AUGUST 19,
2013
120.25
-1.6
2,440.00
+4.00
16.95
-0.24
110.49 +0.89 107.55 +0.22 CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL
SELLING
DOLLAR 154.75 155.25 155.75 POUNDS 242.0135 242.7955 243.5774 EURO 206.5139 207.1811 207.8484 FRANC 167.0445 167.5842 68.1239 YEN 1.5867 1.5918 1.5969 CFA 0.2947 0.3047 0.3147 WAUA 234.1795 234.9362 235.6928 RENMINBI 25.3037 25.3859 25.4681 RIYA 41.2612 41.3945 41.5278 KRONA 27.6873 27.7768 27.8662 SDR 235.5295 236.2905 237.0515
*From left: National Vice President of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Alhaji Ahmad Rabiu; National President, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar; Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, Stella Okoli; NACCIMA Honourary Life Vice-President, Engr. Rufai Mohammed and the Director-General, Dr. John Isemede during the association's courtesy call on the Emzor boss in Lagos.
CBN Exchange rate as at 16/08/2013
148,369 Nigerians were employed in nine months of 2012 —Survey
… Education sector accounts for 57.2% employment in 2012 …Agriculture still lagging behind BY NKIRUKA NNOROM
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total of 148,369 out of the estimated 40 million unemployed Nigerians were formally employed as at the end of September, 2012, a third quarter of 2012 job creation survey conducted across about 12 sectors of the nation’s C M Y K
economy, has revealed. The survey, conducted by National Bureau of Statistics which showed job distribution by sex and occupation, both in managerial and low ranking cadres, covered key sectors like educational, business services/sales, health, manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality, information technology, road transport, personal services, and legal/social service sectors among
others. The report obtained by Financial Vanguard revealed that the distraught educational sector employed the highest number of people, while agricultural sector, probably weighed down by years of neglect, was at the bottom of the ladder. The educational sector, surprisingly, was followed by the manufacturing business services, sales and marketing
sector, while the medical/health profession followed suit. The educational sector, which came first on the list, employed a total of 70,183 people, representing 52.7 per cent of the job created in the third quarter of 2012. Out of this, secondary school education teachers accounted for 29,308, followed by primary school and early childhood teachers with a total number of 16,970 employees. This was followed by university and higher education teachers with 9,757 employees; vocational education teachers trailed behind with 7,244, while other teaching professionals accounted for 6,904.
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18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Cover Story
The Basic Guide to Starting Your Business Part 6 ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
*From left; Vice-President of Nigeria, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo, Minister of Labourand Productivity,Chief Emeka Wogu, decorating the Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, [FAAN], Mr George Uriesi, during the National Productivity Order of Merit Award, held last Thursday.
Education sector accounts for 57.2% employment in 2012 Continued from page 17 While 35,798 were female employees, the male workers accounted for the remaining 34,385 people. A total of 12,199 people were employed in the position of managing directors, secretaries and clerks, making the second highest employer of labour in the third quarter 2012. In the position of managing directors/chief executives were106 people; administrative and specilaised secretaries, 549; general office clerks, 4,072; secretaries (general), 1,605; keyboard operators 96; tellers, money collectors and related clerks, 972; client information workers, 329; numerical clerks, 318; materialrecording and transport clerks, 28; other clerical support workers, 1,132; cashier and ticket clerks,
Business service agents represented 240, retail and wholesale managers accounted for 104, while protective services workers accounted for 2,144 workers in the sector
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2,992. Manufacturing/construction & mining sector trailed behind, accounting for 10,726 of total job creation within the period with manufacturing labourers employing the chunk of 2,558; manufacturing, mining, construction and distribution managers, 315; mining, C M Y K
manufacturing and construction supervisors, 45; garment and related trades workers, 80; mining and mineral processing plant operators, 362; metal processing and finishing plant operators, 286; chemical and photographic products plant and machine operators, 164; rubber, plastic and paper products machine operators, 1,278; textiles, fur and leather products machine operators, 833; other stationary plant and machine operators, 2451; mobile plant operators, 826; mining & construction labourers, 434; process control technicians, 268; food processing and related trades workers, 795; assemblers, 31. The business services, sales and marketing sector accounted for10,686 of total job creation within the period with business service and
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administration managers accounting for 3,563 of the number. Sales, marketing and public relations professionals followed with 2,536 employees in the sector; sales, marketing & development managers trailed behind with 1,551. Professional services managers pooled 549 total
employees, while other services managers accounted for 98 of the total number. Business service agents represented 240, retail and wholesale managers accounted for 104, while protective services workers accounted for 2,144 workers in the sector. Female employees were 3,799 in the sector while the male workers accounted for the remaining 6,887 workers. Employment in the personal services sector accounted for 8,630 of total job creation with childcare workers and teachers’ aides employing 418 people; building and house-keeping supervisors, 87; other personal services workers, 1,236; street and market salespersons, 277; shop salespersons, 707; other sales workers, 1,531; domestic, hotel and office helpers, 3,862; vehicle, window, laundry and other hand cleaning workers, 512. Health sector had 7,413 employees with nursing and midwifery professionals accounting for the highest number - 3,999; medical doctors, 601; traditional and complementary medicine professionals, two; paramedical practitioners, 79; veterinarians, two; other health professionals, 894; medical and pharmaceutical technicians, 182; nursing and midwifery associate professionals, 889; veterinary technicians and assistants, 13; other associated health professionals, 700; and life science technicians and related associate professional, 52. Road transport sector accounted for 6,360 total
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t this point I believe that you have a huge idea of what a business is. You also understand the pros and cons of owning your business, as well as whom an entrepreneur is. Let’s just say everything I have mentioned and explained are what I call the foundations of the remaining two chapters of this book. Now having read all this, the question is, “how prepared are you to start your business?” Do you have what it takes to ensure the take-off and successful landing of your business? Or are you unsure of your abilities to carry you through the journey of being your own boss? Whatever is the case by the time we are through with this chapter, making up your mind and measuring your readiness level will no longer be an issue. The journey of a thousand miles, they say begins with a simple step, and God was kind enough to bless every man with a sense of purpose, but the problem is, a lot of people have not discovered the purpose for which they were created. When I see people without a sense of vision and purpose, I ask myself how can you change a world, when you do not have the slightest idea of why you where put in the world in the first place? You’ve got to have a sense of purpose, because it is the essence of living; the poor man is not the man who does not have a dime in his bank account, but the man who does not have ideas in his mind. When your life lacks purpose, it loses colour. You cannot afford to sit still and do nothing, you have to get up and put your purpose to good use. There’s a particular line I love in one of the songs written by Mary Mary (a gospel group made up of two sisters), and it says “get up don’t sit here; get up if you want to get there”. What do you see, what pictures are you painting with your mind, you have to start from the mind, your vision, I remember the story of Abraham and his nephew Lot in the Bible. When God wanted to separate them, God told Abraham, that He would give him as far as his eyes could see! So you see the creator Himself expects everyone to have a vision that is fired up by the desire to live a purpose driven life. My dear you have all it takes inside of you, to be what you want to be. A popular preacher once said “suffering is a choice; so you choose.”
Stop waiting for the government, now is the time to seize your destiny and take control, if you work hard on it, you will definitely succeed. Andrew Young, the renowned American diplomat, said in one of his lectures: “For 18 years I eyed the United Nations seat as the United States representative, I didn’t let it get off me until I saw it happen”. Your vision is the map of your intentions. It is a written picture of your journey to greatness; it may take your time, and some
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The journey of a thousand miles, they say begins with a simple step, and God was kind enough to bless every man with a sense of purpose, but the problem is, a lot of people have not discovered the purpose for which they were created
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reworking, but certainly it is the secret of champions. If you are waiting for the government, you will end up a wretched fellow, with no story or history. I made up my mind a long time ago, to live my dreams, very far away from the clutches of poverty. Looking back today, I can smile and say “I haven’t done badly after all!” Well, if I had I wouldn’t be writing this book to inspire and encourage you. Stop delaying, now is the time to start, don’t dwell on weighing the possibilities of succeeding or not. “A man who takes a risk and fails is by far better than the man who takes no risk at all.” You have to be decisive and launch out, taking every available chance, life itself is a risk. Like I said earlier you have to be bold and fearless and unforeseen forces will come to your aid.
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 19
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igerians' taste for foreign goods has been the bane of the economy. Many prefer goods and services made abroad to locally produced goods even when such goods are of lower quality. This has had a serious effect on the nation’s reserve. The continued depletion of the external reserves of the nation and the ever growing army of unemployed youths is as a result of this trend that has bedeviled our economy.
