Businessday 26 jun 2018

Buhari dithers as Miyetti Allah claims responsibility for Plateau killings …Human right group urges NASS to declare President’s office vacant Christopher Akor, Isaac Anyaogu, Innocent Odoh, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE &, Tony Ailemen, Abuja.

T

he brutal and mindless killings in the country, especially those perpetrated by Fulani militias in the North Central states or middle belt of Nigeria may continue unabated as analysts say Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari continues to dither, is afraid or

unwilling to order a clampdown on the known perpetrators of the killings even as they openly take responsibility for the actions.

Rather, the president was content to blame other factors including climate change and opposition politicians for the crises.

“We know that a number of geographical and economic factors are contributing to the

L-R: Clare Omatseye, founder/managing director, JNC International Ltd; Bukky George, founder/CEO, HealthPlus Ltd, and Deji Faniyan, head of operations, HealthPlus Ltd, at the Nigeria Healthcare Excellence Awards (NHEA), where HealthPlus emerged as the winner of the Pharmaceutical Retail Outlet of the year 2018 for the 4th time.

Continues on page 34

news you can trust I **TUESDAY 26 JUNE 2018 I vol. 15, no 83 I N300

@

g

BD INVESTIGATIVE SERIES

How Delta Steel got new lease of life from private capital

See commodities on page 2

MAR KE T S

Nigeria sidesteps EM rout with $7.9m inflow to model needed to kick start Ajaokuta, Aluminium Smelter, others bonds last week LOLADE AKINMURELE

U

ODINAKA ANUDU

I

t is a new era for the Aladjabased Delta Steel Company as the once moribund complex is now rolling steel into iron rods, thanks to private capital from Premium Steel and Mines Limited, an Indian company that says it is pumping N600 billion to make the humongous firm work again.

BusinessDay’s on-site investigation shows that the now Premium Steel and Mines Limited, sitting on 172 hectares of land, is targeting 1 million metric tonnes (MT) of liquid steel, 950,000 MT of billets and over 300,000 MT of rolled products when all the segments in the complex kick-start

Continues on page 34

World Cup Result S/Arabia 2 - Egypt 1 Uruguay 3 - Russia 0 Iran 1 - Portugal 1

Spain

2 - Morocco 2

S-based investors are buying Nigeria’s domestic debt amid a rout in emerging markets that has snowballed into five straight weeks of outflows, according to data obtained from the Bloomberg

Continues on page 34

Inside

L-R: Muhammed Imam Yahaya, chairman, board of directors, Standard Chartered Bank; Bola Adesola, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria; Jose Vinals, group chairman, Standard Chartered; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, group independent non-executive director, Standard Chartered Bank; Aliko Dangote, president, Dangote Group; Bill Winters, group CEO, Standard Chartered, and Sunil Kaushal, regional CEO, Standard Chartered, Africa and Middle East, at a dinner session with clients of the bank in Lagos.

Foreigners squeezed at Lagos airport as immigration imposes $110 VisaOn-Arrival fee P. 2

Argentina, Nigeria clash today not just a match, businesses hang on outcome Daniel Obi

T

he continuation of multimillion Naira advert campaigns that are tied to the ongoing 2018 World Cup

in Russia and continued boom at drinking bars may hang on the outcome of today’s evening match between Nigeria and Argentina.

Nigeria’s eventual success in the match will mean more businesses

for drinking bars, media agencies and media platforms as companies are expected to roll out more adverts congratulating the team and urging them to continue to soar.

Consequently businesses will

continue to make sales as Super Eagles progress in the competition but losing the game will also not only mean a sad day for Nigerians

Continues on page 34

businessday market monitor Commodities

NSE

Brent Oil

Biggest Gainer

$74.42

DANGCEM N230.00

Cocoa

US $2,488.00

2

Biggest Loser

2.22pc

Everdon Bureau De Change

Bitcoin SEPLAT N650.80

37,992.12

-4.99 pc

₦2,230,385.30

+2.60pc

Powered by

Buy

Sell

$-N 359.00 362.00 £-N 480.00 488.00 €-N 411.00 421.00

BUSINESS DAY

E

lectronic Payplus Limited (Epayplus), a Lagosbased smart card and payment solutions service provider says it saves each of its 13 banks client’s an average of N2billion annually, its chief executive officer (CEO), Bayo Adeokun told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.

“Averagely today, we can say we have saved each of our banking customer about N2billion. The Federal Government of Nigeria through the minister of finance and customs increased tariffs from 10 percent to 65 percent, if that is the case, banks would have probably been buying the cards at a very exorbitant rate and then would have been selling to their customers at a price higher than the N1000 that it is paid for,” Adeokun revealed.

In the wake of increased demand for forex (FX), the company succeeded in helping banks save lots of Foreign Exchange outflows from Africa’s biggest economy as it manufactures cards locally for financial institutions compared to when the cards were imported.

In Nigeria today, Epayplus share of the smart card, payment solution service market of 6 operators is about 42 percent. When the company started its smart card business nine years ago in Nigeria they were

the 6th, but now they are the second biggest in terms of market share, “the biggest is about 2-3 percent bigger than us,” the CEO said.

Epayplus decided to do a backward integration and went into local milling and embedding of smart card in Nigeria. “We had to invest in new machineries, we had to invest in people and we had to invest in training the people that we just employed for that service.

We started that as a Contact card that is a card that you insert into POS or ATM which is what majority of the banks in Nigeria issue today,” the CEO said.

Some of its partners are Interswitch, Verve, AustriaCard, Emerging Markets Payments (EMP), Kona International (kona i), Future Card, Unified Payments, Matica Technologies, Gemalto, Screen Check, Jinguan Group, and Entrust Datacard.

“However, recently the card association, MasterCard precisely came up with a policy that beginning from 2019 all their cards that will be issued in the African market will be contactless cards that you need not insert into the ATM or POS but you just tap. We envisage this and working together with one of our banking partners, we then decided to invest in embedded contactless,” he said.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online

Erin Energy files notice of ‘Removal’ against South Africa’s PIC …seeks transfer of case from New York federal court to Houston DIPO OLADEHINDE.

N

ew York and Johannesburg listed Erin Energy Corporation which legally filed for bankruptcy last month has now​filed a notice of removal against South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) at a US district court in southern district of New York.

BusinessDay communicated with Erin Energy’s lawyer Mathew Okin who noted that Erin and its subsidiaries seek to reorganize their assets and liabilities in pursuant to chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

Erin Energy’s lawyer also maintained his client position in the litigation pending in New York state court that PIC wrongfully interfered with Erin’s loan obtained from Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB).

“The interference by PIC in the MCB loan prevented Erin from paying many of its legitimate creditors and caused much of the current financial distress experienced

by Erin,” Okin told BusinessDay. “We removed the state court lawsuit to federal court because the claims relate to the pending

Foreign Exchange Market

bankruptcy in Houston, we will filed a motion yesterday with the New York federal court asking that court to transfer the lawsuit to Houston in order to have the Houston Bankruptcy Court preside over that lawsuit,” Okin told BusinessDay by Email. The case which is under Judge Denise Cote at the New York state Supreme Court, country of New York with code 650436-2018 was filed on Thursday last week as U.S. court section 1446(b)(1) provides that notice of removal must be filed within “30 days after the receipt by the defendant, through service or otherwise, of a copy of the initial pleading .”

“We believe the Houston Bankruptcy Court is most familiar with the facts and is the court best able to efficiently handle the litigation,” Okin from Texas based law firm told BusinessDay. Notice of removal in court is the changing of a legal case from one court to another, as from a state court to federal court or vice versa based on a motion by one of the parties stating that the other jurisdiction is more appropriate for the case.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online

fgn bonds

Treasury Bills

Spot $/N

I&E FX Window 360.85 CBN Official Rate 305.80

3M

6M

5 Years

10 Years

20 Years

-0.06 12.45

-0.28 13.90

0.06% 13.74%

0.00% 13.57%

0.00% 13.80%

C002D5556

Nigerian smart card maker Epayplus takes N26bn off banks costs Iheanyi Nwachukwu & Micheal Ani

FMDQ Close

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Foreigners squeezed at Lagos airport as immigration imposes $110 Visa-On-Arrival fee IFEOMA OKEKE

F

oreigners coming into Nigeria are currently being squeezed by a new immigration policy, demanding a compulsory 110 dollar fee at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) which has caught many travellers unawares.

The new policy imposes an additional $90 on foreigners arriving the country as Biometric Visa-On-Arrival charge, apart from the visa fees they had already paid in their respective countries before embarking on the journey to Nigeria.

Foreigners were also compelled to pay additional $20 as service charge to the Federal Government through the concessionaire that the service was concessioned to.

A notice pasted at the immigration points at the airport reads “This notice serves to inform you of the commencement of Visa-on-Arrival on the 11th of June, 2018 by the Nigeria Immigration Service. Please note that all visitors will now be enrolled at our point of entries as a pre-requisite for visa issuance and the amount will attract a service charge of $90.”

A visit to the airport yesterday showed several passengers stranded at the immigration counters over inability to pay the compulsory 110dollars. While foreigners who could afford the fee were forced to use their credit cards for the payment of the two sums, others had to call their agents and companies who were to receive them to come to their aid.

South Africans for instance paid the sum of $58 as visa fee for Nigeria in their country, but were still compelled to pay the sum of $90 as biometrics and additional $20 for processing on arrival at Lagos Airport. This also applies to other countries.

Several people have reacted to the new development, stressing

that it is a contradiction to the ease of doing business campaign promoted by the federal government.

The Federal Government has touted its rise in the 2018 World Bank report on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) which placed it 145th position out of 190 countries in the index.

“The government has promised to ensure ease of doing business for foreigners by way of Visa-onArrival. How can the same government impose a sum of 110dollars for biometric Visa-On-Arrival charge and service charge after the foreigners have paid for visas

in their countries?” a travel expert who craved anonymity queried.

Jonathan Lokpobiri one of those whose foreign client was affected by the policy took to his twitter handle.

He wrote, “Does it mean Nigeria now adopts ‘Visa Issuance on Arrival’ Policy like Dubai and other Tourist based economies of the world? Or is this applicable to also foreigners with a valid Nigerian Visa? I hope this is well considered policy of Government as it will surely have a backlash!”

Continues on wwwbusinessday online

L-R: Bashir Ibrahim Hassan, general manager, northern operations, BusinessDay, in a handshake with Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, secretary general, OPEC, in the OPEC’s headquarters, Vienna, shortly after an interaction with secretary on the successful outcomes of the 7th OPEC Seminar and the 174th conference, all held in Vienna, Austria’s capital.

NSE: Market indices reverse negative trend, up by 0.34%

A

ctivities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday reversed t h e s i x- c o n s e c u t i ve days downward movement with important market indices appreciating by 0.34 per cent.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AllShare Index rebounded by 129.59 points or 0.34 per cent to close at 37,992.12, against the 37,862.53 recorded on Friday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation increased by N47 billion or 0.34 per cent to close at N13.762 trillion, compared with N13.715 trillion achieved on Friday.

The market momentum was lifted by Dangote Cement which led the gainers’ table with N5, to close at N230 per share.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria followed with a gain of N1.20 to close at N25.95, while Guaranty Trust Bank added 35k to close at N41.05 per share.

Stanbic IBTC improved by 25k to close at N49, while Unilever also appreciated by 25k to close at N51 per share.

Conversely, Seplat topped the losers’ chart for the day, dropping by N34.20 to close at N650.80 per share. Nestle trailed with a loss of N5 to close at N1, 490 while CAP dipped N1.80 to close at N35 per share. Lafarge Africa was down by 90k to close at N38.10, while Guinness depreciated by 50k to close at N97 per share.

Also, the market volume and value appreciated by 83.83 per cent and 139.16 per cent, re-

spectively. Specifically, investors bought and sold 307.41 million shares valued at N3.42 billion, transacted in 3,822 deals.

This was in contrast with a turnover of 167.23 million shares worth N1.43 billion traded in 3,847 deals on Friday.

United Bank for Africa dominated trading activities, accounting for 43.71 million shares valued at N459.24 million.

Honey Well Flour came second with an account of 16.89 million shares valued at N34.23 million, while Zenith International Bank traded 16.19 million shares worth N418.66 million.

FBN Holdings sold 12.56 million shares valued at N133.72 million, while Sterling Bank exchanged 11.29 million shares worth N15.39 million.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

3

4 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Power sector consistently loses Fresh hope on Lagos cable car as construction begins Q3 2019 1,529mw for over three months S JOSHUA BASSEY

OLUSOLA BELLO

P

ower generation has consistently been losingontheaverage 3,278mwhpoweron daily basis over the past three months, March –May 2018,accordingAdvisoryPower Team document, and there are indicationsthatthesituationwill improve soon.

However, this has had serious implications on the businesses and employment generations cum huge loss of revenue.

During the period under review - on a daily basis - the average power loss is about 1,529.5 megawatts (mw) with its attendant result of huge financial losses to the country. This financial loss every day is estimated to be about N1,658,000,000 .

The abysmal performance of the sector has been attributed to the non-available of gas supply to the power plants.

Ebi Omatsola, former group managing director of Consolidated Oil, has however suggested a way out of

the problem by saying there is need to set target dates to meet power availability to Nigerian households and businesses while gas storage facilities should be encouraged and enhanced, at least 90 days capacity at every power plant for the security of supply.

Other stakeholders who commented on the poor performance of the sector say power plays prominent role in the economic development of the country.

The gas sector in Nigeria they say also needs a driving force that will champion it while operators need virile voice with a common front to forge ahead. They advocate that the huge debt in power sector should be addressed so that gas operators across the country will not be affected due to fund. Debt impedes success in the power industry with multiplier effect on gas.

Meanwhile, heavy manufacturing industries such as cement factories are turning to coal for their power needs because it is readily available, reliable and requires less capi-

tal expenditure to mine amid pipeline vandalism and gas shortages, which jeopardise power generation.

In the last 16 months, local cement manufacturers have been reducing power costs and booting operating profit and capacity utilisation by investment in thermal energy generated from coal. Coal provides a reliable source of power and remains the cheapest source of electricity in the world today. However, coal does not presently contribute to Nigeria’s electricity generation in spite of its abundant deposits in Nigeria.

Against the backdrop of severe shortages in much needed supply of electricity, it is inevitable that Nigeria must move from rhetoric to concrete action in the development and addition of coal-fired electricity to the nation’s electricity supply mix.

Two of the biggest cement markers in Nigeria, Dangote Cement plc and Lafarge plc have been investing massively in coal as source of energy to power its plants.

ix years after it signed an agreement to begin its proposed first commercial cable car transportation system in Lagos, Ropeways Transport Limited says it is closing in on its financials and looking to commence construction work from the third quarter of 2019.

The company’s position comes to renew fading hope on the multi-million project conceived to partly address the trauma that Nigerians go through in crawling gridlocks in the commercial city of Lagos. It is estimated that traffic congestion in Lagos costs the state’s economy a whopping $42 million monthly.

Hope has faded on the project as residents who earlier received the idea with some excitement continue to wait in vain for six years.

“The cable car project is still very much alive. At the moment, the project is in due diligence stage working towards financial close. Barring any unforeseen events, construction should commence in the third quarter of 2019,” Dapo Olumide, managing director, Ropeways Transport Limited, told BusinessDay. The project had been planned as Public Private Partnership

(PPP), as Ropeways signed a 30year agreement with Lagos State government in 2013, to build the transport system at an estimated cost of $500 million.

It was to be partly financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and would create an estimated 500 direct jobs upon completion, with commuters paying between $1.28 and $1.92 per trip, with the capacity to accommodate up to 240,000 trips daily.

Under the agreement, Ropeways would construct towers, stations and connecting network cables along various routes covered in the first phase of the project.

The routes included Ijora – Iddo, Iddo – Adeniji, Apapa – Oluwole, Oluwole – Adeniji, Adeniji – Obalende, Obalende – Falomo, and Falomo – Victoria Island.

Olumide in an interview with BusinessDay in 2016 had linked the delay to a number of factors include securing the right of way, exchange rate and the 2015 electioneering campaigns. He said the company would in July (2016) unveil details of the construction works, which should have commenced in 2015 but had to be shifted due to the general elections and tense political atmosphere in the country at the time.

“You recall that I had an-

nounced we would begin construction in December 2015.

But we could not because of the instability associated with the election year. With that over, came instability in the exchange (naira to dollar). So, we have lost one year. Now we want to see where the naira goes and by July (2016), we will unveil the construction details,” Olumide, former managing director of Virgin Nigeria Airlines, told BusinessDay in 2016.

The cable car would integrate various standard safety features including CCTV monitoring, audio communication links and passenger address systems. It was to complement existing transport modes and would play a major part in reducing congestion by encouraging car owners to ride it as an alternative to putting their vehicles on the roads.

The idea was further supported by statistics from studies conducted by Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority (LAMATA) in 2009, which showed that an additional 200,000 vehicles were registered annually in Lagos State. This equates to 222 vehicles per kilometre of road in Lagos, which by far outweighs the national average of 11 vehicles per kilometre of road, with vehicles estimated to contribute more than 70 percent of the air pollution in Lagos.

2019: US says blackmail, name calling no longer fashionable in politics … as media urged to steer clear of biases RAZAQ AYINLA

T

L-R: Tony Okpanachi, MD/CEO, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN); Shehu Yahaya, chairman; Ijeoma Ozulumba, chief financial officer, and Andrew Alli, director, at the formal opening of the bank’s Lagos office.

Clearing agents embark on indefinite strike at Lagos Airport IFEOMA OKEKE

A

ctivities at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, was yesterday afternoon grounded following the introduction of a new policy by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Lagos Airport Command.

The clearing agents accused the command of tripling charges imposed on them for clearance of consignments.

The clearing agents in their hundreds protested in the open against the directive from Jayne Shoboiki, the Customs Area Comptroller, MMA Command that all consignments must as

from July 13, 2018 be on Form M. The agents insisted that the policy was anti-progress, straessing that some of the consignments could not come with Form M, as they were not major goods.

Chris Nwabuzor, a member of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) at the Lagos Airport, said most of the policies introduced by the Command could not work at the airport as some of their consignments could not fall into the category directed by the command.

Immediately the protest began, Customs at the command locked the long room while the leaderships of the clearing

agents ordered their members to vacate the premises.

As a result of this, clearing agents at the Lagos Airport have commenced an indefinite strike to register their grievances, vowing that they would not resume for work until their grievances were addressed by the command.

Nwabuzor said: “Since this new CAC came onboard, it has been from one crisis to the other. Initially, she claimed that customs introduced new system, which would enhance clearance of cargo at the airport, but with several challenges. In fact, most of the consignments we were supposed

to clear entered demurrage in the process.

“Today again, the command sent out a circular that as from July 13, 2018, which is two weeks from now, all consignments, must be on Form M, which is not possible. Form M are for huge consignments, but some of our consignments do not fall into that category. For instance, if you want to clear a one-kilogramme goods now, it must be on Form M. “Even, at the seaport, car importation and clearance does not fall under Form M. how come goods of just one kilogramme and more will now fall under this category.”

he United States has advised existing and prospective political office holders in Nigeria to steer clear and work against cheap blackmail, name calling and all sorts of personality defamation ahead of 2019 and subsequent general elections, saying socio-economic issues should be the political yardsticks for all polls.

The US, one of the oldest democracies in the world, declared that cheap black, name calling and character defamation were profusely used against President Donald Trump in the build-up to 2016 US electioneering, but Americans were not swayed by negative campaigns and rather voted for Trump as US President.

Speaking at the US Consulate Election Reporting Workshop in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, Joan Mower, director of International Media Training, Voice of America, encouraged Nigerian politicians to focus on issues such as economy, infrastructure, health system and other key socio-economic issues, as campaign of calumny was gradually phasing out all over the world.

Mower, who gave a participant’s account and overview of the US general elections held in 2016 at a session with press men, noted that almost all Nigerians just

like Americans were much more interested in the issues that could attract economic growth and development, and not cheap blackmail and name calling and all sorts of personality defamation that some political parties always resort to before and during electioneering.

“In 2016 general elections in the States which involved Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Americans didn’t focus on the personality, blackmail and all sorts of things people said about Trump, they did focus on issues. In America, people don’t care about personality; they care about issues that was why Trump won.

“In Nigeria too, people are now thinking and talking about key issues and not the personality. If Donald Trump should go to the poll today, he will still win because our economy is doing great right now and issues such as that are coming up in Nigeria.

People are now asking about the health system in Nigeria for instance.”

Also speaking at the workshop, Lai Oso, professor of Mass Communication at Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, stated the polity was hitting up by various biases of different media houses and journalists who were considered as key gatekeepers in news reporting, going by the news they report and broadcast to the public.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

5

6

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

7

8

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

9

10

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

COMMENT

comment is free

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com

Public funds for private profit spells corruption

MAZI SAM OHUABUNWA OFR sam@starteamconsult.com

I

t is certain that the federal government wants to do something to prevent or minimize the clashes between the normal & traditional Fulani cattle herders and farmers. These clashes have been of old and seemed to be inevitable given the traditional way cattle is raised and transported in our country. I believe that was why they created and gazetted grazing routes in those days. Because these grazing routes have either been abandoned or taken over by latter day developments including state creations and demographic changes, the clashes seem to have increased in recent times.

But the clashes remained under control until in the last three years or so, when it seemed to have gone out of control. In my view this has happened because a new group of entrants with weird motives came into the mix-the militant Fulani cattle herdsmen. From the method of operations of this group, it looked like their objectives were or are to steal, kill and destroy farming communities in the predominantly Christian middle belt of Nigeria and to occupy

STRATEGY & POLICY

MA JOHNSON Johnson is a marine project management consultant and Chartered Engineer. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, UK.

S

urprise is one of the principles of war. It is the incidental introduction of the expected, but it wasn’t applied to mislead and mystify Nigerians. The element of surprise was to right the wrong, forge national unity and breakdown the barriers of disharmony in the country. So on June 6, 2018 the unexpected suddenly happened in the nation’s political arena.

This time, politics surprised the great people of Nigeria as it resurrected June 12.

Most Nigerians and indeed the international community were flabbergasted when President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) declared June 12 as a democracy day. Nigerians never expected that the spirit of participatory democracy muffled up in the June 12, 1993 struggle would be resurrected twenty five years after its annulment. Annulling an elec-

their lands, perhaps with intention to extend to the Southern parts of Nigeria. The influence of these murderers and land grabbers have extended to Benue, Nassarawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Plateau, Kogi, Kaduna, Oyo, Ogun, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Delta and Edo States. Matters got so bad that people are killed almost everyday in the last three years and it seemed that our security forces, especially the police are overwhelmed. Our president, who ought to know better than all of us, confirmed repeatedly that many of these militants came from Muamar Ghadaffi’s Libya. This seemed to support Governor Nasir El Rufai’s story that he once had to ‘bribe’ a group of these militants from across the borders to leave Southern Kaduna alone, at least for a season.

Therefore the federal government’s earlier desire to establish grazing reserves; later cattle colonies and now cattle ranches must be directed at minimizing the traditional herdsmen –farmers’ clashes. But will that stop the militants? How will it stop the renegades from Libya and sundry marauders who seem to be exploiting our apparently weak border control to maim and plunder Nigerians with ease? We shall see.

Our current worry is that government seems to be trying to do a supposedly good thing in ways that may be regarded as wrong. We recently read that the federal government has budgeted N179 billion to build clusters of cattle ranches (94 in all) in some states- Adamawa, Benue, Edo, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara .Most

If the government wants to support cattle ranching as it is supporting crop agriculture, then it should direct the herders to the banks including the development banks like the Bank of Agriculture and Bank of Industry. They should design a program for cattle ranchers like the CBN anchor program Nigerians are agreed that the setting up of ranches where pastoralists can raise their cattle instead of open grazing will achieve so much for those genuinely in the cattle rearing business. First is that it will lead to producing healthier cows that will produce more milk and better beef than the current ‘waka-about’ method which generations of herdsmen have used. Secondly, it will create other jobs in the chain- grass growers, veterinary technicians, milk & meat processing plants, veterinary agric extension workers; and transporters who

will move the cattle and the processed milk & beef to the markets- North or South, East or West. Thirdly and perhaps of greatest strategic importance is that it will stop or at least drastically minimize open grazing that often result in cows freely entering into farms and eating up crops and eliciting conflict between the herders and the farm owners.

But it must however be realized that cattle herding or rearing is essentially a private business like farming cassava, yam or millet; trading in textiles, cola nuts or motor-spare parts. Yes it is a traditional forte of the Fulani ethnic group, just as trading in spare parts has become the forte of the Igbo; farming of cocoa and kola nuts the forte of the Yoruba and fishing and fish selling a major occupation of the Ijaw etc. Every ethnic group in Nigeria has its main traditional occupation. Therefore it will be wrong to single out one ethnic group’s occupation or trade and directly budget national resources for its development like building ranches or colonies and choosing where to locate them. If we allow this to go, then the next president may follow suit and this will be creating more tension and division instead of uniting us.

If the government wants to support cattle ranching as it is supporting crop agriculture, then it should direct the herders to the banks including the development banks like the Bank of Agriculture and Bank of Industry. They should design a program for cattle ranchers like the CBN anchor program. That is the way to support private business, otherwise

getting government to directly build ranches for herdsmen will be like using public funds for private gain and that will spell corruption in my eyes. Indeed cattle ranching can just be a business of its own that should attract investors even if they have to incentivized. They would write business plans and provide collaterals to enable them secure loans and they can approach land owners to buy land in any part of the country of their choice as long as the land is available and can be freely negotiated. That is the way Igbo traders go to build their market places all over Nigeria- Idumota, Ladipo & Aspanda in Lagos, Onitsha Main market, Kano central market and Ariara Market in Aba for example. When market stalls are built by local councils or developers they pay rents or buy up the stalls. To treat cattle ranching differently will be discriminatory against other business groups (traditional or modern).What is more, I am told that the real owners of the cattle are very rich Nigerians which include presidents (military & civilian, past and present), governors (past and present), legislators (serving and past), ministers (living & dead), senior public servants (serving & retired). These people can afford to build ranches to promote their businesses for God’s sake. Indeed it will be patently unethical for them to use public funds to further their private interests. Again that smells like corruption in my nose.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

June 12 declaration: A precursor to restructuring? tion regarded by most Nigerians as “free and fair” was a tragedy in the country’s political history.

MKO Abiola of blessed memory, under the banner of the Social Democratic Party was adjudged winner of the election. Election results were unacceptable to powers and principalities at that time.

The struggle by Nigerians to have a democratically elected government after several years of military tyranny was not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, and powers of evil in the political realm. So the military junta annulled the election.

Facts are sacred, they say. Facts don’t lie, people do; and after twenty five years of dalliance with falsehood by powers-that-be, a former military general has institutionalized June 12. The day was declared national public holiday while the winner of the June 12 election, MKO Abiola and a few others, were glorified. PMB also surprised many Nigerians when he rendered an apology for the June 12 atrocities.

But what the federal government has not done, and may likely not do, is to officially release the results of the 1993 elections.

Is the June 12 declaration for the South West alone? No! It’s for Nigeria and Nigerians. The political maneuver created by PMB in his declaration, and Nigerians’ subsequent pleasure from such a proclamation is gradually whittling down. The ricocheting effect of the

June 12 declaration is seen gravitating towards the call for restructuring of the federation by Nigerians. It’s so because Nigerians have learnt their lessons that there is need to separate politics from the main issue. The main issue at the heart of June 12 is nothing but restructuring, some say.

Once again, Nigerians have raised their voices in harmony to support restructuring despite efforts to frustrate and dampen the decibel of their vocal sound. If Nigeria was restructured, it would allow federating units and states to develop at their own pace.

Restructuring will reduce the enormous power at the centre and Nigeria will be a better country for it. Nigeria deserves political restructuring so that the country can progress.

PMB promised political restructuring in 2015. Members of the All Peoples Congress (APC) have come up with recommendations on restructuring. Irrespective of the economic hardship and insecurity pervading the country, PMB should lubricate relevant agencies of the government to commence the process of political restructuring. Political restructuring starts with constitutional amendment.

But will those who have constituted themselves into powers and principalities allow political restructuring?

It’s doubtful. These are men and women of insatiable and romantic quest for power who have constituted themselves into a cabal. They are entrenched forces who benefit immensely from inequity, injustice and imbalance in the polity. These forces

hate true federalism. They prefer the unitary system to enable them reap from where they did not sow. They prefer the “command and control” structure where the federal government has the sole ownership of the feeding-bottle to feed all 36 states and the federal capital territory.

When Nigerians sang the song of “change” with politicians in 2015, they had something in mind. They wanted a change in leadership motivated by choice and desire for a prosperous and egalitarian society.

Nigerians have not forgotten the melody to the song of “change”. A continuation in office beyond 2019 by any politician for that matter will not be forced on the people but earned through strategic, bold and well-thought out vision for the future. The choice for a change or continuity of political leadership belongs to the people, not the government nor the military.

Democracy confers the power on the people to choose leaders of their choice. Whatever the choice made through the ballot box, leaders must surely emerge in accordance to the will of the people. PMB and his colleagues running the show in the APC-led government are hereby reminded that: “Man has three ways of acting wisely. First, on meditation; that is the noblest. Secondly, on imitation; that is the easiest. Thirdly, on experience; that is the bitterest,” according to Confucius. The experience of citizens in the past nineteen years of democratic governance due

to poverty, hunger, insecurity and unemployment in the midst of plenty is bittersweet. Nigerians are willing to deploy their bittersweet experience to determine which direction the pendulum of voting will swing in the next elections.

This writer salutes the courage, boldness and political wisdom of PMB in reconciling Nigerians to Nigeria. But the issue at stake is beyond political fanfare. PMB needs to take a step further by ensuring that the process of true federalism is initiated.

He should summon the courage, exhibit patriotism, ignore all unpatriotic individuals, and groups that are against restructuring and true federal system of government. Patriotic Nigerians pray fervently that the God of creation should direct PMB’s noble cause. While we beseech the Creator to guide our leaders’ right especially in the sea of confusion they’ve plunged the nation.

As politicians of all political hues and parentages prepare for elective offices, our supplication to the Creator is to help them to know the enormity of responsibilities attached to offices they aspire to occupy. We pray for love and honesty to grow, and the ability to live a just and true life worthy of emulation amongst Nigerians. Restructuring is the way forward in order to attain great and lofty heights in nation building, where peace and justice shall reign.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

COMMENT

BUSINESS DAY

11

comment is free

Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com

An investment case for African public water infrastructure

RAFIQ RAJI “Dr Raji is chief economist at Macroafricaintel. He was previously an Africa Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, London, UK. (Twitter: @ DrRafiqRaji)”

O

nly water can be so available and yet so out of reach. The lack of access to clean drinking water has been adjudged one of the greatest causes of poverty in African countries. Water-related illnesses are about 80 percent of all ailments in developing countries. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), only 16 percent of Africans have access to safe pipe-borne water. For one, the 40 billion hours per year invested in collecting water consequently could be put to better economic use. According to the International Water Management Institute, only 7 percent of the total cultivated area of 183 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated. And globally, water is not being replenished as much as it is being used, according to a study

by American space agency, NASA. And most of what is being used is for agricultural production, about 70 percent. Thus, short of drastic measures, water could be short in the not too distant future; for agriculture and indeed other purposes. The potential

EMMANUEL UNAEGBU Unaegbu, an Environmental Protection and Sustainable Energy Expert, writes from Abuja

O

n the 30th May, 2018, I read with excitement the article published in the Daily Trust and written by Chief Robert Usman Audu, a retired federal Permanent Secretary in reaction to my article published by same newspaper on Wednesday 9th May, 2018 titled ‘Is Coal Power Really Cheap’.

I thank the former PS for confirming wide readership of my articles. And I refer the former PS to another of my article ‘Power from coal; at what cost’ published in BusinessDay Newspaper on the 5th February 2018.

In my article “dangers of coal mines for host communities” which the former PS made reference to, my opening statement was ‘coal as a natural resource may have been the pillar upon many countries generated wealth but that was 50 years ago’. So, his claim that I am unaware of the dominant role coal play over the years is completely false.

