical Finance

WebTV’s Islamic Finance Weekly will be featuring a robust conversation on Women in Business and Ethical Finance

READ ALSO: Jobberman to develop Nigeria’s e-commerce sector through behavioral profiling

Guest: Dr. Shukurat Bello

Date: Friday, April 09, 2021

Time: 1:00PM (WAT)

Platform: Virtual Zoom Video Call

Highlights: To be deployed on WebTVng Platform, Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn

Host: Bukola Akinyele-Yisau

Key Discussion Points

  • How women-run enterprises have fared in driving an ethics-based business model?
  • Islamic businesses, Islamic Finance and Ethical Frameworks
  • Women are increasingly leading C-suite teams in some of the most well-respected boardrooms globally, should we expect to see greater ethical conducts by these institutions, is ethics gender-sensitive?
  • Improving Access to Ethical Finance for Women in Nigeria
  • Principal drivers of increased ethical lending to women, especially in rural and semi-urban communities
  • Women and Capacity Building In Islamic Finance
  • Prospects for Growth in Islamic Finance in Nigeria & Opportunities for Women?

Guest Profile

Dr. Shukurat M. Bello is a Senior Lecturer at the Dangote Business School, the Sub-Dean Academics, Faculty of Management Sciences, Bayero University Kano.

She holds a PhD in Management with 15 years of teaching, research and community development.

She was the best Bayero University Kano, Bsc. Business Administration graduating student in 2002. She won Best paper Award at University of Dubai International Conference in 2018.

She presents academic paper locally and Internationally. She has authored a number of academic journal articles on women issues, business ethics, human resource management and Islamic finance.

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Jobberman

Jobberman to develop Nigeria’s e-commerce sector through behavioral profiling

Jobberman, the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa, on Wednesday announced its partnership with the USAID-funded Alliance for eTrade Development II (eTrade Alliance) to help drive the development of Nigeria’s thriving e-commerce industry.

READ ALSO: Oil Prices Jump On Global Growth Projection

The #FindyourdigitalSuperpower campaign is set to conduct behavioural profiling on 25,000 young people aged 18-35 and 1,000 employees in the formal and informal e-commerce sector.

The aim of the program is to determine how to maximise unique behavioural traits and skills required to boost the booming digital space.

Jobberman will pilot technology on its platform that is designed to profile four categories of individuals in the e-commerce sector, in order to help large structured organisations and informal businesses optimise their talent.

The key indicators of these behavioural profiles will determine team developmental opportunities and gaps, understanding of team dynamics, adapted hiring processes for improved workplace productivity and discovering hidden talents within existing employees. The goal is to create an industry of streamlined successful roles that can be matched against the profiles established in the behavioural analysis.

E-commerce spending in Nigeria is set to reach US$6.1m by the end of 2021 and as more consumers navigate to online shopping due to the pandemic, spending is projected to hit US$9.5m in revenues by 2025.

The fast growing youth population, which makes up half of the country’s total population, is expected to power the digital marketplace with close to two million joining the labour force per year.

The Jobberman and eTrade Alliance partnership is geared to ready the labour market for such growth by identifying strengths and developmental opportunities within the sector, providing the benchmark and supporting resources to allow its potential to be realised.

Rolake Rosiji, CEO of Jobberman Nigeria, says, “We are excited to be collaborating with the eTrade Alliance on this timely campaign which is very much in line with our initiatives to advance the digital landscape of Nigeria.

The emerging e-commerce industry sums up the entrepreneurial energy of Nigerians, which this campaign will build on; by using our innovative technology to transform businesses from a talent perspective.

We are looking forward to seeing the results from the behavioural profiling exercise, which will help to enhance business transformation, especially for digital SMEs.”

eTrade Alliance Project Director Anne Szender echoed Ms. Rosiji’s sentiments stating, “the eTrade Alliance is excited by this opportunity to leverage the skills and expertise of our Alliance partner Jobberman to improve labor market matching in the fast growing digital commerce sector.

Through this innovative pilot we will gain insight into the key traits and skills that are critical for workers in the digital commerce space; information which can inform the design of future workforce development and job matching programs, creating long-term economic impacts for job seekers, SMEs, and their communities.

“I am very excited for the launch of the ‘Find Your Digital Super Power’ project. This initiative will provide participants a competitive edge to attain their aspirations in this digital economy.

Our aim at Roam Africa is to ‘connect Africans to opportunities’ and our partnership with eTrade Alliance for this campaign epitomizes our value of being an impact partner in the economic development of the markets we operate in,” said Reshma Bharmal Shariff, ROAM Africa’s Director of Partnerships, Impact Projects.

