Business

OPEC Bars Bloomberg, Reuters, WSJ Reporters From Vienna Conference

Published

3 months ago

June 29, 2023

Reporters from three large news organisations have not been invited to cover a meeting of oil industry CEOs with energy ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The organisation’s secretariat typically gives accreditation to any journalist who wants to cover the meeting at their headquarters. This time, that opportunity wasn’t offered to reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, according to Reuters.

The three media organisations are among the world’s leading suppliers of financial news and information.

They compete to cover news in real time from events such as OPEC+ meetings, which can have a material impact on the price of oil and the global cost of energy.

The OPEC Secretariat, which oversees media accreditation, had issued invitations to some journalists to cover the OPEC-hosted July 5-6 seminar in Vienna, Austria.

OPEC sent an email on Tuesday inviting reporters at other media organisations to attend, the sources said.

Those included the Financial Times and trade publication Argus, as well as S&P Global Commodity Insights, known as Platts, the sources said. The communication stated that “this email serves as your personal invitation,” according to a copy forwarded to Reuters.

However, reporters who normally cover OPEC from Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal did not receive invitations, according to people familiar with the matter who did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, includes top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia. OPEC+ pumps more than 40% of the world’s oil supply.

Reuters reports that OPEC declined to comment on why reporters from the three media organisations were not invited to cover the OPEC-hosted seminar.

“We believe that transparency and a free press serve both readers, markets and the public interest, and we object to this restriction on coverage,” a spokesperson for Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO), said on Wednesday.

“Reuters will continue to cover OPEC in an independent, impartial and reliable way, in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.”

According to the report, reporters at Reuters received an email on Tuesday stating that earlier accreditation was not an invitation to attend. Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reporters received a similar communication, sources familiar with the matter said.

“We are very concerned by the prospect of OPEC excluding certain journalists, including from Bloomberg, from next week’s seminar,” Bloomberg News said in a statement.

“For the sake of market transparency, we strongly advocate for OPEC to allow journalists from relevant global news outlets to attend.”

The Wall Street Journal did not respond to a request for comment.

This would be the second consecutive OPEC+ event in which OPEC has restricted media coverage. The same media groups were denied access to OPEC’s Vienna headquarters during a June 4 oil policy meeting.

OPEC gave no reason for excluding the three organizations from the previous policy meeting in June.

Business

Steel manufacturers hail Tinubu over $14bn deal

Published

3 weeks ago

September 11, 2023

Olakunle Adeniyi

The Basic Metal, Iron and Steel Products Manufacturer, a sectoral arm of the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria, (MAN) has commended President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for his overwhelming performances and efforts towards the nation’s economic growth at the just concluded Nigeria-India economic roundtable meeting in India.

The group also commended the president for attracting the sum of $14 billion investment to boost the nation’s economy adding that the feats recorded by the Bola Tinubu-led government within 100 days of its inauguration will no doubt accelerate economic recovery and business growth in the steel sector.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday by the Chairman of the group, Dr. Kamoru Yusuf MON, stressing that, “Iron and Steel sector, if given the required attention and necessary support, is capable of ensuring accelerated growth of the nation’s economy.

Dr. Yusuf, who is also the Group Managing Director of KAM Holding Limited, a wholly owned indigenous Iron and Steel Industry in Nigeria added that, “President Tinubu has by all standards demonstrated his love and readiness to support industrialists. We, in the Iron and Steel sector of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, (MAN) are ready to support his administration with data, workable templates and roadmaps that will support Mr. President in his endeavour to succeed in his mandates to Nigerian citizens.

“As major stakeholders in Nigeria’s Project, we received this news with huge excitement and sense of fulfillment and hope that the breakthrough will further change the game of operations as ‘Risk Takers’ in the nation’s business environment. We pledge our unalloyed support to your administration towards ensuring and providing enabling atmospheres for industrialists to continue to thrive.”

The statement also emphasised that, “President Tinubu’s exceptional efforts in attracting such a substantial investment for Nigeria’s steel sector deserves standing ovation and applause.”

The group therefore promised to continue to support the Minister for Steel Development, Alhaji Shuaibu Audu, in the discharge of his duties at all times.

Business

Ex-CBN director urges FG to reduce cost of governance

Published

1 month ago

August 17, 2023

Desmond Ukafor

Dr Titus Okunrounmu, Former Director of CBN

Dr Titus Okunrounmu, former Director, Budgetary Department at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has advised the Federal Government to reduce the cost of governance in order to stem the country’s debt profile.

Okunrounmu, who gave the advice while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Ota, Ogun, described the list of ministerial portfolio on Wednesday as over bloated for a country with huge debt profile.

According to him, funding the nation’s recurrent budget with borrowing does not need these large number of ministers and bloated special assistants, which inevitably must allow for allowances and official vehicles.

“These excess baggage was not projected for in the 2023 Federal Budget and the revenue estimates could not cover the recurrent budget.

“In addition, the federal government needs financial discipline to curb corruption in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to reduce debt profile in the country,” he said.

Okunrounmu advised the federal government to redouble its efforts and work against policy somersault to encourage influx of foreign investors into the country.