Yes, like the PS mentioned, power in South Arica, China and India depend hugely on coal, but these coal plants are decades old and are being phased-out. Clearly, the good PS is still decades behind current thinking.Such comparison suggest that the PS will advise

consequences are not just that food may be short, but that wars may be more frequent. To feed a world population expected to breach 9 billion over the next 3 decades, food production must grow by at least 70 percent, studies show. Incidentally, more than half of the world’s uncultivated arable land is in Africa. For that land to become as agriculturally productive as would be needed, it could not just be rain-fed. But even the water that would potentially be used to irrigate it must be made to do much more.

Climate change effects also mean whatever little that is available is fast depleting. Water scarcity is believed to already beleaguer about twothirds of the world’s population.

Nowhere are perhaps the dangers so palpable than on the African continent. Recent droughts in a number of African countries – like Kenya, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and so on – made writ large their vulnerabilities, with food and power supply constrained significant consequently. Incidentally, the elements coincided with shocks in the international commodity market. As some of them are also resource-rich countries, it was a double whammy of sorts. But they could easily be unscathed by these potential shocks, if they weaned themselves of their dependence on weather-vulnerable sources for their electricity and food.

More of Africa’s agricultural production could be irrigated certainly. That is not to say, irrigation is not already gaining ground in a couple of African countries. For instance, data by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) show irrigated land in Tanzania is about 150,000 hec-

The availability and quality of tap water in many African countries is not always reliable and therefore bottled water has become a very large and very profitable business for private investors especially since the required investment is relatively small with potentially large addressable markets with a growing middle class across the continent” tares currently, more than four times the 33,500 hectares that were seven years ago. But this pales in comparison to 29 million hectares more that remain to be irrigated in that country.

Do more with less Regardless, whether in African countries or elsewhere, water usage could be better managed. Google, an American internet company, together with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have developed an open-access database called WaPOR, which relies on satellite data to show how much water is being used or consumed in any part of the world. “Water use continues to surge at the same time that climate change – with increasing droughts and reduc-

ing water availability – is altering and reducing water for agriculture,” Maria Helena Semedo, FAO’s deputy director-general, told Reuters in April.

The information WaPOR keeps is supposed to help governments and farmers better efficiently manage water. Better crop yields and more optimal crop choices are expected benefits. Whatever water is available could be better utilized, though.

There is a lot of wastage currently.

New ways have emerged that would not only make farmers use half of the water they currently use but to also double their crop yields. The problem is that a viable and sustainable business model is needed. Past ones have proved to be inefficient or outright failures, discouraging development organisations and financiers.

Make water investing attractive Water infrastructure has not enjoyed as much attention in most African countries, unlike power, roads and so on. Bizarrely, sachet and bottled water plants are ubiquitous. Why is this the case? “The availability and quality of tap water in many African countries is not always reliable and therefore bottled water has become a very large and very profitable business for private investors especially since the required investment is relatively small with potentially large addressable markets with a growing middle class across the continent,” says Zemedeneh Negatu, global chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, in Virginia, USA. Clearly, the amount Africans spend on sachet and bottled water suggest they would be able to afford to pay for pipe-borne water comfortably. With most Africans expected to live in cities in the near

future and at least ten of the world’s largest cities expected to be African by 2100, the accompanying need for a robust water infrastructure is an attractive investment opportunity. So there is a strong economic case. Even so, private investors shy away from investing in public water infrastructure.

“Private investment in “public tap water” has been very limited because the investment required is big, and unlike bottled water, the selling price is heavily regulated since it is considered public service. Therefore, the profit margins and IRRs are less attractive compared to bottled water,” says Fairfax’s Negatu. Besides, ensuring that the regulated water rates are paid as and when due can be very difficult. So to attract investors, “a strong sponsor or at least a strong and credible buyer of the water who is prepared to pay a decent market price [would be required],” says Andrew Alli, president and chief executive of Lagos-based Africa Finance Corporation, a major African infrastructure investor. And for the off-grid integrated water and power type infrastructure that smallholder farmers need, is there a viable financing model with scale to make it attractive to big ticket investors and yet nimble enough to make it affordable? For any such model, “you will need someone to intermediate the risk of the small holders at least initially [because] it is unlikely that people will invest the necessary capital on the back of the smallholders’ credit risk,” AFC’s Alli concludes.

• This article was first published by Africa investor magazine in late 2017

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

Re: Is coal power really cheap? that I buy a Peugeot 504, because my father had in 1977 bought a Peugeot 504.

Importantly, the PS forgot to mention is that in March, 2016, Scotland closed her last coal fired power station. That coal supplies less than 7 percent of energy mix in the UK. That a host of countries including Ethiopia, Denmark, Canada, Finland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand and Mexico have all committed to phasing out coal power by 2030.

That India in 2017cancelled plans for a 14,000MWcoal fired plant.

That the Chinese energy regulator ordered the suspension of more than 150 coal-fired power projects, with a combined capacity of about 100,000MW. That the people of Australia are standing united in their demand to #StopAdani – a proposed coal power plant in the country.

China that the PS says ‘coal is deeply integrated into the economic development’ is been plagued by hazardous smog and massive air pollution driven by coal combustion. For some cities in China and India, clean air is a status symbol. Schools and hotels offer purified air as part of their luxury portfolio.

Is that what we want for Nigeria? The WHO in 2016 ranked three Nigerian cities as most

polluted cities worldwide. Imagine throwing pollution from coal operations into the mix.

With pop and pageantry, Nigeria on May 16, 2017 ratified its commitment to reduce national greenhouse gas emission by 20 percent ‘unconditionally’. Nigeria’s commitment means that “Nigeria has a great potential for climate smart development.” It then begs the question; how can Nigeria pursue low carbon growth and large scale coal-fired power plant concurrently? Since it is ‘pactasuntservanda’, it means that coal power has to give.

Luckily, Niger ia have not jumped into the coal ocean, so any proposal for Nigeria to scuba dive now is unpatriotic and portends disaster.

Furthermore, I will presume that the former PS has heard of the terrible working conditions miners in South African have had to endure over the years. Nigerian miners have and will endure worse. Iva valley massacre of 1949 is a noteworthy pointer.

Importantly, the problem with coal power generation in Nigeria does not start with the combustion of coal but with irresponsible opencast mining. So I ask, who will pay for the millions that will be required for mining sites reclamation? The Federal Government? The mining companies?

Using the Niger Delta as case in point, research by distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering and Science, Professor Hilary Inyang indicated that the over 2500 polluted sites across the Niger Delta will cost over 50 billion USD over a period of about 5 decades to remediate. The FG in 2016, launched the $1 billion Ogoni land clean up. Such backdoor expense.

So do we want to create another Niger Delta situation – destroyed environment and armed militancy - in Enugu, Kogi, and Gombe states - where we have commercial coal deposits? It is more disheartening considering that after destroying our land, we will run to another UN agency for a forensic study. Another ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ action.

More so, are we ready to deal with uprising that will emanate from host communities demanding ‘the impossible?’ Trying not to sound like a dooms day prophet, but that day will most definitely come. Can Nigeria deal with it?

According to the former PS, ‘the way to go is adoption of coal for an aggressive power generation, starting with 5000 MW plant at Ankpa, Kogi State, 5000 MW plant at Owukpa in Benue State, 5000 MW plant at ObolloAfor in Enugu State, 2500 MW plant at Ashaka in Gombe State and 2500 MW in Keana, Nasarawa State.’

Such skyscrapers without foundation. It is saddening that a onetime policymaker could brandish such unrealistic coal power generation figures. For years, Chief Auduserved in the circle of power, why didn’t he push for just1MW of coal power to be added to our power mix? Same disjointed thinking has kept Nigeria backward and in darkness.

For us in the global south, solar can be our main source of power and not just a supplement.

If the UK (a temperate country) have installed solar capacity of over 12,800MW, Nigeria can do more with average monthly solar radiation of over 290W/m2in many northern states. We have to understand that nature put the sun above us and the coal beneath us for a good reason.

The future of electricity system must achieve four cardinal outcomes; lower emissions, increased security, future reliability and rewarding consumers. Unfortunately, coal power doesn’t meet these criteria.

Thus, the case against coal power has nothing to do with propaganda but science. And it is understandable that emotions flow when the subject of discussion is Nigeria’s electricity situation. Still coal is not the solution.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

12

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Editorial PUBLISHER/CEO

Frank Aigbogun EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie EDITOR Anthony Osae-Brown DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Bill Okonedo NEWS EDITOR Patrick Atuanya EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SALES AND MARKETING Kola Garuba EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Adeola Ajewole MANAGER, SYSTEMS & CONTROL Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Eradicating sexual abuse on our campuses

L

ast week the Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, announced the dismissal of Prof Richard Akindele of the Department of Accounting of the University, for demanding sex to upgrade the mark of a female postgraduate student, Ms Monica Osagie. The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede announced the verdict of the council at a press conference at the university. He said the Senate, as well as the Governing Council of the University found the lecturer liable of all the allegations levelled against him and subsequently ordered his sacking.

According to the Vice Chancellor, “Professor Akindele had an inappropriate relationship with his student, Miss Osagie.

This was established through their conversation in an audio recording; his reply to the query; oral evidence and the printed WhatsApp conversation tendered before the committee. He had acted in a manner that is seen to have compromised his position as a teacher and examiner, in that his conversation with Miss Osagie was about examination scores and inducement of favour for the alteration of examination scores. He offered to change Miss Osagie’s purported 33 percent result to a pass mark in consideration for sexual favours; this was

established in the audio recording which he admitted.”

The university rightly surmised that “Professor Akindele operated in a position of power and authority over Miss Osagie and as such sexually harassed her.”

We commend the university for promptly and transparently investigating the matter and applying the appropriate sanctions prescribed by the laws of the university. That is the least it could do to salvage its image that was on the line over the scandal.

But the university had little option in the matter anyway. The power and ubiquity of social media has ensured that such matters can no longer be swept under the carpet as was previously the case.

Make no mistake about it, sexual harassment in our universities is more widespread than the authorities would admit and they have failed to tackle the problem or lay down stringent rules to prevent its occurrence.

In 2012, a pilot ICPC/NUC University System Study and Review (USSR) of corruption in the university system was undertaken and the review identified a series of infractions including admissions racketeering, misapplication and embezzlement of funds, sale of examination questions, inducement to manipulate awards of degrees, direct cheating during examinations, deliberate delays in the release of results, victimiza-

tion of students by officials, lack of commitment to work by lecturers, and above all, sexual harassment and exploitation of students by lecturers. At the presentation of the report in 2012, the ICPC Chairman, Mr Ekpo Nta, was quoted as saying: “we have uncovered many corrupt practices in our universities.

Sexual harassment seems to rank extremely very high among corrupt practices in our universities. Our report is based on the quantum of petitions we have received on this corrupt practice. We’re emphasizing this because sexual harassment has to do with the immediate challenge we need to address.”

In fact, the rampant cases of reported cases of sexual harassment in our tertiary institution forced the Senate in 2016, to propose a bill, known as the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Education Institution Bill, which prescribes a 5 year jail term for lecturers and educators convicted of sexual harassment of either their male or female students and also ban lecturer-student relationships altogether.

According to the sponsor of the Bill, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, there was virtually no family in Nigeria that does not have someone who had been harassed or approached by a lecturer in an institution of higher learning in Nigeria.

As he puts it: “Indeed there is no family in Nigeria where you don’t find a victim of sexual harassment...

It is either your wife when she was

younger or your daughter, your sister or even a niece who has gone through the tertiary education system at one point or the other...

You will find out that they have had this brush with these lecturers who continue to see these young women as perquisite of their office as lecturers. We feel that is unacceptable.

We have to put a stop to it.”

In the case of Professor Akindele, a perennial sexual predator on campus, Miss Osagie was reported to have reported him severally to the department and his colleagues, but neither the department nor any of his colleagues could do anything to help me until she decided to take her fate in her own hands. It shows the practice is widespread and the university may just be acting because of the negative publicity that followed the release of the tape.

We call on the government and university authorities to do much more than they are currently doing to tackle the menace. A way to begin is to outlaw any form of sexual or romantic relationships between students and teachers in the university and lay down comprehensive sexual harassment codes.

We also call on students who are often powerless and victims of these predators to employ more the instrumentality of social media to expose those sexual predators and rapists masquerading as academics in our universities.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dick Kramer - Chairman Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Albert Alos Funke Osibodu Afolabi Oladele Dayo Lawuyi Vincent Maduka Maneesh Garg Keith Richards Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Sim Shagaya Mezuo Nwuneli Emeka Emuwa Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo

ENQUIRIES NEWS ROOM 08022238495 08034009034 Lagos 08033160837 Abuja

}

ADVERTISING 01-2799110 08116759801 08082496194 SUBSCRIPTIONS 01-2799101 07032496069 07054563299 www.businessdayonline.com The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria.

01-2799100 LEGAL ADVISERS The Law Union

MISSION STATEMENT To be a diversified provider of superior business, financial and management intelligence across platforms accessible to our customers anywhere in the world.

OUR CORE VALUES

BusinessDay avidly thrives on the mainstay of our core values of being The Fourth Estate, Credible, Independent, Entrepreneurial and Purpose-Driven.

• The Fourth Estate: We take pride in being guarantors of liberal economic thought • Credible: We believe in the principle of being objective, fair and fact-based • Independent: Our quest for liberal economic thought means that we are independent of private and public interests.

• Entrepreneurial: We constantly search for new opportunities, maintaining the highest ethical standards in all we do • Purpose-Driven: We are committed to assembling a team of highly talented and motivated people that share our vision, while treating them with respect and fairness. www.businessdayonline.com

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

‘Telematics solution can reduce companies’ operational cost on vehicles, generators by 30% Stories by Daniel Obi Media Business Editor

I

t has been estimated that organisations running their operations largely on generators for electricity and with fleet of vehicles can save up to 30 % cost by the adoption of telematics solutions. Telematics is a branch of information technology which captures at backend the behaviours of autos and electrical engineering, using sensors.

The technology principally assists organisations to gather necessary information about their fleet of vehicles on roads, drivers’ behaviours, generator performances and accuracy of fuel supply and consumption for effective management.

Prior to this period, most companies and individuals applied only tracking method to determine location of vehicles and perhaps switch it off in case theft. But speaking to participants at telematics conference organised by C&I Leasing plc, in partnership with Galooli firm recently in Lagos, the Chief Technical Officer of Galooli, Kim Frazer said tracking business has changed tremendously.

“Telematics has moved from just tracking locations of

vehicles to driver behaviour, fuel consumption monitoring , car engine, behaviour of generators and vehicles. This can be done without being in the vehicle” According to him, telematics solution for fleet of vehicles management and generators is estimated to have saved companies in 27 countries about $300 million in operational cost in the last eight years since the company started deploying the technology. In monitoring the fixed auto and mobile assets, he said it is primarily knowing how the assets are operated and how they have are utilised. “ If it is vehicle we are basically looking at how the vehicle is utilised and operated, how the driver is treating the vehicle , the fuel consumption taking place, is the

driver excessively running the vehicle in idle mode when it is parked, engine efficiency, all the information is captured” The information gathered can be deepened, he said. For instance if there is vehicle accident, the information will be captured as how the vehicle was hit whether on motion or stationary. Telematics gives the manager a lot of information on how to effectively use the resource and condition drivers on how to manage the asset in a cost effective way.

For generator, according to Frazer, it is important to minimise the running cost and get maximum value as it is alternative source of electricity for many companies in Nigeria. He said the technology solution will monitor fuel consumption, maintenance

for effective use.

The solution gives companies the room for prevention rather than reaction. According to him, Galooli recently launched Mobile App solution for vehicles which enables the owners to track their vehicle and perhaps disable the cars from their phone.

Also speaking at the conference, the CEO of C&I Leasing, Andrew Otike Odibi who dwelt on the importance of tracking believed the vehicle efficiency is paramount for a company to meet its objectives and deadlines.

He said C&I Leasing under its subsidiary, Citiracks Solutions which deals on tracking business has reduced waste and saved companies a lot of money from stolen vehicles recovery, fuel consumption and other tracking activities.

BUSINESS DAY

13

Soklin brand rewards trade partners with all-expense paid trip to Russia 2018 World Cup

S

o Klin, detergent brand recently rewarded outstanding distributors with exciting prizes, including all-expense paid trip to Russia 2018 World Cup, for top ten distributors, to join other Nigerians in Russia to support Nigerian Team – The Super Eagles which is taking on Argentina today in a decisive match.

In a send-forth reception organized for the high performing Distributors at the Pearlwort Hotel & Suites, Central Business District, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, recently, the Head of Operations for Euro Mega Atlantic Limited (the Distribution company for So Klin), Manuel UY, recounted that “ the Russia 2018 World Cup is indisputably the biggest sporting event in the world this year. We didn’t want to lose out on the passion and frenzy associated with a sporting spectacle of this magnitude.

Hence we desired to give our

Top Ten Distributors a World Cup experience that will be memorable. They remain “our backbone partners” and we are committed to keeping our word to them”.

According to Manuel “ahead of this event, we had instituted a 4-Level faceted promotion/competition for our distributors between January and April, 2018, tagged, ‘Go For Gold’ and tied to the Russia 2018 World Cup tournament.

Apart from the all-expense paid trip for our Top Ten winners, several other categorized winners will go home with business support tools like panel vans, multi cabs and tricycles”.

Also speaking at the event, the Head of Marketing (Soklin), Abimbola Alabi, added that the company is seizing this platform to reinforce the premium quality of the So Klin brand and its unflinching integrity in delivering on its’ promise.

L-R: Manuel UY,Head Euro mega atlantic nigeria limited; Kamalu Musa Al-Hassan,Baban abu shehu & sons company So Klin distributor;Ifeyinwa Arinze, E-Mekar nigeria resources and Abimbola Alabi,head marketing SoKlin,during the So Klin Russia 2018 Go for Gold send forth reception for distributors in Lagos.

We prepare students on how to develop marketing, business plans -Ragusa Antonio Ragusa, the founder of Rome Business School, established in 2011 with headquarters in Italy but branches in over 40 countries was in Nigeria recently for some business meetings and strategic partnerships. He spoke to BusinessDay on the importance of such business school to equip organisations and nations’ managers for the challenges of global era.

Why are you in Nigeria this time? e are holding business meeti n g s . To d a y , business is global and we want to find a way to help students all over the world to be ready for the global challenge. Though we are still young but we grew very quickly. We established the school in Nigeria a year ago. We have also started some programmes in Abuja.

In Rome, a lot of students come to us from Nigeria and this adds to culture experience. We have students from over 140 countries. Nigeria is a special country. You have incredible resources. Though, there is great focus on oil but the country is doing amazing things with incredible human

W

resource. Rome Business School is our contribution to help Nigeria to be not only the giant of Africa but the giant of the world.

In 7 years, you have grown very phenomenally, what else is driving the expansion?

It is basically quality and customer centricity. We are really in education business to help our students and make them grow. Usually when a student attends any programme, the student is looking for two basic things – very good and practical education which goes beyond the theoretical approach of any university and a support for entrance into the job market. We do our best to deliver these two very important resources. We give

absolute education which is practical so that when our students complete the programme, they could have the skills companies really need.

All over the world, what universities do is to give a lot of literature and theories which is good but then, students upon graduation need to prepare marketing and business plans. We therefore fill this gap between pure academic work and job market. Secondly we help them to start a professional career or to grow in their career if they are already working. However, quality is the key factor and customer centricity.

With importance of business schools, how much then would you attribute Africa’s poor development to absence of business schools

early enough in the continent?

Lack of managerial education is one of the factors that make growth slow. People are talented but education is not so advanced in so many situations. We operate in many

Antonio Ragusa

countries in Africa and our approach is to give our students the most advanced business experience everywhere in the world. Managers globally need to embrace education especially from business schools in order to advance the economy. Managers also need to invest in themselves because with advanced knowledge you can increase the speed of growth for the business and community as well. We are here to serve the business community in Nigeria bringing some of our European experiences but also appreciating and giving value to the experiences that are domiciled in the region.

We are Italian business school but we are not saying we know everything, but we have the vision of taking the best expe-

riences in the world including Africa and giving students the best possible knowledge.

You established Rome Business School in other countries on partnership basis but in Nigeria it is a fullfledged arm of Rome Business School, what informed this decision?

This is a combination of two factors. Firstly it is by destiny. Since the beginning of activities of the school in Rome, we have many Nigerian students and this deepened the love for the country.

Secondly when I came into Nigeria for the first time, I immediately saw that Nigeria has incredible potentials. It is a country where education can bring special value in line with our motto ‘Better managers for better role’.

14

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Marketing&Pr

‘We are igniting conversation on contemporary marketing issues at 2018 MarketingEdge Summit’

John Ajayi is the publisher of MarketingEdge Magazine who also organises annual National Marketing Summit and Awards. The 2018 summit holds in Raddisson Blu, Ikeja on July 6. In this interview, Ajayi spoke on a number of issues in marketing and this year’s summit. Excerpts What should stakeholders expect from this year’s National Marketing Summit and Awards? s we make preparations for the 6th edition of the National Marketing Stakeholders Summit and Brand & Advertising Awards of Excellence, stakeholders in the Integrated Marketing Communications in Nigeria should expect eventful and far enriching marketing activity. We intend to organize a very robust marketing summit that will ignite a fresh conversation on contemporary marketing issues that have become very latent in terms of marketing management and the management of marketing business. The theme for this year’s National Marketing Summit, ‘Marketing Paradigms in the Age of Digitalization’ is a theme that is so dear to our hearts; it is a theme that is so fundamentally germane to current market challenges and all the tasks that presently confront marketing executives or CEOs. To God be the glory, we have a line-up of highly cerebral industry intellectuals and industry gurus that have been tested and trusted to provide the right compass in charting a very robust, highly enlightened direction for players in marketing services business.

What are the highlights of this year’s award that will distinguish it from previous years and will make it superlative, just like you have said?

Yes, as it is characteristic of MARKETING EDGE, this year’s event is planned to be a wow endeavor in the sense that we have the morning session which is going to be specially dedicated to igniting contemporary conversation about what really troubles marketing and advertising busi-

A

John Ajayi

ness in Nigeria. You will agree with me that the topic cannot be timelier than now when consumers are battling with low purchasing power and, of course, the brand owners are currently facing very stiff opposition in terms of product patronage as a result of low consumer purchasing powers that has resulted advertently or inadvertently in inventories. So; we will be looking at the changes that are at the root of this kind of unpalatable marketing disequilibrium in the real market out there, at this point in time when the world is already in the digital age.

What are the other changes that have not been fully explored, or that have not been fully understood by the manufactures or the brand owners?

This forum is going to provide the platform for the rubbing of minds; it is going to provide a platform for possible solutions that can enable the brand owners to have a meeting point with the consumers so that business can be more mutually rewarding both to the brand owners and to the consumers and, at the end of the day, it becomes a win-win game.

LG says eco-friendly innovative products help promote healthy living

L

G Electronics says it has established a track record of producing eco-friendly appliances, air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators and other related products designed to help users reduce energy consumption.

“Eco-friendly products are products that do not harm the environment whether in their production, use or disposal stages. These products help to preserve the environment by significantly reducing the pollution they could possibly produce.

Consumers should be aware that eco-friendly products can be newly developed or from recycled materials that eventually become brand new products. Eco-friendly products are also known as environment friendly products or green products, the

good thing about them is they cause little or no harm to consumers and the environment at large. There is a clarion call for organizations to begin to factor this into their line of production to ensure a safe and healthier environment”.

As a global technology leader, LG says it offers a range of innovations designed to counteract a number of major environmental threats. “The company is at the forefront of the ongoing revolutions in renewable

power, increased energy efficiency and environmentally-friendly production. LG is actively involved in the communities it operates in, by raising the standards of living of consumers within the communities with its innovative products”.

Managing Director, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Taeick Son said in a statement: “We in LG are fully committed to having more of Greenhouse products to protect the environment from hazardous impact which could spell doom for families.

We have deliberately adopted it as a policy which means, at every strata of production, we are conscious of the fact that the environment must be kept safe and that is what LG Electronics stands for by promoting sustainable and healthy environment.”

What is the ideology behind the marketing summit and awards?

Right from when we started the MARKETING EDGE magazine initiative, we said to ourselves why are we going into the publication of this special magazine? Why are we involved in this thankless job of brand journalism? But we realized that marketing and advertising reportage in Nigeria had been at a very low and infant stage in Nigerian journalism. When we pioneered this new initiative in brand journalism, we told ourselves what we want to do is to promote the brand idea. The MARKETING EDGE initiative has always been to promote the brand idea. So, in 10 years, we promoted the brand idea through regular publication of MARKETING EDGE as a leading national marketing magazine in Nigeria. The National Marketing Summit, like I said, is aimed at bringing together all players in the Integrated Marketing Communications for contemporary conversation at regular intervals on contemporary challenges that they may be facing in whatever form. And, as for the Brand & Advertising Awards of Excellence, we initiated this as an extension, a brand extension of the publication initiative. It is like a brand extension in celebrating the brands, identifying the players, who are the brains behind the brands, which brands are market makers, and of course, we said that it is not enough to just write stories about brands, let us appreciate the brands that are performing, let us also appreciate and celebrate the brains.

Could you shed more light on why you chose the theme, ‘Marketing Paradigms in the Age of Digitalization’?

Before I go to that, let me further

say that as an addition to the award initiative and the marketing summit, MARKETING EDGE will soon debut on TV. We are going to have a weekly half hour programme on Television Continental (TVC) any moment from now as part of our efforts to continue to initiate, innovate, invent, re-invent for people and players involved in integrated marketing services. Now, on the topic, ‘Marketing Paradigm in the Age of Digitalization’ is a highly innovative topic that deserves a special attention and focus. It is timely and contemporarily debatable and highly conversational. In those days, we used to have a sellers’ market; a sellers’ market used to be where the product owner comes to the market with any kind of goods whether good or bad; good quality or low quality, and they offered them to the consumers who, of course, had very few choices. As society evolves, we have graduated to the buyers’ market.

In the age of the buyers’ market, there are a plethora of products, brands that are there calling for consumers’ attention and patronage. It has become the age of competition, the age of real business, the age of real marketing and to actually achieve results, having exercised, having practicalized, having managed and experimented with different marketing approaches, marketing strategies, deploying the different elements in the mix, competition continues to grow in a very geometric way in the marketplace.

As competition grows, there comes with it a lot of dynamics; it is these dynamics that is impacting and affecting the achievement of marketing objectives of most marketing and corporate communications.

Noah’s Ark appoints Ekeno Eyo as Chief Operating Officer

N

igeria’s creative powerhouse, Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, has appointed Ekeno Eyo as the new Chief Operating Officer of the agency. With this appointment, he will be responsible for the agency’s brand management functions and general operations with added responsibilities across the Group.

With experience spanning over 19 years in Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Product Management, Public Relations as well as brand management on both client and agency side, Eyo’s key task is to consolidate on the successes of the wave-making agency as it embarks on a new decade in its trail-blazing journey.

Prior to this appointment, he

had worked at Hygeia where he was responsible for providing strategic direction in the company’s corporate business drive, distributing healthcare services to corporates and SMEs. In 2013, he joined Hygeia as Head, Corporate Communications and rose to become Head of Marketing and Corporate Business.

In 2000, he had worked at Dunlop Nigeria where he climbed the ladder from Relationship Manager to Group Product Manager.

Having garnered experience from the client side, he crossed to the agency where he was appointed as Brand Director at DDB Lagos before going on to pitch his tent with Bates Cosse where he was Director of Business Development & Strategy.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

BUSINESS

COMPANIES & MARKETS

DAY

15

CWG looks to increased growth on scaling out existing services

Pg. 16

Co m pa n y n e w s a n a ly s i s a n d i n s i g h t

LASACO Assurance positions for increased market share …pays 4kobo dividend Modestus Anaesoronye

U

nderwriting firm, LASACO Assurance Plc said it is strategically positioning opportunities in the market, to increase its market share, while promising its shareholders greater reward for their investment.

“We are strategically repositioning in new products development to harness the newly identified market potentials. This is expected to increase our market share and enable us operate more efficiently and profitably.”

Aderinola Disu, chairman, made the remark at its 38th Annual General Meeting in Lagos, where shareholders got 4 kobo dividend and with promise of better futures ahead.

She said LASACO Assurance will sustain its proactive steps to shore up its identity and improve its positioning in the market.

“Our emphasis on ease of doing business will increase as we continue to focus on critical market.”

Looking at the Compa-

ny’s financials, Disu stated that the company recorded a Gross Premium Income of N6.6billion for the year ended December 31, 2017. This rep-

resents a 10 percent growth over premium recorded in 2016.

The net underwriting income increased 105 percent

A

Similarly, the underwriting profit increased by N1 billion from N235 million achieved in 2016 to N1.2 billion in 2017.

L-R: Olakunle Alake, director, Dangote Flour Mills Plc ; Halima Aliko Dangote executive director, commercial, Dangote Flour Mills Plc; Aisha Ladi Isa, company secretary/legal adviser, Dangote Flour Mills Plc; Asue Ighodalo ,chairman, Dangote Flour Mills Plc; and Thabo Mabe, group chief executive officer, Dangote Flour Mills Plc, during the 12th annual general meeting of Dangote Flour Mills Plc, held in Lagos on Friday, June 22, 2018.

AFC emerges champion of Finance Awards FC President and its leadership has been bestowed the champion of finance awards. These awards are given to those individuals whose lifetime contributions to finance and the EMEA region have demonstrated excellence and provided an impactful result for shareholders and clients alike.

Additionally, the Corporation received recognition in EMEA Finances Achievement Awards 2017 for success in accessing international capital markets. The Corporation won the following accolades: Best Supranational Bond, Best Supranational Sukuk, and Best Supranational Borrower.

Andrew Alli, who has served as Africa Finance Corporations President and CEO since 2008, was awarded the Champion of Finance Award for his outstanding achievement in, and lifetime contribution to, the field of Finance, and for

from N1.9 billion in 2016 to N3.9 billion in 2017, largely due to a decrease in the unearned premium income and reinsurance cost.

relentless contributions to the sustainable development of Africas infrastructure. This is demonstrated through projects that have transformed the continent, particularly in countries that traditional investors have typically shied away from.

Andrew has previously worked for organisations International Finance Corporation, Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers), that have reflected and built on his driving passions: To use financial innovation and expertise to develop Africa and to unlock the continents vast and unrealised potential, and to build African financial institutions that can effectively deliver that focused investment. He has concentrated on delivering this during his term leading Africa Finance Corporation.

Under Andrew Allis leadership, AFC has, over the last ten years, evolved from a $1 billion start-up into an institution that

is a powerful force on the continent with a balance sheet of $4.2 billion. It currently has a membership of 20 countries, an A3 Credit rating by Moodys Investor Services (the second highest rated African lending institution), and has invested in various capacities in the following landmark African projects: The 1,786MW power joint venture with Harith General Partners - Anergi Holdings, which provides electricity to 30 million people across 5 countries in Africa.

The $205 million project to develop Alufer Minings Guinea-Conakry high grade bauxite reserves, the largest investment of its kind to take place in the country following the 2014 Ebola crisis that brought the countrys economy to a standstill. With bauxite accounting for up to 30 percent of the countrys exports, the impact to the population of this investment is tremendous.

Operating expenses for the year reduced by 28 percent from N2.4 billion in 2016 to N1.7 billion in 2017.

The Profit before tax for the year however reduced by 25 percent from N1.1 billion achieved in 2016 to N854 million in 2017. And this according to the company was due to the 80 reduction in other income.

Total Assets reduced from N19 billion in 2016 to N18 billion in 2017 while the Shareholders’ Fund increased

by N300 million from N7.85 billion in 2016 to N8.15 billion in 2017. On his part, the Managing Director/CEO, Segun Balogun, promised that the company will continue to work to ensure that it gives positive returns on investment to shareholders while hoping that his company can declare improved dividend in the upcoming 2018 financial year and years to come.

He also assured its teeming policyholders nationwide of improved service delivery as well as payment of genuine claims as and when due, urging Nigerians to subscribe to the policies of the company to get value for money.