What is wrong with Nigeria and its leaders? and importing steel, exporting alumina and importing aluminium products, exporting raw cocoa and importing processed cocoa products, exporting cotton and importing garment. This is bad business. Foreigners and economists have always bemoaned the much touted economic growth because it has not reflected on the life of the average Nigerian. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, recently said that Nigeria expends N1 billion daily on rice importation, translating to N360 billion annually. Besides, N217 billion is equally spent annually to import sugar while fish importation gulps N97 billion every year. Nigerians must ask themselves the question; when did rice become a staple food? Rice was in those days a ceremonial food. It was cooked during festivals. Besides, the nation has large expanse of land, why wasting so much on rice importation? This is not all, the amount the nation spends annually on foreign trips by government functionaries for medical check up is equally mind boggling, same is the amount
the rich and well-to-do spend on sending their children to schools abroad. Could it be true that Nigeria is cursed as Obasanjo now feels? As Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole said, no country desirous of making economic progress relies on importation. Nigeria has no business importing rice. Is Nigeria really cursed that
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Available data show that the trend of high importation of goods and service outstripping export has continued despite efforts by government at transforming the economy. Latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics in the first three months of this year has painted another gloomy picture of Nigerians appetite for foreign products. National Bureau of Statistics figure indicate that Nigeria’s external merchandise trade totalled N5, 098.9 billion in the first quarter of 2013, a decrease of N2, 086.9 billion or 29 per cent from the N7,185.8 billion recorded in the previous quarter. The decrease emanated mainly from the fall in the value of exports from N5, 892.9 billion in the fourth quarter, 2012 to N3, 452.1billion in the first quarter, 2013, a 41.4 per cent decline. Furthermore, a 27.4 per cent increase in imports from N1, 292.8 billion in the fourth quarter, 2012 to N1, 646.7 billion in the first quarter 2013 in combination with a decrease in exports, created a decline in the trade balance by N2, 794.7 or 60.8 per cent during the period. Sadly, instead of Nigeria’s non-oil export rising, it has fallen. Instead of import bills dropping, they are rising, a scenario that does portend danger for the economy. For too long, Nigerians have failed to recognise that the nation is in the wrong business by exporting crude oil and importing fuels and petrochemicals, exporting iron ore
saying same in a country he ruled for eight years as a President and about three odd years as a military leader? Nigeria is not jinxed; it is simply in a mess because the kind of leadership imposed on the country is the Fani Kayode type. When serious nations are discussing how to move forward, Nigeria’s supposed leaders are counting the
Nigerians must ask themselves the question; when did rice become a staple food? Rice was in those days a ceremonial food; it was cooked during festivals
it cannot get the right policy to address this ugly situation? Why can’t Nigerian leaders think while in office only to be out of office and full of lamentation? Who then is in a position to break the curse or spell on Nigeria if there is one? Who imposed the curse on the country? Recall that when Obasanjo was the UN eminent personality to South Africa in the days of apartheid, he advocated the use of ekpe, curses and incantation to dismantle the regime. Is he
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number of women they have slept with including other people’s wives. When other leaders are busy reading books and memoirs of great minds, Nigerian leaders with small minds are pursing women. At international conferences, while others are negotiating deals that will bring succour to their people, Nigerian leaders are looking for women. This is the root of Nigeria’s leadership problems. Nigeria is not
cursed; Nigerian leaders are simply lazy and rent seekers. According to National Bureau of Statistics data, yearon-year, the value of the nation’s total merchandise trade decreased by N1,523.1billion or 23.0 per cent as a result of decreasing imports and exports. A drop in exports compared to imports also led to a decline in the trade balance by 45.6 per cent during this period as well. Crude oil exports stood at N3,030.7 billion during the first quarter of 2013, a decrease of N1,072.0 billion or 26.1 per cent when Nigerian imports by economic category revealed that fuels and lubricants accounted for N506.4 billion or 30.7 per cent of imports, followed by goods not elsewhere specified with N401.8 billion or 24.4 per cent, industrial supplies with N341.0 billion or 20.7 per cent, and capital goods and associated parts with N165.2 or 10.0 per cent. This is the basic problem; bulk of the nation’s import is for consumption instead of capital goods that will aid further production. While one may not agree with Obasanjo that Nigeria is under a curse, there is something fundamentally wrong with Nigerian leaders and Nigerians. If anything, this is the time for a rethink.
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Nigeria's employment…agriculture still lagging behind Continued from page 18 employments with travel attendants, conductors and guides netting 729; locomotive engine divers and related workers, 230; car, van and motorcycle drivers, 3,071; heavy truck and bus divers, 2,301; while ship deck crews and related workers accounted for 29 workers. Other professional services accounted for 3,542 jobs created in the country within the period. Physical and earth science professionals netted 118; engineering professionals (excluding electrotechnology), 421; electro technology engineers, 199; architects, planners,
surveyors and designers, 1,055; librarian archivists and curators, 172; legal professionals, 532; social and religious professionals, 19; creative and performing artistes, 38; physical and engineering science technicians, 298; financial and mathematical associate professionals, 548; regulatory government associate professionals, artistic, cultural and culinary associate professionals, 71; legal, social and religious associate professionals, 71. Agriculture sector accounted for mere 3,213 employments in the whole of the federation, according to the survey. Production managers in
agriculture, forestry and fisheries were 48; market gardeners and crop growers, 90; animal producers, 16; mixed crop and animal producers, 16; forestry and related workers, 175; fishery workers, hunters and trappers, 51; subsistence crop farmers, 55; subsistence livestock farmers, 138; subsistence mixed crop and livestock farmers, 232; agricultural, forestry and fishery labourers, 2,392; The number of artisans employed within the period stood at 3,199 with building frames and related trade workers representing 232 of the total workforce in the sector; building finishers and
related trades workers, 145; painters, building structure cleaners and related trades workers, 52; sheet and structural metal workers, moulders and welders, 376; blacksmiths, toolmakers and related trades workers, 465; machinery mechanics and repairs, 819; handicraft workers, 159; printing trades workers, 252; electrical equipment installers and repairers, 191; hair dressers, beauticians and related workers, 358; wood treaters, cabinet-makers and related trades workers, 150 Hospitality sector employed only 2,833 people. Hotel and restaurant managers accounted for 1,076 of the
employment; cooks, 1,041; bartenders and waiters, 716. Despite the thriving business in the information & communication technology sector since the boom in 2010, it employed only 2,449 people during the period. Information and communications technology service managers as at the time were 98 in number; software and applications developers and analysts, 548; database and network professionals 263; information and communications technology operations and use, 1,261; telecommunications and broadcasting technicians, 279. C M Y K
20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Business & Economy BRIEFS NDIC sensitises women on community service, poverty alleviation
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lhaji Umaru Ibrahim, the Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has said that Nigerian women have very important role to play in nation-building. Ibrahim made the statement in Abuja at the corporation’s management interaction with female employees. He said the objective of the interaction was to sensitise the participants to the attributes of career role and highlight the role of women in the development of the society. “Many contemporary organisations and government are beginning to realise the importance of women in the achievement of certain objectives. We want to sensitise participants on the attribute of career role and to highlight the role of women in the development of society,” he said. Ibrahim said the meeting would also discuss the role of women in community service, poverty alleviation and sustainability of the environment. Ms. Angela Adeboye, Managing Partner at Partnerships Management Consultancy and Financial Advisory, urged women to put in their best in whatever they do.
Fish farmer seeks govt support to stem high cost of feeds. fish farmer in Lagos, Mr. Ahmed Oseni, has attributed the low level of fish production in the country to the high cost of feeds. In an interview in Lagos, Oseni said that while the cost of imported feeds was astronomical, the locally produced ones that would have served as alternative, were low in quality. He urged government to support fish farmers and provide an enabling environment for agro-industries to produce quality feeds at affordable price. “There are local feeds produced here in Nigeria, but the quality is very low compared to the imported ones. Government can support agro-industries to produce quality feeds at affordable price relative to the imported feeds,“ Oseni said. According to him, such support will boost the level of fish production and farmers in the country can profit from their labour.
