NBS adopts Stanbic IBTC’s PMI report as national index

The Statistician-General of the Federation and Director-General, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Dr Yemi Kale has announced the adoption of Stanbic IBTC’s Purchasing Manager’s Indices (PMI) report as Nigerian official index.

With the adoption, Stanbic IBTC’s PMI would monitor existing PMIs and evaluate the effectiveness of government policy on business for the overall growth of the nation’s economy.

Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMI) has been described by the bank as economic indicators derived from monthly surveys of private sector companies. The PMI is a composite index of five “sub-indicators”, which are extracted through surveys to purchasing managers from around the country, chosen for their geographic and industry diversification benefits.

Speaking at the launch of the PMI in Lagos yesterday, Kale who decried the dearth of statistics in the country, explained that ensuring a reliable data assists government to form its decisions while addressing national issues, as well as enables investors sectors that are highly productive.

“As investors are looking at emerging economies like Nigeria to invest, there was need for a reliable data for them to understand which sector to invest in because reliable data helps to determine and evaluate performance. The rule guiding data production states that private investors getting data on private institutions getting data on private sector used officially must work with NBS.

“We requested to adopt Stanbic IBTC’s PMI because we are impressed with what we see and we are adopting it as Nigeria’s official PMI. Government can use the information for planning and making policy decisions. We are happy to partner with the bank.”

Stanbic IBTC Bank, a member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has launched the Stanbic IBTC Purchasing Manager’s Index Survey for Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Yinka Sanni that the bank engaged the services of Markit, a leading global financial information services providers to produce the PMI for Nigeria.