Firm expands Nigeria’s energy drink market, introduces Mamba product DanIEL Obi

E

nergy drink, Mamba has officially been unveiled into the Nigeria’s energy drinks market. The launch comes about two years after the energy drink brand was first introduced to the Nigerian consumers.

The official unveiling of Mamba Energy Drink recently held in Lagos also signalled the commencement of a series of marketing and promotional activities to aggressively position the brand as a foremost energy drink in Nigeria in the next one year.

According to Titilola Adedeji, general manager of Mamba Dr inks Limited, maker of the product, said

it has been carefully and expertly formulated exclusively for the Nigerian and A f r i ca n c o n su m e r s. Sh e also hinted that Mamba is configured to align with the lifestyle choice of healthconscious consumers, because it is low on caffeine and taurine content.

“Mamba Energy Drink is more than just the typical energy drink. It contains Citric Acid, an oxidant which enhances skin tissue regeneration, smoothness and perfection. It is also healthy due to reduced caffeine and taurine content with increased Vitamin B” she said Hinting on the competition in the marketplace, Adedeji said “we want to be very strategic and creative in our brand management approach such that establishing our brand’s

identity in both the conscious and the subconscious of the average Nigerian energy drink consumers will be easy to achieve”.

Also present at the launch was the Managing Director/ CEO of Mamba Drinks Limited, Ayo Ojuroye, who explained that Mamba was the first energy drink formulated exclusively for the African consumer. He also explained that the official launch of the brand was delayed because of the need to test the market and lay a solid foundation for sustainability of the product.

“We wanted to be sure that this is a product that is going to have sustainability, because there have been lot of players that have come in and gone.

We believe this is the right time to officially launch the product” he said.

16

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

COMPANIES & MARKETS

CWG looks to increased growth on scaling out existing services

C

WG Plc is optimistic of increased growth and better returns to shareholders in the years ahead, as firm plans to scale out the existing service platforms. This is the strategic focus of the company in 2018 and going forward.

Its existing platforms include, ATM as a Service, BillsNPay, IGR Platforms, Mobile Banking Services, Financial Service Payment Security Solution and our ERP solution for SMEs. Philip Obiora, chairman of the Company who disclosed the future plans of the firm at its 13th Annual General Meeting of the Company in Lagos said it has expanded the scope of the services available on some of her platforms like the bills and pay, which is now capable of providing airtime venting services.

“We have also enhanced our partnerships with various level of government to use our IGR platforms, thereby solving one of the biggest headaches that

our government has-Revenue generation.”

“We are very optimistic that our platforms when fully adopted would position the company to become a preferred platform provider, out of Africa.”

Obiora stated that the company, albeit slowly has continued to make progress in launching its platform and subscriptions services across the five vertical sectors of the business.

“The company has signed new platform contracts with some partners, some of which has started generating monthly revenue by Q3 2018.We also saw significant adoption of some of our services, especially in the mobile financial and vending platforms. We have partnered with some major players in financial and telecommunication sectors to provide unique offerings to their end customers on a revenue share agreements.”

“Our Smart Meeting platform gained significant market mindshare through strategic

L-R: Amina Oyagbola (Immediate past HR executive MTN); Ngozi Adebiyi (managing partner Outside-In HR); Victor Famuyibo (managing partner Nevitt Consulting); Pai Gambe (HR director Nigerian Stock Exchange NSE) and Tolu Agiri (HR director Interswitch) at the presentation of HR People Magazine Award for HR Lifetime Achievement to Victor Famuyibo at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos recently.

engagements other Government Electrification initiatives.

We are confident that the investments and efforts put into the platform business will begin to yield a significant return in the 2018 financial years.”

On financial performance, he said the group ended the 2017 financial year with revenue of N8.3 billion, which is slightly lower than the previous year’s revenue, but with a much healthier gross margin at 30 percent.

James Agada, group chief executive officer/CEO in his remark said in the current year will be geared towards scaling and monetizing as many of our experiments as are feasible; restoring the confidence and support of our customers and OEM partners for our traditional service and product sales.

“We expect to achieve significant scale for our Gaming Management platform for instance with at least five states coming on board in the New Year. We also expect to gain traction in the Smart Metering market with the new Government Policy.”

FCMB Bank UK expands proposition to personal, business banking ICT University sets up e-learning

I

ndividuals and Business Enterprises who seek to transact their banking services between Nigeria or other African countries and desire to maintain a banking relationship in the City of London now have the opportunity to do so.

FCMB Bank (UK) Limited recently obtained a variation of its banking permission to include retail (investments) services. The permission was granted by the Prudential Regulation Authority and became effective on the 8thof June 2018.

Based on this approval, FCMB Bank (UK) Limited is now able to extend the level of excellent banking services to its Corporate and Institutional Customers currently receive to high Net Worth Individuals (HNWI)

and Small and Medium Business Enterprises.

James Benoit, chief executive officer of the Bank said “This approval and extension of services is a major achievement which will enable the Bank deliver its promise of being the Corporate and Private Bank for Africanoriented entrepreneurs, investors and professionals across all their banking needs. The Bank will be expanding its premises and entering into partnerships with Fintech providers to open up service options to our clients and enhance their overall banking experience.”

BC Achary, chief risk officer of the Bank advises, “With the extension of its services, the Bank is able to receive deposits from both customer segments

as well as provide them bank loans to enable them meet their financing needs. The deposit products on offer include current, notice savings and fixed deposit accounts at competive rates; while its lending products include Buy-to-Let Mortgage Loans enabling target customers to acquire a piece of London and purchase property to include in their investment portfolios.”

Ladi Balogun, CEO of FCMB Group Plc added, “Our successful UK platform has proven to be of great importance to the Nigeria stockbroking and international trade finance activities of FCMB Group. Leveraging our deep networks in Africa’s biggest economy, the importance of a London presence

to many of our Personal and Business banking customers, and technological innovation, we welcome this opportunity to meaningfully serve more of our customers and grow the value of our UK franchise.”

The Bank has completed arrangements to formally launch its Personal and Business Banking proposition on the 19th July, 2018 in London and subsequently on 31st July, 2018 in Lagos.

Stella Okuzu, head, Personal and Business Banking explained, “As a customer-centric business, both events will enable the Bankto meet with prospective customers, share the Bank’s Personal and Business Banking proposition and obtain firsthand feedback on their banking needs and requirements”.

SKDC Global plans entrepreneurs hunt in Nasarawa

D

etermined to open w indows of opp o r t u n i t i e s’ f o r budding entrepreneurs in Nasarawa State and beyond, SKDC Global Links Limited, an emerging markets and events company has slated the maiden edition of the Nasarawa Entrepreneurs Summit (NES). The event is scheduled to hold July 20 at the state capital.

Stella Ajige, the project coordinator said the summit would provide the platform for entre-

preneurs to attend the crucial entrepreneurship seminar that would hold as part of the summit.

Additionally, participants would also have the opportunity of exhibiting their goods and services to an audience of over 2,000. She added that invited headline speakers will include distinguished experts engaged in small and medium business development.

Ajige stressed that the NES will further bring the smartest ideas and entre-

preneurial spirit of start-ups, innovation hubs, established SMEs together with government, policy makers, industry leaders, consultants and experts. “This unique audience has the influence and intelligence to power faster social and economic development, create collaborative opportunity and stimulate business growth.”

Armed with a mandate to identify barriers and challenges entrepreneurs’ face, the summit will proffer tangible business

leeway to enable entrepreneurs seek innovative solutions like learning effective leadership communication skills, how to grow a business, the power of networking, influencing government policy and getting funding access towards expanding opportunities for all small business players.

Beyond participating in the summit, the exhibitions will feature fascinating sights and sounds of Nasarawa - Tourism sites/products/economic assets; cultural and heritage exhibitions.

centre in Abia Poly GODFREY OFURUM

T

he ICT University Foundation, Louisiana, United States of America, has donated and installed e-learning computer systems in the ICT Centre of the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, in the firstphase of its collaboration with the institution.

Consequently, Abia Poly students can now take lectures online from anywhere within the campus, whenever a lecturer is online-real-time.

Another good thing about the system is that the lecture is recorded and left in the archive for 3 days, so students, who missed a class, can recall the lecture from the archive.

Victor Mbarika, a professor and president, ICT University, Louisiana, while commissioning the e-learning management system, revealed that ICT University will provide technical support to Abia State Polytechnic, as well as training and retraining of staff and students of the institution.

He stated that about 140 staff, including academic staff of the institution have already been trained, stressing that training will continue.

According to him, “Training has started and would continue.

The beauty of the system is that it was built for the 3rd world countries. With a simple sim-card,

students can access the system.

Mbarika explained that the project was not financed from contributions from several stakeholders in the United States, Europe and other parts of the world.

In his words, “We have funding organizations that support us, to promote high quality education in the developing world, which is our mandate.

“We have been mandated to develop 30 of this system in the developing world, in the next two years and Nigeria alone, has received 8 of the 30”.

He also revealed that the ebooks for Abia State Polytechnic have arrived, while the server is being installed.

He stated that with the ebooks, students and lecturers of the institution, would have access to hundreds of thousands of textbooks to download.

According to him, “They don’t need to enter this library to do that. They can download it from any part of this campus with their laptops and mobile phones.

“If there is any textbook that you want that is not included at the moment, call us and we will upgrade it”.

He explained that the ICT University Foundation donated 25 computers systems, a server for the e-library, a data centre in the US, totaling $250,000 investment in Abia State Polytechnic, stressing that the goal of the foundation is to ensure that the collaboration works.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

17

COMPANIES & MARKETS Meristem Securities creating sustainable wealth for value hunters Modestus Anaesoronye

I

nvestors looking for good returns, security of funds and sustainable growth will find a good ally in Meristem Securities Limited. In over fourteen years of operations, Meristem Securities Limited has proven that it is a true, reliable and preferred partner for financial services.

Driven by experience and professionalism, Meristem as a capital market conglomerate offers a wide range of financial services that provide investors with optimum maximization of wealth, even in the midst of economic and financial uncertainties.

Today, Meristem ranks among top 10 capital market players in Nigeria and is one of the few thriving non-bank affiliated players.

Meristem Securities Limited is a limited liability company licensed as an Issuing House and Broker/Dealer by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Meristem Securities Limited consists of five subsidiariesMeristem Capital Limited; offering financial & Investment Advisory, as well as Issuing House functions, Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, Meristem Registrars & Probate Services Limited, Meristem Wealth Management Limited, and Meristem

Trustees Limited.

Meristem has a reputation for professionalism in all dealings, good customer service delivery, a culture of integrity and in-depth market research, with strong capital base of N3.4 billion in issued share capital.

Meristem Securities has 7.08 times grown its asset under management over the last five years, translating into cumulative average growth rate of 148 percent.

Its tenacity for effective risks management is topmost in her investment decisions, and this forms an integral part of her investment manag ement process which applies to all mandates.“A robust approach to risk management driven by our IT platforms, allows us to manage and continuously improve the quality of risk control across all mandates.”-Sulaiman Adedokun, the Deputy Group MD of Meristem Securities Limited This is possible because, the team of risk managers and compliance officers provide a two-level control system which ensures that mandate guidelines and portfolio restrictions are fully adhered to by portfolio managers.

Its products and services are unique and distinctive solutions geared specifically towards clients’ investment objectives as opposed to pre-designed/generic prod-

ucts that minimally cater to each client’s peculiar needs.

Led by Wole Abegunde, the Group Managing Director, Meristem is well positioned to support value hunters in the financial services industry to maximize value in their investment, with choice of platforms and products that is managed by experienced professionals.”

Wole Abegunde, who brings to the Board his w idespread knowledge and experience in the capital and money market, has traversed different sectors,including manufacturing, banking and the capital market. He has held positions in Brand Management, Credit Appraisal, Fund Management, Stock Broking and Capital Issues.

He was General Manager of Investment Centre Limited, a subsidiary of Broad Bank Limited and worked with NAL Bank Plc from where he joined Meristem Securities Limited.

Some key success factors, which drive Meristem Securities’ value proposition include disciplined investment management process; insightful support from research team; diversified approach towards portfolio construction; excellent service delivery platform and systems; extensive Risk Management Framework as well as commitment to maintaining client confidentiality.

Business Event

L-R: Karen S. Carter, chief inclusion officer, The Dow Chemical Company; Heinz Haller, president of Dow Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI); Nkemdilim Begho, founder, Future Software Resources Ltd; Tony Groosman, general manager, Dow Chemical West Africa and Craig Arnold, president, Dow Sub-Saharan Africa; during Dow West Africa’s 5th Anniversary Business Breakfast Session held in Lagos.

Eileen Shaiyen, founder/CEO, H. Pierson Associates receiving a plaque from the RIMAN president, Jude Monye, after her paper presentation on the topic ‘Managing Risk in Emerging Economies’ at the just concluded Risk Managers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) International Conference, held at Eko Hotels & Suites, V.I. Lagos.

BBC TV out with new programme for young Africans

“

W

hat’s New?” an exciting weekly TV programme BBC News, for young people in Africa has been launched.

Aimed at 11-16 year olds, the show is an informative, entertaining and fun programme which will keep young people up to date with what’s happening in the world they live in.

Nisha Kapur, BBC Commissioning Editor, said: “What’s New? is for and about young people across Africa. It gives them the chance to find out more about the world in a fresh and energetic way. “ What’s New? will include three regular segments each week: Behind the headlines: This segment explores a story which has featured regularly in the news and will fully explain through graphics and films what the story

is about.

The big interview: A weekly interview with a celebrity - or someone who is making the news in Africa. This will include musicians, artists, authors and many others.

‘My Story’: What’s New? gives young people a chance to tell their own stories about their lives, school and what they enjoy doing.

Co-presenters Debula Kemoli and Ben Hunte will bring their own infectious style to What’s New? Debula Kemoli said: “There are many stories young people want to share, I can’t wait to tell them all.”

Ben Hunte said: “I’ve wanted to become a BBC presenter since I started watching TV! I’m now living my dream.”

The programme will be presented from an immersive virtual studio where stories will

be brought to life in a fun and engaging way using the latest VR technology.

What’s New? will engage younger viewers with events in Africa and the wider world, through specially commissioned features, such as: Fake news and Reality Check for Kids What’s New? will help the audience distinguish between trustworthy news stories and sources, and fake content that is being shared online. We will also expose misleading facts and figures which distort the reporting of a story.

The Conversation This regular series will explore topics that children are talking about. What’s New? will get groups of young people talking to each other, focusing on areas that they might find hard to discuss with adults.

With What’s New? You’ll never miss out!

L-R Tobechukwu Nkemdilim Okigbo, corporate relations executive MTN Nigeria; Lynda SaintNwafor, chief enterprise business officer, MTN Nigeria, Adekunle Adeniji , sales and distribution executive, MTN Nigeria, at the Live viewing of the Nigeria- Iceland match at the MTN head office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

L-R: Bimbola Wright, head, coverage and corporate banking, FBNQuest Merchant Bank; Akande Abisola Wasilat, Student; Oni P.E, Principal, Girls Secondary Grammar School, Ikoyi and Abosede Onakoye, Director, Eti Osa School Support Unit, District 3 at the career counseling session which took

18

BUSINESS DAY

Tips & Talking Points

Harvard Business Review TALKING POINTS

When your boss criticizes your direct report, don’t protect them

A History of Women in Medicine 40%: Women have comprised 40% or more of U.S. medical students for the past 25 years, according to a report from the Association of American Medical Colleges. + Bias in Performance Reviews Is Overlooked 57%: According a survey conducted by the NeuroLeadership Institute at its management summit, 57% of managers said they were not taking steps to address bias in performance evaluations. + Activism Sells Two-thirds: Research from Sprout Social revealed that two-thirds of consumers want companies speak out on social and political issues. + The Impact of a Mobile Ad 1.7 seconds: On average, people spend 1.7 seconds viewing a mobile ad that appears in social news feeds. + Innovation Is Key 80%: Studies from consulting firm Maddock Douglas found that 80% of executive view new products and services as essential to company success.

I

t might be tempting to try to protect your employee from negative feedback that comes from above. Maybe you allow behaviors or work styles that bother a senior executive because you know they’re not standing in the way of performance. But if your boss has complained to you about something your subordinate does, don’t let the situation fester. The ongoing tension could affect your relationship with the boss and hinder your subordinate’s career prospects. To address the situation, make sure you understand precisely what your boss doesn’t

like. Ask focused questions to identify the issue.

Then share that feedback with the employee — in detail. Don’t sugarcoat it. You might need to give specific recommendations, like when to arrive for a meeting or how to write a certain kind of email. Make it clear to your employee that your intention is to help them improve their image in your superior’s eyes — and that it’s in their best interests to do so.

(Adapted from “What to Do If Your Boss Doesn’t Like Someone You Manage,” by Liz Kislik.)

t’s hard to improve your skills when you don’t know what to work on. If your boss isn’t forthcoming with constructive feedback, try to make it easier for them. Start by giving yourself negative feedback, which will demonstrate that you’re serious. Tell your boss something like, “I know that I tend to work quickly and sometimes overlook important details. I’d like to get better at that. Do you have any thoughts on how I could do it?”

You could also tell your manager that you want to improve in three areas this year and that you’d like their feedback on what the areas should be.

Ask, “Would you please help me keep this commitment I’ve made to myself?” That way, they can think of their feedback as helping you make good on a promise, not as hurting your feelings.

(Adapted from “How to Solicit Negative Feedback When Your Manager Doesn’t Want to Give It,” by Deborah Grayson Riegel.)

Keep your network small and meaningful

How to share your expertise without looking arrogant

I

I that requires a lot of thinking.

Making your brain work hard can keep you awake, even if you’re simply reading. Before bed, try doing the dishes, going for a walk or listening to music instead. Getting a good night’s sleep is not a random event — it’s a learnable skill.

(Adapted from “Senior Executives Get More Sleep Than Everyone Else,” by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter.)

f you want to advance your career, people need to know what you’re an expert in. But you shouldn’t go around bragging about everything you know. Instead, display your expertise in ways that are helpful to your colleagues. For instance, you could volunteer to host a lunch and learn about a topic you’ve been researching that’s relevant for your industry. Or you could write something on the topic for the company newsletter. You could even offer advice or respond to queries on the corporate intranet. Don’t assume that these kinds of opportunities are distractions from your “real work” or

that no one pays attention to them. Even if your lunch and learn is sparsely attended, for example, higher-ups are almost always paying attention to how knowledge and best practices are shared.

Putting your expertise out there could get you noticed by a senior person who appreciates that you’re sharing your ideas publicly.

(Adapted from “How Women Can Develop — and Promote — Their Personal Brand,” by Dorie Clark.)

T

he research on networking is clear: High-quality connections are more valuable than weak ties. That means a bigger network is not necessarily better.

If your network isn’t helping you forge deeper, more authentic relationships, it may be time to shrink it. Start by taking stock of your priorities. Is how you’re spending your time aligned with your goals? For example, does that monthly lunch with a distant contact add value to your life? Does that conference you’ve attended for years actually help you?

If not, drop it. Next, think about the

c 2017 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate

We have you covered through CBN’s special intervention for specified retail invisible transactions.

Are you travelling abroad for vacation

Visit any of our designated branches nationwide for your following invisible trade transactions: School Fees Pilgrimage & Other Travel Allowances (PTA and BTA) Medical Allowances

or studying abroad?

We are here to serve you. *Terms and conditions apply

www.firstbanknigeria.com

Make it easier for your boss to give you negative feedback

I

Get more sleep, Starting Tonight. t’s no secret that most of us don’t get enough sleep — or that sleep deprivation can hurt our logical reasoning, focus and mood.

But do you know how to get the seven to nine hours you need? To start, you should go to bed when you’re just starting to feel drowsy. For many people, that’s usually between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., when melatonin, a natural hormone that makes you relax and ultimately fall asleep, often kicks in. And you probably already know to avoid screens at night, since their blue light rays can inhibit the production of melatonin, but you should also stay away from any activity

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

FirstBankofNigeria

@FirstBankngr

Firstbankngr

FirstBankofNigeriaLtd

@firstbanknigeria

+FirstBankNigeria

relationships you want to cultivate.

What types of people do you want to spend more time with? Are they the types of people you’re currently devoting your energy to? If not, make a plan to change who you’re investing time in. As you shrink your inner circle, you’ll begin thinking of yourself as the architect of your environment and your career.

(Adapted from, “Why Your Inner Circle Should Stay Small, and How to Shrink It,” by Scott Gerber.)

BDTECH

BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 26 June 2018

19

In association with

Nigeria’s vast cloud adoption prompts first indigenous enterprise public cloud platform Stories by JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

C

loud adoption amongst enterprises in Nigeria has more than tripled in the past few years, owing to the fact that a lot more organisations now understand that cloud solutions help create new growth opportunities besides also delivering better return on investment, service delivery and speed.

The increased adoption of cloud based tools is even more evident as estimates by IDC suggest that Nigeria’s IT spend in 2017 reached 1.8 billion USD and will increase in 2018.

This has prompted Comercio, an expert public platform creating company’s move to launch the first local enterprise public cloud platform in Nigeria with a vision to create a public cloud platform for medium and large enterprises and to provide the same services as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services here in Nigeria.

Public cloud is defined as computing services offered by third party providers over the public internet, making them available to anyone who wants to use or purchase them. Unlike private clouds,

public clouds can save companies from the expensive costs of having to purchase, manage or maintain on-premises hardware and application infrastructure – the cloud service provider is held responsible for all management and maintenance of the system.

Speaking at the launch event, Aderemi Adejumo, Comercio’s chief technical officer, said that

“Comercio public cloud platforms offer enterprises the opportunity to move their IT expenditure from a CAPEX to an OPEX as well as only pay for what they consume. It is a perfect pay-as-you-go model to minimise expenditure and create great savings’’ Adejumo added that; “the other great advantage is their time to market. In traditional computing,

it takes 4 – 16 weeks to request, get appropriate approvals and procure hardware before installing and configuration of the software.

In this current fast changing world this is not acceptable and a great challenge. With our public cloud platform, the required hardware can be provisioned and available in less that 48 hours. With the flexibility, agility and expansion potential, our clients do not need to have an accurate estimation of growth and sizing. In a public facing service delivery this is crucial as an inadequately sized infrastructure will guarantee failure whilst an over speed infrastructure will be a waste of funds.’’

Adeyegbe, managing director of Comercio Cloud, also stated that they have a number of advantages over the notable foreign cloud platforms.

“This platform has a lower latency than offshore platforms. It takes on average less than 25 percent of the time to retrieve data from an offshore cloud platform,” she said.

In addition, Adeyegbe said that “the company provides a bespoke service, which means that they engage their customers and guide their request to the most optimum solution on their platform. They

also accept payment in our local currency, which means that there is a stability in payments and in the event of foreign exchange rate fluctuation, there would be no anxiety of exceeding the budget.

We meet the requirements for data localisation and if there are regulatory or compliance reasons for the data to be onshore we are compliant.”

Overall there is a greater peace of mind on a local cloud platform and from our local economic point of view, it reduces capital flight and encourages job creation.

Comercio says its providing an adequate platform for data centers to build a public cloud platform. It currently uses at least two of Nigeria’s data centers to provide redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities. Using VMware technology, they are able to move their cloud infrastructure from one location to another in the event of a failure with little or no data loss.

Another important aspect of the cloud platform is security. Comercio Public cloud adheres to international standards like PCIDSS (Payment Card Industry Data security standards), ISO 27001, (Information security management system) and ISO 9001 (Quality management system).

Eaton supports CIO’s, project managers with business continuity planning tools

E

aton recently showcased its innovative datacenter solutions to select chief information officers and project managers of reputable organsisations in its continuous pursuit to assist companies to deliver all round power management services.

Highlighting the benefits of Eaton’s innovative solutions for data center management, the company says its solutions which are available to customers in Nigeria, increase efficiency without sacrificing uptime, and are flexibly designed to help businesses make the most efficient use of their resources.

Datacenter needs differ, de-

pending on business model and application delivery requirements; however, all customers expect efficient access to services and instant interaction. Thus, avoiding service interruptions is critical.

Deon Ferreira the EMEA power quality sales manager who stated the importance of improved power solutions for data centers, said; “The increasing reliance on big data and the cloud when likened to the rising costs of energy emphasizes the need for reliability and efficiency of IT systems.”

Ferreira added that, “Eaton has a wide portfolio of products designed for timely and error-reduced installations. We have expert datacenter engineers networked across

the globe, who are trained to help businesses accelerate the design, construction and commissioning of datacenters at low costs. Our solutions are safer, more reliable and more efficient than industry standard, and will help differentiate businesses in a crowded market”.

Victor Haruna, head of IT infrastructure, AIICO insurance commended the innovation saying; “The solutions showcased by Eaton are top class and similar to what obtains in developed economies where effective datacenters are critical for business success. From the session today we discovered that Eaton has a software solution which allows you to shut down your system remotely. This is a solution I was not

even aware exists for power management, so It is laudable that Eaton has enabled these services to be available to businesses in Nigeria”.

Also present were representatives from top business and IT firms in Nigeria including Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Idyllic Technologies, Power Ex, Niger Insurance Ltd, Structured Systems; the media; amongst other stakeholders.

Eaton has recognised the need that datacenter solutions must also make the best use of available energy. This is key to operations in a country like Nigeria. Thus, innovative solutions as these offered by Eaton will not only meet the basic datacenter needs of resilience, easy

deployment and resource optimisation but will also improve general business continuity and save energy costs.

Eaton is a power management company that provides energyefficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably.

Dedicated to improving the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton has approximately 96,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries with 2017 sales of $20.4 billion.

20

BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 26 June 2018

BDTECH

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com

Itel mobile debuts three smartphones on Android Oreo system

Rack Center, recognised as winner at Datacloud Awards in Monaco

…Raises the bar in smartphone battery life JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

I

tel, a mobile phone brand, committed to providing budget friendly, high quality products under TRANSSION holdings and in partnership with Google has launched its first three smart phones; itel P32, A32F and A15, into the Nigerian market.

Addressing the media on the launch in Lagos, Oke Umurhohwo, marketing communications manager, itel mobile, expressed his happiness at the successful launch of another offering from their stable. “We are proud to unveil one of the market’s best battery life smart phones with dual rear cameras and other great specs. The itel P32 is built to give mobile consumers better stability, speed and probably the best life experience on mobile phones.

“At itel mobile, we focus on delivering continued value to mobile consumers and we are pioneering our products with new technologies and best material design techniques in order to offer newer mobile solutions to our consumers,” he said.

The new device is powered by the Andriod Oreo (Go edition) operating system, which is which is optimised to deliver a smooth and fast experience and offers consumers a number of benefits including new

L-R : Ayotunde Coker, managing director of Rack Centre with Ellie Taylor, the presenter and renowned English comedian, at the recent Datacloud Europe Awards in Monaco where Rack Centre was awarded for regional excellence in the data centre geographical location category.

and re imagined Google apps for entry-level smart phones including Google go, YouTube Go, and the Google Assistant for Android (Go edition) and enhanced data efficiency.

“We are delighted to launch the first batch of itel smartphones powered by the Android Oreo operating system” said Arif Chowdhury, group vice president of TRANSSION. “We believe that the mobile communication device that has revolutionised human social life should belong to everyone. Through this

partnership with Google, we will make it easier for consumers in emerging markets, especially in Africa regions, the opportunity to afford an efficient and user friendly smartphone,” he added.

Sagar Kamdar, director, product management, Android, said; Android Oreo (Go edition) is specially optimised to bring the magic of Google and Android smart phones with limited memory and processing power. We are excited to see itel take the next step bringing computing to more people by launching Android

Oreo (Go edition) phones.

The specifications and features of each of the launched smart phones have been specially built for the consumers in Nigeria. This has opened a new world of convenience for the users of these 3 itel smart phones which are; Itel P32 which comes with the 5.5-inches IPS 18:9 full screen display with a 5MP/5MP rear dual camera and dual flash lights. The device is packed with 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM. It houses a 400mAh big battery with one charge for 3 days, as well as a

finger print sensor for easy access to the phone.

Itel A32F comes with 5.0-inches big display and 5MP AF rear camera with 1.4 big pixel and 2MP selfie camera with 1.65 big pixel. This device offers multi functional finger print sensor at affordable price to allow users to program up to five fingerprints to their favourite apps, calls, cameras with security Itel A15, also comes with a . 5.0-inch display screen and 5MP AF rear camera with 1.4 big pixel, and a 2MP selfie camera with 1.65 big pixel.

1GB RAM, 8GB ROM and 2050 battery. The device will be available in three coloursmidnight black, starry blue and rose gold. These devices will be rolling out fully in June throughout Africa. He said.

“Also, 9mobile, has partnered with itel mobile to extend amazing offers to customers who purchase the itel A32, A15, and P32. These customers will get 2GB instant bonus, plus 100 percent bonus on all data plans purchased for the first 6-months after purchase. They will also get another 50 percent bonus on all data plans purchased for the subsequent 6-months.

Itel mobile has always proven to be a force to reckon with in a stiffly competitive market having introduced an array of successful phone models.” Oke Umurhohwo said.

Commitment to security, innovation earns Electronic Payplus PCI DSS certification CHUKA UROKO

T

he electronic payment industry in Nigeria received a major boost recently as one of the leading companies in the industry, Electronic Payplus Limited, was given Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (POC DSS) and ISO Quality Management System (QSM) certification.

The certification, according to Infoprive, the certifying company, was a testament to Electronic Payplus’ commitment to security, innovation and sustainability of its operations in electronic payment industry.

For a market that is highly challenged by security issues, this certification is a major development as it will improve significantly consumer confidence in e-payment products and solutions, especially those coming from the Electronic Payplus’ stable.

Electronic Payplus is not new to certifications having

received same from Mastercard, Visa Card International and Verve, all underscoring the company’s commitment to security which, according to Bayo Adeokun, the managing director/CEO, is the catch-word in the industry.

“We are the first indigenous company to get this certification and we decided to go for it because, going forward, there

are other areas of this business we want to go into”, Adeokun said, assuring, “we will continue to play leadership role in the market and what we are doing here today is one of such roles.

We will be at the forefront of security and our customers know us for being security conscious”.

The driving force in the company’s operation is its strong belief in innovation

L-R: Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); I. K. Inuwa, technical secretary, Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) and J. O. Maduka, president, Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) during the EVC’s induction as a Fellow of the academy at the University of Lagos recently.

which explains their decision to set up a department dedicated to innovation. The company also believes that to continue to be relevant, it has to be sustainable in its operation.

“From the beginning, what we have been trying to do here is to think of tomorrow; to build a company that will outlive all of us. We believe that to be able to do that, you must reinvent yourself and innovate. We also believe that, without innovation, you cannot be sustainable. That is part of our vision and mission as an organization. We are always thinking of doing new things”, the CEO revealed at a media briefing in Lagos at the weekend.

In spite of the challenges posed by the operating environment, the electronic card payment in Nigeria has seen phenomenal growth in the past 15 years it entered the Nigerian market. This is reflected in the growth of the operating firms like Electronic Payplus which started 13 years ago as a POS

deployment company but is today the second largest in the market.

This observable growth has been attributed to the company’s dedication and the different products it has brought into the market. “We have products which our competitors don’t have. So, we have been very impactful in this market; we have some payment solutions that we will be bringing into the market in the next couple of weeks and to be able to do that successfully and get the acceptance of the market, you must be PCI DSS certified”, the CEO stated.

Though security can never be completely eliminated in the e-payment card industry, Adetokunbo Omotosho, managing consultant at Infoprive, emphasized that it was the moving target. “One of the things Electronic Payplus has done is to put in place those things that have enabled them to stay ahead of the security challenges.

R

ack Centre, Africa’s Premium Data Centre and leading carrier neutral Tier III constructed facility, certified colocation data center provider has been honoured with the prestigious Datacloud Award for regional excellence in the Data Centre Geographical Location category.

The Datacloud Europe Award is globally regarded as the world’s defining accolade for Data center and cloud industry; the awards recognise the leading individuals and companies shaping the global data economy and honour innovation, service excellence, and diversity.