With over a decade in the recruitment business, Jobberman has used its platform to develop job seeker skill sets and identify gaps in the labour market. The partnership with the USAID eTrade Alliance reinforces Jobberman’s efforts to empower individuals across Nigeria with the training and skills they need to succeed.

Founded in 2009, Jobberman is an online platform that provides training and placement for jobseekers, as well as the best selection of candidates for companies hiring.

It is the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa and has the vision to become the leading source of talent in every market it operates in by simplifying job searching and talent acquisition; matching the right set of skills with employers needs.

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Crude Oil

Oil Prices Jump On Global Growth Projection

Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday on the prospects for stronger global economic growth amid increased COVID-19 vaccinations and a report that crude inventories in the United States, the world’s biggest fuel consumer, fell.

READ ALSO: IMF Predicts 2.4% Economic Growth For Nigeria In 2021

Brent crude futures for June rose by 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $62.90 a barrel by 0657 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for May was up 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $59.47.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its April 2021 World Economic Outlook (WEO)  presented Tuesday projected a six percent growth for the global economy in 2021, moderating to 4.4 percent in 2022, while the estimated growth for Sub-Saharan Africa, at 3.4 percent, with South Africa at 3.1 percent. and Nigeria’s economy, another oil producer to grow by 2.4 percent in 2021.

This is in effect which means that the global economy is recovering, in addition to the spread of vaccination, are the push for the oil price which had plunged in 2020.

But optimism about talks between the United States and Iran over Iran’s nuclear programme and an impending increase in supply by major oil producers capped gains.

“Optimism on the global economic outlook boosted sentiment in the crude oil market,” analysts from ANZ bank wrote in a note on Wednesday.

Prices were buoyed as data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings rose to a two-year high in February while hiring picked up. This followed earlier data showing improvement in the services sectors in the U.S. and China.

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday unprecedented public spending to fight COVID-19 would push global growth to 6% this year, a rate unseen since the 1970s.

Optimism on a wider rollout of vaccines also boosted prices with U.S. President Joe Biden moving up the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility target for all American adults to April 19.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell more than expected in the week ended April 2, while fuel inventories rose, according to three market sources, citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures ahead of government data on Wednesday.

Oil production in the U.S. is expected to fall by 270,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 to 11.04 million bpd, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday, a steeper decline than its previous monthly forecast for a drop of 160,000 bpd.

Iran and world powers held what they described as “constructive” talks on Tuesday and agreed to form working groups to discuss potentially reviving the 2015 nuclear deal that could lead to Washington lifting sanctions on Iran’s energy sector and increasing oil supply.

Oil prices dropped earlier this week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, agreed to gradually ease oil output cuts from May.

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IMF

IMF Predicts 2.4% Economic Growth For Nigeria In 2021

Following a revised contraction of 4.3 percent in 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economy will grow by 2.4 percent in 2021.

READ ALSO: Ogun to launch MSMEs development fund

The new projection is contained in the April 2021 World Economic Outlook (WEO)  presented Tuesday in Washington D.C. by Gita Gopinath, the fund’s Chief Economist at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings which began on Monday and scheduled to end Sunday.

The Fund which also projected six percent growth for the global economy in 2021, moderating to 4.4 percent in 2022, estimated the growth for Sub-Saharan Africa, at 3.4 percent, with South Africa at 3.1 percent. .The new global projection came after an estimated contraction of –3.3 percent in 2020.

The IMF had in its World Economic Outlook report for October 2020 gave a revised contraction of 4.3 percent for Nigeria after its April projection of a 3.4 percent contraction of the economy. It also predicted a 5.4 percent contraction in June while it projected that the economy would recover by 1.7 percent in 2021.

Last year report also projected 2020 global growth to contract by 4.4 percent, a less severe contraction than forecast in the June 2020 World Economic Outlook Update.

However, in its latest report released Tuesday, the Fund said that the contraction for 2020 was 1.1 percentage points smaller than projected in the October 2020 WEO.

This, it said reflected the higher-than-expected growth outturns in the second half of the year for most regions after lockdowns were eased and as economies adapted to new ways of working.

“The projections for 2021 and 2022 are 0.8 percentage point and 0.2 percentage point stronger than in the October 2020 WEO, reflecting additional fiscal support in a few large economies and the anticipated vaccine-powered recovery in the second half of the year.