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*From left: Miss. Efe Obiomah, PR Manager, GOtv; Mr. Oludare Kafar, Marketing Manager, GOtv; Mrs. Elizabeth Amkpa, General Manager, GOtv; Mrs. Cordelia Ikeanyi, MultiChoice Super Dealer in Uyo and Mr. Saliu Aliu, Regional Sales Manager, MultiChoice Nigeria during the GOtv launch in Uyo held at the Amazing Grace e-centre, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
FG urged to implement ECOWAS framework on environmental statistics
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he Federal Government has been urged to implement the ECOWAS Framework on development of environmental statistics to facilitate credible data collection in the country. the Director of Research and Statistics in the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Christopher Ajaero, made the call in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said that the commission had developed the framework for the West African sub-region to have common statistics. According to the director, the primary purpose of the framework is to build a sound environment statistics base for the subregion. Ajaero said the framework included some indicators which would make each country produce data that would be comparable with other countries’. He said that the Federal Government needed to partner with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that are coordinating statistics to implement the framework. “They should implement
the ECOWAS framework on the development of environmental statistics. They should mainstream it into their activities, some of them have not established units that will be in charge of environment in these agencies, ministries and departments. They should
have a unit that will be incharge of the environment in their areas. For instance, when you talk of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, there should be a unit in charge of collecting data on agriculturerelated activities such as land degradation, land planted,
land covered and land used and all kinds of things. “Those indicators are there; they have them, they know it so they know what they will collate data on. If they start implementing it, then we will be able to mainstream environmental policies and programmes and know how far we have gone.”
Gold price in Ghana declines to a historical low -Commission G
hana’s Mineral Commission has reported a historical decline in the nation’s gold prices by almost 30 per cent on the world market in June. This is contained in an online statement by the commission. The statement quoted Mr Benjamin Aryee, chief executive officer of the commission as saying that the decline could affect government projected revenue and the economy. Ghana, Africa’s second largest gold producer has gold as its highest foreign exchange earner. Aryee, said that gold currently contributed 27 per cent of government’s revenue as
captured by the Domestic Tax Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority. “With the current fall in prices, government revenue will be affected; the likely result is that major government projects may be halted. The situation calls for urgent strategies that will provide solutions in the short, medium and long term basis, and to sustain the economy and revenue inflow,” the statement quoted him as saying. Aryee called on the government to divert its attention from gold as the nation’s highest foreign exchange earner. “There is now the need for
diversification and expanded industrialisation, the more you diversify from one commodity, the more prepared you get,” he said. He said the commission had held several consultations and briefings with government in the past few months on the development and its impact on the mining sector. Analysts say the significant fall in the price of gold, Ghana’s flagship mineral, should serve as a major concern to government as well as industry players. Statistics show that in 2012, Ghana’s export revenues from the mineral sector amounted to about $5.6 billion.
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 21
Business & Economy
Parker Drilling charged for bribing Nigerian officials STORIES BY OMOH GABRIEL
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Gambia currency drops most in world as nation pegs Dalasi ambia’s currency depreciated the most against the dollar in the world after the West African nation reinstated restrictions on foreign-exchange trading and pegged the value of the dalasi. The exchange rate of the country that’s bordered on three sides by Senegal was set at 35 dalasi per dollar, President Yahya Jammeh’s office said in a statement dated yesterday. The government canceled trading licenses issued to foreignexchange bureaus by the Central Bank of Gambia and placed a prohibition on exports of foreign currency to stabilize the dalasi. “Shipments of foreign currency have to be done through banks and with the approval of the Central Bank of The Gambia,” according to the statement. Individuals leaving the country are restricted to taking $9,000 in foreign currency, with security forces instructed to confiscate anything above that amount. The dalasi dropped 6.6 per cent to 34.75 per dollar by 2:21 p.m. in Banjul, the capital, the worst among 175 currencies tracked by Bloomberg. It’s depreciated 5.5 per cent since July 15, when the government lifted earlier restrictions on foreigncurrency trading and said it would allow the exchange rate to be determined by the market.
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HP Billiton said weekend that U.S. authorities have laid out grounds for possible enforcement action against the top global miner for corrupt practices, stepping up a four-year probe linked partly to its 2008 Olympics sponsorship. In another recent settlement, Parker Drilling agreed for a $15.85 million charge to settle allegations by the SEC and Justice Department that it bribed officials in Nigeria and Kazakhsta. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, charged the worldwide drilling services and project management firm with violating the FCPA by authorising improper payments to a third-party intermediary in order to entertain Nigerian officials involved in resolving the company’s customs disputes. Parker Drilling agreed to pay $4 million to settle the SEC’s charges in April. BHP has been under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) since 2009, mainly over exploration activities that had been terminated and its hospitality at the Beijing Olympic Games. “As a part of the U.S. process, the SEC and DOJ have recently notified the group of the issues they consider could form the basis of enforcement actions and discussions are continuing,” BHP said in a statement, adding that it could not comment on possible outcomes. BHP has said previously it believed it had complied with all applicable laws in regards to its Olympics sponsorship, and said on Friday it has what it considers to be a “ world class anti-corruption compliance program.” “BHP Billiton is fully committed to operating with integrity and the group’s policies specifically prohibit engaging in unethical conduct,” the company said, adding that it was cooperating fully with the authorities. After being approached by the SEC, the company said in 2010 that it had uncovered potential violations of anticorruption laws “involving interactions with government officials”, which media have said related to a payment to
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nd *Olurotimi Fagbenro, Chief Technology Officer, ATB Techsoft Solutions (2 right) flanked by other award winners at the Microsoft World Partners conference held in Houston, USA Cambodian officials in 2006 for a bauxite project that BHP later dropped. Penalties for violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act can vary widely, depending on, among other factors, the extent and duration of the violations, the
level of benefit the company received, and the level of cooperation from the target of the probe. In one recent case, French oil giant, Total SA agreed to pay $398 million to settle U.S. criminal and civil allegations that it paid $60 million in
bribes to win oil and gas contracts in Iran over nine years. The company released the update on the anticorruption probe ahead of its annual results, due on August 20, the first results under new Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie.
Sleep-s ved wor truggle ttoo juggle family Sleep-sttar arved workker erss sstruggle family,, work commitments —Regus study
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orkers across West Africa and Nigeria (36%) report that they have to sacrifice sleep to fit in personal and work commitments, either by waking up too early or by burning the midnight oil. Although flexible working is highlighted as a way to reduce commuting, create more hours in the day for sleep or family life and to improve productivity and staff retention, only 53 per cent of firms in Africa are rewarding management for encouraging the creation of a flexible workforce. Renowned neurologist, Prof. Njideka Okubadejo of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and an associate professor, College of Medicine University of Lagos, has revealed that about 63 million Nigerians have sleep problem, which also affects about 45 per cent of the global world population. According to her, the dictates of the modern world has drastically reduced the “number of hours that people sleep because of the demand of their lifestyle or nature of their work.” Okubadejo stated the consequences of lack of proper sleep include poor memory
recall, decreased academic performance, decreased work productivity, reduced attention, alertness and concentration. Workers have highlighted that a shorter commute (32%) and greater flexibility of location (26%) would give them more time to spend with their families, as well as to catch some extra shut-eye, but businesses can also benefit from introducing greater flexibility which is reported to improve productivity (79%) and help retain staff (81%). These are some of the key findings of a global survey by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, based on interviews with more than 24,000 business-people from over 90 countries. The international study includes East, North and South Africa. “Lack of sleep is clearly detrimental to a worker ’s health and happiness with long working hours closely linked to heart disease," says Joanne Bushell, VicePresident, Africa, for Regus. “Respondents highlight that a shorter commute and more flexibility over work location would help them spend more time with their families, finally
spelling an end to sleepless nights filled with catching up on work or personal tasks that couldn’t be squeezed into the day.” Globally 29 per cent of workers are sleeping less than they wish to fit all their commitments and in Africa, 36 per cent of workers are sacrificing sleep to fit in work and personal commitments, while 24 per cent feel they have to overcompensate time taken off for personal matters. Workers highlight a shorter commute (32%) and location flexibility (26%) as ways of helping them spend more time with their families. Currently, management is being rewarded for encouraging a flexible work environment only in half (53%) of firms. Bushell continues: “This survey shows that allowing employees to work closer to home in professional and fully efficient environments can have an important impact on family life and provide workers with a few more minutes’ kip each morning. But the benefits are not just for workers, and firms can also improve productivity and retention by introducing flexible working.
Crude oil price rises on Egypt crackdown, U.S. supplies
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rent crude advanced to its highest intraday level in more than four months as worsening violence in Egypt fanned concern that Middle East oil supplies may be disrupted. West Texas Intermediate rose for a fifth day. Futures climbed as much as 1.2 percent in London to the highest price since April 2. Egypt, whose Suez Canal is used by tankers carrying oil from the Middle East, declared a state of emergency as more than 500 people were killed after security forces broke up sitins. U.S. crude inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration data show, almost double the drop forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey.
22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Banking & Finance BRIEFS Ecobank unveils promo to reward customers
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cobank Nigeria has unveiled a Giant Prize Give Away Promotion to reward existing and new customers who actively operate their Ecobank current and savings accounts. Starting this August through November 2013 the “Giant Prize Give Away” promo gives participating customers the opportunity to own a Honda CRV SUV and loads of other prizes to be won at monthly draws through to the end of the promotion. The Monthly Prize draws gives each customer the chance to win LED TVs, deep freezers, generators, washing machines, home theatre systems and Blackberry Smartphones. The customer is only required to deposit at least N30, 000 into his/her current or savings account. Maintaining such deposit for at least three months qualifies the customer for the grand draw.