Phillip Low, Chairman of Broadgroup, parent company of Data Economy Magazine and organiser of the award ceremony, said “Globally relevant, the Datacloud Awards have yet again both delighted and surprised reflecting the incredible dynamism, talent and spirit that exists in the industry. “All of this year’s winners are disrupting and innovating in ways we had never imagined and helping to define new era in the IT infrastructure market’’ The Datacloud Europe award winners are selected by independent panel of judges and Rack Centre was selected ahead of three other European finalists due to its success metrics: 100 percent uptime since its launch in 2013, consistently exceeding expectations in customer satisfaction, the first carrier neutral colocation data center provider in Africa to be tier III constructed facility certified by the Uptime Institute and the most connected tier III data center in Africa situated in the excellent geophysical location in Lagos.

Ayotunde Coker, managing director, Rack Centre noted, “we are truly proud of this award to Rack Centre representing Nigeria and West Africa. Last year we were finalist in one category, and this year, finalist in two categories and selected as winner by an august panel of judges. We continue to strive to sustain excellence, world class quality and market leadership in all we do and the recognition at such prestigious global awards is fantastic recognition for Nigeria.”

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

21

Energy Report Oil & Gas

Power

Renewables

Environment

Reliability, availability, cost drive Nigeria’s heavy manufacturers to coal STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

H

eavy manufacturing industries, such as cement factories are turning to coal for their power needs because it is readily available, reliable and requires less capital expenditure to mine amid pipeline vandalism and gas shortages, which jeopardise power generation.

In the last 16 months, local cement manufacturers have been reducing power costs and booting operating profit and capacity utilisation by investment in thermal energy generated from coal. Coal provides a reliable source of power and remains the cheapest source of electricity in the world today. However, coal does not presently contribute to Nigeria’s electricity generation in spite of its abundant deposits in Nigeria.

Against the backdrop of severe shortages in much

needed supply of electricity, it is inevitable that Nigeria must move from rhetoric to concrete action in the development and addition of coal-fired electricity to the nation’s electricity supply mix.

Two of the biggest cement markers in Nigeria, Dangote Cement Plc and Lafarge Plc have been investing massively in coal as source of energy to power its plants.

“Companies are turn-

ing to coal for their energy needs. What we tend to forget is that coal as a major source of energy might not be clean and it is ultimately cheaper to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) rather than coal because of social and environmental concerns” Eddy van Den Broeke, founder of Abuja-based Greenvill Oil and Gas Limited said at a gas development roundtable in Lagos.

Dangote Cement

switched to using coal at its cement plants in response to disruption to gas supplies and to lower input costs.

The cement producer uses 12,000 metric tonnes (MT/ day) of coal. Ashaka Cement, a fully-owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa, said coal accounted for 82 percent of its power usage over the period, while work is ongoing on its 16-megawatt lignite-fired coal power plant at its factory in Gombe State.

Recounting Nigeria’s march towards nuclear energy OLUSOLA BELLO

A

s Nigeria inches closer towards diversifying its energy mix with the inclusion of Nuclear Energy, this report recounts Nigeria’s strides towards attainment of that goal.

Recall in October 2017 Nigeria and Russia signed several agreements on the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant as well as a nuclear research centre housing a multi-purpose research reactor.

The Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) signed the agreement on behalf of the Nigerian Government; while ROSATOM, Russia’s state owned Nuclear Energy provider, signed on behalf of the Russian federation.

This deal was reached after long period of negotiations, with both countries signing their first intergovernmental nuclear co-operation agreement in 2009.

Nigeria took its first step towards attaining its nuclear energy goals by becoming a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This dates back to 1964.

In 1976, the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) was set up and the nation’s first research reactor - a Chinese built 30 kW Miniature Neutron Source Reactor - similar to units operating in China, Ghana, Iran and Syria was commissioned at Ahmadu Bello University in 2004.

Faced with rapidly increasing base load electricity demand, the federal government in 2007 approved a technical framework for a nuclear power programme seeking the support of the IAEA to develop plans for up to 4000 Mega Watts of nuclear capacity by 2025.

This eventually paved the way for signing of Nigeria’s first intergovernmental cooperation agreement on nuclear with Russia in 2009.

Subsequently, agreements on the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of an initial nuclear power plant was made.

Two sites, at Geregu in Kogi State and Itu in Akwa Ibom State, were confirmed in 2015 as preferred sites for Nigeria’s first nuclear power plants after evaluation by the NAEC. According to World Bank figures, with approximately 80 million people lacking access to grid electricity, Nigeria has the largest access deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa and the second largest in the world, after India. The national electrification rate is 55 percent, and the rural electrification rate is only 39 percent. Nigeria hopes the proposed nuclear power plants will help deal with the country’s energy deficit.

Underscoring the need for Nigeria to diversify its energy mix with inclusion of nuclear energy, Nigeria’s Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatude Fashola, had previously said

Olusola Bello, Team lead, Analysts: Kelechi Ewuzie, Isaac Anyaogu, Graphics: Joel Samson.

it was imperative for Nigeria to lay emphasis on the gains and safety of nuclear energy as obtained in other advanced nations. Fashola further stressed nuclear energy would lead to sustainable development.

As nations move towards adoption of cleaner and more sustainable energy sources, which nuclear energy provides, the minister stressed Nigeria would not be left behind.

He, however emphasized the need for Nigerians to be properly informed about the capacity that has been developed in Nigeria’s nuclear industry; stating that focus should be on information sharing as people are scared of things they don’t understand.

The minister further assured Nigerians on the safety and benefits of nuclear energy, stressing it should be adopted for development and peaceful purposes - with a view towards attaining sustainable development goals.

“Coal business is booming. I have some Chinese companies that need 1 million MT of coal from me every month and I don’t meet up with the demand.

Dangote Cement Plc is ready to buy up every piece of coal we excavate in Kogi state for its Obajana cement factory” Leo Nwankwo, a commodities analyst and trader told BusinessDay. “There are jobs to be created, when we develop our coal industry. I trade in commodities and coal is just one of the many commodities I trade in. When you visit our coal excavation sites in Kogi state and see the level of unemployment and poverty, I fear for this country.

Let us focus on developing our economy and not let the shouts about clean energy deter us from creating jobs for our bulging youth population” Nwankwo said.

Nigeria’s coal is in high demand because it is one the most bituminous in the world due to low sulphur and ash content, and rated environmental friendly in

line with global campaign on cleaner source of energy in order to reduce negative impact of climate change.

The proven reserves of coal so far in Nigeria are 639 million tonnes while the inferred reserves are about 2.75 billion tonnes, consisting approximately of 49 percent subbituminous, 39 percent bituminous, and 12 percent lignitic coals.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the top 10 coal producers in 2016 were (MT) China 3,576, India 707.6, United States 671.8, Australia 503.3, Indonesia 460.5, Russia 365.5, South Africa 256.9, Germany 175.6, Poland 130.6, and Kazakhstan 97.9.

Most research work on Nigerian coals is focused on their usefulness in the metallurgical industry. The few research works carried out on Nigerian coals as regards power generation have not comprehensively characterised Nigerian coals based on the contemporary requirements of power plant designers and operators.

Nigeria’s production unlikely addition to OPEC’s supply boost agreement ISAAC ANYAOGU

T

h e o rga n i s at i o n of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have resolved to raise production by 1 million barrels per day in July after their gamble to cut over 1.8million bpd from global production last year paid off but Africa’s largest producer may benefit little from the deal.

According to data obtained from the ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria’s production in the month of May stood at 1.8million barrels per day and this includes figures for condensate. This means while Nigeria has struggled to maintain production lower than output limits imposed on by OPEC, it would struggle to add new barrels.

Perhaps this informed Nigeria’s unwillingness to support a deal that will see output increase prior to the

meeting in Vienna on June 23.

“I hope we will leave here with at worst, a decision that even if there will be increase, it will be a very very marginal increase,” Kachikwu told journalists before the meeting.

“I understand that the consensus with the consumers is important and that there is the need for OPEC to see if prices are too high and then to react,” Kachikwu said.

Kachikwu is basing this position on the notion that the market is not yet ripe for such decisions. However this may not be a sentiment shared by more prolific producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia.

In 2016, OPEC and some non-members including Russia agreed to cut global output by 1.8 million bpd in a bid to help rebalance the market.

The measure has largely been successful with and within the last 18 months, oil prices have rebounded to around $75 per barrel from as low as $27 in 2016.

Email: energyreport@businessdayonline.com, Tel: +234-8023020011; +234-7037817378; +234-8036534708

22

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Energy Report

Shareholders heave sigh of relief as Eterna liquidates N3.9bn debt ...records a turnover of 62 per cent increase OLUSOLA BELLO

F

or the first time in several years’ shareholders of Eterna Plc shower praises on the board and management of the company for a job well done.

Their accolades became more pronounced when Lamis Shehu Dikko, the company’s chairman declared that the burden of Daewoo debt of N3.9 billion which was having adverse effect on the shareholding structure of the company since 2009 has been liquidated.

With the liquidation, the path to growth is now assured for the company as the management would now focus on areas that can bring more returns to shareholders investments. Again, the shareholders’ interests are now effectively protected.

The chairman at the opening of the 25th annual general meeting (AGM) which was held in Lagos could not hide how elated he was with the level of attendance at the meeting, when he remarked that he was impressed by the attendance of shareholders which has been so unprecedented in the past few years. He went

L-R: Mahmud Tukur, managing director/chief executive officer, Eterna Oil (l), with Lamis Shehu Dikko, chairman, during the 25th annual general meeting of company in Lagos.

ahead to declare 40 kobo per ordinary shareholding from a proposed dividend amount of N521,657,858.80 which is a 33 per cent higher than previous year 2017.

The shareholder hailed this declaration.

The first to speak among the shareholders was Sunny Nwosu, president of Shareholders Association of Nigeria. He said given the background of where the company is coming from ev-

erything about the company is now very positive.

According to him, the future outlay, asset acquisition and strategic plans presented by the board members at the AGM gives hope that the company shareholders will experience a better future and the plans are very important to shareholders and the growth of the company.

The turnover recorded a 62 per cent increase

over the previous year. The company’s turnover was N73,030,225 for 2017 as against N6,887,567 for 2016.

The profit before tax was 2,812,941, which was 17 increase above the previous year . Sunny Nwosu stated that this could be improved upon in the coming years.

He believes that the company would make more profits in the coming year so that the shareholders can earn more dividends.

FG’s power sector policy initiatives attract foreign direct investment

T

he Federal Government’s policy initiatives in the power sector continue to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), raising hope of improved power supply for consumers.

Recently, the government took a decision that power consumers in Nigeria should not be slaves to a less-than-desirable regulatory environment. Following up on this, Babatunde Fashola, the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, therefore, launched some initiatives to ensure significant increase in power generation and distribution to the point of use.

One of the most recent of such initiatives is the waiving of licensing requirements for power generation project of 1 megawatt or less. This is a commendable action by the minister considering a raft of self-sufficient communities and estates in major urban conurbations such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt which are in need of reliable power.

Again, this policy initiative is encouraging and its effect is not taking too long to be seen, especially with the coming of Bussbar Energy, a

power company established by a team of American investors led by Bernie Conyers, into the country’s power sector.

It should be noted that Bussbar Energy is not just a foreign company sitting abroad and merely looking for contract in Nigeria. The company is actually investing in the power sector in order to be a significant producer of sustainable and environmentally friendly power.

Bussbar, according to Conyers, can provide bespoke solutions on site, pointing out that they are not the regular power generating or distribution companies.

“We can make power generation and conservation more effective; we can generate, conserve and distribute up to one megawatt per site. So, there is no limit in theory”, said Conyers who is Bussbar’s managing director.

He also stated that, in the next 12 months, “Bussbar has prospect for generating, conserving and supplying a minimum of 50 megamatts of electricity to different projects on offer”.

The current dismal power supply and distribution situation in the country are a

confirmation that there are fundamental distortions, from the outset, in the privatisation exercise of the federal government, starting with the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency which spanned 1999 to 2007.

But with the coming of Bussbar Energy, hope is in the offing, not just for homes, but also for industrial concerns and new urban communities like Grace field Island, a new island project in Lekki, Lagos which is being developed on land reclaimed from the Lagos Lagoon.

Beyond power supply, Bussbar is also intent on empowering Nigerian youths by

Fashola

way of training. “Our focus is also in training young Nigerians without any precondition to bond them to Bussbar”, Conyers disclosed, adding that a very significant aspect of this power generation initiative is the introduction of the fly-wheel technology.

This is an innovative approach to power conservation, storage and supply that is very friendly to the environment which aligns with the concept of sustainability that underlies Grace field development.

Conyers believes that without the policy initiative of the Federal Government, this investment would not have been possible and, interestingly, the fly-wheel technology for power is already committed to Grace field Island—an island city where technology plays a significant role in its concept and implementation.

“The first attraction of Bussbar’s offering is that it complements the sustainability approach of our company and, crucially, it conforms to federal government’s policy and removes the need to apply for captive power licence”, Ozo Nwafor of Grace field Island stated.

On asset acquisition he noticed that a filling station has been opened along the Airport road in Abuja by the company and urged the management to maintain it well so that it can always attract customers. “The board and management must always ensure that the station is always in good condition” Nwosu said.

He expressed satisfaction about the paying off the Deawoo debt which was put at N3.9 billion. “As far as I am concerned it is a good result on the whole and I hope we would achieve better results next year.”

Toeing the line of Sunny Nwosu, Alex Adio of the Dynamic Shareholders Association of Nigeria said the this year’s result has been good and praised the board and management of the company for their efforts to grow the company and for desiring to put it on very solid footing that could be more rewarding to the shareholders.

Nona Awoh who is always critical of financial reports at most annual general meetings, seems to be at peace with the company’s result this time around, as he was more or less advising the board on certain lapses he observed. He through some challenges to the board

member as he advocated for minority representation of the shareholders in the conduct of the annual general meetings to avoid seeing the exercise as being partisan.

Unlike some of the previous meetings when the chairmen of the board of directors would have to spend better time of the meeting calming down nerves and appealing to aggrieved shareholders on one issue or the order this one ended on a very friendly note which seems to suggest that the shareholders were happy.

The company achieved consolidated operating revenue of N173 billion in 2017 in comparison with the N106 billion in 2016 representing an increase of 61.8 per cent. It gross profit however decreased by 26 percent. A situation which was blamed on the thinning margins on product lines. Despite this decline in gross profit, it profit after tax increased by 17 per cent as result of prudent utilisation of it resources and ability to efficiently deploy financial management strategies in the year under review.

The asset shareholders fund of the company also increased from N10.82billion in 2016 to N12.14 billion in 2017.

Eko Disco raises alert over extortion of customers by illegal group

T

he Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc ( EKEDC) has raised alarm over some illegal group extorting money from customers under the guise of fighting for electricity customers rights.

Godwin Idemudia, the General Manager, Corporate Communications of the company warned customers to desist from patronising such unregistered group who are out to defraud customers.

Idemudia disclosed this in a statement made available to newsman in Lagos on Saturday.

He said that a group was reported by customers extorting money from communities within and outside EKEDC network to deceive members of the public to contribute money for the campaign to set a uniform monthly bill for all customers without consideration for differences in type of electrical appliances individual homes and businesses.

The EKEDC spokesman, however, warn customers to be wary of such people and avoid been dupes or used as pliable tools for selfish interest of some people.

According to Idemudia, anyone promising to fight for uniform electricity bill for all customers was only out to exploit the ignorance of some people about electricity billing system.

“Since electricity bills vary from one customer to another by reason of the type of appliances and monthly consumption in individual homes and businesses, any campaign for uniform electricity bill for all customers is fraud an exercise in rabblerousing and mass deception for self aggrandizement.

He said that the company had received series of complaints on those fraudulent group, while many community leaders had always disowned such groups and described them as mere attention seekers who had never been known in their communities for leading or partaking in any communal developmental efforts.

Idemudia assured customers of the company’s readiness for fruitful mutual engagement at all times, while advising customers to avail themselves of the open and direct stakeholders’ engagement policy of the company.

BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 26 June 2018

EDUCATION

Weekly insight on current and future trends in education

T

he growing inability of government to strategically implement a robust funding for libraries across the country, coupled with the near lack of reading culture among Nigerian youths today is giving educationists and industry watchers a cause for concern according to BusinessDay finding.

The Nigerian educational system from basic to higher is characterised by acute shortage of quality facilities like libraries in the right quantity.

A cursory look at the university level of education has consistently shown severe shortage of classrooms, hostels, offices, libraries, laboratories and workshops for effective delivery of university education Amidst this worrying trend, experts in the education sector have called for a strategic long-term funding of libraries, especially e-libraries, to arrest this trend.

A cross section of experts in their separate opinions observe that university libraries across the nation are in deplorable conditions with no books, journals and other reading resources, while in some cases, standard libraries are nonexistent owning to inadequate funding by the government and the agencies saddled with such responsibilities in the face of the country’s harsh economic situation.

President Muhammadu Buhari in his remarks at Federal

Primary/Secondary

Higher

23

Human Capital

‘Investment in e-libraries to drive growth in all levels of education’ Stories by KELECHI EWUZIE Executive Council’s Special Retreat on Education in November 13, 2017 acknowledge that it is those who acquire the most qualitative education, equipped with requisite skills and training, and empowered with practical knowhow that are leading the rest.

Buhari observes that education is Nigeria’s launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous future adding that his administration is committed to revitalising the education system and making it more responsive and globally competitive.

Afolabi Adeyinka, a librarian in Lagos, observes that the economic realities on ground and government’s apathy to library development in the country have hampered the competitive push of students and universities to be relevant on the global scale.

According to him, “in the absence of proper government funding of e-libraries, it is not possible to encourage and maintain an educated populace of which youths are in the majority.”

Adeyinka is of the opinion

L-R: Paul Smith, CEO/president, CFA Institute; Lucy Pearson, country director, British Council Nigeria; Marniee Nottingham, country exams manager, British Council Nigeria and Banji Fehintola, president CFA Society Nigeria at the first CFA Exams in Nigeria held at the Landmark Event Centre, Lekki last Saturday.

that in order to conceive and cultivate good and systematic habit of reading among the students, there is the need to hinge the success on the availability of quality books and consequently, a library that is equipped with the modern reading materials.

He affirms that the quality and standard a university can

be better judged by the content and quality of the service offered by its library.

This, he however lamented, is not the case with Nigeria owning to government’s apathy to education, a situation which has affected the quality of the products of such institutions of higher learning.

Eze Akachukwu, a re-

search fellow, insists that without proper funding for electronic libraries by the government, the country risks the chance of being isolated from the global information system.

In his words, “libraries are expected to serve as information delivery centres to enable universities to make develop-

ment impacts on research, teaching, learning and public service. It must be realised that a university is as good as its library.

“There is an urgent need to transform these conventional libraries into e-libraries which are cost effective and can empower their universities for effective teaching, research, learning and solving national problems and by so doing boost the reading habits of students,” he added.

One of the primary roles of education is to build and sustain individual and society’s development. It renews and improves the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of any nation.

Education upgrades the living standard of citizens and enables people to become better and more productive citizens. It is a human right that creates a safe, healthy and prosperous society.

Nigeria’s participation in all relevant international education fora together with our investment in education and collaboration with development partners is an indication of high level of commitment towards ensuring that every capable Nigerian receives good quality education.

British Council, CFA Institute boost Microsoft, Sidmach partner to advance professional development in Nigeria digital transformation in education sector …Holds maiden exam in Nigeria

D

etermined to showcase how technology can help schools save money, enable data-led decision making, improve teacher competencies and give students access to a rich learning environment is partnering with Sidmach to introduce tools that aid effective school management and drive growth in quality of education across primary and secondary schools in Lagos.

Microsoft said it will also be gathering education leaders, proprietors, principals, head teachers, IT directors and other highlevel school administrators at an event to address digital transformation in education.

The organisers in a statement said the event scheduled for Friday, 29th June, at Radisson Blu, Ikeja GRA, Lagos is aimed to help schools create efficiency and effectiveness in school

management.

In recent times, there has been a rise in internal school management crisis ranging from inaccessible records to strained communication between schools and stakeholders. This has called for the need to introduce digital solutions to school management and reduce paper work.

According to the statement, “The tools will help students get hands-on experience and ability to develop critical-thinking and computational skills for life and a career in the digital world.

Attending administrators will be introduced to the amazing features of thesolutions and othertools at the event and would also get a chance for free trials for a term in their various schools.

T

he Chartered Financial Institute (CFA) in association with British Council Nigeria has commenced CFA examinations in Nigeria to enable Nigerian professionals work, study and build career prospects in finance industry.

The examination which is the first in Nigeria took place over the weekend at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos with over 800 candidates.

The CFA Institute is one of the leading professional bodies for the global investment management industry and it awards the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential which is held by over 150,000 professionals around the world. In Nigeria alone, there are over 2,000 chartered financial analysts who got their certifications from neighboring countries.

Lucy Pearson, country director, British Council Nigeria,

said ‘Through our examinations, we provide educational, professional and life-changing opportunities using globally recognised qualifications.

These will enable people work, study, build career and promote personal development.

We make a positive impact on people’s lives and communities, delivering over 103,000 examinations in the last year.

“Our partnership with a global examination institute like CFA enables us to achieve these huge ambitions. The British Council currently administers CFA examinations in about 40 countries globally and in Sub- Saharan Africa. We have centres in Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria,” she said.

According to her, British Council has long-standing expertise delivering high-quality examinations in over 90 countries worldwide with highly trained and experienced per-

sonnel who meet the Council’s examination board standards, work with qualified examiners and provide carefully selected venues, well equipped facilities.

Banji Fehintola, president CFA society Nigeria observes that the commencement of the CFA examination in the country is a welcome development, adding that it will save the country huge foreign exchange lost when Nigerian professionals travel outside the country to write such examination in the past.

Fehintola also said by making Nigeria a center for such professional examination, it further shows that the country’s challenge in terms of negative image is changing for the better.

He called on government to provide the needed favourable environment to attract further investment and goodwill to the country.

24

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

EDUCATION

INSIGHT

Entrepreneurial education: Chairman’s empire game deepens logical thinking, mathematical skills among students KELECHI EWUZIE

A

s part of it practical contribution to deepening logical reasoning, mat h e mat i c a l skills and promoting practical and concrete knowledge of economics among children, HIIMA International Education Services has launched the Chairman’s Empire board game into the market.

Chairman’s Empire board game is a business education game that helps children within the age of seven and above, to build self confidence, social skills, concentration, alertness, memory, business communication skills and social awareness.

It is a thrilling board game which can be played by two or more players, and takes players through the nitty-gritty of modern business practice.

Ima Mariam AgunbiadeEtiebet, managing director, HIIMA International Education Services while introducing the new product at a press conference in Lagos, said the board game teaches financial discipline, planning and management and helps players to develop entrepreneurial, creative and innovative mindsets to opportunities.

Agunbiade-Etiebet ob-

serves that modern day reality shows that job opportunities are drying up, that is why many graduates are still roaming the streets in search of jobs many years after graduation.

She said that a child brought up with the idea that he/she could establish and run a business of his/her own may just have their minds attuned to being their own boss after University education, instead of searching for nonexisting jobs.

She further said the game is also targeted at inculcating the entrepreneurship spirit in children aged seven and above, as it excites their young brains, enables them interact with their peers thereby building self confidence, social skills and a sense of responsibility.

“The Chairman’s Empire board game was created to enable players catch up with the ever evolving business world, a highly engulfing and educative game in business practice designed as a veritable guide to real life business operations,” she said.

The game helps the players to understand the dynamics of business, including the relationships between the buyers and the sellers “It is recommended for all aspiring entrepreneurs as it teaches them how to invest, when to invest and what to in-

FirstBank director advises students on career choice

T

he executive director, corporate banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Remi Oni, has advised students to assess and know their academic strengths and weaknesses before making a career choice.

Oni gave this advice at a career counselling session for students of Fazil Omar High School, Iwaya, Yaba, Lagos in commemoration of the 2018 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week of FirstBank themed ‘Touching Lives; You First’.

He said that by knowing their academic strengths and weaknesses early, the students would be able to make informed choices on the paths to take and how they should go about achieving their dreams.

Oni said, “It is important for you to know your innate skills; the subjects that you are good at and the ones that you find a bit tough. This will help you make the right choice and choose the career

that fits into your character.”

The Director, who further noted that the early discovery of the pupils’ skills and interests will lead them into making the right career choices, enjoined them to be open to ideas and consider how they can contribute to humanity.

He said, “It’s a fast-changing world and some careers as we know them today are fast disappearing. You need to open your mind, the possibilities out there are very wide, they are huge. Don’t be fixated on the boxes the society has built over the years.

Don’t see your career as the end in itself but as a means to an end; to see how you can contribute meaningfully to the world when you grow up.”

The career counselling session, facilitated by executive management and staff of FirstBank for over 3000 students of public and private schools across communities, is a key component of the 2018 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week of FirstBank.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Ima Mariam Agunbiade-Etiebet

vest in to create great values. It also teaches how to make and multiply profits”.

The Chairman’s Empire teaches financial discipline, planning and management and helps players develop entrepreneurial, creative and innovative mindset to see possibilities and opportunities.

The educationist opines that like a typical MBA curriculum, the board game is designed to teach business tactics and strategic thinking and the fundamentals of maintaining a healthy cash flow in order to avoid bank-

ruptcy.

“The game is designed to act as a guide on how to invest big to reap big and become the chairman of a vast business/ economic empire and inspire and contribute to your world through engagement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects,” she said.

The game set up is structured like a typical business with players/investors who ply different sectors of the economy. It also has a Central Bank or the banks from which players obtain loans/credit for investment.

Public primary school enrollment in Abia hits 348,000, says Ikpeazu GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

P

ublic primary school enrollment in Abia State has grown threefold from 115,000 pupils per annum in 2015 to 348,000 pupils per annum in 2017, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, says.

The Abia State Governor in an interaction with select journalists in Aba, the State’s commercial hub, attributed the development to the integrated bottom-top approach, adopted by his administration to tackle challenges faced, by the education sector in the State.

He observed that the number will even increase, during the resumption of 2018/2019 session.

He explained also that his administration is deploying a 3-pronged strategy to drive rapid development in the State’s education sector, as it realized the fact that the burden of high expenditure in education must be lifted from the shoulders of the average Abia parent.

Ikpeazu maintained that the objective is to reverse enrollment from private schools to public schools.

The 3-pronged approach according to the Governor includes capacity building, massive infrastructure development and welfare of the pupils.

He stated that Government has decided that teachers in public primary schools have

the requisite training for their roles; therefore would be retrained.

In his words, “To date, we have trained over 1,500 teachers in partnership with a nongovernmental organization (NGO) from Australia. Before the end of 2018, we will be sending some of our primary school teachers to Australia for practical experience of the teaching and learning environment in other climes.

“We decided to give emphasis to our primary schools, because we believe it is foundational and fundamental.

Our end result is that a motivated student population will receive tutelage in decent infrastructures from well-trained teachers”.

On infrastructure, Ikpeazu affirmed that Government will improve the state of the physical structures where the pupils are learning from.

“Beginning from our Primary schools, we are currently renovating a total of 304 primary schools around Abia State, under our Universal Basic Education Board.

“You will recall that our administration pioneered the School Feeding Programme, even before the Federal Government, decided to commence her own School Feeding Programme. Worthy of note is the fact that the Federal Government School Feeding Programme, targets pupils from Primary 1 to 3, while the Abia State School Feeding Programme, covers pupils from primary 1 to 6”.

Jars deepens commitment in transforming Nigeria’s education sector

...calls for more educational funding Josephine Okojie

J

ar Education Group has deepened its commitment in improving the quality of education in across Africa and Nigeria in particular through ‘The African Stream (TAS) initiative’.

Akindotun Merino, chief executive Officer of Jars Educational group, urged government at all levels to commit more funds into the country’s educational sector to aid economic growth and development in the country.

She noted that the quality of education has to be upgraded to stimulate personal discoveries and experiential learning that elevates and culminates in career shaping discoveries for students to become problem solvers.

Speaking on the TAS initiative, Merino called on the government to always support individuals, organisations and groups that have passion for education, as they cannot do it alone.

Merino explained that the TAS initiative is a forum for students to explore the won-

ders of Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Science (STREAMS) through collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and citizenship. “The medium for presentation includes interactive exhibits, live demonstrations, innovative programs and aweinspiring films. We advocate and provide transformative solutions that fill the gap in classroom learning and take education outside the four walls.

“We present a united African continent, with educated

children who think critically, creatively, work collaboratively and participate in the global economy as ethical citizens,” she added.

She noted that rapid changes in the world including technological advancement, scientific innovation, increased globalisation, shifting workforce demands, and pressures of economic competitiveness are redefining the broad skill sets that students need to be adequately prepared to participate in, and contribute to today’s society.

337 schools to take part in CodeLagos competition JOSHUA BASSEY

O

ver 337 schools across the six educational districts in Lagos are set to slug it out in a four-day Code Week competition, the special adviser to the state governor, on education, Obafela BankOlemoh has said.

Bank-Olemoh in a state-

ment said that participating schools, including public and private schools across the state, through the competition, being put together by the state ministry of education, will be exposed to the world of computer programming as well as foster the rapid growth and development of coding skills among students.

He said the four-day competition which kicked off on

Monday, June 25, is designed to further encourage the use of a wider range of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills within the school curriculum and raise ICT standards among Lagos state schools.

According to him, “CodeLagos is a response to the mandate of Governor Akinwumi Ambode to prepare Lagos residents for the technology

driven future. Our intention through this competition is to foster problem solving and algorithmic thinking abilities among these students by simulating real-case problem solving scenarios. By so doing, we will position our students for the 21st century workforce.

We will also identify talented young programmers and help nurture their skills and expertise.”

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

25

In association with

What home seekers need to know about mortgage industry ENDURANCE OKAFOR

T

he larger populace of Nigerians fall under the low and middle income earners, making it almost impossible for them to save enough to own a piece of land, let alone having money to build their own houses.

There is then need for mortgage to help fill in the widening house deficit gap in Nigeria. But Nigerians seem to know little about mortgage and how it can be accessed or how it can be put to use, as compiled from BusinessDay survey.

A mortgage is a debt instrument, secured by the collateral of specified real estate property that the borrower is obliged to pay back with a predetermined set of payments.

This way, mortgages are used by individuals and businesses to make large real estate purchases without paying the entire value of the purchase up front. Mortgage banks use their own funds, or funds borrowed from a warehouse lender, to fund mortgages.

Mortgages are also loans, meaning that they come with interest rates. Typical mortgage interest rates in Nigeria range between 7-10 percent for the Federal Mortgage Bank 0f Nigeria (FMBN) supervised National Housing Fund (NHF) and between 15-25 percent for commercial mortgage institutions.

Aside from the interest payable, the potential buyer must also have a certain percentage of the total amount needed for the purchase readily available; this amount is known as equity and should range between 30-70 percent of the total cost of the home.

So, in Nigeria if you take a Mortgage Loan of N25million at 15 percent per annum interest rate, you would have paid N37.9million in interest only over the 15-year period, that is, even more than the Principal itself. The trick here is that at 15 percent interest rate, it takes a lender approximately 7years to recover the

N25million it lent to you.

That is about 6 years if the interest rate is 20percent.

With that sort of interest rate, can anyone honestly afford a mortgage on a steady salary?

Mortgage comes in different shapes and sizes, each with its advantages and disadvantages. It is very important that one makes the right choice regarding mortgage and it entails considering one’s future plans and financial position in order to afford a mortgage.

On how Nigerians can qualify to take up mortgage; experts consulted by BusinessDay pointed out that the following criteria can make someone eligible to take up a mortgage and at what cost.

The major condition cited for pre-qualifying some one that approaches a mortgage bank for funds to acquire a house is debt to income, that is the portion of one’s income that such a person can use to take a mortgage, meaning the part of income that can be used to make repayment for mortgage granted and it is in percentage of the total income the person earns.

Analysts in the mortgage industry however explained that the debt-to-income in taking mortgage in Nigeria is 33 and one third of the monthly salary earned by any one that wants to take up mortgage as a means of funding a house.