“Global growth is expected to moderate to 3.3 percent over the medium term, reflecting projected damage to supply potential and forces that predate the pandemic, including ageing-related slower labour force growth in advanced economies and some emerging market economies.

“Thanks to unprecedented policy response, the COVID-19 recession is likely to leave smaller scars than the 2008 global financial crisis.”

The United States of America is expected to grow by 6.4 percent and China by 8.4 percent in 2021 according to the report that noted that emerging market economies and low-income developing countries were harder hit and were expected to suffer more significant medium-term losses.

The IMF said that there were divergent impacts with output losses particularly large for countries that relied on tourism and commodity exports and for those with limited policy space to respond.

It added that many of the countries entered the crisis in a precarious fiscal situation and with less capacity to mount major health care policy responses or support livelihoods.

According to the report, the projected recovery follows a severe contraction that has had particular adverse employment and earnings impacts on certain groups.

The IMF said youth, women, workers with relatively lower educational attainment and the informally employed had generally been hit hardest and income inequality was likely to increase significantly because of the pandemic.

“Close to 95 million more people are estimated to have fallen below the threshold of extreme poverty in 2020 compared with pre-pandemic projections.

“Moreover, learning losses have been more severe in low-income and developing countries, which have found it harder to cope with school closures and especially for girls and students from low-income households.

“Unequal setbacks to schooling could further amplify income inequality.”

Gopinath said that once the health crisis was over, policy efforts could focus more on building resilient, inclusive and greener economies, both to bolster the recovery and to raise potential output.

She also said that priorities should include investing in green infrastructure to help mitigate climate change, strengthen social assistance and social insurance to arrest rising inequality.

Also, introduce initiatives to boost production capacity and adapt to a more digitalised economy and resolve debt overhangs.

She added that policymakers should continue to ensure adequate access to international liquidity.

According to Gopinath, major central banks should provide clear guidance on future actions with ample time to prepare to avoid taper-tantrum kinds of episodes as occurred in 2013.

“Low-income countries will benefit from further extending the temporary pause on debt repayments under the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and operationalising the G20 Common Framework for orderly debt restructuring.

“Emerging markets and low-income countries will benefit from a new allocation of the IMF’s special drawing rights and through pre-emptively availing themselves of the IMF’s precautionary financing lines, such as the Flexible Credit Line and the Short-Term Liquidity Line.

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Ogun

Ogun to launch MSMEs development fund

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Tuesday declared that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Development Fund to provide easy credit facilities, will soon be launched in the state.

READ ALSO: Inflation: T-bills 8% return fails to shield investors

The governor equally disclosed that innovation fund for tech-based MSMEs in the state will be launched with the view to encouraging and promoting the digital economy.

Abiodun, who said these while declaring open the 10th Gateway International Trade Fair, noted that the trade fair has grown beyond just a meeting point for business communities, but a veritable platform that affords operators of MSMEs, manufacturers, businessmen and women, managers of corporate organizations and the government.

He added that it was also an opportunity to come together and showcase locally-made products and services, saying the avenue provides a unique opportunity to cross-fertilize ideas; explore new business innovations and make credible business contacts.

Abiodun, however, said that the state has started developing MSMEs clusters across the state that will be provided with full infrastructure of roads, drainage, power, fibre optics, which will be offered at attractive pricing and flexible payment terms to further encourage to and provide incentives for business operators.

The governor further reiterated his administration’s commitment towards the promotion of a private sector-driven economy, industrial development, investment-friendly environment, commercial activities and empowerment and promotion of MSMEs in the State.

“We will soon be launching the Ogun MSMEs Development Fund geared towards providing easier credit facilities. We will also be launching an innovation fund for Tech-based MSMEs. We will continue to be deliberate and methodical in our approach to support our resource-based industrialization of Ogun State.

“Ogun State is the largest industrial hub in Nigeria, we are determined to uphold this position.

No doubt, the theme for this year’s Fair: ‘Transforming Agriculture and Commerce in a Highly Competitive Global Market’ at this trying period could not have been more appropriate.

It is coming at a time when we are all working hard towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy from our over-reliance on the oil sector by developing other sectors such as agriculture, trade and manufacturing.

“The hosting of this Trade Fair is one of our many initiatives toward improving the Ease of Doing Business and in turn promote investment in our state.

Our administration is irrevocably committed to the industrialization of Ogun State and making the State a truly investors’ first-choice destination, not only in Nigeria but in Africa”. The governor stated.