Experts deliberate on IFRS at CIBN forum
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he AccountantGeneral of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla, will lead other renowned experts from the banking and finance services industry that will deliberate and articulate the Framework and Strategies for effective implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards in Nigeria. This is coming under the auspices of the 9th Business Managers’ Roundtable organized by The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. The theme of the programme is: “International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): Implementation Challenges and Resolution Options” scheduled at Reiz Continental Hotel, Plot 779, Cadastral Zone AO, Central Area, Abuja, on Tuesday, August 27, 2013, at 9.00 a. m. Mr. Jonah Otunla will give the Keynote Address while other guest speakers include Mrs Agnes Martins, Director, Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Nigeria; Mr. Nelson Anumaka, FCIB, Asst. Director, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and Dr. Biodun Adedipe Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe & Associates.
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STORIES BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE
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ighteen months after the introduction of the cashless policy, cash is still used to settle 83 per cent of retail transactions across the country. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has continued its enlightenment campaign on the policy with an interactive session with stakeholders in Awka, Anambra State. Managing Director/Chief Executive, Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, in his monthly economic news and views bemoaned the continued dominance of cash-based transactions. “Card-based transactions remained relatively unchanged at 17 per cent. Approximately 83 per cent of transactions are cash-based. Network challenges continue to hinder wide adoption of cashless policy. Network challenges need to be addressed to further improve card-based transactions.” On his part, Deputy Governor, Operations, CBN, Mr. Tunde Lemo made a case for the introduction of the cashless policy at the interactive session with stakeholders in Awka. He said the objective of the cashless initiative was to fasttrack the modernisation of the gamut of the financial system to enable Nigeria realise her goal of becoming one of the largest economies in the world by the year 2020. Represented by the Deputy Team Manager, Share
*From left: Anil Bapna, Managing Director, MLH Global Services Limited; Henry Egbiki, Regional Managing Partner for West Africa (EY); Ajen Sita, CEO (Africa EY) and Alhaji Kabir Mohammed, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) at the EY Clients’ Cocktail in Lagos.
Cashless Policy: Cash-based transactions remain 83%
*CBN engages stakeholders in Anambra Services Unit, Mr. Babatunde Ajiboye, he revealed that a study carried out by the CBN during the last banking sector crisis shows that many got into trouble as a result of their high cost profile and that cash management was identified as one of the major areas that led to high cost of doing business in banks. According to him, it was also discovered that higher GDP growth rate is associated with countries that had
achieved lower cash-to-GDP ratio. For example, while Indonesia had 4.5 per cent cash in circulation to the GDP, and South Africa had 2 per cent cash in circulation to the GDP, Nigeria’s position was 41 per cent cash in circulation to the GDP, which remains very high. Ajiboye stated that the CBN and the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), it was discovered, spent about N114.5billion in 2009 on cash
Expert calls for centralised tax payment system
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he three tiers of government should develop a centralised, technology driven tax payment system to reduce the cost of paying taxes. A tax professional and lawyer, Mrs Titilayo Oke made this recommendation in the second volume of the Nigeria Leadership White Papers. In a paper titled, “The Burden of paying taxes in Nigeria,” she observed that there are two major constraints to tax payments in Nigeria, and these are: the financial burden characterised by actual tax costs through rates and multiple taxes; and the administrative burden resulting from the inefficiency of regulations and tax authorities in their dealings with taxpayers. She said the impact on this is reflected in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report published in November 2011, Nigeria ranks 138 out of 183 countries, on the indicator of
measuring the ease of paying taxes. “According to the World Bank, in 2011, a typical medium-sized Nigerian
company had to make 35 payments of 13 different types of taxes and spent 117 days (938 hours) of compliance time.
management and related activities, and that it was envisaged to be over N200billion mark by the year 2012 or 2013, which goes to show that Nigeria spends so much in currency processing and management. The essence of the cashless policy, he emphasized, was to reduce the cost of cash management and achieve a more efficient payment system in Nigeria. According to him, in support of the extant Money laundering Act, the CBN being the custodian of the Nigerian payment system, decided to lead the crusade to migrate from the present cash-based to cashless transactions.
Lagos State appoints Heritage Bank as revenue collection bank
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eritage Bank has been appointed as a Lagos State revenue collection bank using the Lagos State Electronic Banking System of Revenue Collection and Monitoring (EBS-RCM) payment platform. This is coming on the heels of similar mandates from other corporate organisations and institutions such as the Nigerian Customs Service, Oyo State Government, PHCN Eko Distribution, PHCN Ikeja Distribution and DSTV/Multichoice. The Lagos State Mandate empowers Heritage Bank to receive from the public on behalf of the state, payments, fees and levies such as withholding tax, PAYE,
Ministerial Miscellaneous, Land Use Charge, Business Premises Registration Charge, Capital Gain Tax, Tax on Account in Hotels, Tax on drinks in bars, Tax on other transactions, Vehicle licensing/fine/fees and FRSC Number Plate fees, among others. With its recent globally acclaimed 50-day world record successful deployment of the Finnacle 10 banking software as well as other ongoing massive investment in building a nimble electronic banking system backbone, Heritage bank has remained at the forefront of effort to establish a robust branchless banking and highly technology-driven economy,
while promoting business efficiency across many frontiers. Commenting on the significance of the Lagos State Mandate and others like it, Heritage Bank’s Executive Director, Niyi Adeseun noted that “Heritage Bank commenced operations March 4, 2013 with a philosophy to offer banking services with guaranteed convenience riding on the platform of simplified service innovation, leading technology solutions and experience driven relationship management. Our corporate vision captures the essence of our institutional aspiration of creating, preserving and transferring wealth across generations.
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 23
24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Corporate Finance BRIEFS NSE bearish trend not sign of crash - CIBN chief Stories by NKIRUKA NNOROM
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former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, on Thursday urged investors not to panic over the current bearish trend of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Unegbu said in Lagos that the lull was not a sign of crash of the capital market. He said that the trend result from the new increment in Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for public sector deposits. The CBN in July raised the CRR on public sector deposits, including deposits from the three tiers of government, from 12 per cent to 50 per cent. Some capital market watchers believe that the increment will spur major investors to redirect their fund from the capital to money market, where returns will be higher. Unegbu advised that investors should take advantage of low price of equities to increase their stakes.
Red Star proposes N189m dividend
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ed Star Express Plc has disclosed plans to pay a total of N189 million as dividend to its shareholders st for the year ended 31 March, 2013. The dividend payment, which amounts to 30 kobo per ordinary share of 50kobo each, will be subject to shareholders’ approval at the Annual General Meeting scheduled to hold on September, 2013, and also represents 6.78 per cent increase over N177 million declared in 2012. The company said in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, that the dividend will be paid from N304.53 million profits recorded within the year, while only shareholders whose names appear on the book of register as at the close th of business on 15 September, 2013, will be entitled to the payment. Red Star further stated in the notice that the shareholders’ accounts would be credited same day of the AGM if the proposed dividend is approved by the members of the company. The company also said it intends to raise its share capital to N500 million from the initial N300 million through the creation of additional 400 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, such new shares ranking pari passu in all respect with the existing ordinary shares.
First Bank deploys technology to reduce N60bn unclaimed dividend BY PETER EGWUATU
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s part of its effort to reducing the growing unclaimed dividend amounting to over N60 billion in the Nigerian capital market ,First Registrars Nigeria Limited has unveiled a new technology, First Dividend Plus Prepaid Card & e-voting system that would help alleviate the problems investors go through in the market. Managing Director/CEO, First Registrars, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi said that Information Communication Technology (ICT) have become a bedrock of business management process all over the world, stressing that First Registrars has blazed the trail as all hands are on deck to ensure that it run its business in consonant with global practice to raise the standard of share registration practice in the country. According to him “ In line with this, our organization has committed tremendous human and financial resources to the creation of strategic I.T
From left: Marketing Manager, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Ben Collins; Head, Sales and Marketing, Mr. Gabriel Okoli; Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Joel Ajiga and National Sales Manager, Sola Owoade, during the company’s press conference at the its Head Office, Ikeja, Lagos enabled products and services that are geared towards making share registration management and procedures seamless for all stakeholders in the business.” He outlined some of the products introduced by First Registrars to include: edividend payment, the Online Access, M-Access, e share
Notifier and the e-lodgment packages. The First Registrars boss said, “It is expected that the First Dividend Prepaid Card will eliminate the problem of unclaimed dividend as shareholders can now claim their dividend immediately, even without bank accounts.” The Chief Executive Officer,
Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema commended the First Registrars for its innovativeness. According to him, “This is the kind of things we need to have in the capital market to be able to solve some of the problems facing investors.