“In addition to that, it is also necessary for any one that wants to have access to a mortgage to have built rela-

tionship with a mortgage institution, at least, six months before asking for a mortgage, as an account opened with such a bank will enable the institution to have a financial history of such a person,” an analyst who asked not to be quoted said.

In terms of how age determines the eligibility of a person to access mortgage in Nigeria, experts said the younger a person is, the better the chances of being granted a mortgage, considering that the retirement age in Nigeria ranges between 60 to 70 years, although this varies depending on the various sectors.

This means the closer one is to the retirement age, the less time the person will have to repay a mortgage and as such, someone at age 40 will not be able to take a mortgage for 30 years, but such a person can be granted mortgage that has a life span of about 20 years.

The benefit of a longer repayment span of a mortgage is cited by experts to be the fact that, the longer the repayment period, the more affordable it will be to repay, given that the repayment will be spread across the long period required to complete the payment.

This will leave the older populace that wants to be granted mortgage to pay more rate than the younger ones but in period shorter than expected, both age group will be paying almost the same value for the mortgages.

Different mortgage banks in Nigeria therefore have several products and packages that should be easily accessed by Nigerians. But the high interest rate attached to mortgage is the major setback the industry has been experiencing, as the mortgage rate in Nigeria climbs as high as 25 percent, one of the highest in the world.

This many operators say is the major reason the industry has not been well tapped by both the financial institutions and the ever-growing Nigeria population.

An analyst from the mortgage industry told BusinessDay that lack of long term funds, short term deposits for long term funds, lack of liquidity and accumulated non-performing loans were other issues weighing down the performances of the Nigeria mortgage industry.

Experts contacted for comments on the issues said the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) seems to have failed in its mandate to raise long term funds from both the domestic and foreign capital market, considering its major objective is to develop the primary and secondary mortgage markets.

When BusinessDay checked for the listed mortgage banks on the Nigeria Stock exchange (NSE); Infinity Trust Mortgage, Omoluabi Mortgage and Abbey Mortgage banks were the ones confirmed on the bourse website.

Retail: ‘Uptick in activity dependent on structural shifts in policy’ CHUKA UROKO

T

he slight improvement in the Nigerian economy may trigger an uptick in activity in the country’s retail market, but that will depend largely on structural shifts in policy that in turn elevate living standards, a new report on the market has revealed, stressing that unless that happens, the market will continue to lag global and even some regional standards.

The implication of this is that new investment in this market may drag because investors have to be cautious and patient. They have to take a long term view of the market and have to anticipate and be ready for down cycles which are inevitable in an economy like Nigeria’s.

The market is set to remain challenging and this goes beyond the economic recession that illuminated certain fragilities in the market and showcased structural issues with the economy.

Purchasing power and living standards are still below expected levels, placing increased pressure on the retail market.

Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts to maintain the value of the naira through increase in the foreign exchange reserve level as well as liquidity in the foreign exchange market could have a positive impact on retailer expectations and decisions.

But some market analysts highlight a potential risk of pressure to foreign exchange market fundamentals from increased foreign exchange demand due to the upcoming elections and seasonal factors (summer travel and expenses) in the coming quarter.

Bolaji Edu, CEO, Broll Nigeria, sees hope for the market coming from leisure retail which, he says, is envisioned to contribute tremendously to activity within the retail market.

“Strong demand for more leisure-focused schemes has been observed and as such it is anticipate that more leisure focused cen-

tres will begin to pop-up in the market”, he predicted in his company’s viewpoint on retail market.

Analysts’s expectation is that over the next 6 – 12 months, around 17,000 square metres of retail space will be expected to be delivered across the markets, with the core market accounting for the majority of this space.

The 7,000 square metres retail element of Central Office Parkin Abuja is to come onto the market by the end of Q2:2018. The Landmark Boulevard, which consists of roughly 4,000 square metres of retail space is set to be delivered by the end of the year, while the 6,000 square metres Oshogbo Mall is currently underway and should also be delivered by the end of 2018.

The retail market in secondary locations or second tier cities generally lags the core markets due to persistent challenges pertaining to a shallow tenant pool, large structures, in excess of 10,000 square metres, as well as the unsophisticated nature of this sub-market.

Although some malls are outperforming the market trends with occupancy levels at near 100 percent, the general market replicates signs of a market still in its infancy.

“As is the case with both secondary and core retail markets, landlords are increasingly competitive, offering rental concessions and other amenities to tenants in order to drive up occupancies. In many secondary locations, even with the existing rental concessions in place, effective demand for space is currently low”, Edu observed.

As at the end of the first quarter of 2018, average asking rents for malls in secondary locations remained largely unchanged with a marginal decrease from US$27 per square metre per month in Q4:2017 to US$26 per square metre per month in Q1:2018 for spaces between 100 square – 200 square. Vacancy levels are roughly 26 percent in this market.

26

BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 26 June 2018

How Lagos is promoting green building, reducing energy cost for estate residents CHUKA UROKO

M

odern architecture and building technology have recognized that green building is the future of housing for both residential and commercial purposes. The renaissance happening in the building sector today revolves around greening as an evolving culture that is driven by technology.

The green building market is growing fast in advanced societies where critical infrastructure, particularly power, is full grown. But in Nigeria, the green market is quite nascent and, according to a recent International Finance Corporation (IFC) report, market growth in green residential units is very slow.

The report says the green market growth is expected to represent only 6 percent of the total residential sector over the next eight years. But this represents a significant $2.5 billion market niche.

Besides its numerous benefits, building green has become necessary in view of anticipated global rise in both population and urbanization that will be putting critical infrastructure in dire straits. “50 percent of the world lives in cities today and 70 percent is expected to live in urban areas by 2050.

“The world population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, about 34 percent higher than what is presently available. Growth will be fastest in poor countries like Nigeria where population is expected to actually

double”, noted Chii Akporji, an ED at Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

Critical infrastructure, especially power, energy and water are still a huge challenge in most cities. Globally, cities account for up to 70 per cent of energy use and 80 per cent of green-house gas (GHG) emissions.

These cities also host most of the infrastructure exposed to risk from climate change, requiring them to invest in resilience as well.

Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, is a sprawling city that will be most at risk and vulnerable to most of these expected changes because of its fastpaced urbanization and population growth. The state has, therefore, embraced green building for the benefits of its residents.

“There are many benefits to building green and increased awareness and wider acceptance of the green building methods will help lower barriers of cost and affordability.

Research shows that building responsibly needs not cost more”, said Gbolahan Lawal, the state’s commissioner for housing, recently.

Lawal mentioned one of the benefits of building green as conservation of energy, believing that saving energy reduces the home’s carbon footprint and impact of climate change. “Lagos is vulnerable to impacts of greenhouse gases including sea level rise and increased storm intensity”, he noted.

It is for that reason that the Ministry of Housing, which he superintends, is committed to improving the quality of affordable housing, the health of people living in them, and the general quality of life in these communities

that are planned. Estates constructed in the state in the last six years have shown government’s determination to build green.

The state’s Rent-to-Own housing scheme is being used to reduce slum growth and urban congestion because it is aimed to take people away from the slums and reduce the high rate of pollution associated with the slum dwelling. The location of some of the housing projects outside the metropolis is to reduce urban congestion and the ills associated with it.

At the housing estates for the scheme, landscaping and beautification are given adequate consideration. The estates are built in line with the state’s policy which recommends that 30 percent of

developable land be reserved for greening. This portion is properly landscaped and beautified not for aesthetic purpose only, but also because the plants allow for oxygen replenishment to reduce concentration of green house gas (GHG).

The grassed areas also allow for enough water percolation to replenish underground water, reduce run off of storm water that may cause flooding. The grassed areas also reduce dust and dust-related infections in the environment.

Most importantly, the buildings are designed to ensure reduction in power consumption as they are well ventilated and illuminated such that they will require less energy to power bulbs and cooling equipment.

To ensure a further reduction in en-

ergy consumption, the power points are fitted with power-saving bulbs.

Many properties cannot function properly without power even in broad daylight, leading to the use of several thousands of generating sets largely responsible for GHG emission and noise pollution. Provision is also made for a central source of alternative power in our the estates.

These prevent the proliferation of power generating sets thereby reducing emission of the dangerous carbon monoxide and also reduce noise emanating from a cluster of generating sets.

The design of the estates also encourages the use gas as against highly polluting bio-fuel like kerosene, charcoal and wood fuel for cooking and the resultant GHG emission.

Nigerian investors in UK properties at risk of 40% death tax ENDURANCE OKAFOR

N

igerians owning UK Properties indirectly through offshore corporate structures are now liable for UK death tax at 40 percent.

This means they will have to pay 40percent of the value of their UK upon their death in order for their next of kin or relative to claim ownership of the property, considering they fall in the category of non-UK domiciles, as compiled from Globaley, a financial planning and wealth management firm.

According to the Dubai-based firm, the rule became effective from April 6, 2017. The new death tax is however applicable to properties purchased either before or after the date.

Meanwhile, a person acquires a domicile of origin at birth. This is usually the same as the domicile of such a person’s father at that time. That is, the country that the father considered to be his real or permanent home at the date of the person’s birth. As a result, a person’s domicile may not be the country where he or she was born.

“These new rules mean that any foreign national owning UK Property, regardless of any offshore structure, is liable for 40percent tax on death.

More importantly, this tax must be paid to the British tax authorities (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs HMRC) before the UK Property can be passed to the family,” Tim Searle, Chairman of Globaleye told BusinessDay in a mail response.

Prior to the existence of this tax,

offshore corporate structuring was an effective way to pass on the UK Property in the event of death and it limited exposure to taxes and ensured a swift transfer to the family. These offshore structure(s) would also protect the UK Property from the rest of a deceased business interests and allow them to be passed as intended and not through forced heirship, as in the case for some countries.

It was common practice, until recently, for non-UK domiciled individuals – whether UK resident or non-resident – to acquire UK property through offshore companies, even where the property are for personal occupation rather than investment or trading purposes. Offshore structures

provided confidentiality and shelter from UK death or inheritance tax (IHT), while stamp duty land tax (SDLT) did not apply to the sale of shares in a company.

On the possible reason for the new death tax, experts cited after the global recession and the advert of Brexit.

“The UK government sought to increase the tax take from UK Property held through offshore structures by introducing a raft of anti-avoidance measures aimed at UK property that was held indirectly. This barrage of anti-avoidance rules has severely limited tax planning options for nonUK domiciled individuals, whether UK resident or non-resident, in re-

spect of UK Property,” an expert said in a statement.

Survey by BusinessDay revealed that a lot of Nigerians have some sort of investment in one UK property or other and will no doubt be affected by this new tax.

On the part of the UK that foreigners invest the most, a survey by Land Registry Overseas Company Ownership showed that most common jurisdictions for foreign Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) ownership of UK property are British Virgin Islands (BVI) Jersey and Guernsey.

Of which 1 in 4 UK properties owned by an offshore structure are registered in BVI. This jurisdiction has traditionally been the most popular due to ease of establishment and moderate costs. Most legal advisors and fiduciary agents prefer the BVI for this reason.

Also, the value and location of UK properties owned by such structures include; London, South East and West Midlands. Although London is the clear favourite for the UK property and has been for many years.

It continues to grab headlines with many high-profile purchases from overseas investors and is destined to continue. The concentration of property in Central London owned by offshore structures is more than other investment in any other part of the UK. On the reason London is the most sought-after location for investment by foreign investors like Nigerian, BusinessDay discovered that London

is boosted by billionaire boom, as there are over 72 billionaires worth a grand total of £110 billion, who have all made London their home. According to estate agency, Wetherell, the total wealth combined could build 1.6million social homes in the UK, pretty much ending the housing crisis overnight.

Another reason is the fact that it is home to the second most expensive offices. As such London is one of the best cities in the world to work in, whether it is in the city’s financial institutions or for a trendy East End design company. Its office space is some of the most expensive in the world at N86,712 ($240) per square foot, Forbes reports. That is nearly twice as expensive as the 5th most expensive place, Shanghai, at N49,136. ($136).

The third reason being that in the growing private rented sector, four in 10 renters do not expect to ever buy a house. Of those who do, 44 percent expect to be waiting more than five years to be able to afford it. Also, for those renting from councils and housing associations, the figure is almost eight in 10 and so it is obviously beneficial for investors to explore the opportunity.

Some of the reasons Nigerians engage in overseas offshore investment are because of portfolio diversification, to safeguard their net worth, to enjoy the benefit of decent return on their investments and to have opportunities for reinvention, as compiled from experts in the industry.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

STRATEGYBRIEFING

27

IDEAS THAT POWER HIGH PERFORMANCE

The strategy of preeminence JAY ABRAHAM

N

o one is 100 times smarter than everyone else. Few corporations today really have any technical advantages over their competitors, nor does anyone really have any major manufacturing distribution or labor edge. So why do certain super-achievers gain levels of success so much higher than others?

They have a better philosophical strategy. They approach everyone they deal with in a totally different and more effective way than everyone else does. And frequently their strategy is hard for anyone else to figure out. But you’re about to learn it.

In this article, the word “client” will be used instead of “customer.”

This is not only to avoid the constant and cumbersome phrase of “customers and/or clients,” but because it helps define the meaning of the Strategy or Preeminence.

The Webster’s Dictionary defi-

nition of these two, seeming identical words is: Customer: One who purchases a commodity or service.

Client: One who is under the protection of another.

The difference in the meaning is massive. And there’s a massive difference in the way a person who does business with you could or should be treated. If in your field these people are referred to as “customers,” that’s fine. But whatever you call them, always think of them as a “client.”

What exactly does “under your protection” mean? In this case it means that you don’t sell people a product or service just so you can make the largest one-time profit possible. You must understand and appreciate exactly what your clients need when they do business with you – even if they are unable to articulate that exact result themselves.

Once you know what final outcome they need, you lead them to that outcome – you become a trusted advisor who protects them.

And they have reason to remain your client for a lifetime.

For instance, a man who goes to a hardware store to buy a power drill doesn’t really need a drill – he needs holes. He has a financial, emotional, logical or intellectual need for holes. He might think he wants a drill. But it’s your responsibility to determine the real truth and his real need. Your responsibility and opportunity is not to just sell him a drill. You must figure out how to satisfy his financial, emotional, logical or intellectual need for holes and make sure the drill he buys from you will solve his problem and give him the exact holes he needs.

Or maybe he thinks he wants holes, but when you find out that he needs to insert rods in these holes, you realize that fasteners would work better than holes. So you sell the client some fasteners.

You have truly solved his problem.

You have also become a trusted advisor and a friend. And you should think of your clients as

“dear, valued friends.” The concept of viewing clients as valued friends is the essence of the Strategy of Preeminence and the life blood of a long lasting, rewarding and profitable relationship for both you and your clients. And you will learn that the value you provide to your clients and everyone you deal with can be deeper, more meaningful and rewarding than you ever realized.

The Royal Bank of Scotland issues two high-security check cashing cards to its transvestite clients – one with a photo of them dressed as a man, and the other as a woman. A bank spokesman said: “If any cross-dressing clients go shopping dressed as a woman, it’s

possible for them to have a second card so they can avoid embarrassment or difficulties when paying by check.”

A man landed in jail following a drunken brawl during a TexasOklahoma football game. The next morning the Oklahoma judge set bail for $250, but the man was far from his home in Dallas and knew no one in town. The man pulled out his Neiman-Marcus credit card. He reached a Neiman-Marcus vice-president, who arranged for the bail to be charged on his account, and the man was set free.

Once you understand how to think about the people you work with, we’ll start increasing your income and success…

Jay Abraham is an American business executive, conference speaker, and author. He is known for his work in developing strategies for direct response marketing in the 1970s. In 2000, Forbes listed him as one of the top five executive coaches in the US.He has significantly increased the bottom lines of over 10,000 clients in more than 400 industries, and over 7,200 sub industries, worldwide.

N100,000

This Page Is Open For Sponsorship, for details call 0708 234 5251.

28

BUSINESS DAY

BD

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Markets + Finance ‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in today’s market. Published weekly, Markets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’

Securities Trading: Experts Advise Cautious Optimism - FBNQuest BALA AUGIE

I

n the first quarter of 2018, the Nigerian stock market recorded healthy gains. The All Share Index (ASI) was up 8.5%, mainly buoyed by momentum which was carried over from the second half of 2017 when the index gained 42%. During the first quarter, the index surged as high as a 19% gain before succumbing to some profittaking.

The early year market rally was due to the activities of bargain hunters who were still swayed by positive developments in 2017, and were taking positions in anticipation of positive results from companies ahead of their 2017 full year results.

The 2017 full year results did little to lift investor sentiment and it appeared that the market had run well ahead of itself earlier in the year. For the year ended December 2017, after tax profits for the 10 largest lenders spiked by 44.28 percent to N693.92 billion from N478.19 billion the previous year (2016).

An unflattering Q1 2018 Nigeria GDP growth did not help. GDP expanded 1.95 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, Abuja-based Nation-

al Bureau of Statistics. That compares with a revised 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter.

In May, the equities market suffered its biggest monthly decline in more than a year, losing 7%.

The global macro outlook became more uncertain with the United States’ interest rate increases on investors’ minds and some wobble in other emerging markets such as Brazil. The US-China trade dispute and early pre2019 Nigeria election jitters are also fuelling uncertainty on the local bourse. As a result, the gains in Q1 have largely been given up.

With the second quarter almost over, there is more uncertainty in investors’ minds. Attention is now starting to shift to the Q2 results which are due from the second week of July. Although the weak sentiment may linger, quarter-end activities of portfolio managers coupled with the imminent take off of the multi-fund investment structure by PFAs should provide some support for the market.

Commenting on the stock market performance in May, Mrs Temitope Adeosun, Managing Director, FBNQuest Securities Limited, indicated that profit-taking by investors in stocks which had been overbought at the beginning of the year was

evident. She added that in the second half of the year, interest rate normalisation in advanced markets and election uncertainties in Nigeria could potentially create aversion towards naira assets for foreign investors and, by extension, reduce capital importation into Nigeria.

“In May, we witnessed some pressure at the Investors’ Exporters Window (IEW). This was as a result of a slowdown in foreign portfolio inflow.”

“For us at FBNQuest Securities Limited, we view the slide in prices as entry opportunities for investors. The good news is that the market fundamentals and valuations remain supportive, broadly speaking. The current bearish trend is temporary. Ultimately, the market will regain its momentum,” she concluded.

There are still risks that investors need to be aware of, however. The most signif-

icant of these is the oil price.

For now, the consensus outlook is that geo-political tensions are likely to keep prices elevated. This is positive for Nigeria.

On the domestic front, political risks still remain ahead of the elections next year. Notwithstanding, the fiscal picture is at the strongest in years, thanks to efficiency savings, a boost to oil revenues and foreign exchange reserves as well as the government’s debt externalisation programme.

Therefore, on balance, we think the risk-reward balance is favourable for the equity market.

Investors and analysts are more concerned about the ability of banks replicating the growth momentum this year as falling yields on treasury bills since August 2017 could be challenging for the industry.

Yields on treasury bills

BD MARKETS + FINANCE (Business Team lead: PATRICK ATUANYA - Analysts: BALA AUGIE and LOLADE AKINMURELE)

now hovers between 11 percent and 13 percent while bond yields that were between 16 and 17 percent last year now hovers around 12 percent and 13 percent.

For instance, analysts at Fitch a global ratings agency in a recent report said they expect Banks’ profit to take a hit in 2018 on the back of the decision of federal government to cut back on the issuance of treasury bills in 2018.

“We expect falling T-bill yields and lower issuance to put pressure on Nigerian banks’ profitability in 2018.

The CBN’s latest issuance schedule shows N1.1 trillion (USD3.6 billion) of rollovers in the first quarter of 2018 against N1.3 trillion of maturing bills,” said Fitch.

Volatility in foreign-exchange related gains, limited scope for cost efficiencies and rising political risks before elections are other challenges that could cloud industry outlook.

Analysts are of the view that banks may see revaluation gains wane while the transition to the IFRS 9 could drive impairment loss especially of the ones that have weak capital adequacy.

The cumulative net income of 13 largest lender that have released first quarter result shows increased by 11.17 percent to N192.62 billion from N173.25 billion as at March 2017, this compares with 24.11 percent increase in the 2016 and 2015 periods when they made money from short term government securities.

The banks are Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, First Bank Nigeria Holdings Plc, Sterling Bank plc, Wema Bank Plc, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc, and Union Bank Nigeria Plc.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

29

FEATURE nPDP, APC feud what consequences for Buhari’s re-election bid?

As the ultimatum given by the nPDP members, one of the power blocs within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to the presidency and the leadership of the party expires without amicable resolution of the grievances raised by the group, Iniobong Iwok, examines the issues and the consequence on president Muhammadu Buhari’s second time.

R

ecently some leaders of the defunct new People’s Democratic Party (nPDP), one of the power blocs that fused to form the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), just before the 2015 general elections, issued an ultimatum threatening to pull out of the APC if the leadership of the party do not address the current injustice against its members.

The nPDP, led by a former national Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Kawu Baraje, also have the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, a former governor Of Kano state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who is also a serving Senator, Senator Shehu Sanni and speaker of the House of representatives, among others prominent individuals as members.

The nPDP had alleged in a letter written recently to the president, through the leadership of the APC that despite the group’s contribution toward the electoral victory of the APC in the country and president Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration it members had been discriminated upon in appointments, while some others were been persecuted by the current administration.

“In the constitution of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) the New PDP bloc was generously side-lined as virtually no position was conceded to it. The only member of FEC that belong to former New PDP bloc comes from a state that contributed virtually no vote to the APC in the 2015 presidential election “There has been no significant patronage and appointments to executive positions in various government agencies such as Chief Executive and Executive Directors of government agencies and parastatals, as members of our block of the party continue to helplessly watch as these positions are shared by the erstwhile CPC, ACN, ANPP and even APGA blocs of the party and those who have no party at all.

“In appointments into Boards of various government agencies, very few former New PDP members were patronised.

“During the party primaries preparatory to the 2015 General Elections, most of the promises made to sitting members of the National Assembly who belonged to the former new PDP in terms of a level playing field were reneged upon or observed more in breach.

“There has been general lack of consultation, non-recognition and even persecution of former New PDP members and leaders by the party and government. For example, some of our leaders are denied the

President Buhari

security cover necessary to visit their constituencies even though they are elected representatives of the people in a government they sacrificed so much for. “Harassment, intimidation and persecution of former New PDP leaders by the government is still an on-going affair”.

“We do not want to overstate the obvious by cataloguing names of former new PDP stalwarts that are targets of this political pogrom.

There is inadequate reflection of programme and policy contributions of members of the former New PDP bloc in the running of the government”.

However, several weeks after this ultimatum, and after few fruitless meetings initiated by the vice president, Yemi Osibanjo and another held by the president with some leaders of the group, it appears the nPDP threat may just come to fruit, due to the non-challant posture of the presidency and the leadership of the APC toward resolving the grievances.

Some days ago, there was a report of a top government official who in an interview with journalist, disclosing that the president was unwilling to have a dialogue with the group, stressing that president Buhari had insisted that states gov-

ernor and the national leadership of the party resolve the issues.

Last week a key member of the group and Deputy Publicity Secretary of the APC, Timi Frank, raised concern about the manner the ultimatum were been treated by the APC leadership, hinting that the group would respond.

“It is not just a mere threat, it is not just a mere ultimatum, but I will tell you clearly that we are meeting our leaders, we are going to come up with a clear positions to brief Nigerians on our next step if finally they

There is also growing concern among some APC stakeholders across the country about the manner the party leadership and the presidency is handling the issues raised by the nPDP members considering the closeness of the 2019 general elections

don’t attend to us.” If they ignore us, so be it. But at the appropriate time, we are going to respond to Nigerians based on what we’ve said.

However, as the electioneering period looms, some political observers are of the view that the chances of president Buhari winning re-election in 2019 and the APC dominance may be significantly affected, and may suffer a setback in some states such as: Kwara, Sokoto, Kano, Taraba, Kaduna; and in constituencies in this states were this political leaders weight much influence and are in control of the political structure.

There is also growing concern among some APC stakeholders across the country about the manner the party leadership and the presidency is handling the issues raised by the nPDP members considering the closeness of the 2019 general elections.

Political analysts, Idowu Omolegan, however doubt if the pulling out of the nPDP members would affect the re-election bid of the president, stressing that the nPDP members were destabilising the APC and Buhari’s administration policies.

“If you look at the group of people in nPDP and their composition they are the ones making Buhari

governance difficult and instigating this entire crisis, especially the federal lawmakers.

“When they say they are been side-lined; how are they side-lined?

A member of them is holding the position of the Senate president; and he is running form one case to another. They just want to corner the government; look at the appointments the Yoruba’s are holding key positions like the vice president and finance ministry and Ekwremadu the deputy Senate president is part of them.

“But i don’t think they would all not pull out of APC, they would not.

But I can assure you that from the north central beginning from Ilorin to Sokoto they are with Buhari; even if the nPDP people leave, Buhari is in control, and would win these states, things are changing over the last few months unlike what we have last years, the prices of food have gone down” Chieftain of the APC in Lagos, Hon. Funsho Kolapo, said that party could not be held ransom by few individuals because of their personal interest, stressing that the APC would win the 2019 elections even if the NPDP members dump the party.

“We know they are key member of our party, and that is why our leaders have been speaking with them, if you remember negotiation is still on with the vice president and the presidents even meet with them.

But it is wrong for some few individuals to hold the party to ransom because of their personal interest.

“As you can see the Buhari’s administration is consolidating on what it has achieved over the last three years, don’t forget how we meet the country, in 2015, and I can tell you that things have change, either they remain with us or not Buhari would win second term, mark my word”. However, Wale Ogunade, president of voter’s awareness initiative Lagos, noted that the president and the APC may be making a big political mistake if they allow the nPDP members to leave the APC, stressing that such decision may come back to hurt them in the 2019 elections.

“If you look at the issues raised by this people you may want to say it is true considering what is happening now in the country; but don’t forget how they came to power in 2015; it was a joint effort, personally i think, they need the collaboration of this leaders who are in control of their states and constituencies.

“It may be counter-productive for the party to discard this people and it may come back to hurt them because they may join the opposition and strengthen them.”

30

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Live @ The Stock Exchange Top Gainers/Losers as at Monday Thursday 25 June 2018 GAINERS Company DANGCEM

Market Statistics as at Thursday 25 June 2018

LOSERS Opening

Closing

Change

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

ASI (Points)

37,992.12

N225

N230

5

SEPLAT

N685

N650.8

-34.2

N24.75

N25.95

1.2

NESTLE

N1495

N1490

-5

N40.7

N41.05

0.35

CAP

N36.8

N35

-1.8

VOLUME (Numbers)

STANBIC

N48.75

N49

0.25

WAPCO

N39

N38.1

-0.9

VALUE (N billion)

UNILEVER

N50.75

N51

0.25

GUINNESS

N97.5

N97

-0.5

MARKET CAP (N Trn

CCNN GUARANTY

DEALS (Numbers)

Dangote Cement, others help NSE halt losing streak Stories by IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

N

igeria’s stock m a r k e t stopped a record loss line on Monday June 25, 2018 as Dangote Cement Plc and 20 other stocks rerouted the market northwards despite 21 laggards led by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc. “Trading last week was largely negative, characterized by huge losses in select large caps. Though there is still some room for further losses, we foresee bargain hunting today (Monday June 25, 2018) as investors take position on depressed stocks”, Vetiva equity research analysts said in their breakfast report “The Week Ahead”.

The shares of Dangote Cement Plc which accounts for about 30percent of the entire equities market capitalisation occupied topmost position as its price

advanced by N5 or 2.22percent, from N225 to N230.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.34percent to close at 37,992.12 points as against preceding trading day level of 37,862.53 points.

The value of listed equities on Lagos bourse increased to N13.762trillion as against N13.716trillion recorded the preceding trading day, indicating capital appreciation of N46billion.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc came second on the gainers table as its share price increased from N24.75 to N25.95, up

by N1.2 or 4.85percent. GTBank Plc also joined the top gainers league after its share price increased from N40.7 to N41.05, up by 35kobo or 0.86percent.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc advanced from N48.75 to N49, up 25kobo or 0.51percent, while Unilever Nigeria Plc stock price rallied from

N50.75 to N51, representing an increase of 25kobo or 0.49percent.

Market activity data show that in 3,822 deals, stock traders exchanged 207,407,329 units valued at N3.424billion. Actively traded stocks include United Bank for Africa Plc, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, and Sterling Bank Plc. Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc recorded highest dip after its share price lost N34.2 or 4.99percent, from N685 to N650.8.

Nestle Nigeria Plc declined from N1, 495 to N1, 490, after losing N5 or 0.33percent. Chemical and Allied Products Plc lost N1.8, from N36.8 to N35, down by 4.89percent.

Lafarge Africa Plc declined from N39 to N38.1, down by 90kobo or 2.31percent; while Guinness Nigeria Plc recorded 50kobo loss, from N97.5 to N97, representing a decline of 0.51percent.

Cordros Milestone Funds offer opportunity for investors to realise target goals

T

he Cordros Milestone Funds 2023 and 2028 which are target-date funds offer lots of value for investors to realise their goals. A target-date fund is a fund offered by an investment company that seeks to grow assets over a specified period of time for a targeted goal.

Target-date funds are usually named by the year in which the investor plans to begin utilising the assets. The funds are structured to address a capital need at some date in the future, such as retirement.

Cordros Asset Management Limited (CAML), which is a subsidiary of Cordros Capital Limited (CCL), is pioneering the offering of these funds in Nigeria through The Cordros Milestone Funds 2023 and 2028 that opened for subscription

last week and will close on July 27, 2018.

Speaking on the benefits of the funds in Lagos last Friday, Leye Adekeye, Chief Executive Officer of CAML said at different stages in life, we make plans and take decisions about family, career, business, travel, education and others things we care about things that matter which are our milestone goals.

“Choosing the right investments in achieving our milestone goals matter”, he said. “It can be difficult to decide which investment is right for your goal(s), when to start investing towards that goal can also be hard to determine. What about crafting the right goal based plan and actually sticking to it.

With target-date funds, the decision of how to invest for milestone goals is not difficult. You simply

invest in the fund closest to the time when you want to utilise your funds,” Adekeye said.

According to him, the Cordros Milestone Funds floated for investors who: want to hedge their savings from the eroding effects of inflation; have a medium risk appetite in the short term with five and/or 10 year investment goal horizons and require little liquidity from the fund.

“The Cordros Milestone Funds are a simple way to save and invest towards a goal.

They have a real inflation hedge advantage over typical savings instru-

ments; They have minimum investment requirements and embedded with a goals based financial plan and professional management,” Adekeye said. Wale Agbeyangi, Group Managing Director, Cordros Capital Limited had said The Cordros Milestone Funds 2023 and 2028 are target-date mutual funds, which pursues a long-term investment strategy to manage the asset allocation (mix of asset classes) of the fund, to become more conservative as the target dates (2023 & 2028) approach.

“It is also laudable that The Cordros Milestone Funds 2023 and 2028 are the first set of targetdate mutual funds to be launched in Nigeria. This represents a significant achievement for not just Cordros but the entire capital market.

3,822.00 207,407,329.00 3.424 13.762

Custodian Investment says unaffected by Abraaj bankruptcy

C

ustodian Investment Plc said it is not affected by Abraaj Holdings bankruptcy. The Abraaj Holdings – a Dubai-based investment firm with operations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Turkey filed for liquidation on June 12, 2018. Aureos Africa Fund, which is managed by Abraaj Investment Management Limited (AIML), holds minority shares of Custodian Investment Plc. “Abraj are just managers not shareholders.

They manage Aureos Africa fund who have some shares in Custodian. Our stock market prices have remained steady, and the strength of our company will not be deterred regardless of this event,” Wole Oshin, Group Managing Director of Custodian Investment Plc said in response to the liquidation. On Tuesday, June 19 Custodian Investment Plc stock traded flat at N5.27,

up by 4.9 percent from June 12 when Abraaj filed for liquidation.