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GDP

SMEs better Nigeria’s GDP by 50%, create 80% jobs

The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum has said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contributed over 50 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounted for 80 per cent of employment in recent years.

READ ALSO: CBN advances loans to MSME at single digit

She stressed that the sector had become engine of economic growth and development, job creation and exports besides aiding poverty and unemployment reduction across the federation. She spoke at the 27th National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic in Gombe State.

In a statement signed by the ministry’s Assistant Director, Information, Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, the minister added: “With the above figures in mind, it is, therefore, very clear that supporting small businesses by creating opportunities for SMEs to thrive is essential for increasing productivity, creating jobs and boosting our economy. That means making every effort to supporting them so that they can grow. This is why government is working with stakeholders across sectors to ensure that SMEs have the support they need to grow now and in the future.”

She stressed that the sector had become engine of economic growth and development, job creation and exports besides aiding poverty and unemployment reduction across the federation. She spoke at the 27th National Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic in Gombe State.

In a statement signed by the ministry’s Assistant Director, Information, Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, the minister added: “With the above figures in mind, it is, therefore, very clear that supporting small businesses by creating opportunities for SMEs to thrive is essential for increasing productivity, creating jobs and boosting our economy. That means making every effort to supporting them so that they can grow. This is why government is working with stakeholders across sectors to ensure that SMEs have the support they need to grow now and in the future.”

She explained that government’s efforts were also geared at enhancing the competitiveness and quality of services rendered by SMEs aside positioning them to compete favourably with their counterparts globally.

Katagum pointed out that there is a compelling need for every state and council to identify areas of comparative advantage, particularly in agriculture and other resource endowments, and build competencies for food sufficiency and export, adding that “it is particularly more pressing, considering that trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) commenced on January 1, 2021.”

The minister reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to the empowerment of Nigerians, especially in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To show seriousness, she said the Economic Sustainability Committee had announced specific programmes to cushion the adverse impacts of the virus on businesses.

Katagum, who doubles as chairperson of the scheme, enumerated the initiatives to include survival fund and guaranteed off-take programmes managed by a steering committee in the ministry.

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MSMES

CBN advances loans to MSME at single digit

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it will continue to provide opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to access loans without difficulty at single-digit rate as part of efforts to entrench a vibrant economy.

READ ALSO: NNPC Signs $1.5bn PH Refinery Rehab.

Samson Isuwa, the Nasarawa State controller of the apex bank, stated this at the opening of a three-day Nasarawa Entrepreneur Boot-camp in Lafia, the state capital.

According to Samson, CBN has remained consistent in initiating loan schemes covering agriculture, the entertainment industry, small scale business owners, among others at a single-digit interest rate to achieve Federal Government’s drive to economic prosperity.

He said interest rate for small scale businesses was at the moment 7 percent, adding, however, that this would soon rise to 9 percent to address the prevailing economic challenges.

He maintained that, henceforth, CBN would insist on only genuine business owners benefitting from such loans.

He said those collecting loan without utilising for the purpose it was meant would be denied the opportunity. He described the workshop for entrepreneurs as apt and advised participants to seize the opportunity to develop business strategies that would add value to their economic status.

Nasarawa commissioner for commerce, trade and investment, Obadiah Boyi said the loan would complement the effort of the Nasarawa entrepreneurs by encouraging them with all the necessary support required for SMEs to succeed in the state.

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NNPC

NNPC Signs $1.5bn PH Refinery Rehab.

The drive by the Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to boost in-country refining capacity was bolstered Tuesday with the signing of the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning (EPCIC) contract for the rehabilitation of the 210,000 barrels per day capacity Port Harcourt Refinery in Alesa-Eleme, Rivers State.

READ ALSO: 612 Nigerian microfinance banks may close shop over recapitalisation

The rehabilitation project which generated criticisms from several quarters has a completion timeline of between 18 and 44 months under a three-phase arrangement was awarded to Milan based Tecnimont SpA at a lump sum contract price of US$1.5 billion, inclusive of VAT and other statutory payments.

An elated Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, described the PHRC rehabilitation project as a dream come true, noting that the project was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to the Nigerian people to make the refineries work.


Tecnimont SpA, the Corporation emerged from a transparent tender process that can withstand any forensic audit, and the corporation will employ the same transparent process for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna Refineries whose EPCIC contracts to be awarded in June 2021.

READ ALSO : Nigeria’s Fortune Under Risk Over Big Oil Focal ShiftThe GMD explained that the rehabilitation exercise was very different from a routine Turn-Around Maintenance as it would entail a total retrofitting of the plant with major part and equipment replaced with new ones.


Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Engr. Ahmed Dikko, providing further insight into the project, explained that Phases 1 and 2 of the project would get the refinery ready to receive hydrocarbon, while Phase 3 will focus on the start-up the refinery for operation, stressing that the entire work shall be delivered in 44 months from today.

Vice President, Sub-Saharan Africa Region of Tecnimont SpA, Davide Pelizzola, pledged the readiness of his company to work assiduously with the NNPC to comply with the terms and obligations of the contract.

The signing ceremony of the PHRC rehabilitation project was witnessed by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers NUPENG amongst others.

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DMO

DMO Opens Two New 2021 FGN Savings Bonds For Subscription.

The nation’s debt office, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has offered for subscription, two new Federal Government of Nigeria’s savings bonds at N1,000 per unit.

READ ALSO: CBN to limit intervention in the I&E FX window…

The bond opens today 6th April 2021 and closes on 9th April 9th, 2021 and the DMO says one of the bonds is a 2-year savings bond due on April 14, 2023, at an interest rate of 5.522 per cent per annum, while the other is a 3-year FGN Savings Bond due April 14, 2024, at 6.522 per cent per annum
Each of the saving bonds is opened at N1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of N5,000 in multiples of N1,000 thereafter and subject to a maximum of N50 Million.
It also disclosed that the Settlement Date is fixed on April 14, 2021, and the Coupon Payment Dates are July 14, October 14, January 14, and April 14.

“The bonds qualify as securities in which trustees can invest under the Trustee Investment Act. It is backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government of Nigeria and charged upon the general assets of Nigeria,’’ DMO explained.

The DMO urged interested investors to contact the stock-broking firms appointed as distribution agents by the DMO.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had also on March 18th 2021 listed its third Sovereign Sukuk “N162.557 Billion 7- year 11.20 percent Al Ijarah Sovereign Sukuk that is due 2027” on The Nigerian Stock Exchange and the FMDQ Securities Exchange.

The Sukuk which at the time of issuance was massively subscribed to the tune of N669.124 Billion or 446 percent, was issued to finance 44 economic road projects across the six (6)-geopolitical zones. With the listing, investors who are already holding the SUKUK can trade them while new investors have an opportunity to buy the SUKUK in the secondary market.

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CBN

CBN to limit intervention in the I&E FX window…

Emerging data about Nigeria’s Foreign exchange inflows into the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window indicate that the Central Bank (CBN) is keeping its word to reduce its intervention in the dynamics of the market.

READ MORE: $1.5bn for Port Harcourt refinery repair can build 12 world-class hospitals – Peterside

Inflows into the market dropped to six months low following significant decline by 99.3 percent in interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which hitherto was a dominant player in the market.

Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, said at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting briefing that since January the CBN had not intervened in the I&E window.

The market has always operated within a band of around N409 to the dollar. At some point, it attained N412 and N413, and began to move, and that it is how it is supposed to move, he said. “The CBN job is to moderate the market in line with where we think exchange rate should be,” Emefiele had said.

Data from the FMDQ captured in a report by FSDH Research show that total foreign exchange inflow into the window decreased by 39.48 percent to $565.9 million in February 2021, compared to $935.2 million in September 2020.

The inflows comprised of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which fell to $7.5 million in February 2021 from $30.8 million in September 2020; Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) $17.9 million in February 2021 ($36.8m in September 2020), other corporate $9.3 million in February 2021 ($22.4m in September 2020), and the CBN $2.9 million in February 2021 ($434.5m in September 2020).

Others include inflows from exporters, which dropped to $175.7 million in February 2021 from ($206.8m in September 2020), individuals $2.5 million in February 2021 from ($29.4m in September 2020), and non-bank corporate, which declined from $350.1 million September 2020, to $175.5 million in February 2021.

Inflows from the CBN fell by 99.3 percent from $434.5 million in September 2020 to $2.9 million in February 2021.

Despite the positive GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2020, inflows from FDI and FPI remain low in the first two months of 2021.

This suggests low investors’ confidence amid uncertainty relating to foreign exchange management and insecurity concerns, analysts at FSDH said.

Despite rising crude oil prices, Nigeria’s External Reserves have lost 5.7 percent of its value from January 25 to March 17, 2021, according to the report.

Challenged oil inflows due to OPEC’s cuts, weaker foreign investment inflows, high demand for foreign currency to finance imports and other needs and possible clearance of FX backlogs are factors that continue to weaken External Reserves.

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