Shareholders approve Wema Bank’s recapitalisation bid
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hareholders of Wema Bank Plc have unanimously approved a bid by the Bank to raise over 40 billion naira private
BY WILLIAM JIMOH placement fund as part of efforts by its management to
keep the bank in operation. Speaking during the 2012 Annual General Meeting of the bank in Lagos, National
Aluminum Extrusion shareholders call for fresh capital By NKIRUKA NNOROM
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hareholders of A l u m i n u m Extrusion Industries Plc have appealed to the board and management of the company to seek the possibility of raising fresh capital from the capital market to support its operation instead of continuous dependence on banks’ borrowings. The shareholders, who th spoke at the company’s 26 Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, warned that over-reliance on short-term loans would harm the sustainability of the company’s operation. They insisted that the capital market has bounced and hence had the capacity of supporting new issues. Speaking on behalf of other shareholders, the duo of Mr. Augustine Anono, Chairman, Nigeria Professional Shareholders Association,
NPSA, and Evangelist Anthony, said, “Lets see how we can reduce dependence on loans; in 2011, we paid N33.71 million as interest on loans, in 2012, the figure increased to N50.5 million. When we relate this to the profit after tax, the interest rate is more than our profit for the year. We are just working for the banks. “Our share capital is N109.978 million; capital employed has remained constant for the past five years, I want us to utilise that and give the company the needed capital. Let the company seek new issue from the capital market, we can leverage that and increase the capital for our production and operation, otherwise, we will keep relying on banks’ borrowing.” They added that there is need for increase in staff remuneration, saying that it could only be possible with more money at the company’s disposal.
In his response, the chairman, Dr. Pacsal Dozie, assured the shareholders that the management would seek more capital at the appropriate time, saying that the company needs to consolidate on the gains recorded so far before venturing into the capital market. In his words; “We need more muscle to go to the capital market. The progress we have made should be sustained before we can go to the capital market. If we can pay dividend consistently for some years, we can then start thinking in that line because people will ask about the antecedent of the company.” Continuing, he said; “We have not had the luck of having access to long-term fund in this country. We need to stabilise this economy to have long-term fund. The only long-term funds we have in this country are given by organisations like the International Finance Corporation for on-ward lending.
Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria Mr. Boniface Okezie noted that the move by the bank is welcome by the shareholders as it will proffer the bank opportunity to be profitable and serve its them better. His words, “The better they raise that capital the better it is for the bank, because with the capital, the bank will be able to work for itself rather than work for the Central Bank of Nigeria and the AMCOM. We understand that Wema Bank is currently operating with a negative shareholder fund which is believed that when the bank is through with the process it will be better and stronger.” Sir Sanny Nwosu, National Coordinator Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, in his own speech promised the uttermost support and co-operation of the shareholders to move the company formard. “I want to appreciate the management of the bank for a job well done which saved the bank from running down. My advice to the Board is that you need to make progress slow and steady and in the course of trying to do this you can be sure of our support.”
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 25
C M Y K
26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Coporate Finance
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r. Oladele Sotubo is the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited. In this interview with NKIRUKA NNOROM, he spoke on the state of Nigeria bonds market, saying that there is need to increase awareness among retail investors to deepen their understanding of bonds market. He also spoke on the appointment of the company as government stockbroker last year. The EXCERPTS: We have heard figures regarding the size of the market for bonds. From an operator’s point of view, how large is Nigeria’s bond market? Nigeria’s bond market has a yearly turnover of about N10 trillion and this is growing as we expect to see more issuance from federal and state governments. The corporate bond space is gradually coming alive and we have also seen the emergence of Supra National bond with the listing of IFC bond. Is the appetite for investing in bonds among Nigerians strong enough to warrant a high level of optimism regarding the primary and secondary bond market? There is no doubt about the appetite in bonds among corporate Nigeria, but the move
Nigeria’s retail bond market will witness impressive growth —Dele Sotubo is to create the awareness and get the retail investors to develop the appetite for this asset class. The approach is to make them see the benefits in this asset class as compared to other classes they are already used to. The major advantage of fixed income is the fact that it possesses the combined nature and benefits of equities and fixed deposit. Most investors do not currently understand the fact that there is room for capital appreciation as in equities, while returns, in terms of coupon payment, is guaranteed as in fixed deposit. Above all, performing our role as government
Oladele Sotubo
stockbroker, retail investors are sure of an exit window in case they decide to exit from the investment before
maturity date. Nigeria’s bond market has for years been overshadowed by the equities market. Do you see this changing, this year perhaps? The idea is not to get it to overshadow equities, but to provide an alternative asset class for investors. The best practice is for an investor to have a diversified portfolio, which means that the
The major advantage of fixed income is the fact that it possesses the combined nature and benefits of equities and fixed deposit. Most investors do not currently understand the fact that there is room for capital appreciation as in equities
,
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portfolio must contain instrument from several asset classes. Once an average retail investor imbibes this investment culture, then investment in bonds will start taking it rightful position. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers was late last year appointed Stockbroker to Federal Government of Nigeria bonds. What does this really mean? The appointment places the obligation on Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers to provide the market with two way quotes (bid and offer prices) on all FGN bonds listed and to be listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It positioned the company as the seller and buyer of last resort in all listed bond. This means that there will always be a buyer and seller of FGN bonds on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange daily. What led to the emergence of Stanbic IBTC stockbrokers considering that other organisations also bided alongside your company? C M Y K
How will you rate the process? The process followed by the Debt Management Office was as prescribed for such appointment by the Federal Government. DMO published an RFP for all interested brokerage firms to apply and all interested firms were requested to submit both financial and technical bids. The opening of bids was transparent as we had in attendance all the firms that applied, representative of the NSE, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, ASHON, CBN and CLO. After this rigorous and transparent process, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited was appointed the government stockbroker. Considering how large the FGN bond portfolio is, do you think one organisation, in this case, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, is capable of handling such huge portfolio? This question has been asked and answered several times by the DMO. The idea is to gradually restore retail bond trading on the Exchange and appoint a liquidity provider. The process is subject to review and DMO will take the decision if more liquidity provider is required. The appointment is expected to lead to a more robust bonds market, opening up the market to retail investors. Do you see this happening? Until our appointment, bonds were hardly traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The last time bond transaction was recorded was as far back as the call over days. With our appointment, trading in bond has resumed on the floor of the Exchange and as part of our role as the government stockbroker, we have embarked on awareness creation to mobilise interest in this segment of the market. The first of the series was with stockbrokers whom we see as a sure link to retail investors. We intend to take this forward by having sessions with retail investors directly in the course of the year. I think Nigerians will require greater clarity regarding your role in the bond market. How will the appointment impact on the average retail investor? By our appointment, we provide an average retail investor the opportunity to buy FGN bonds with as small as N100, 000.00. This was not possible before now as the minimum tranche a Primary Market Maker will deal is N100 million. Also, retail investors had to hold bonds till maturity as there was no exit window prior to maturity. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited provides daily bid ands offer prices putting ourselves out as buyer and seller at any time. Investors are no longer forced to hold to maturity. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited has been conducting market wide investor education programme which is expected to continue.
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 27
Commodity Index
Micro-Finance Stories by PROVIDENCE OBUH
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i c r o entrepreneurs have bemoaned the neglect of the sector, especially in the area of funding and machinery, calling on government to create an enabling environment to boost production. The micro entrepreneurs, under the auspices of the Association of Micro Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN) called for an advocate for small business people, to be included in the economic team of the country. “In Lagos alone, we have over 300 manufacturers, but we are handicapped in the area of machinery and fund. We cannot do business without fund and we are meant to industrialise Nigeria,” President of the association, Prince Saviour Iche said, lamenting the increased level of unemployment in the country. To this end, Iche said that micro entrepreneurs should be given an
Micro entrepreneurs bemoan sector neglect, seek govt support enabling environment so as to create room for employment. According to him, “the fund meant for micro entrepreneurs are given to multinationals, resulting in neglect of the sector. The condition we found ourselves is not conducive enough as local manufacturers who should have rescued Nigeria. “The importance of micro entrepreneurs is not recognised in this country and that is why you see unemployment on the increase on daily basis. Fresh graduates are churned out of the universities yearly; hoping to secure jobs but the system has not given them the enabling environment. “We are witnessing high rate of crime because of unemployment. If these criminals have a job, I believe they will do something and crime
will reduce.” Calling on government to nurture small business owners, he said, “Government should come to our aid, we the local manufacturers, small business owners, because we have solution to unemployment. We have gone to several states to train people, in July; we trained about 300 persons in Akwa Ibom State.” However, he challenged the Bank of Industry, saying, “They recapitalize the bank of industry, where are the money they were given initially? They should be investigated to know who is collecting this money. Billions and millions are given to some states, when they have not finished the one’s they have, they deprive we who are suppose to be funded the right to this fund,” he cried.