A court order on Monday, June 18, 2018 appointed executives from PwC and Deloitte as joint provisional liquidators of Abraaj Holdings. In a statement made by Abraaj Holdings, “the court-supervised restructuring of Abraaj Holdings would have “minimum impact” on the day-to-day operations of the management of the funds and their portfolio companies.”

The vision of Custodian Investment Plc remains the same. Our institutional capacity is managed by a board of thoroughbred professionals with varied experience. The management is focused on building capacity and shareholder value whilst ensuring the company’s financial strength and ranking as an eminent player in Nigeria’s Other Financial Services Sector of the economy is maintained.

Vetiva Research projects muted H2’18 as election jitters loom

V

etiva Research has presented its second-half (H2) 2018 outlook report on the Nigerian economy, key sectors and capital markets.

Olalekan Olabode, Head of Vetiva Research who noted that the Nigerian economy had underperformed initial expectations following a slowdown in Agriculture and persistent weakness in Services, explained that the Vetiva economic growth forecast for the year had been cut to 1.9percent year-on-year (y/y) (previous: 2.4percent y/y).

Apart from these sectors, he highlighted concerns around the oil sector, “The dimmer picture begins with the oil sector as infrastructure integrity issues prevent Nigeria from producing at capacity whilst oil prices are expected to trend slightly lower in H2’18 on the back

of rising global output.”

Meanwhile, Vetiva Research expects pre-election activities to steer the economic environment for the rest of the year, with election spending boosting the economy but also inducing greater inflationary pressure.

Chief Economist of Vetiva Capital, Michael Famoroti further highlighted that there are uncertain times ahead, “Impending elections are also likely to induce greater economic uncertainty and distract policy and governance at the tailend of the year, neither of which is positive for confidence or investment.”

Speaking on the fixed income market, Michael Famoroti asserted that late budget passage, preelection spending, and food price pressure could induce higher inflation at year-end, and projected a 100bps yield uptick in the second half of 2018.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

BUSINESS DAY

31

32

BUSINESS DAY

LIVE @ THE STOCK EXCHANGE

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Prices for Securities Traded as of Monday 25 June 2018 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 293,618.91 10.15 -2.40 142 8,317,923 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 362,513.87 10.60 -0.94 119 43,711,718 ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC 814,739.01 25.95 0.19 275 16,189,539 536 68,219,180 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 384,079.63 10.70 0.47 233 12,558,128 233 12,558,128 769 80,777,308

BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 3,919,316.70 230.00 2.22 217 5,070,449 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 330,457.62 38.10 -2.31 55 726,118 272 5,796,567 272 5,796,567

EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD 382,959.72 650.80 -4.99 70 128,793 70 128,793 70 128,793 1,111 86,702,668 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 1 15,000 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 89,858.32 94.20 - 16 18,042 PRESCO PLC 73,500.00 73.50 - 14 71,472 31 104,514 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 511.20 4.26 - 1 100 1 100 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 2,370.00 0.79 - 11 84,847 11 84,847 43 189,461

DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1,297.17 0.49 - 6 79,580 JOHN HOLT PLC. 221.82 0.57 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. 2,111.93 3.25 - 5 3,349 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 58,533.11 1.44 -1.37 82 5,006,443 U A C N PLC. 40,338.15 14.00 -0.36 37 724,983 130 5,814,355 130 5,814,355

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 1 5 1 5 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 36,300.00 27.50 - 12 28,650 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 12 28,650 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED 5,222.78 2.01 - 8 13,521 8 13,521 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,900.00 95.00 - 2 20 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 11,300.89 45.20 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 26,682.70 10.00 - 0 0 2 20 23 42,196

AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 1,431.80 0.30 - 4 34,897 4 34,897 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 15,658.99 2.00 - 5 40,215 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 212,467.13 97.00 -0.51 25 361,829 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 378,217.93 44.00 - 6 30,595 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 879,659.23 110.00 -0.45 94 1,060,738 130 1,493,377 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 51,750.00 10.35 -1.43 55 478,456 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 228,000.00 19.00 -1.32 98 1,415,651 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 127,316.79 31.05 0.16 49 482,742 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 16,970.62 2.14 2.39 233 16,893,260 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,489.00 0.40 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 1,167.21 6.55 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 60,274.72 22.75 - 17 56,615 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,676.41 13.45 - 0 0 452 19,326,724 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 24,416.63 13.00 - 23 175,216 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,181,057.82 1,490.00 -0.33 41 120,821 64 296,037 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3,283.47 3.15 2.94 16 1,565,745 16 1,565,745 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 79,211.02 19.95 - 14 23,598 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 292,995.28 51.00 0.49 27 866,000 41 889,598 707 23,606,378

BANKING DIAMOND BANK PLC 34,277.38 1.48 -3.27 66 4,994,848 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 366,991.02 20.00 -0.99 62 2,527,247 FIDELITY BANK PLC 64,324.05 2.22 -2.63 126 10,519,779 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 1,208,149.91 41.05 0.86 192 5,928,552 JAIZ BANK PLC 18,857.12 0.64 -4.48 18 1,080,881 SKYE BANK PLC 9,855.01 0.71 2.90 44 2,244,836 STERLING BANK PLC. 40,306.59 1.40 2.94 27 11,293,607 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 170,356.40 5.85 -0.85 60 503,451 UNITY BANK PLC 10,286.62 0.88 - 10 42,156 WEMA BANK PLC. 28,159.36 0.73 1.39 21 692,871 626 39,828,228 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,227.42 0.61 - 14 380,971 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 29,400.00 2.80 0.72 12 8,296,438 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,030.00 0.29 -3.33 9 423,990 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 14,833.02 1.43 - 2 4,020 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. 5,155.33 0.35 - 7 20,434 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. 3,220.00 0.23 - 5 47,978 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 2,411.47 0.53 - 0 0 GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 1,913.74 0.50 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 2,333.20 0.38 - 3 450 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 539.32 0.42 - 3 1,788 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,636.44 0.36 5.88 16 735,098 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 3,694.84 0.86 - 0 0 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 6,640.00 0.83 -4.60 12 980,195 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,880.00 0.36 2.86 13 550,341 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 16,052.73 3.04 - 14 269,954 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 1,934.87 0.25 - 12 66,001 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 2,404.97 0.63 -4.55 9 445,000 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1,733.88 0.26 -3.85 4 222,372 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,585.66 0.31 - 30 4,823,176 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 5,422.63 0.42 - 4 13,454 STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 5 21,666 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 8,000.00 0.50 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 4,298.67 0.31 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 6,691.37 0.50 - 34 216,334 208 17,519,660

MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 4,115.95 1.80 - 11 241,950 11 241,950 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,460.00 1.30 - 3 1,500 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,922.05 1.42 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 5,664.87 0.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 3 1,500 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 8,100.00 4.05 1.25 43 588,533 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 30,938.61 5.26 - 27 427,626 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 720.00 0.48 - 0 0 FCMB GROUP PLC. 41,783.72 2.11 -3.65 98 7,163,629 NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,800.88 0.35 - 0 0 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 492,423.82 49.00 0.51 42 826,395 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 19,560.00 3.26 1.24 85 3,785,757 ValuAlliance Value Fund 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 295 12,791,940 1,143 70,383,278

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 1,350.19 0.38 - 0 0 0 0 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 544.04 0.55 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 9,000.00 6.00 - 8 4,466 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 22,960.83 19.20 - 30 92,324 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 2,401.00 2.45 - 17 158,900 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1,001.37 0.58 1.75 14 693,852 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 477.00 2.20 - 2 647 71 950,189 71 950,189

COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 1 100 1 100 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 2 639 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 680.40 6.30 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 435.56 0.88 - 4 13,069 6 13,708 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,737.54 0.37 - 1 1,000 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 19,110.00 4.55 - 0 0 1 1,000 8 14,808

BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,477.99 8.55 - 6 3,349 CAP PLC 24,500.00 35.00 -4.89 17 178,680 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 32,610.79 25.95 4.85 31 812,939 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 844.14 0.40 - 2 20,000 MEYER PLC. 361.24 0.68 - 4 9,274 PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC 467.82 0.59 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,626.50 2.05 - 1 3,000 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,279.20 10.40 - 0 0 61 1,027,242 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,765.28 3.14 - 10 75,562 10 75,562 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 43,147.58 86.30 - 4 702 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 2 2,681 6 3,383 77 1,106,187

CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,752.39 4.21 - 0 0 0 0 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 2,023.60 9.20 - 9 14,121 9 14,121 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 74.80 0.34 - 0 0 0 0 9 14,121

ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 2,818.22 0.45 -4.26 17 875,475 17 875,475 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 78,939.47 6.35 -3.05 167 6,222,520 167 6,222,520 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 65,988.93 183.00 - 27 26,622 CONOIL PLC 20,818.56 30.00 - 6 11,013 ETERNA PLC. 8,802.98 6.75 - 29 578,220 FORTE OIL PLC. 44,349.48 34.05 - 71 289,755 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 8,699.11 34.25 - 16 14,684 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 65,629.57 193.30 - 11 6,055 160 926,349 344 8,024,344

ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 2,219.52 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 20,866.39 2.14 - 3 2,800 3 2,800 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 541.12 0.46 - 4 1,120 4 1,120 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,507.51 5.95 - 8 79,493 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 379.77 0.81 - 1 2,250 9 81,743 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 1,156.19 0.36 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,801.22 3.10 - 1 100 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 6,506.63 3.13 - 11 63,878 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 56,623.01 7.45 - 1 100 13 64,078 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 5,760.00 0.48 - 5 6,766 5 6,766 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 302.40 0.50 - 0 0

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

33

THE BIG HEART DIGEST In association with Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Developement Agency (DEMSMA)

Delta makes strong showing in global fashion industry with Akwaocha gele, etc - DEMSMA boss MERCY ENOCH, Asaba

S

himite Bello, Executive Secretary of the Delta State Micro,Medium,Smalland Medium Scale DevelopmentAgency(DEMSMA), in a recent interview, threw light on the import of the various training/ vocational centres created in the three senatorial districts especially Issele-Uku centre. Excerpts Delta State Entrepreneurial Centre, Issele Uku (managed by DEMSMA) is a major vocational/ training centre in the state. How would the centres grow the state’s economy?

Vocational centres are very key to the economy we are running.

I believe the Italy they have today came to be because they had great vocational centres which allowed them to make suits. Today, everybody wants to wear Italian suits.

Theytaughtthemtouseleatherand so many of these other things. So, at some point in your economy, your situationwillmakeyoulookbeyond what you are looking at.

Now, not everybody will end up being in skills but people that would never have been in skills, because there were no jobs, came into it and then discovered that this was their calling. I saw some absolutely fabulous shoes that some of these students made. I mean, fabulous!

I think you need to go and feel it because you can’t get it until you seeandfeelwhatIamtalkingabout.

And then, the way they were able to create. Some of our students have started key holders for people travelling, as souvenirs for weddings; and these were the things they could not do before they came into the centre. They can make ladies shoes, including high heels.

Some of them are earning money from training people that didn’t come to the centre, that come to them to learn. So, there are so many things that have come out of this vocational training centre.

But one of the things I like about how we run this centre at Issele-uku is the fact that you can’t come into the centre without knowing your fashion brand. We need to know why you are naming your brand.

We need to know your brand’s role model and how you think you can associate with this brand and may be one day take over.

Don’t you think that is discriminatory because there are

otherswhomaynothavethiskind of brand you are talking about?

No, the brand is created. You wake up, you must have a brand identity. Then you build on that brand. We have local brands in Nigeria but most of them are from Yoruba. What we are known for is theentertainmentindustrybutfrom what I’ve seen in Issele-Uku, we can takeoverthefashionindustryeasily.

I need them to not sew and then go and give to bigger brands. I need them to start understanding the essence. Signature Secret has done very well across so many tiers. She is one of those who help us with the fusion between leather-works and akwaocha. And we now have many people stoning because we are not justdoingleather-works.Wealsodo akwaocha there.

So, last month, we got an order for 700 pieces of akwaocha for some ofthepeopledoing akwaocha.Even withthemodern(new)equipment, theywerestilltired.Itoldthemwe’ve secured market for them according to their plea. People are ordering akwaocha for dresses for white weddings. They are mixing it with the net, with chiffon and the rest of it. I always trend akwaocha with gele (head-tie) in different colours.

And we now have people that are Uhrobo, Itshekiri, Isoko loving it.

Delta State is now tying akwaocha gele, which is what we want. For the hair, we don’t want to be tying Swiss gele. So, if we are going to Switzerland to buy the gele, why not go to Ubulu-Uku and its environs and buy gele that we tie on our heads even without showing what we can do.

So, I will say we are very proud.

There is no vocational centre better than the one in Issele-Uku. We may not be shouting all the way, but people are using our products, our creativity and our materials. And we are going to take over not just for the entire West Africa but the entire globe.

In other words, this is also about promoting what is indigenous to Delta State?

This is competition. We are going to take down some other fabrics that have been in the market like kente and the rest of them. People have seen it, they’ve used it. They’ve done it. This is a new kid on the bloc, and we are coming. The first thing, I think Deltans are very difficult people to please. So, if we are able to get Deltans to use this fabric, for

Akwaocha on display

me,that’smyhardestmarket. We’ve got somebody from Sokoto to get akwaocha to use in her wedding for asoebi. So, we are testing it.

How often do you teach the students at the Issele-Uku Voca-

tional Centre?

We bring in people according to training classes but we open the place sometimes for them to use.

Last time Her Excellency came, she said we shouldn’t let the equip-

Shimite Belo of DEMSMA

ments run down, that they needed to be in constant use. Based on her recommendation and wise judgment, we allowed some Deltans come in, use the equipment, and thenwehavea closing time.Mostof them have already formed clusters where they are working and getting things done. So, the business is goodandtheyarenotcomplaining.

What should Deltans expect as we launch into the fourth year of Okowa’s tenure?

In the fourth year, they should expect more money in the system because we are going to be on the governor’s neck on this. Everybody is now going to sit with the governor to make sure these things are done to make life easier for Deltans so as to bring about prosperity. So, I’m ready in my boots. We are going in to make sure more people have monies in their hands. That’s one thing they should expect. We would be graduating 280 trainees (of shoe and leather-works) from Issele-uku this year. There is a lot we are going to do – so much the government has done and we are going to deepen it, we are going to celebrate it and we are going to make sure everybody knows we’ve done it because as they say, “Okowa de work and we

de see am”.

Your critics think that not muchisheardaboutwhatyouare doing, compared with what was done in the previous administration. What is happening?

Okay, In terms of what we do here (in DEMSMA) or what we are doing this time, in the last dispensation, they were able to train 15 people but in this dispensation, we’ve been able to train 280 people.

In the last dispensation, they were able to fund about 3,000 people.

In this dispensation, in one of the trajectories we’ve empowered over 8,000persons.Inanotherproductin my hand, we have empowered up to 30,000 persons. In another one, we’ve empowered 60 persons. So, we are spending less in the promotion but we are doing more in terms of work. But this last year, we are going to put that money in, and we are going to flood the gate and they are going to know that we are not only smart but beautiful to look at. And I think you will agree with me that it is better you do the work first and let thepeopleseeyou.Mypredecessor tried but I think what we have done shows that much more has been done by us.

Editorial coordinator’s corner:

Understanding Delta’s 2018 fiscal direction:

Five small business & investment opportunities in Delta IGNATIUS CHUKWU

Delta State MSME 10 credit products Cold Chain Micro cCredit (CCMC) Product Description his Loan Product is designed for operators in the cold room and cold transport

T

value chain business activities within Delta State. It is targeted towards funding startups or expansion of existing business needs such as deep freezers, cooling vans etc.

Who Qualifies •Individuals and cooperatives that have been in the cold room business for a minimum of 6 months

•Ability of beneficiaries to demonstrate effective and efficient business/repayment plans.

•Prospective business start-ups who can demonstrate capacity to access this loan according to DEMSMA Loan guidelines.

•Non loan defaulters /on time Payers.

Features/Requirements.

•Beneficiaries under this programme must be confirmed business operators as defined by DEMSMA lending Guidelines.

•Beneficiaries will receive after proper due diligence loan amount for micro credit or SME as may be applicable.

•Beneficiaries must pro-

vide acceptable guarantors in line with DEMSMA credit risk guarantee.

•This is a 1-3 year loan subject to asset conversion cycle.

•The moratorium is between 3 to 6 Months subject to needs Assessment.

•Interest rate is 9% per annum (Subject to fund

provider) •Loans in SME’s categories may attract collateral Security.

•A special window is available for People Living With Disabilities (PLWD) and widows.

•A special window is available for prisoner rehabilitation and re-integration

34 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

C002D5556

Continued from page 1

Buhari dithers as Miyetti Allah claims...

longstanding herdsmen/farmers clashes. But we also know that politicians are taking advantage of the situation. This is incredibly unfortunate,” the president said in reactions to the Saturday killings in Jos. On Saturday, June 23, 2018, in a renewed wave of killings this time in Plateau state, Fulani militants staged dare-devil attacks on defenceless citizens in eleven communities in Barkin-Ladi, Riyom, and Jos South local government areas of Plateau state and killed well over 120 people according to survivors, even as the state police command said only 86 people were killed in the attacks with 50 houses burnt.

Swiftly – and in keeping with their tradition of owning up to the killings – the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) took responsibility for the attacks saying it was an act of revenge against the majority Berom tribe of Plateau State who

they alleged have been stealing their cows in the last few weeks.

“Fulani herdsmen have lost about 300 cows in the last few weeks – 94 cows were rustled by armed Berom youths in Fan village, another 36 cows were killed

by Berom youths. In addition to that, 174 cattle were rustled and the criminals disappeared with them to Mangu. Since these cows were not found, no one should expect peace in the areas,” the group said in a statement.

The group gave a condition for the cessation of hostilities. “As it is today, the Berom man cannot go to farm, the Fulani cannot breed his cows in Berom Land.

The attacks will stop as soon as the security agencies stop Berom youths from stealing Fulani cows,” the group rationalised.

But there are those who see a clear intentionality and careful design in the systematic killings in the region. One of such persons is Obadiah Mailafia, an Oxford-

trained economist and former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

For him, “what is happening in the Plateau and indeed throughout the Middle Belt is not a simple question of “farmers versus herders” [clash]. It is a Jihad, an undeclared war for conquest and subjugation,” Mailafia said in an email response to BusinessDay. “The military are not neutral arbiters in this genocidal war.

They are always conveniently unaware when the killer militias go on a rampage. But as soon as the locals begin to react, they appear and disarm them of whatever little weapons they have to defend themselves. The people in power have a hidden agenda. And they are too ignorant to know that when they allow anarchy to reign, it is also like riding the proverbial tiger. The problem is not in the ride itself, but when you want to get off,” the don surmised.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online

Olukayode Pitan (l), managing director, Bank of Industry (BoI), with Samuel Bwalya, country director, United Nations Development Programme, during a courtesy visit to BoI in Abuja, yesterday.

How Delta Steel got new lease of life...

Continued from page 1

again. This was the capacity of the plant in 1980s and the firm is planning to reinstate it, insiders told BusinessDay. The integrated complex is a story of how political will and the right investor can transform moribund state owned enterprises/ factories into viable enterprises.

It is a model that needs to extend to once publicly-owned but now moribund and badly managed facilities such as Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Aluminium Smelter Company, Nigeria Paper Mill, Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Company, Federal Superphosphate Fertilizer Company and National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency, among many others.

BusinessDay found that right now, only the rolling mill section is in operation at Premium Steel, but the segment employs roughly 160 workers. Other sections such as pelletising and beneficiating plants, direct reduction plant (made up of two modules), steel melting shop, continuous casting shop, air separation plant, the foundry, and general maintenance

are not yet in operation as of Friday, July 23. Insiders told BusinessDay that the company has only invested a fraction of N600 billion and is expecting foreign capital to revive these sections.

The company is also looking at producing automobile spare parts in the future, BusinessDay was told. This may not be far from the truth given that it was Delta Steel Company that supplied spare parts to Peugeot Automobile in Kaduna in the 1980s and 1990s.

However, it was found that the company is confronted with the realities of Nigeria’s market, populated by cheap Chinese steel.

Currently, it has reduced the manganese content of its iron rods to 50 to 72 percent as against up to 90 percent in the 1990s. The reason given by someone familiar with the situation is that the price of manganese, which determines the strength of iron rods, is very high and it is nearly impossible to survive with the 1990s standards in today’s market. This situation is also affecting aluminium makers who now consistently reduce the millimetres of roofing sheets to compete favourably with smuggled and cheap Chinese products.

“You can imagine how many jobs this steel mill will create if all these sections begin to work again,” a senior staff member of Premium Steel and Mines told BusinessDay. Premium Steel criss-crosses two towns in Udu Local Government of Delta State— Ovwian and Aladja.

BusinessDay interestingly found that many villagers are not happy with Premium Steel. One reason is that they believe that the sale of the complex to Premium Steel was faulty, claiming that while the company bought the defunct Delta Steel at N28 billion from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in 2014, China Polaris bid N33 billion and should have won the bid.

However, Mustapha Chike-Obi, former chief executive of AMCON, had earlier debunked this allegation, saying that Premium Steel was the highest bidder.

“We are also not happy that AMCON did not give us our 10 percent shares before selling it to Premium Steel,” one villager told BusinessDay. “Initially, villagers had 10 percent share in the company and the staff had 10 percent. Even the failed Global Infrastructure (former investor) stuck to this ar-

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Nigeria sidesteps EM rout with $7.9m...

Continued from page 1

terminal.

As investors pulled the most money in more than a year from USlisted exchange-traded funds that buy emerging market stocks and bonds in the week ended June 22, net inflows of $7.9 million flocked to Africa’s largest economy.

All of those flows went into Nigerian bonds, nil to stocks, the data showed.

Total assets held by investors in the US-listed Nigeria ETFs stood at $437 million in the week under review, rising 508 percent from the week before.

South Africa, on the other hand had net outflows of $211 million which were largely from bond funds. That cut total assets held in Africa’s most industrialised economy by 10.3 percent to $12 billion in the week under review.

Nigerian bonds are attracting fund flows because “they provide some of the most attractive opportunities for carry trade in emerging markets and investors are latching on to that,” said Tajudeen Ibrahim, head of research at Lagos-based investment bank, Chapel Hill Denham.

Carry trade is a trading strategy that involves borrowing at a low interest rate and investing in an asset that provides a higher rate of return.

The US benchmark 10-year bond is yielding around 3 percent while Nigerian bond yields are trading anywhere around 13 percent, putting the carry trade return on naira bonds at around 10 percent, with the naira relatively stable against the dollar in recent months.

Global money managers are bullish on Nigerian securities, enticed by double digit yields, which, while down from almost 17 percent in August, are still among the highest in the world.

Money managers are also confident the OPEC member will be able to keep the naira stable, due in part to oil prices having climbed around

60 percent in the past year.

“The near-term outlook for the naira is stable thanks to higher oil prices and that is boosting investor sentiment towards Nigerian bonds,” said Wale Okunrinboye, head of research at Lagos-based pension fund managers, Sigma Pensions.

The naira has tightly hovered around N360 per US dollar at a window for foreign investors in stocks and bonds which was created in April 2017 to ease a dollar crunch.

It exchanged for N361 per US dollar on the so-called NAFEX window Monday, according to data by trading platform, FMDQ. The naira has barely budged since a devaluation last year, and held its own as other emerging currencies began to tumble in April.

The central bank is keen to keep it that way, at least until February’s elections, according to guidance given by Governor Godwin Emefiele at the last monetary policy meeting in May. “Investors are losing money in other emerging markets as their currencies falter. That is causing them to rotate to relatively safer havens like Nigeria,” Okunrinboye said by phone.

Nigerian bonds have returned some 8 percent in dollar terms this year and are the only localcurrency debt in emerging markets not to have made losses this quarter.

Meanwhile, stocks have had to endure a rather turbulent ride, as investors grow cold feet towards equities ahead of the upcoming 2019 presidential elections.

That explains why stocks saw zero inflows last week, according to Ayodeji Ebo, managing director at financial advisory firm, Afrinvest Securities.

“More foreign investors will look to reduce their exposure to Nigerian equities amid the volatility associated with a pre-election year,” Ebo said.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online

Argentina, Nigeria clash today not just...

Continued from page 1

but loss of businesses.

A source told BusinessDay that companies are likely to suspend their advert campaigns while drinking bars are also likely to witness low sales if Nigeria loses the match this evening.

Jenkins Alumona, the CEO of Strategic Outcomes firm and football enthusiast who is currently in Russia to support Super Eagles said if Nigeria loses to Argentina, it would mean negative outcome for businesses. It will mean “serious losses to media businesses from advertising revenues to newspaper sales. Campaigns will come to a premature end and there will be revenue loses across many media platforms. The Pay TV business will also be impacted negatively as subscriptions may not be renewed,” Jenkins said.

Similarly, Charles Igbinidu a top PR practitioner and CEO of CFO and Associates said victory by Super Eagles over Argentina will be salutary.

“The immediate beneficiaries will be the hospitality industry, which will have increased patronage and most Nigerians usually celebrate success by buying more

drinks and food. By extension, the brewing and beverage industries will also benefit. A loss by the Super Eagles will have negative impact on businesses,” he said.

Adedayo Ojo, the CEO of Caritas, a top PR agency said a win will be exciting and dramatic and will fundamentally result in positive outcomes for related brands.

It is calculated that if the Super Eagles managed by Franco-German coach Gernot Rohr are able to pull a draw with Argentina it would see the country move to the second round provided Iceland does not beat already-qualified Croatia by a wide margin.

World Cup events monitored by BusinessDay showed that many bars have witnessed a significant boom in businesses since the tournament began and advertisement from corporates have also boosted advert revenue of media houses.

“There is even more guaranteed business on the days that the Super Eagles played. Football loving Nigerians, like most fans in most parts of the world, enjoy watching football with the ‘crowd’. That comes with the associated drinking and eating that goes with it boosting sales of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Politics & Policy Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

35

Kwara APC to Oshiomhole: Set machinery to checkmate ills threatening our party SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

T

he Kwara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has tasked the newly elected national chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole and his team to quickly set in motion machinery that would right the so many wrongs bedevilling the party without fear or favour.

The local chapter noted that the conduct of last Saturday’s APC convention and the drama that heralded it before, during and after the elections have raised a lot of dust that the party leadership must set about quickly remedying.

According to the party, “It was only through this that the future and posterity of APC is guaran-

R-L: Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC); Philip Shaibu, Edo State deputy governor; Anselm Ojezua, chairman, APC, Edo State chapter; and Osaro Idah, special adviser to the Edo State Governor on Political Matters, at the APC National Convention in Abuja, at the weekend.

2019: US says blackmail, name calling are no longer fashionable in elections RAZAQ AYINLA

T

he United States of America has advised existing and prospective political office holders in Nigeria to steer clear and work against cheap blackmail, name-calling and all sorts of personality defamation ahead of 2019 and subsequent general elections, saying socio-economic issues should be the political yardsticks for all polls.

The United States, which is one of the oldest democracies in the world, declared that cheap black, name-calling and character defamation were profusely used against President Donald Trump in the build-up to 2016 US electioneering but Americans were swayed by negative campaigns and rather voted for Trump as US President.

Speaking at the United States Consulate Election Reporting Workshop in Osogbo, Osun state capital on Wednesday, Joan Mower, Director of International Media Training, Voice of America, encouraged Nigerian politicians to focus on issues such as economy, infrastructure, health system and other key socioeconomic issues as campaign of calumny are gradually phasing out all over the world.

Mower, who gave a participant’s account and overview of the US general elections held in 2016 at a session with the press men,

noted that almost all Nigerians just like Americans are much more interested in the issues that could attract economic growth and development and not cheap blackmail and name calling and all sorts of personality defamation which some political parties always resort to before and during electioneering.

“In 2016 general elections in the States which involved Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Americans didn’t focus on the personality, blackmail and all sorts of things people said about Trump, they did focus on issues. In America, people don’t care about personality; they care about issues that were why Trump won.

“In Nigeria too, people are now thinking and talking about key issues and not the personality. If Donald Trump should go to the poll today, he will still win because our economy is doing great right now and issues such as that are coming up in Nigeria. People are now asking about the health system in Nigeria for instance.”

Also speaking, Lai Oso, professor of Mass Communication at Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos, stated that polity is hitting up by various biases of different media houses and journalists who are considered as key gate keepers in news reporting going by the news they report and broadcast to the public.

teed.”

In a statement signed by its state publicity secretary, Sulyman Buhari, the party added that there was the urgent need to restore APC to the default setting of sanity, supremacy and constitutionalism.

“A situation where ‘monkeys’ will be toiling day and night at the grassroots mobilising for the party but some ‘baboons’ will be sitting arrogantly in Abuja without lifting a finger and yet dragging the party structure with genuine party members should be done with urgently.

“We reiterate that the Adams Oshiomole-led APC is coming at a time of a lot of storm in the party which if not properly handed, and quickly, might affect the chances of the party in the next polls,” Kwara APC warned.

It, however congratulated both the outgone and new national leadership of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara and all leaders of thought who ensured a hitch-free convention.

“We congratulate particularly Bolaji Abdullahi, the Publicity Secretary-elect. His re-election by an overwhelming majority of our party members across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja is a testimony to his competence, doggedness and astuteness as our party’s spokesperson.

“We urge the winners to be magnanimous in victory. They should embrace and accommodate their co-contestants in the scheme of things, as we all move forward towards nation building,” it stated.

Communications group launches political services ahead 2019 CHUKS OLUIGBO

W

ith politicians and political parties strategising for victor y ahead of the 2019 general elections, a foremost strategic communications group in the country has announced its readiness to provide cuttingedge political services towards the elections.

CMC Connect Limited (Perception Managers) made this announcement at the launch of its two political products in Lagos recently.

The two services launched by CMC Connect Limited through its subsidiaries, Connect Intelligence and i-Octane Digital PR (Online Reputation Managers), are Political Market Research and Political Online Reputation Management (Political ORM), respectively.

Aimed at offering electoral data on the one hand and online reputation management on the other, these services are coming at a time when many political office-seekers in Nigeria go into elections knowing next-to-nothing about the terrain they seek to represent/govern or the issues that affect their constituency.

With the launch of these services, politicians and political parties seeking to understand

the attitudes, behaviour, needs and wants of the public and key stakeholders within their domain can now take advantage of these offerings.

Speaking at the launch, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, group managing director, CMC Connect (Perception Managers), said both services were designed to deepen democracy and engender maximum participation by all stakeholders.

“In today’s political space, you cannot afford to underrate the potential power of data and content. Anyone who does that does so at his or her own peril,” he said.

Olufunmilola Olufunso-Oke, associate group head, Research & Intelligence Development, CMC Connect Burson-Marsteller, explained that Political Market Research is a fundamental part of political campaigns in developed countries as it has been very useful for politicians and political parties, government departments and councils in their pursuit of political goals.

“Despite concerns about governance, Nigerians are becoming increasingly politically engaged and more discerning. For proper development to happen through the 2019 elections, politicians and political parties need to understand the ‘Peoples’ Power’ by paying more attention to the demands of the electorate,”

Olufunso-Oke said.

To achieve this, she said, political office-seekers need Political Market Research, which is a systematic and scientific process, to feel the heartbeat of Nigerians through targeted efforts that provide accurate data on and analyses of voters’ needs, sentiments, attitudes, as well as hidden perception and opinions, the size of the supporters and antagonists, among others. These insights, she added, in turn enhance efficient and effective political strategy.

Olufunso-Oke listed some of the services provided under Political Market Research to include perception audit, opinion polls, vulnerability test, communications research, opposition research, segmentation studies and stakeholders satisfaction surveys.

Also speaking, Opeoluwa Duntoye, team lead, iOctane Digital PR, described Political Online Reputation Management as a process of analyzing, building and managing the online reputation of political aspirants using efficient digital tools.

“With permutations for 2019 elections becoming primar y in the minds of politicians, the digital media space cannot be ignored. The terrain carries a positive influence in shaping the conversations and choices leading to the 2019 elections,” she said.

Oshiomhole’s emergence to boost party’s chances in upcoming elections - Edo APC

T

he Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State Chapter, Anselm Ojezua, has said that the emergence of former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the party, is a triumph for consensus building, and will boost the party’s chances

at upcoming elections.

Ojezua, who said this at the first elective National Congress of the APC, in Abuja, noted that the state chapter of the party was most pleased with the outcome of the proceedings at the convention, especially with the transition from the outgoing chairman to the new chairman.

According to him, “The main objective was to ensure the election of former governor Adams Oshiomhole as the National Chairman. That has been achieved. The convention has gone smoothly. It is a confidence booster.”

Noting that the culture of building consensus has been accepted in addressing conflicting interests at every

level of the party’s affairs in the state, he said: “The most important position, which is that of the national chairman, was resolved by consensus.

“For some of the contested positions, one candidate after the other has come out to say that they have consulted with their people and said that they are stepping down. You can

expect that at the end of the exercise there will be one party. We are going to the elections as one united, strong family.”

Oshiomhole emerged unopposed as the National Chairman of the APC at the first elective National Convention of the APC held in Abuja at the weekend.

of politics seen hampering Not Too June 2018 Young ToTuesday Run26 law

A1 BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

NEWS

P. 4

in association with

World Cup Result

Super Eagles’ say motivated and ready for Argentina ANTHONY NLEBEM, Reporting from St. Petersburg , Russia

did today and hopefully we can get

resultKorea againstArgentina.I0 hopeSweden 1 - the S/ fully, I will be ready for Argentina he race to keep Nigeria’s game,” Obi said.

LeicesterCitymidfielderWilfred Belgium 3 - Panama 0 World Cup hope continues

TEngland

L-R: Muhammed Garuba, executive director, head, asset management, CardinalStone Partners; Tunji Kazeem, head of risk management, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Michael Nzewi, managing director/CEO, CardinalStone Partners; Ade Ewuosho, acting head, trading business, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and Yomi Jemibewon, none executive director, CardinalStone Partners, at the closing gong ceremony by CardinalStone Partners, at the (NSE) in Lagos, yesterday

Analysts see borrowing cost on external debt increasing ENDURANCE OKAFOR

F

inancial analysts in Nigeria say the cost of external debt will increase following the prospect that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will hike its rates later this year.

In what is seen as a wake-up call on emerging economies, sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria in particular, considering that it will fuel volatility in the economic bond, currency and even stock market.

As such, it may not be a good time for emerging countries like Nigeria and various organisations to tap from the foreign markets, as experts in the sector expect interest rates and yields in the global financial market to increase further as the normalisation of monetary policy in advanced countries continues.

The Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank president, Loretta Mester, said in a statement that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates three to four times in both 2018 and 2019.

“This development has two major implications. Firstly, countries or corporates that plan to raise money from the international market may pay higher interest rates because of rising yields. Secondly, countries in emerging markets may

adjust the yields on their fixed income securities to sustain the interests of investors, both local and foreign, in the instruments,” FSDH Merchant Bank said in its weekly report.

Wale Okunrinboye, head of research at Sigma Pension, was of the opinion that higher US policy interest rates imply a higher cost of USD debt for nonUS borrowers.

“However, credit spreads on Nigeria’s Eurobonds remain subdued as a reflection of improved credit risk perception over Nigeria’s USD debt on account of a much improved outlook for oil receipts following the rise in oil prices and largely stable oil production.

“On balance, depending on the timing of the Eurobond sale, EM issuers are likely to find that global debt markets are more demanding of extra return for taking more risk than at prior issuances,” Okunrinboye told BusinessDay by email.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the United States Federal Reserve increased the Federal Funds Rate (Fed Rate) by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent - 2.00 percent at its June 2018 meeting.

This was as a result of the US economy growing by 2.2 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2018.

Inflation rate increased to 2.8

percent year-on-year in May 2018, from 2.5 percent in April.

Unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in May 2018, from 3.9 percent in April.

Analysts expect two more rate hikes in 2018, possibly in September and December, as the fundamentals of the US economy improve.

Most countries around the world rely on sovereign debt to finance their government and economy. When this debt is used in moderation, it can position an economy to grow more quickly. But too much debt can lead to a number of problems.

Nigeria and some other Africa countries fall in this category, as in recent times have been busy tapping from the international market in order to raise funds for budget implementation and to finance their various economic activities.

South Africa, Egypt and Ghana are some of the African countries that have visited the international market in recent times with the aim to raise funds.

Nigeria has been working to lower costs, particularly as inflation is seen on the decline.

However, it is boosting dollar loans and wants to increase its foreign debt holding to 40 percent of total loans by 2019, while reducing the domestic debt to 60 percent in the same period.

Alpha Morgan gets Investment Banking licence, appoints George Imade, MD

N

igerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has licensed Alpha Morgan Capital Advisory Partner Limited to perform Issuing House functions in the Nigerian capital market.

The SEC, in a letter dated April 3, 2018, granted licence to the company to carry out Issuing House activities.

“The investment banking licence is coming at a time when the capital market needs innovation to deepen it and make it an enabler of economic development,” Ade Buraimo, group managing director, Alpha Morgan Capital, said.

“I am confident that with the variety and depth of skills, experience and commitment possessed by Alpha Morgan Capital, the Nigerian Capital market is set to witness a positive revolution,” Buraimo said.

He expressed the Group’s

satisfaction over the licensing that made Alpha Morgan a full-fletched investment banker engaging in wealth management, portfolio and funds management, issuing house, financial advisory and underwriting, among others.

Buraimo also announced the appointment of George Imade as the managing director of Alpha Morgan Capital Advisory Partners Limited.

Imade has over two decades of investment banking experience that include debt and equity capital raising. Prior to his appointment, Imade was executive director, Investment Banking in the Alpha Morgan Group, and associate director at Planet Capital.

He was formerly the acting managing director of Wema Asset Management Limited and also worked in the Capital Markets Group of Afribank International Limited (Mer-

chant Bankers), Investment Banking Group of Diamond Bank plc and Oceanic Capital Company Limited.

Imade has master’s degrees in Business Administration and Managerial Psychology from the University of Benin and University of Ibadan, respectively. He is an Associate of Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers (ACIS) and a registered capital market operator with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Imade is also a Dealing Clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Imade has attended a number of developmental courses within and outside the country including Euro Money Training on Securitization, Corporate Finance, amongst others.

Alpha Morgan Capital Advisory Partners is a member of Alpha Morgan Capital.

Power supply at risk as SSAEAC threatens action in 2 weeks JOSHUA BASSEY

N

igeria faces the risk of power cut as labour, under the auspices of Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), declares a trade dispute with the management of Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN) in what could disrupt national transmission lines.

SSAEAC is accusing the management of TCN of contravening extant rules and failure to honour several meetings arranged by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to resolve several issues, including non implementation of condition of service, arrears of promotion, importation and clearing of power equipment without due process, among others.

At the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union in Lagos at the weekend, Chris Okonkwo of SSAEAC alleged that despite several entreaties, the management of TCN had remained adamant, noting, “The Federal Government and Nigerians should hold the management of TCN liable for our impending showdown.”

According to Okonkwo, the TCN had been involved in casualisation and victimisation of workers since inception about two years ago, and the management had continued to decline efforts by the union to negotiate with it.

The union president further accused the management of withholding implementation of salary increase started by the administration before it, and warned of a showdown if the issues were not resolved in two weeks.

When contacted, however, Usman Muhammed, managing director of TCN, denied the allegations, and said salary increase could not be implemented without the approval of the Salaries and Wages Commission.

Muhammed also said TCN promoted workers who had been stagnated by the past administration, adding that the management regularly paid salaries on 18th of every month.

today June 26, when Super Eagles lock horns with Argentina at the Saint Petersburg stadium in the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

The victory over Iceland on Friday took Nigeria to second place in GroupDastheyseekavitalresultin thegameagainstArgentinatobook their qualifications to the knockout rounds.

Super Eagles captain, Mikel John Obi, who played through the pains in the final minutes against Iceland, said the squad was fully concentrated on the match against Argentina,whichwoulddetermine further interest at the World Cup finals.

“We have celebrated the win over Iceland and the focus is on Argentina. That is the only thing on our minds now. It is important that we keep the focus and plan our strategy quite well.

“We thank Nigerians from all over the world for their support.

Their faith in us and their belief in ourabilityhavecontinuedtopropel us. We will set up very well against Argentina to get a result.”

“Wekeepgoingandcontinueto do what we did against Iceland. We havetoplaytogetherasateamaswe

Ndidi who had the goalkeeper deniedhimagoaladdedthattheteam had been motivated to get a victory against Argentina on Tuesday.

“It was a good game coupled withthefactthatwewonandeveryone is happy and we look forward to the next game against Argentina.

There is no pressure in the team; all we need to do is to pick the confidence from today’s game to the game against Argentina.

“We know that this is the World Cup and we need to do better, we are taking this confidence to the next game and we will avoid complacency and remain focused for the next game,” Ndidi said.

“We want to play for our family and Nigeria; it’s a do or die for us to keep our World Cup dream alive,” Leon Balogun said.

“Our first game was not good enough and we needed to play better in the second game and that we just did and our focus now is the Argentinagame,KelechiIheanacho added.

“The win over Iceland will give the team big motivation and confident to play against Argentina, although they are good side, but we will give everything possible to qualify for the Round of Sixteen.”

2 - Tunisia

1

Amazing atmosphere at St. Petersburg ahead Nigeria vs Argentina game

N

ever in the history of St. Petersburg has it seen such an unending influx of Nigerians and Argentines.

Large contingents of nationals of both countries have continued to pour into the city through the Pulkovo Airport and by other entry points.

A fresh influx of Nigerians who have made their own private arrangements to watch the FIFA World Cup (particularly the Nigeria/Argentina match) started arriving in St. Petersburg on Thursday last week.

Hotels in the city are bursting at the seams as football-loving Nigerians and Argentines from different parts of the world, as well as Nigerians and Argentines resident in Russia, have swooped on Russia’s second city.

Senate president, Bukola Saraki, will lead the cheers for the

Super Eagles, alongside Ambassador Steve Davies Ugbah, Youth and Sports Minister Solomon Dalung (who returned to St. Petersburg on Monday), permanent secretary in the ministry, Olusade Adesola, as well as other members of the Nigeria government delegation.

Members of the National Assembly (senators and House members), NFF executive committee members, members of theNFFcongressandformerNFF presidentsandgeneralsecretaries will also be at the match venue.

Former Nigeria coach, Adegboye Onigbinde, directors in the Youth and Sports Ministry, Abba Yola, Mainasara Illo, delegations from different states and other stakeholders including NPFL club owners are among those who will also cheer the Super Eagles live.

Eagles vs. France or Denmark looms

F

rance and Denmark, two countries that have met Nigeria in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 over the past 20 years, are again the prospects for the Round of 16 in Russia, once the Super Eagles get the challenge of Argentina behind them on Tuesday.

The only other country to have played Nigeria in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, Italy (USA 1994) did not make it to the finals in Russia.

Denmark defeated the Super Eagles 4-1 at the Stade de France in Paris in France 1998 FIFA World Cup. Four years ago, France was 2-0 winners at the Estadio Nacio-

nal Mane Garrincha in Brasilia, kicking the Eagles out of Brazil 2014.

France and Denmark have dominated Group C here in Russia, each with six points and similar two-goal credit, and with their clash in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium also on Tuesday to determine the group winner. Peru and Australia have already been eliminated in that group.

The winner of Group C will take on the runner-up of Group D (Nigeria’s section) in the Round of 16 in Kazan on Saturday, June 30, while the winner of Group D will play the runner-up of Group C in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday, July 1.

A2 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

C002D5556

Delta spends over N5bn on urban renewal MERCY ENOCH, Asaba

U

rban renewal in Delta State may have gulped over N5 billion in three years of the incumbent administration of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

The state within the period carried out various construction works, rehabilitation and resurfacing works aimed at renewing the various parts of the state, Peter Forteta, commissioner for urban renewal, said.

He made the disclosure Monday when he appeared at the ongoing 2018 press ministerial briefing at the Ministry of Information, Asaba, He mentioned projects like the rehabilitation and asphalt overlay of Obotobo I – Obotobo II – Sokobolu – Yokri Road in Burutu LGA of the state, which according to him, WAs 18.71km

length of road awarded on December 9, 2016, at the cost of N1,667,629,659.70. The project, he said was ongoing as it had attained 60 percent completion.

He highlighted the rehabilitation/overlay of Oha/Orerokpe/ Oviore Road with bridge in Okpe LGA, adding that “the project of length 7.0km was awarded on 15th December, 2016 at the sum of N1,477,596,050.70 and is ongoing and at 25 percent completion”.

He also mentioned the construction of Burutu township roads in Burutu LGA and explained that the road of length 3.00km was awarded on 13th December, 2016 at the total amount of N837,051,997.48 and has been completed, According to him, the rehabilitation of Charles Street with drains at Agbor, in Ika South LGA was awarded at the cost of over N284 million, and has been long

completed and commissioned.

He also mentioned the rehabilitation/construction of Amawha Layout/Ideze Road with drainage at Oleh, Isoko South LGA and said that the project gulped over N150 million and has been completed and commissioned.

Forteta had earlier outlined the mandate of the ministry to include monitoring and identifying possible areas of the state that requires upgrading to urban centres; upgrading of infrastructural facitilities in bligh areas; and empowerment of communities to create the sustenable.

He however lamented that absence of vehicles for project supervision, inadequate office accommodation/equipment/ furniture as well as absence of engineering and survey equipment have continued to pose challenges towards the realisation of the mandate.

Edo partners ANAN on capacity building for civil servants

G

overnor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has disclosed his administration’s plan to partner the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) in the training of accountants in the state civil service to enhance productivity.

Obaseki disclosed this when the national presid e n t o f A NA N, S h e h u Ladan, paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Benin City on Monday.

The governor maintained that the goal of his administration was to expose civil servants in the state to trainings that would increase their productivity. “ We hav e u p g ra d e d our software packages

and have automated the accounting platform for the state. The next step is to train the accounting staff to use the technology to anchor accounting processes and procedures.

“We want to partner with you in building the capacity of a lot of our accounting staff in government,” Obaseki said.

He noted that the state government had enjoyed a good working relationship w ith ANAN as its members had continued to add value to accounti n g p ro c e d u re s i n t h e state.

Earlier, the president of ANAN, Shehu Ladan, commended the governor for the ongoing transformation of the state, and the appointment of ANAN members into key

positions.

Ladan explained that he was in the state for the association’s third session of the 2018 Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme.

He a p p e a l e d t o t h e state government to assist the ass ociation to complete its secretariat in the state and issue a Certificate of Occupancy for the land on which the ANAN’s building was being erected.

In his response, the g ov e r n o r p ro m i s e d t o l o o k i nt o t h e i s s u e o f upgrading members of ANAN in the state public service, who are still below grade level 10, as approved by the National C o u n c i l o n E s t ab l i s h ment.

NOI Polls: Eleka in early lead over Fayemi in Ekiti

A

head of the forthcoming Ekiti State Gubernatorial elections slated for July 14th 2018, a new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls has pitched Professor Kolapo Olusola, candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in an early 8-point lead over John Kayode Fayemi, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The poll was conducted between 18th and 23rd June 2018 and it sought to assess the preparedness of voters towards the forthcoming Governorship election in Ekiti state. From the results of 1,000 randomly selected respondents, all resident in Ekiti state, and interviewed via telephone: Professor Olusola, fondly known as Eleka polled 34 percent; Fayemi (JKF) polled 26 percent; Otunba Segun Adewale of ADP, fondly called Oshaprapra (7 percent); and Rev-

erend Tunde Afe of ANRP (6 percent).

In addition, there were some candidates who altogether polled 4 percent, such as: Akinloye Ayegbusi (SDP), David Ayodele Adesua (ADC), Ebenezer Femi Ogunsakin (PPN), Dr. Sikiru Lawal (LP), Sunday Balogun (MPN), Mrs, Ilesanmi Anike Margaret (AP), Temitope Amuda (KP), Tosin Ajibade (ID) and Agboola Olaniyi (AD) amongst others.

Interestingly, the poll also revealed that while 93 percent of respondents claimed to have obtained their Permanent Voters Card (PVC), 83 percent were absolutely certain they would come out and vote for the gubernatorial candidate of their choice on 14th July 2018. However, in spite of this level of optimism and preparedness, 23 percent of respondents remain either undecided or simply refused to divulge their choice of

candidate.

The poll further indicated that while Professor Olusola appeared to enjoy significant support across the three senatorial districts of the state, Ekiti Central (39 percent), Ekiti South (36 percent) and Ekiti North (30 percent); Dr. Fayemi’s support base was observed mainly in Ekiti South (28 percent) and Ekiti North (27 percent) senatorial districts. Similarly, the poll highlighted Eleka’s support amongst youths aged between 18 and 35 years (39 percent) and the workingclass of ages 36 to 60 years (34 percent); compared to JKF’s whose support averaged 26 percent across all age categories. Interestingly, the poll also revealed a strong female support for Eleka (37 percent), compared to JKF with significant support from male respondents (28 percent).

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Tuesday 26 June 2018

FT

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

A3

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

Erdogan claims victory in Turkey elections

Lira jumps 2% after president tightens grip on power LAURA PITEL, FUNJA GULER AND AYLA JEAN YACKLEY

T

urkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory on Sunday night in pivotal presidential and parliamentary elections, securing five more years in office and triggering a change to a powerful presidential system that places unprecedented powers in his hands.

Preliminary results showed that the Turkish president overcame the challenges of a resurgent opposition, mounting concerns about the economy and a plunging lira to win 52.5 per cent of the vote with 97.6 per cent of ballot boxes opened. Mr Erdogan’s main challenger, Muharrem Ince, won 30.8 per cent.

The results also showed that Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) will have a majority in parliament with the help of its allies from an ultranationalist party.

The Turkish lira jumped as much as 2.1 per cent in Asia trading on Monday to TL4.5791 per dollar.

In a speech to joyful supporters in Istanbul, which took place while votes were still being counted, Mr Erdogan said: “The nation has entrusted to me the responsibility of the presidency and the executive duty.” He called on the nation to “leave election tensions behind us” and added: “I hope nobody will try to cast a shadow on the results and harm democracy in order to hide their own failure.”

Mr Ince vociferously challenged the results as they came in on Sunday night, accusing the state-run Anadolu Agency of manipulating the results to show a false lead for the president.

However, at 00.30 local time on Monday the former physics teacher was reported to have conceded defeat. Ismail Kucukkaya, a TV presenter from the Turkish channel Fox TV, said that he had sent a WhatsApp message to the presidential challenger who replied: “The man won.” Mr Kucukkaya said that Mr Ince added: “Of course, it wasn’t a fair competition. There were some problems during the campaign. I have some things to say. But I accept that Erdogan won.”

The report was not denied by Mr Ince. He tweeted to say that he would make a statement at midday local time on Monday.

Opinion polls had suggested that an energised opposition campaign, spearheaded by Mr Ince, could deprive Mr Erdogan of a parliamentary

majority in Sunday’s vote and even force him into a second-round runoff of the presidential contest. But, following the results, they were left with the crushing realisation that they had failed on both fronts.

Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) secured just 42.4 per cent in parliamentary polls, the Anadolu results showed — far lower than the 49.5 per cent that it secured in the last general elections in November 2015.

But the unexpectedly strong performance of the ruling party’s de facto coalition partners, the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement party (MHP), was enough to deliver a parliamentary majority to the progovernment bloc.

The MHP won 11.2 per cent, according to Anadolu agency after 97.4 per cent of ballot boxes were opened, bringing the two parties’ combined total to 53.6 per cent. The MHP result was only marginally less than the result that it secured at the last elections three years ago, before a major split in the party that led to the formation of a breakaway movement. Polls had suggested that the party could get around half its actual result.

Meral Aksener, a fiery campaigner who left the MHP to form the IYI (Good) party last year, had a disappointing night, securing just 10 per cent in parliamentary polls and 7.3 per cent in the presidential contest.

Opposition parties had voiced fears of fraud and intimidation during voting, but results published by the opposition-run Fair Election Platform put Mr Erdogan on 52.6 per cent of the vote, and Mr Ince on 31.3 per cent, with 94.4 per cent of ballot boxes opened.

Mr Erdogan’s critics complained that the campaign took place under heavily skewed conditions, with most media, including the state-run broadcaster, devoting hours to the president and little or no time to his rivals.

Selahattin Demirtas, the presidential candidate for the leftwing, proKurdish Peoples’ Democratic party (HDP) ran his campaign from a jail cell, where he is awaiting trial on accusations of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK).

Despite the hurdles, Mr Ince electrified the Turkish opposition with an energetic and combative campaign and promises to restore Turkey’s checks and balances. He was widely seen as having put Mr Erdogan on the back foot, forcing him into the most challenging campaign since his party swept to power 16 years ago.

Zimbabwe president accuses ‘normal enemies’ of bomb blast Mnangagwa insists elections will not be derailed by explosion that injured dozens JOSEPH COTTERILL

Z

imbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa indirectly blamed disaffected elements within his ruling Zanu-PF party for an explosion at a weekend rally that injured dozens of supporters, including the country’s vice-president.

The explosion ripped through a stage seconds after Mr Mnangagwe

has ended his speech to party supporters in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-biggest city.

Mr Mnangagwa, who became president last year after a military takeover ended Robert Mugabe’s 37 years of rule, said that the “cowardly act” would not derail elections, which he has promised would be free, fair and peaceful. Mr MnanContinues on page A4

Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a statement from his official residence in Istanbul after claiming victory on Sunday night © AP

Trade war rhetoric takes toll on global stocks Futures point to falls of around 1% for Wall Street indices while dollar holds ground

S

tocks are lower and haven assets are in demand as further signs of trade hostility between China and the US set an uneasy tone, with declines for equities steepening toward the US open.

According to futures trade, Wall Street’s S&P 500 will fall 0.7 per cent at the US open, with the Nasdaq Composite set to fall 1.1 per cent.

London’s FTSE 100 is down 1.3 per cent, while Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 is down 1.5 per cent. The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 is 1.2 per cent weaker after Asian indices close around session lows as nerves grow throughout the global trading day.

“The US has until the end of the week to finalise the list of Chinese tariffs and confirm the investment restrictions that will apply to Chinese businesses and fears are rising that we are now reaching the point of no return in a global trade war,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

The Financial Times reported on Sunday that the Trump administration decided to restrict Chinese investment in US companies and start-ups in sectors from aerospace to robotics as it prepares to deploy its latest weapon in the escalating trade war with Beijing.

The yen, which tends to serve as a haven during periods of market uncertainty, is 0.5 per cent stronger at ¥109.45 per dollar, its highest level in two weeks. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries, also prized for their safety, is down 2 basis points at 2.8821 per cent as investors buy into the debt.

German Bunds over the same maturity are also in demand, with the yield on debt seen as Europe’s safest down 1.2bp at 0.322 per cent.

China’s renminbi weakened to a fresh five-and-a-half-month low — down 0.4 per cent at Rmb6.5302 per dollar — after its central bank announced a $100bn cut in the amount of capital banks are required to hold in reserve.

The move, which should help boost lending, is designed to cushion the impact on the economy of the US tariffs.

Meanwhile, Opec’s bigger-thanexpected move to increase oil supply by 1.8m barrels a day has hit crude, leaving energy stocks exposed. The Stoxx index tracking oil producers is down 1.1 per cent.

Italian assets look vulnerable after a strong showing in local elections for rightwing populists chimed with concerns last week after the appointment of Eurosceptics to important parliamentary committees. The FTSE

MIB is down 1.5 per cent and its 10year yield is up 8.7bp at 2.801 per cent as investors sell the debt.

Tokyo’s Topix index ended 1 per cent lower after the yen gained ground.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.3 per cent. On the mainland the CSI 300 index, comprised of major companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, also shed 1.3 per cent.

Currencies Turkey’s lira firmed as much as 2.1 per cent after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed victory in elections, only to lose the gains to flatline at TL4.6770 per dollar.

The dollar index is up 0.1 per cent at 94.604, with the euro down 0.1 per cent at $1.1637. The pound is 0.2 per cent softer at $1.3236.

Commodities Brent crude oil is trading around $74 a barrel after Opec agreed at the weekend to ramp up production by as much as 1m barrels a day, partly to compensate for production outages in countries such as Venezuela.

The international benchmark is down 1.5 per cent at $74.39 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, is up 0.2 per cent at $68.72.

Gold shed 0.2 per cent to $1,266.40 an ounce.

Salvini’s League storms to victory in Italy’s municipal elections Capture of leftwing strongholds in Tuscany cements decline of centre-left JAMES POLITI

C

andidates backed by Matteo Salvini’s far-right League stormed to victory in Italian municipal elections on Sunday, including the capture of a trio of leftwing strongholds in Tuscany that cemented the decline of the centre-left Democratic party.

According to final results on Monday morning, Mr Salvini’s rightwing alliance seized control of Siena, Pisa and Massa, confirming the favourable political winds sustaining the 45-year old interior minister and his populist, Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant message.

Since June 1, Mr Salvini’s League has been governing Italy alongside the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, but in local elections it had linked arms with Forza Italia, the centre-right party led by Silvio Berlusconi, and Brothers of Italy, another far-right nationalist party.

“These are historic wins for the League in towns that have been administered by the left for decades: THANKS!!!,” Mr Salvini wrote on Facebook early on Monday. “The more the left insults us, the more the citizens reward us,” he added.

The results unsettled Italian financial markets on Monday morning. The FTSE MIB stock index fell 1.3 per cent in Milan, while government bonds across the curve faced selling.

The victories in the local elections follow a sharp rise in national polls for the League. Before the March 4 election, surveys showed Mr Salvini’s party had won the support of about 14 per cent of Italians.

By polling day, it had secured more than 17 per cent of the vote. Since then, as it sealed a deal with Five Star to rise to power in Rome, it has been attracting even more support, with some polls showing it to be Italy’s most popular party, with

about 28 per cent of the electorate backing it.

The League’s advances in the local election were mirrored by the defeats of the centre-left, which could make it even harder for it to mount a powerful opposition at a national level. Carlo Calenda, the former economic development minister and a member of the PD who has called for the creation of a “Republican front” to fight Italy’s new populist leaders, warned that his side was heading for “irrelevance exactly when Italy needs it most”.

“We need to rethink everything: language, ideas, people, organisation. We need to widen our scope and involve everyone in a new manifesto,” Mr Calenda said. The only bright points for the PD in the local races were victories in Ancona, Brindisi and Brescia, but they did not make up for the defeats suffered in its heartland.

A4

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

NATIONAL

FT

Oprah’s Weight Watchers bet leaves Wall Street pros trailing Billionaire entrepreneur’s decision to buy shares in dieting company has proved lucrative CHLOE CORNISH

O

prah Winfrey is showing Wall Street’s most celebrated investors how it is done, with a bet on a previously struggling diet company generating hefty returns for the American entrepreneur and philanthropist.

In October 2015, Ms Winfrey made a $43m investment in Weight Watchers International, then an increasingly beleaguered dieting company worth less than $7 a share, joined its board and lent her brand of positive self-help to its marketing.

Last week, its stock hit a record $101, a 1,400 per cent rise since Ms Winfrey

bought in.

Activist investors have carved out careers — and sometimes fortunes — taking a large stake in public companies while promising that they alone have the secret sauce to improve corporate performance.

Some have become famous, such as Bill Ackman, who was lauded after a

stellar decade of returns before losing a series of big bets. Mr Ackman’s listed fund, Pershing Square, has lost money for the past three years.

By contrast, 64-year-old Ms Winfrey’s 8 per cent holding in the revived and rebranded “wellness” company is now worth $543m, swelling her fortune to $4bn and making her the

first black female entrepreneur on Bloomberg’s Billionaires List.

“It’s difficult in public markets, beyond tech or biotech, to make that kind of return,” acknowledged James de Bunsen, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson.

In 2017, Weight Watchers outperformed Hedge Fund Research’s activist index, which gained 5.5 per cent, by 281 per cent. The Russell 2000 small and mid-cap US index rose 13 per cent last year.

Ethiopia’s youthful PM steps up pace of change — but provokes

Zimbabwe president accuses ‘normal enemies’...

Continued from page A3 gagwa’s spokesperson also ruled out a state of emergency being imposed after the blast.

Free elections are essential if Mr Mnangagwa is to succeed in unlocking international investment to revive Zimbabwe’s penurious economy, which had been ruined under Mr Mugabe’s watch.

Mr Mnangagwa told state media on Saturday that “people outside Bulawayo . . . my normal enemies” were behind the blast. “It’s not the first attempt on my life,” he said. “It exploded inches away from me but it is not my time.”

He survived attempts on his life from within his own party last year amid a power struggle with Grace Mugabe, the former president’s wife, shortly before November’s coup.

The attempts included an alleged poisoned ice-cream cone and a plot to kill Mr Mnangagwa after Mr Mugabe sacked him as his deputy, forcing him to flee abroad.

Days after Mr Mnangagwa’s exile, army generals sent tanks on to the streets to protest against Mrs Mugabe’s influence on the state. Mr Mugabe then resigned under pressure from Zanu-PF after a stand-off.

Among the injured from Saturday’s blast were Kembo Mohadi, one of Zimbabwe’s two vice-presidents, and other senior officials.

On Sunday a spokesperson for the president said that “the electoral programme proceeds as scheduled”, with polling on July 30.

Zanu-PF rigged previous votes under Mr Mugabe and used violence to intimidate opposition parties. This year the main opposition MDC Alliance has been able to campaign and hold rallies more freely than in the past, analysts say.

But doubts have been raised over the army’s willingness to accept an opposition victory. MDC Alliance leaders have also raised concerns that the army would fund an excuse to deploy soldiers in rural areas to intimidate voters.

Nelson Chamisa, the MDC Alliance’s leader and Mr Mnangagwa’s main rival for president, said after the explosion that “political violence of any nature from any quarter is totally unacceptable . . . which we must expunge”.

Mr Mnangagwa, who was known as the “crocodile” and was a ruthless enforcer for Mr Mugabe, would “not be driven by vengefulness or a spirit of retribution” over the attack, his spokesperson said.

Bulawayo and its surrounding Matabeleland region have been heartlands of opposition to Zanu-PF and particularly Mr Mnangagwa. In the 1980s, massacres were committed across Matabeleland to help consolidate Mr Mugabe’s grip on the post-independence government. Mr Mnangagwa has denied orchestrating the massacres.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Abiy Ahmed has admitted to state torture and headed off forex crisis JOHN AGLIONBY AND DAVID PILLING

A

Jelena McWilliams at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination in January © AP

New US bank regulator is mould-breaking conservative Jelena McWilliams promises to make the FDIC more ‘transparent and accountable’ BARNEY JOPSON

A

s a one-time aide in the notoriously long-winded Senate, Jelena McWilliams jokes that she has learnt to talk at length without answering a question.

As Donald Trump’s pick to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Ms McWilliams kept specific policy goals to herself when she made her first public appearance to an audience of bankers this month.

But the chair of the US agency responsible for promoting public confidence in the US financial system did not miss a chance to rib former Federal Reserve colleagues in the audience, saying: “At the Fed you’re not allowed to talk. There’s the Fed-speak and that’s it.”

Much of the attention was on her background, which breaks the mould in the staid world of bank regulation: 44 years old, she was born Jelena Obrenic in the former Yugoslavia and grew up in a lower middle-class family in Belgrade before moving to the US on her 18th birthday.

She did, however, say enough on stage to suggest that her stance on

regulation will be more conventionally conservative — and that she will show banks more empathy than the Obama appointees she is succeeding, whom bankers say treated them with distrust if not contempt.

“I’ve never met a banker who said: ‘I actually want to be a bad banker, I really want to harm my consumers and I cannot wait for the day when I’m just going to do something wrong’,” said Ms McWilliams.

She joined the ranks of regulators from Fifth Third Bancorp, a $142bnin-assets Cincinnati bank where she had been chief legal officer.

“I actually think most entities are very good in trying to comply, trying to do the best they can, and regulators’ job is to make sure the regulations we promulgate give them a clear path.”