ATB Techsoft bags Microsoft cloud partner of the year profitable, enterprise-
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TB Techsoft Solutions Limited, an IT solutions delivery company that undertakes and provides advisory services, has bagged the Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year. The company was also honoured among top ranking Microsoft Partners in the West, East and Central Africa (WECA) region for excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Speaking at a Worldwide Partners Conference held in Texas, USA, Chief Technology Officer for ATB Techsoft, Mr. Olurotimi Fagbenro commended Microsoft for recognising its effort in the IT sector, saying, “it is indeed an honour that Microsoft recognises the efforts and innovative solutions we have created using their technology. “This award is a collective win for the ATB team as we have all worked tirelessly in implementing pioneer hybrid cloud solutions for enterprises.” However, Microsoft WECA region comprises countries in West, East and Central Africa as well as the Indian Ocean Islands. The Microsoft Partner of
the Year Awards recognises Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoftbased solutions during the past year. While the Cloud Partner of the Ye a r : E n t e r p r i s e Customers (CA and EPG) Award honors a partner that has shifted some of their business from on-premise to integration of a Cloud based practice and they would have built a
level, managed cloud business with enterpriseclass Microsoft cloud solutions. ATB Techsoft Solutions Limited is a dynamic IT solutions delivery company that undertakes and provides various IT as well as advisory services, offering specialized, client-specific services to government ministries, departments and agencies as well as educational institutions, banks and manufacturing companies.
Mantrac denies advertising for vacant positions
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antrac Nigeria Limited, sole dealer of Caterpillar products in Nigeria has denied advertising vacant positions on several websites on the internet. In a statement, Mr. Segun Sofela, General Manager, Human Resources, said the company has no relationship with the said websites nor did it authorise any person or group of persons to publish the positions. He however warned members of the public to ignore the advert, saying the websites and the recruitment exercise it claims to conduct have nothing whatsoever to do with the company. Applicants and job seekers should therefore disregard job vacancy from any website other than the official company website, the statement warned.
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28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Interview By EBELE ORAKPO
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r Ola Orekunrin is a UK-trained physician with a specialist interest in trauma and pre-hospital care. Upon graduation from the Hull York Medical School in England, as one of the youngest doctors in the UK at the time, Dr. Ola, as she is fondly called, worked for nearly ten years in the National Health Service (NHS) UK before coming back to Nigeria to pursue her dream. She is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Surgeons, member, British Medical Association etc. and a helicopter pilot. In this chat with Vanguard in her office in Lagos, Dr Ola who is the Managing Director of Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd, West Africa’s first air ambulance service, speaks on why she ventured into the air ambulance service business and her passion for healthcare in Africa. Excerpts: Could you give us a brief educational background? I graduated from the Hull York Medical School in England and worked in England for some years. In 2008, I was awarded the prestigious MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship where I and my team mates carried out some research in the field of regenerative medicine in Tokyo, Japan. I currently work in Nigeria as the Managing Director of Flying Doctors Nigeria Limited which is one of the first air ambulance services in the whole of West Africa. What motivated you to go into air ambulance services, considering that it is capitalintensive and a seeming unviable business in Nigeria? I was already studying medicine in the UK some years ago when my younger sister fell seriously ill while on holidays in Nigeria and needed urgent care but the nearest hospital couldn’t deal with her condition. We immediately began to look for an air ambulance service to quickly transport her to a suitable healthcare facility. We searched all across West Africa but found none. The nearest one at the time was in South Africa and they had a 12-hour activation time but by the time they were ready to activate, my sister was dead. It was really a devastating time for me and I started thinking about whether I should be in England talking about healthcare in Africa, or I should be in Africa dealing with healthcare and trying to do something about it and here we are today. So your sister ’s death was the catalyst or final decider for you? Yes. But again, I have always been very interested in health and healthcare delivery especially how we can come up
with innovative/creative ways of delivering healthcare to people and I realised that Nigeria is a very vast country and it is extremely difficult to get around and I wanted to meet that need. I also realised that so many people were dying not just because of the state of the hospitals but because people were not actually able to get to hospitals on time. A lot of people across Nigeria live in areas where it takes several hours by road to get to the most appropriate hospitals for their injuries or illnesses. Sometimes, they live in very far-flung areas. A lot of Nigerians live offshore as well so sometimes, it can take many hours or days on roads that are uneven and barely motorable to get to the appropriate hospital to take care of their medical conditions. This is the problem I wanted to help solve. I wanted to find a way that I can facilitate people who were critically ill; get them to see a doctor, and not just any doctor, I wanted to facilitate getting the right patient to the right facility, within the right time frame for that particular illness, and that’s why I started the air ambulance service three – four years ago.
*On the move ...
Flying Doctors has dream — Orekunrin airports. It seems your clients are the upper echelon of society, the rich and powerful… (Cuts in)… No. A lot of people tend to think that our services transfer only the rich abroad. But one thing I would
like to point out is that contrary to popular opinion, majority of our journeys are actually within the West Africa sub-continent, so most of the journeys we undertake are actually transferring people within West Africa, example, from Chad into Nigeria for
treatment because believe it or not, in places like Chad and Mali, and surrounding countries, they might not even have the facilities that we have, so sometimes, they need to come into Nigeria for treatment. Nigeria is a very vast country with a lot of rural areas so a lot of the journeys we undertake are actually
Do you work in collaboration with airlines? No, no. We have our specialised aircraft that have all the equipment inside, adapted for that particular purpose. Right now, we have a pool of aircraft that we use – from helicopters to access offshore or very remote areas, to propeller planes that can go on bush-type paths/non-defined runways and the jets that can obviously land at major
I started thinking about whether I should be in England talking about healthcare in Africa, or I should be in Africa dealing with healthcare and trying to do something about it and here we are today
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*Dr Ola Orekunrin...It took a lot of sacrifice and eventually, I was able to get a lump sum toge Doctors Nigeria
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Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 29
Interview together and bring it over to Nigeria to start up Flying Doctors Nigeria Limited. What were the challenges you faced? Starting up this kind of business of course, comes with a lot of challenges. There was the challenge of getting the right personnel for the job, looking for the right aircraft, don’t forget we have people of different sizes and certainly, different injuries and sicknesses that require different aircraft. We had the challenge of choosing the right drugs and equipment to be used for such services. There is also insecurity. The government is trying its best under difficult circumstances but there is always room for improvement. But despite all these, the passion, love to save lives and love for the job have kept us going.
What was your start-up capital and
ther to start Flying
how did you raise the money? I had some money obviously because I had some businesses in England so I used my money to start up the air ambulance service. I am actually going to write an article on the Power of a good salary. I think if you earn a reasonable salary and you decide to save 50 – 60 per cent of your salary for a number of years, you can use that to start up any business you want to go into. And once people (investors or banks) see that you have managed to amass that amount of money by denying yourself of so
many things to be able to get to where you are; then they will be more likely to give you money. So I had some businesses; I had a teaching business, I was working in Japan and I managed to save probably about 50 – 60 per cent of my income over a period of years which I then brought to Nigeria and used it to start Flying Doctors Nigeria. That was where I got the start-up capital from. I have been working on this for a number of years before I came to Nigeria and obviously, it was very, very difficult. People say they don’t earn enough to save. Everybody earns enough to save but you’ve just got to deny yourself of certain things. So while everybody was wearing new clothes to work, I wore only surgical scrubs for a year. I did not buy any new clothes. While everybody was going to the hair salon, I refused to
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transferring people from rural areas or offshore areas into Lagos or Abuja for treatment and only a small proportion of our work is international repatriation which is transferring people from Nigeria to other countries for treatment.
join them. I instead learnt to braid my hair by myself. I would sit in front of the mirror in my room and do tiny braids and it used to take me a whole weekend so all that money was saved. When you become a medical doctor in England, there are a lot of people who are willing to give you money. You get access to finances so you can get a new car and pay little by little. I did not do any of those things. I still used my old banger that I had as a student. (Laughing); I could remember in the hospital, while everybody had their new cars like Ferrari and Porsche, I had my old car. Sometimes it will stop on my way to work. It was so terrible but I had to try and keep that vision alive; that I wanted to start a company in Nigeria and I needed to save a certain amount of money to do it. I was also working extra shifts. I was always doing the extra job I hardly ever had any break time. So it took a lot of sacrifice and eventually, I was able to get a lump sum
While everybody was wearing new clothes, I wore only surgical scrubs, while everybody was going to the salon, I refused to join them; I instead learnt to braid my hair by myself so all that money was saved
,
,
s helped realise my
Who are your clients? The truth of the matter is that when you look at the percentage of people whose lives we have saved so far, they are mainly people that never imagined that they would ever use an aircraft not to talk of being flown in a private jet plane to a hospital in the UK, India, South Africa, Saudi Arabia or some neighbouring African countries.
working with the machines; they are not out in the rural areas. It is going to be one of the workers. So naturally, it is people that are really quite underprivileged that access our services. Who is going to get injured during a bank robbery? Again, all the directors are sitting in Victoria Island, it is the person in that remote lonely village branch in the middle of nowhere that is going to get shot and injured and it is those people that companies cover. Sometimes, it is even covered by states. For example, if a large bombing incidence or large disasters occur, the government does actually help in a way even if they do not fully invest in the service. When there is a large disaster or huge problem in a state, they will pick up the bill for flying the patients when the state hospitals are overwhelmed. May be 100 people need intensive care after a bombing incident and there are only 10 intensive care beds, the government may take the burden to fly the most ill people, may be to Lagos or Abuja for further treatment. How do you get your clients? We have certain industries that we target. We target
Again, all the directors are sitting in Victoria Island, it is the person in that remote lonely village branch in the middle of nowhere that is going to get shot and injured and it is those people that companies cover
The doctors: Our doctors are not just doctors; they have certificates in Aviation medicine. You cannot just bring in a general practitioner to do this job. We have doctors that are at all times working in the intensive care units of hospitals because what we do is all about saving lives. They have years of experience in both acute medicine and the aviation industry. How affordable are your services? It is very rarely paid for by the end-user. Usually, it would be the company which takes life cover for all of their employees. I mean, who is most likely to get injured in Dangote Group? It is not going to be one of the directors. They are not
,
high risk industries like the banking industry because the spread of the branches is so wide and sometimes in quite sensitive areas and rural areas. The construction industry is also quite risky in that they’ve got a lot of people working at heights and working with dangerous materials; the oil and gas industry, the manufacturing industry are all high risk. So we look for clients within those industries. We also have clients in the insurance industry. Are you finding fulfillment in this job? Yes. Flying Doctors Nigeria Limited has helped me to combine my deep love for medicine and Africa with my passion for flying.
30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Homes & Housing Finance BRIEFS Ogun to reclaim land from speculators
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gun State government is set to reclaim all properties that are illegally acquired from land speculators across the state. Newly appointed DirectorGeneral, Ogun State Bureau of Land and Survey and Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Land Matters, Mr. Wale Oshinowo, said government will no longer fold its arms and watch speculators take over its land. He said this while inspecting government land within the Ilo-Awela-Onipanu axis of Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state. He expressed surprise at the level of encroachment on government property, adding that no effort would be spared in recovering them. A statement by the Information Officer of the bureau, Mrs. Toluwalope Kowo, quoted the DG as warning land speculators who are in the habit of selling government land to unsuspecting members of the public to stop their illegal acts or be prepared to face prosecution. Oshinowo also seized the opportunity to announce government’s plan to carry out a comprehensive survey of the Ilo-Awela-Onipanu axis as part of its urban renewal programme.
US mortgage rates hold steady
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ixed mortgage rates held steady this week, according to home finance giant Freddie Mac, with lenders offering the 30-year home loan at an average of 4.4 percent, the same as last week. The average rate for a 15year fixed loan was 3.44 percent compared to 3.43 percent a week ago, which is statistically unchanged. Start rates on adjustable mortgages were slightly higher, according to Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed rate hit an all-time low of 3.31 percent last November. The current higher rate would mean a person borrowing $200,000 now would pay $125 more per month compared with a person who borrowed when the rate was at its lowest, said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. While demand for mortgages to purchase homes has increased as housing markets improve, overall demand for home loans has declined as fewer people find it worthwhile to refinance homes.
House built with cargo containers
NHF scheme not suitable for low-income earners – Varsity don By YINKA KOLAWOLE
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university don has said that the design of the National Housing Fund (NHF) scheme is not suited to cater for the housing need of low-income earners in Nigeria. Dr. Wole Alagbe of the Department of Architecture, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, stated this while reviewing the problems of non-affordability associated with various government housing schemes in the country, as part of a paper he presented on ‘Exploring Indigenous Strategies for Affordable Housing Delivery for the Urban Poor’. According to him, “NHF eligibility technically excludes the lowincome group by requesting evidence of possession of valid title to land (Certificate of Occupancy) and approved building plans” at a Housing Exhibition and Conference held earlier in the year in Abuja. Alagbe noted for instance that under the scheme, loan facility is granted on the basis of the contributor ’s ability to pay off with 30 percent of his/ her average monthly income and repayment plan of a maximum 30 years tenor at 6 percent interest rate per annum. A contributor is also expected to make equity contribution or personal stake of 30 percent, 20 percent or 10 percent depending on the loan amount applied for, before he/she can qualify for loan under the NHF scheme, noting that all the pre-
conditions are big impediments towards realisation of ‘housing for all’, particularly for the lowincome group. He conceded that over time, the Nigerian government has initiated ideas aimed at tackling the housing issues, but noted that there has been more failures than success stories. The university don also pointed out that Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) on housing is profit oriented, and therefore incapable of solving the housing needs of
low-income earners. “The products of PPPs are not for the low-income earner and therefore not affordable to this group of people. Survey shows that the term of payment is unfriendly or almost impossible to meet by low-income group. Under the PPP arrangement, a typical two-bedroom house will cost minimum of N3.5m depending on the location. Therefore, it is inherent that we seek for indigenous strategies for delivering affordable housing to the 70
percent of Nigerians who live below the poverty line ($1 per day),” he stated. According to him, affordability refers to the supply and availability of housing that is both within the financial reach of households and matches their aspirations. “Affordable housing is concerned with securing some given standards of housing or different standards at a price or rent which does not impose an unreasonable burden on the household incomes.
Lagos land use charge tribunal takes off BY JONAH NWOKPOKU
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he Lagos State Land Use Charge Assessment Appeals Tribunal has formally taken off with the delivery of judgment in its first case since it was set up. Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr. Ayodele Odunlami, said at the sitting that the tribunal is committed to upholding the principles of fairness in the discharge of its duties. Speaking to Vanguard after delivering judgment on the case between Lanre Badmus Industries Limited and Lagos State Government, Odunlami said that the tribunal was set up by the Lagos State Government to mediate between the Lagos State Land Registry Company and property owners in Lagos on
land use charge and assessment and will ensure that no property owner is unduly charged for his/her property. “The tribunal was set up by the Lagos State Governor, Bababtunde Fashola, because he expected some kind of intermediary between the Land Registry Company, which is in charge of the land use charge and assessment in Lagos, and the tax payers so that there will be fair play and there will be a kind of adjudication or fairness, and that is what we stand to do. Although we are set up by the government, we are not working for the government. We are supposed to be independent and look through each case in its merits and its technicalities and make sure that every party
is satisfied with our ruling at the end of the day,” he stated. For people who have received their land use charge assessment charges and have any grievances, he said, “if anyone has any grievances at all and he can’t resolve them with the Land Registry Company, that is why the tribunal is set up. That is why we are here. Already we have a number of cases waiting to be heard. This is because we deliver fair judgment. Nobody believed he could get that kind of justice here. But we stand for fairness and we would not disappoint anybody. Our watchword always is fairness and by the time we come up with our judgment, every party would be happy with it. Our judgment is and would always be based by the law.”
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 31
Agric
IITA , FARA renew commitment to agricultural devt in Africa Stories by JIMOH BABATUNDE with agency reports
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he leadership of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have reconfirmed their commitment to redouble institutional efforts and boost the agricultural sector in Africa. IITA and FARA also
underscored the need for deepening their i n s t i t u t i o n a l relationship to generate scientific innovations and create impact at farm levels. This commitment to Africa agriculture was made when the new Executive Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Dr Yemi Akinbamijo visited Dr Nteranya Sanginga, Director-General of the
IITA in Ibadan recently. Speaking on the theme: The Science Agenda for African A g r i c u l t u r e : Implications for IITA and other CGIAR actors, Dr Akinbamijo said; “To make impact and improve agriculture in the continent, we must work together, pull together, and deliver together.” He noted that IITA has a unique stake in the context of African agriculture, and that a
synergy between FARA and IITA is inevitable for agricultural development in the continent. He explained that the development of an agriculture science agenda for Africa was a result of the Dublin Process—an initiative of African stakeholders in agricultural research and development, the CGIAR consortium and development partners aimed at improving
alignment of CGIAR to the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) agenda. According to Dr Akinbamijo, the Dublin Process was inspired by the realisation that CGIAR research programs could be focused – at least in Africa – to better address agricultural research for development needs articulated in country and regional agriculture and food security investment plans. He also said IITA and other CGIAR partners have strategic roles to play in the science agenda
especially in terms of building and developing capacities in the continent. Dr Sanginga pledged IITA’s commitment to partner with excellent organizations such as FARA to create impact in Africa, stressing that to realize agricultural development, both international and continental, agricultural research organizations must join efforts and complement each other. “You have our full support as you work towards improving livelihoods in Africa,” Dr Sanginga said.