Ms McWilliams was the last of the Trump-appointed regulatory chiefs to take office, joining as the others were already racing to implement a Treasury department blueprint for undoing parts of the Dodd-Frank act, the US’s response to the 2008-09 mortgage meltdown. Critics on the left say they are recklessly laying the ground for more bank risk-taking

that could imperil the economy.

Ms McWilliams regulates thousands of the US’s small lenders and oversees a government insurance fund that is a backstop for savers in the event of a bank failure. She will also shape big-ticket regulations that affect the likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, working with the Fed to loosen measures such as the Volcker rule and demands for banks to write “living wills”.

One Democratic aide who worked with her on Capitol Hill said: “I don’t think she is a rigid conservative, but she is a conservative.” She comes to the job, however, with a background unlike any of her 29 predecessors, including three women.

As a teenager in what is now Serbia, she planned to study astrophysics, but concluded the only people who were rewarded for hard work in her home country were those willing to “work with the corruption”. Having grown up watching the soaps Dallas and Dynasty, she told her father that she thought America might give her a chance. On her 18th birthday she arrived in the US on a high school exchange programme with $500 in her pocket.

Pupils showcase art talents at children’s day event

P

ainting took the centre stage recently, as POWEI Foundation organised an arts’ competition, where children painted one of Nigeria’s foremost leaders and the nation’s first head of government, the late Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

It was organised to create awareness on issues that affect children’s health and their general well being, as well as to render a helping hand.

The foundation was floated as a result of a special child, Praise Glory Jolly, who suffered some illness, but was healed along the way.

The mother of Glory, Jolly, said her daughter’s unpleasant health changes were confusing. She didn’t know what to say. However, with dedication and utmost attention,

the baby grew to become the face of Unilever Pears Baby of Year.

Jolly continued: “I just want to encourage parents, as well as make them know that the period from conception till birth and early years is when these symptoms begin to show, so, be aware of the changes you notice and report them as soon as possible and take care of the babies when they are born so that we do not have children with physical challenges in the society.”

A concerned woman, who addressed herself as Madam Felicia, advised parents to be careful about the programmes their kids watch and the things they read.

According to her, “children learn faster by what they see and they do

not understand those emotional things, as a result, they tend to want to practice what they see innocently.

Leaving them to watch whatever they want is like leaving them to the whole world.”

She also told parents to be careful of people they leave their children with. She said, “Most children call most adult men they see daddy, but be careful with some of these daddies.”

She advised children to play with other physically challenged children at school, as it helps them to recover, to some extent, and to always report anybody that touches them inappropriately to their parents.

Iwalewa Gallery was the major sponsor of the event. They offered their gallery as venue.

biy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s youthful prime minister, may be the most popular politician in Africa but he has also made enemies. On Saturday, at a huge rally in Addis Ababa, an explosion that may have been intended to kill him left two dead and 156 people injured, five of them critically.

No one took responsibility for the blast and Mr Abiy did not try to pin the blame on anyone. “To those who tried to divide us, I want to tell you that you have not succeeded,” he said.

Analysts said perpetrators of the explosion, which occurred after Mr Abiy ended an address to tens of thousands of supporters in Meskel Square, could have been disgruntled members of the security forces. Their power is threatened by the sweeping reforms Mr Abiy has launched since becoming premier in April.

There was also speculation that his peace overtures to Eritrea, in which he said Ethiopia would give up its claim to disputed land, might have triggered the attack.

Mr Abiy came out of the blocks so fast in his first few weeks in office that few believed he could maintain the pace. But, if anything, the 42-year-old former army officer has stepped it up.

Since being appointed just more than two months ago, Mr Abiy has overseen the release of thousands of political prisoners, ended a state of emergency that was imposed to quell two-and-a-half years of deadly anti-government protests, and announced an economic liberalisation plan, including partial sale of state telecom and airline assets.

More recently, he has has reorganised the once-untouchable intelligence services and admitted publicly that the authoritarian government has committed acts of torture and terrorism on its own people.

His charm offensive in the Gulf also appears to have borne fruit. The United Arab Emirates agreed last week to provide $3bn in badly needed loans and investments to ease a chronic foreign exchange shortage.

“He is our Barack Obama, Justin Trudeau and Nelson Mandela all in one,” enthused Addis Alemayehou, an Ethiopian media consultant, echoing the sense of euphoria that has accompanied the elevation to power of Africa’s youngest leader.

That, say analysts, has raised expectations that Mr Abiy can transform the political and economic landscape. But it has also prompted concerns of a political backlash from within the ranks of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.

Over the 27 years the EPRDF has been in power, Ethiopia has won plaudits in the west for its rapid development, including official growth rates approaching 10 per cent. But it has been severely criticised for rights abuses.

Ethiopian politics remains opaque but, say analysts, there are hints of discontent within the ruling four-party coalition, whose 180 council members are far from unanimously behind Mr Abiy. There are already signs, for example, of an attempt to roll back his plans to sell off state assets.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

A5

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Global equities hit by escalation in US-Sino trade jitters US equity futures indicate a drop of almost 1% for the Nasdaq MICHAEL HUNTER AND ADAM SAMSON

W

all Street was set to open lower on Monday as the growing risk of a trade war between the US and China spurred sharp declines across share markets in Asia and Europe.

US equity futures indicated a drop of 0.7 per cent for the Nasdaq, with investors also anticipating losses at the open for large industrial companies in the wake of the Trump administration’s decision to restrict Chinese investment in US companies and start-ups in sectors from aerospace to robotics.

US Treasury prices were firmer with the 10-year benchmark yield remaining below 2.90 per cent.

Among haven currencies, the yen and the swiss franc found buyers as investors became increasingly concerned that trade barriers would impair the global economic expansion.

“We are in the middle of a trade squabble that is getting much worse, and market fears that it could threaten global growth are given credence by the size of the list of countries involved,” said Koon Chow, strategist at UBP. “The US, China, the EU, Mexico and Canada are significant. The dispute comes at a time when China’s growth was already showing signs of slowing, adding to the danger.’’

Harley-Davidson also reacted to the growing trade tension. On Monday the iconic US bike manufacturer said it would shift production of EU-bound motorcycles away from its US-based manufacturing sites as a result of Brussels’ decision to retaliate in kind against Washington’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminium.

Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, said: “In response to the trade spats we’ll have some US companies shift production overseas and foreign companies move production to the US with one offsetting the other.’’

Ahead of the opening bell in New York, shares were broadly lower across Europe as export-focused companies came under pressure.

The Euro Stoxx 600 was down 1.3 per cent in early afternoon activity and followed falls in China and Hong Kong.

A move by China’s central bank to cut $100bn in the amount of capital lenders are required to hold in reserve was seen as a measure to help the slowing economy absorb any hit from US tariffs. The prospect of a liquidity infusion did little to help equities, with the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 closing at its lowest level since June 2017 for a year-to-date loss of 11.7 per cent.

The renminbi weakened to a fresh five-and-a-half-month low, while other emerging market currencies that could reflect escalating trade tension, such as the Korean won and Mexican peso, also weakened.

As investors dialled back their risk exposure, some believe the current trade tension will remain contained.

Seth Carpenter, economist at UBS, said: “We maintain our view that the US will avoid a full-scale trade war with China; the current developments reflect the contentious relationship, but full escalation is unlikely.’’ He added that Canada, China, Mexico, and the EU will receive tariffs and “in our base case, only finished cars are in scope; a tariff on auto parts would harm domestic producers”.

US futures lower as trade tensions rise again PETER WELLS

T

he continued escalation in the trade spat between the US and China had Wall Street futures heading south on Monday.

The Trump administration decided on Sunday to restrict Chinese investment in US companies and start-ups, adding to a growing amount of Chinese imports on which Washington has placed — and threatened to ramp-up — tariffs.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.5 per cent, but those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were down 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively. This follows declines in Asian and European stock markets.

US stocks rose on Friday, most notably with the Dow ending an eight-session losing streak that was its longest in 15 months.

Eyes will be on the various US industrial and food stocks seen as

most at risk from the fallout of a US-China trade war. The likes of Boeing, Caterpillar, Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman, Tyson Foods and Hormel Foods are among those seen by investors as in the line of fire.

Shares in Harley-Davidson were also down nearly 3 per cent in premarket trade, after the company said it was planning to move production of its EU-bound motorcycles away from US-based manufacturing plants in an effort to avoid an annual hit of up to $100m stemming from increased EU tariffs.

The US dollar was weaker, with the DXY index — which tracks the buck against a weighted basket of global peers — down 0.2 per cent at 94.34.

Treasuries benefited from the cautious mood, with yields, which fall as bond prices rise, slightly lower.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury was down 1.1 basis points at 2.8894 per cent.

A move by China’s central bank to cut $100bn in the amount of capital lenders have to hold in reserve is seen as a measure to help the economy absorb US tariffs © Getty

EU proves reluctant playmate in Trump’s game of chicken on trade Bloc struggles to identify retaliatory measures without shooting itself in the foot JIM BRUNSDEN, ALAN BEATTIE AND JAMIE SMYTH

D

onald Trump’s tariff-wielding trade policy has left Brussels pondering how to fight back if Europe’s most prized industry is attacked.

Almost before the ink has dried on EU retaliatory measures against US steel and aluminium tariffs, European capitals are shifting attention to a far bigger risk: a US probe into whether car imports are also a threat to national security. The investigation could put some $58bn of EU-made cars and car parts in the line of fire for additional duties, according to an estimate by EU officials. This would be close to 10 times the amount of goods affected by the steel and aluminium measures.

The threat is real: Mr Trump took to Twitter on Friday to warn that EU-made cars would soon be hit by 20 per cent tariffs unless the EU removed barriers on US products.

It is forcing the European Commission and EU member states to think about yet more retaliation — a battle they do not want and where they face difficult political choices about how far they are prepared to go.

“The EU faces being dragged into a game of chicken with the US, increasingly against its own will, that it is powerless to stop,” said Maria Demertzis, deputy director at Bruegel, a think-tank in Brussels.

“Once this kind of trade war starts, eventually you don’t have a choice, the escalation is really unavoidable.”

Picking US targets for further

European retaliation should be easy given the depth of the transatlantic market — €255bn of US goods crossed the Atlantic in 2017, according to Eurostat data. Under World Trade Organization rules on measures known as “safeguards”, countries have considerable latitude when choosing products to hit with retaliatory tariffs — and the EU would be sure to include sectors that would be touchy for Washington.

“You retaliate on sensitive products,” said Karel De Gucht, a former EU trade commissioner. “The approach is always that we try to achieve the maximum result with the minimum effort. You retaliate to hurt somebody.”

In response to Mr Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs, the EU crafted a list of €2.8bn of US products designed to inflict economic and political pain. It included orange juice, a key export from the swing state of Florida, and bourbon whiskey from Kentucky, the state of US Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

But trade lawyers caution that it will be difficult for Europe to find further ways to strike back without shooting itself in the foot.

The greater interconnection of supply chains means it is hard to hit US exports without depriving European companies of much-needed inputs and coming under pressure to grant exemptions. The EU could tax imports of US specialist machinery and chemicals, for example, but that would harm European manufacturers. So would directly retaliating against US cars.

The EU lacks some of the possibilities for retaliation that China, also being targeted by Mr Trump, enjoys.

Its potential to hit the US’s politically sensitive farm sector is limited: Europe imports relatively few American agricultural commodities, thanks to EU hygiene restrictions on meat and genetically modified crops.

In any case, targeting politically sensitive US states is unlikely to work as well as it once did. Lourdes Catrain, a partner in the trade practice at Hogan Lovells in Brussels, said: “President Trump seems to have limited interest in listening to Congress, so the familiar strategy the commission has been following of targeting measures at politically sensitive states ahead of the [US] midterm elections is less likely to work.”

Another option would be for Brussels to impose restrictions on US companies that offer services such as banking and insurance to EU customers. But because the value of services is notoriously difficult to quantify, trade officials warn that this would not be easy to do within WTO rules, which require retaliation to be calibrated to reflect damage from illegal measures.

“Retaliating against services is much more difficult than retaliating against goods,” said Mr De Gucht.

“As soon as they are authorised, you don’t see them any more. For goods you have a beancount.”

A large-scale trade clash with Mr Trump would also confront the EU with broader challenges, not least maintaining internal unity if such an important and sensitive sector as the car industry were suffering.

The pressure would be especially acute on Germany, which accounts for about half of the EU’s car exports to the US.

Shareholders overwhelmingly back sale of SLA’s insurance The sale is part of SLA’s break from the insurance business to focus on investments ATTRACTA MOONEY

S

tandard Life Aberdeen’s sale of its insurance business to Phoenix Group has been overwhelming approved by shareholders after SLA’s chairman pledged it would help transform the Edinburgh-headquarter company into one of the world’s leading investment businesses.

More than 99 per cent of shareholders of SLA, which was formed last year through the merger of insurer Standard Life and fund

manager Aberdeen Asset Management, backed each of the three resolutions relating to the sale.

Gerry Grimstone, chairman of SLA’s board, said the sale to Phoenix represented a “decisive break from our past as an insurer” and supported the company’s “ambitions of becoming a world-class investment company”.

The chairman also reassured shareholders that SLA was wellprepared for Brexit. “Everything we need to do [for Brexit] will be done by the required date,”

he said.

Mr Grimstone added that SLA has had to submit paperwork “as big as I am” to regulators as it attempts to prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU and warned that functions that were once carried out in Edinburgh or London will now be done in Luxembourg and Dublin.

He said that 400 people have left the SLA since Standard Life took over Aberdeen last August.

The chairman added the £3.2bn Phoenix deal would close by the third quarter.

A6

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

Tuesday 26 June 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

A7

A8 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

C002D5556

Tuesday 26 June 2018

GE’s latest hardware upgrades to increase efficiency Uptick prospects seen in H2 2018, … new upgrade to offer $2m in fuel savings annually gloomy times beyond 2019 FRANK UZUEGBUNAM, South Carolina, US

G

E’s recent hardware upgrades will help to increase efficiency and output at Afam IV and Azito power plants in Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, respectively.

The MXL2 upgrade on Shell Petroleum Development Company’s Afam IV plant will add additional 30mw capacity, enough power for approximately 200,000 Nigerian homes.

In addition to increasing power output by up to 30mw at Afam IV power plant, the upgrades on the turbines are expected to deliver a combined-cycle efficiency increase, resulting in significant fuel savings and reduced CO2 emissions.

“It will always be the lowest dollar per kilowatt hour supply because of its efficiency and economics of scale,” Guy DeLeonardo, general manager for GE Power’s Gas Power Systems business, told BusinessDay on the sidelines of International Media Tour of the company’s facilities in Greenville.

In Cote d’Ivoire, Azito signed an agreement to upgrade two gas turbines at the company’s combined-cycle power plant and marks GE’s first GT13E2 MXL2 gas tur-

bine upgrade order in subSaharan Africa.

The nature of the upgrades at Afam IV and Azito power plant projects means that GE’s solutions will also extend inspection intervals for the gas turbines thereby reducing maintenance and repair expenses, which, in turn, will reduce overall plant costs and result in improving profitability.

The company in an official statement stated that the new MXL2 with Additive Manufactured Performance (AMP), the world’s first upgrade solution for GE’s GT13E2 gas turbines that uses key components manufactured using additive technology.

The addition of additive manufactured parts into the MXL2 solution represents a turning point in the global power generation industry and confirms GE’s commitment to keep its mature fleets competitive in today’s very dynamic marketplace. The new technology can help gas plant power producers save up to $2 million in fuel annually, while opening up the potential for additional revenue of up to $3 million annually in new power capacity.

“We are continuing to invest in new technologies to keep our installed base competitive - the new MXL2 with AMP upgrade could

not be manufactured with conventional methods and marks the first-of its kind solution with the injection of components manufactured by additive technologies,” Scott Strazik, president/CEO of GE’s Power Services business, said.

“Because these components are made with a lightweight configuration and can be engineered to include advanced cooling channels, they help the gas turbine run more efficiently, representing a new frontier in turbine engineering and production.

“These savings translate directly into increased performance and provide turbine operators with greater fuel efficiency and more capacity. We’re excited to bring this technology to our GT13E2 fleet, which we acquired from Alstom in 2015,” Strazik said.

The new MXL2 with AMP include two components produced by GE’s Additive Manufacturing Works (AMW) teams in Birr, Switzerland, and Greenville, South Carolina, United States: the first-stage turbine vanes and heat shields. These parts are among the turbine’s hottestrunning components, and the significant amount of cooling air they traditionally require impacts the engine’s performance.

OLALEKAN IPELE

N

igeria’s economy is largely expected to pick up speed in the second half of 2018 with growth expectations led by a recovery in the service sector, increased government spending ahead of elections due i n Feb r u a r y 2 0 1 9 , a n d the just signed Federal Government budget.

The service sector-inspired growth is, however, likely to be temporar y with fiscal policy turning more neutral after elect i o n s d u e i n Fe b r u a r y 2019, as the government will tend to save more of growing oil revenue and bulwark foreign-exchange reserves from depletion.

Also, the performance of construction companies listed on the Nigerian bourse is an indication that business confidence remains low even after a recent rally in oil prices.

E x p e c t e d re d u c t i o n in government spending after elections is likely t o w e ig h o n e c o n o m i c activity in 2019, as rev-

enue at the state level in particular, continues to underperform and borrowing conditions prove more challenging.

Positive long-term outlook has been impaired by slow progress toward reducing the c o u nt r y ’s d e p e n d e n c y on oil. Dismal economic performance experienced two years ago was primarily as a result of dwindled oil revenues, and thes e stress es the need for higher non-oil revenue mobilisation through diversification and essentially reduces reliance on oil revenues.

There is been little progress on diversifying the economy away from its reliance on oil revenue during President Muhammadu Buhari’s three years in power. In fact, restrictions imposed on access to foreign currency have added to an already challenging business environment.

The lack of progress in re-balancing the economy also owes much to t h e g row i n g i n f l u e n c e of state governors and lawmakers over the presi-

dency. The push toward devolving more p ow er t o Nig e r i a’s s t at e g overnments includes provisions to increase the share of federal revenue allocated to these local a u t h o r i t i e s, a t a t i m e w h e n s e r v i c i ng pu b l i c debt is becoming more onerous.

According to seasonal adjustment conducted

by Bloomberg Economics, quarter-over-quarter grow th is estimated at - 0 . 1 p e rc e n t i n 1 Q, , a s h a r p s l o w d o w n f ro m expansion of 1 percent in 4Q 2017. Nigeria’s economy should gather pace in the second half after a dip in agricultural output and other sectors of the non-oil economy in 1Q, the report further stated.

Bloomberg Economics further indicates that fuel shortages made a bigger dent in economic activity than expected with crop production also registering its first decline since 2 Q 1 5 . St i l l , w e e x p e c t real GDP growth to recover, although analysts estimate that oil output fell in 2Q.

2018 budget: Cut in allocations to trunk roads dangerous - NUPENG JOSHUA BASSEY

N

igerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has highlighted the danger in the N11.5 billion cut by the National Assembly from the proposed allocations in the 2018 national budget.

The union particularly faulted the cuts in the allocations to the works sector, especially those meant to drive ongoing construction works on bridges and some trunk roads like Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, East-West road, Bonny-Bodo road, second Niger Bridge, among others.

According to Williams Akporeha, president of NUPENG, cutting from allocations meant for critical infrastructure that has huge socio-economic impacts on national and regional roads like those listed above is insensitive to the yearnings of the people who the parliamentarians are representing.

“More painfully, this ill-informed action has the potential of impacting negatively on the nation’s economic recovery plans.

“We are still in shock that these critical trunk roads which play significant roles particularly in the value chain of the oil and gas downstream sector and other critical and crucial economic activities would be expunged from the national budget at a time the union is craving for state of emergency on Nigerian roads.

“We hate to always raise

concerns over road accidents involving our members as a result of deplorable conditions of Nigeria’s road networks. It is also an open secret that the current nature of our roads is a factor in tankers’ accidents, which we are experiencing on a daily basis. Unfortunately the 2018 budget which we thought could save us from this life threatening menace has again dashed our hope,” Akporeha said.

Meanwhile, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has urged politicians to avoid utterances and actions that could further divide the country.

Francis Johnson, president of PENGASSAN, who spoke at 5th triennial delegates’ conference of Total E&P branch of PENGASSAN, in Abuja, noted that the period preceding the 2019 general elections call for caution.

“The politics of 2019 national elections is gathering momentum even as increasing insecurity in parts of the country is posing new challenges to the citizens and the government.

“Besides, the poverty in the land does not seem to abate, despite government’s continued efforts to restore normalcy and give the citizens a new sense of hope. We urged politicians to avoid divisive utterances and embrace politics that that contribute to the economic growth of this nation,” Johnson said.

L-R, Hadiza Gana, founder, Your Bisiness Hive; Amina Sambo-Magaji, acting national coordinator for ICT innovation and entrepreneurship NITDA; Aisha Amoka, founder, Makifa Network; Mohammed Jega, founder, Startup Arewa, and Stella Uzochukwu-Denis, chief executive officer/founder, Odyssey Educational Foundation, at the Women Entrepreneurship and Technology Summit in Abuja, yesterday.

Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

Open Banking Nigeria practical approach yields results

A

s the effort to establish open banking API standards in Nigeria intensifies, Open Vector, one of the world’s most competent Open API consulting companies, has released a detailed report on Open Banking Nigeria.

The report written by Open Vector for Open Banking Nigeria analyses the current situation in Nigeria with respect to open banking and what might be learned from other open banking initiatives notably in the UK and Europe.

The report highlights a key finding that Open Banking Nigeria’s ‘bottom up’ practical

approach is yielding benefits and emphasises on the need to maintain its current momentum through clear policy support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), especially in areas of data sharing, as it is evident that this is the main area of benefit from open banking, even more than payments.

Leveraging on open banking experiences in the UK and Europe, Open Vector in the report, suggests ways in which Open Banking Nigeria can move forward with its intended plans aimed at financial inclusion, benefiting consumers and driving Nigeria’s economic growth,

through improvements in the flexibility of Nigeria’s financial system.

In addition, Open Vector report will help provide insights, especially from UK and Europe as the front-runners in open banking, that might help Open Banking Nigeria’s development.

This would also be updated for other open banking initiatives, such as Australia, as more details become available.

Open Vector - Open Banking consulting and implementation service provider formed an alliance with Open Banking Nigeria (OBN) in 2018 to jointly develop the OBN API standards.

The company is led by Carlos Figueredo, CEO, who, together with his team of directors, have conducted senior advisory roles to the Competition & Market Authority (CMA), the United Kingdom regulatory authority behind the Open Banking UK regulation and implementation.

Open Banking Nigeria, formed by a group of Fintech and banking industry veterans, is a not-for-profit organisation that drives the Open Banking initiatives in Nigeria to extend non-partisan and non-financial API standards for financial services in the country.

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I TUESDAY 26 JUNE 2018

Opinion In praise of PEBEC and the ease of doing business

MICHAEL FAMOROTI Famoroti is Chief Economist at Vetiva Capital Management Limited

I

n Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michela n g e l o, L e o na rd o d a Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had 500 years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce?

The cuckoo clock.” – Orson Welles Forgive me, but I would like to begin with a cliché: “it is difficult doing business in Nigeria.”

Nigerians may know this, but you don’t realise how dysfunctional your family is until you invite the neighbours over ; so what do our neighbours think? Well, foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign inve st m e nt i n p hysi ca l capital, was $7 billion in 2008 alone. We raked

in that same amount of FDI in the last five years. In comparison, 2017 foreign portfolio inflows – investment in financial markets – was also $7 billion. There’s a clear appetite for investing in Nigeria, given the returns, but low FDI signals an aversion to doing business in the country.

It is with this in mind that we turn our attention – and praise – to the strides made by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) set up in July 2016. PEBEC’s approach to improving the ease of doing business has been three-pronged: legislative, executive, and administrative. It has lobbied the National Assembly to pass critical legislature on credit access for SMEs, and recently, to amend the Companies & Allied Matters Act. Also, in his capacity as Acting Presid e nt, P E BE C ’s He a d , Yemi Osinbajo signed an Executive Order to promote efficiency in the civil service. However, PEBEC’s activities have been dominated by its three National Action Plans (NAP) aimed at implementing specific

reforms across key doing business criteria, most of which are defined by the World Bank.

The action plans have been reasonably successful, achieving 82%, 52%, and 68% completion rates, respectively.

Furthermore, the first NAP hit the headlines in late 2017 for shooting Nigeria 24 places higher to 145th on the World Bank Doing Business Rankings, surpassing the Council’s target of 20 places, moving Nigeria to its highest rank in five years, and earning praise from the World Bank.

These developments, along with the World Bank vote of confidence, may suggest that Nigeria has made progress in improving the ease of doing business.However, closer scrutiny reveals that the World Bank Doing Business Rankings are a flawed measure, primarily because the indicators the World Bank observes are so narrowly and rigidly defined.

While this helps create transitive measures and actionable policies, it means that a countr y can move up the rankings without materially changing the experience

of doing business.

We see this in how the NAPs sometime become a box-ticking exercise that does not tally with reality. In Nigeria, there is often a significant divide between theory and experience, and this may be fatal for the World Bank/NAP approach, as it mostly assesses frameworks and systems and not outcomes, although we know the latter is the issue here. The best example of this is the “Getting Credit” criteria on the World Bank index. Nigeria rose to 6th place out of 190 countries in 2018. How? The World Bank assesses the legal and institutional framework for facilitating credit access – not how much credit SMEs actually get,or how easy it is for them to get credit – and Nigeria resolved the former by passing the National Collateral R e g i s t r y Ac t a n d t h e Credit Reporting Act. Under the World Bank approach, it does not matter whether these h av e h a d a n y e f f e c t .

This is no slight on the NAP, it is merely a reminder that we must be wary of obsessing over measures and scores,

at the expense of what we initially set out to measure.

Despite these limitations, the NAP did make material changes to Nigeria’s business environment. NAP 1.0 set the tone by making it easier to register a business. Furthermore, the aforementioned credit legislation isa crucial milestone as we try and reduce the information and trust gap between lenders and borrowers – an underrated reason for low SME credit access in Nigeria. NAP 1.0 als ohighlighte d what we are particularly bad at ; very little progress was made in improving access to electricity or transforming the ports, an indication that these two issues n e e d s t ro n g e r p o l i c y ammunition. On the na r row n e s s o f Wo r l d Bank indicators, subsequent NAPs circumvented this by includi n g n o n - Wo r l d B a n k criteria. In particular, PEBEC accounts for the outsized importance of the public sector in Nigeria’s economy by driving initiatives that make it easier for SMEs to do business with the

government.

Ni g e r i a s t i l l h a s a long way to go. The soft w ins of the NAPs are positive,but we are yet to address the primary concerns of SMEs – they rank access to finance (30%), power (27%) and corruption (13%) as the larg est imp e diments.

Legislative reform will always reign supreme.It is therefore good to see that PEBEC is currently working on the Omnibus Bill for passage as an executive bill by the National Assembly, as it contains several business reforms which will be institutionalised.

PEBEC has set its sights on breaking into the World Bank ’s top 100 by 2020, and top 50 in 10 years. Steep targets perhaps, but the steepest challenge would be ensuring that success in the rankings translates into a smoother experience doing business in Nigeria.

•The views expressed in this article are personal to the author and may not reflect the opinion of Vetiva Capital Management Limited or any of its affiliates

The Italian challenge to the eurozone •In addition to feeble productivity growth, Italy has a large competitiveness handicap MARTIN WOLF Wolf is the Chief Economics Commentator of The Financial Times.

T

he euro has been a failure. This does not mean it will not endure or that it would be better if it disappeared. The costs of a partial or complete break up are far too great. It means that the single currency has failed to deliver economic stability or a greater sense of a European identity. It has become a source of discord.

The story of Italy is revealing and, given its size, of crucial importance. This is not to blame the euro for the stagnation of Italian productivity and output since it joined the eurozone.

These reflect domestic failings. Nevertheless, the fact that Italy is inside the eurozone makes its failings a matter of shared concern. It also destroys the link between politics and power. Not least, it turns what would otherwise have been brief exchange rate crises into

long-running macroeconomic disasters.

All of this was predicted.

In his excellent EuroTragedy, Princeton University’s Ashoka Mody cites a critique of the 1970 Werner Committee report, the first blueprint for a monetary union, by Nicholas Kaldor, a British economist of Hungarian origin. Kaldor argued there would need to be fiscal transfers. That would require a political union. But the conflicts created by the currency union would fester, making moves towards such a union more difficult. So it has proved: Andreas Kluth wrote in Handelsblatt Global this month: “A common currency was supposed to unite Europeans. Instead, it increasingly divides them.” He is right.

The decision to accept Italy as a founding member of the eurozone was made by former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, over the objections of his own officials and other governments. Prof Mody notes that Italy promised to bring its public debt ratio down from 120 per cent to 60 per cent by

2009. Instead it stabilised, before jumping to 130 per cent, after the eurozone crisis.

Not surprisingly, with this year’s real gross domestic product per head forecast by the IMF to be 8 per cent below its 2007 level and only 4 per cent above where it was in 1997, Italy elected populist parties to power. A combination of establishment and markets promptly neutralised their programme.

Spreads vis a vis German Bunds have accordingly stabilised.

This might be a workable solution if a sustained return to prosperity were likely. Unfortunately, in addition to feeble productivity growth, Italy suffers from a large competitiveness handicap, as shown by a recent IMF paper. This argues that Italy suffered a loss of competitiveness against Germany in excess of 40 per cent between 1995 and 2010.

The two initial problems for Italy, then, were the high level of public debt, which exposed it to financial market panic, and a huge prior loss of external competitiveness. Italy’s external balances are currently in surplus,

largely because unemployment is so high. A strong expansion of internal demand is likely to generate unfinanceable external deficits. Northern European taxpayers fear they might have to pay for these. They will surely not do so.

According to the IMF, “a real depreciation on the order of 10 per cent is estimated to be needed to realign Italy’s current account with fundamentals”.

The recommended solution is an “internal devaluation”, via falling nominal wages and higher productivity. But Italy has not had much of either. Employment and investment have been slashed instead, with dire consequences. The fact that inflation has been so low in the eurozone as a whole has made the adjustments more difficult. Asymmetric adjustment is hard.

Outside the eurozone, the relevant adjustments would have occurred, as they did frequently before, through a currency depreciation. Yes, that would have been no long-run solution. But it would surely have been better than the social

and political damage that has turned one of the most pro-EU countries into what is now one of the most sceptical. Nor is this over. The politics of Italy might not heal soon, or at all.

Part of the adjustment mechanism built into the currency union is the pro-cyclical impact of monetary policy: real interest rates are higher in countries forced through internal devaluations. The mechanism of adjustment in the eurozone is therefore essentially that of the 19th-century gold standard. Prolonged recessions are a feature, not a bug. They are how competitiveness adjusts to changing circumstances.

Neither a banking union, nor a capital market union, nor national fiscal flexibility can obviate these recessions, without persistent external support. Such mechanisms can only cushion economies against relatively transient changes, or shift losses abroad.

Shifts in competitiveness require permanent changes in prices. These, in turn, follow recessions. The more rigid the economies and the bigger the

adjustments, the more prolonged or deep the recessions.

None of this is news. It was known by critics of the project before it began.

So what is to be done? A weak euro is a part of the answer. So is significantly higher inflation in surplus countries.

But the European Central Bank is, for understandable reasons, unable, even under Mario Draghi, to pursue the hyper-aggressive monetary policies needed to generate real overheating in Germany or the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the latter see little reason to help.

Adjustment will always fall mainly on deficit countries.

In the absence of sustained fiscal transfers, they have no alternative to reforms aimed at accelerating productivity growth and labour market flexibility. Spain has done that. Is it possible in Italy? If not, the bet on its entry into the eurozone could get worse.

Good fences make good neighbours. A currency of one’s own is a good fence. It is such a pity this was forgotten.

Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Ghana Office: Business Day Ghana Ltd; ABC Junction, near Guinness Ghana Limited, Achimota – Accra, Ghana.

Tel: +233243226596: email: mail@businessdayonline.com Advert Hotline: 08116759801, 08082496194. Subscriptions 01-2950687, 07045792677. Newsroom: 08022238495 Editor: Anthony Osae-Brown. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.