Kogi distributes 90,000 hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers
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he Kogi State Government last week distributed over 90, 000 hybrid cocoa seedlings to farmers in seven local government areas of the state. Speaking while distributing the seedlings in Lokoja, the state Deputy Governor, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, praised the administration of Gov. Idris Wada for transforming the agriculture sector in the state. Awoniyi, who is the Chairman of the Kogi Cocoa Rebirth Agenda, said emphasis was placed on agriculture when it was discovered that it was a major tool for development. He said that the present administration had placed so much premium on agriculture, especially in the cultivation of Rice, Cassava and Cashew, and now Cocoa. The deputy governor advised the youths to embrace farming instead of pursuing sudden wealth. “There is no shortcut to wealth except through hard work,” Awoniyi said. In his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Olufemi Bolarin, thanked the government for believing in agriculture. He said agriculture would create wealth and employment opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths. He said that government decided to extend its support to cocoa farmers with the expectation that they could set aside at least 1,000 hectares of land for cocoa cultivation every year. Receiving the seeds on behalf of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAON), Kogi branch, the state Chairman, Mr
Joe Elebiyo, thanked the government for its commitment to the sector. He assured that the association would do its best to ensure the realisation of the agenda for the rebranding of cocoa farming in the state. The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the seven cocoa farming councils in the state are, Kabba, Okehi, Ijumu, Yagba East, Lokoja, Mopamuro and Yagba West.
AfricaRice, partners set up network of rice hubs
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s part of its 20112020 Strategic Plan , AfricaRice is working with its partners across the continent to set up Rice Sector Development Hubs to concentrate research and development efforts, establish a critical mass, connect partners along the rice value chain, and facilitate the spread of innovations. The hubs are testing grounds for new rice technologies and follow a “reverseresearch approach,” that is, starting from the market. The hubs bring together large groups of farmers (1,000–5,000) and partners from the whole rice value chain— input suppliers, seed producers, processors, millers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers—to facilitate change. These represent key ricegrowing environments and different market opportunities across African countries, and will be linked to major national or regional rice development efforts to speed up wider adoption of rice knowledge and technologies. C M Y K
32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
CBN withdraws N1trn from banking system
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with the collapse of several banks in the early 1990s. With the withdrawal of government funds from banks, a fierce cutthroat competition developed among the banks. Unsustainably high interest rates were offered for fixed deposits – sometimes with the interest paid up-front. It made no economic sense and the collapse of the banks was predictable. In fact, one of my first predictions about banking crisis was made in a column titled FUNNY MONEY, which warned that a crisis was inevitable. It happened as foretold. All the 17 banks I said would
feeling the pinch as many banks have started reducing their exposure to the fixed income financial instruments and inter-bank lending rates are also on the rise. That invariably means that borrowers will pay higher interest rates, even if they can access funds at all, and it also implies that businesses will face credit crunch. And as Emperor Frederick had remarked, the only thing that has changed are the names of the actors. Unlike 1989, we now have President Jonathan, Dr Ngozi OkonjoIweala and Malam Sanusi Lamido. They mean no harm to anyone; they don’t even
,
“The Central Bank of Nigeria, on Wednesday began the implementation of its new 50 per cent Cash Reserve Requirement policy, which requires Deposit Money Banks to keep 50 per cent of all public sector funds with the Central Bank”. THE PUNCH, Thursday, August 8, 2013 p 31). he first major withdrawal of public funds from banks in recent memory took place during the Babangida administration in 1989. The country’s Economic Management Team and the Presidential Advisory Committee (Babangida was the only military ruler to give himself the title PRESIDENT) included Professor Oje Aboyade, Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, Dr Chu Okongwu – all former World Bank economists. The Governor of Central Bank was Alhaji Ahmed and the Minister for Budget was Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji. By the time IBB became President, the price of crude oil had plummeted from a record price of $28 per barrel to less than $12 per barrel. Under Babangida, as the global economy went into a recession, it actually went down to $9.95 per barrel. Then, as now, the banking sector was heavily dependent on public funds for its deposit base and little effort was made to mobilise funds from individuals. That meant that government funds were deposited with the banks at zero per cent interest and the same government turned around to borrow its own funds from the banks at 35 to 40 per cent. That was not permissible even when Nigeria had more money than sense to manage it. Interest rates became an unbearable burden for governments by 1989. Commonsense prevailed. Government withdrew its funds from the banks and a banking crisis was underway which ended
The first question is: how did we get into this mess once again? Part of the answer lies in our unstated public policy of illusions and hidden corruption
collapse did – including COMMERCE BANK headed by two former heads of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers. When Frederick the Great, 1712-1786, wrote that, “Whoever reads history, with application, will perceive that the same scenes are often repeated and that we need only change the names of the actors”. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS), he must have had Nigeria in mind. Another bank crisis is on the way – what is not clear is whether it will be short or long and the ultimate impact on the banking sector. But, the withdrawal of large quantum of public funds from the banking system has always inevitably resulted in problems for Nigerian banks and for the economy as a whole. Already, the bond market is
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enjoy inflicting more pain on Nigerians – who are already crushed by economic, social and political burdens. But, this measure, inescapable as it is, will do just that. Nigeria, in 2013, is having to learn again the lessons which changing fortune taught us in the 1980s, but which we seem to have forgotten. My co-columnist in the VANGUARD, and a good Old Igbobian, Henry Boyo, had been warning governments that it made no sense for governments to hand over public funds to banks at no interest only for the same government to turn around and borrow at 14 per cent or more from the same banks. That amounted to borrowing your own money at 14 per cent. The lesson Henry had tried to knock into block heads at the federal and state
levels, without success until now, was already taught in 1989-1992. But, we operate a public sector in Nigeria, where the managers in one generation don’t have a sense of history about what had happened in the past. But, if government is bad about remembering history, the banks are even worse. Most of the Managing Directors and Executive Directors of banks today were either not born, or, were still learning to put on their pants when the 1989-1992 banking crisis took place. It swept away many high-flying banks. This one too will at least shake the banks to their foundations and might even sweep away three or four. The first question is: how did we get into this mess once again? Part of the answer lies in our unstated public policy of illusions and hidden corruption. One of the greatest illusions underpinning our economic policy rests on the notion that we can continue indefinitely to place public money in banks at zero interest and borrow them back at 14 per cent. “The most obstinate illusions are ultimately broken by facts”, said Trevor-Rooper. (VANGUARD BOOK OF QUOTATIONS p 100). One day, the purveyors of that fallacy of public funds management will realise that what they have been doing amounts to gradually giving public money to the banks for nothing; no services, no benefits to government or the people. The corruption involves the undisclosed interest the banks actually pay for the deposits. It is a fact that the officials of government who make the decisions to deposit huge funds in selected banks are paid commissions for so doing. Those commissions, which are destined for private pockets, and are undeclared to the public, represent the lies government officials tell the
rest of us. And, they run into billions every month. So, the public loses two ways. We will lose even more now that the party is over. Revenue this year is running way behind budget and governments are cash strapped. Commonsense will prevail again for a while; but at a cost to Nigerians. The next question is: will the new measure work and what will it do to the Nigerian economy? The answers can partly be found in a glance at our history again. Almost immediately after IBB’s government removed public funds from the banks, the queues at banks for cash withdrawal got longer; people spent hours at banks to cash their own cheques even though they had money in their accounts. Banks started cutting back on overdraft facilities to companies and easy credit to good deposits stopped. Individuals cut back on nonessential items and retail trade nose-dived nationwide. To attract more deposits, banks paid increasing interest rates and lent at Shylock rates to the few fortunate to obtain credit – they were the people engaged in capital flight and money-laundering. A backlash was underway. Unfortunately, the backlash leads to unintended consequences. Now more than ever, the banks need deposits because over 70 per cent of the money in circulation is still outside of the banking system. But, “free” money has lulled the banks into a sense of complacency. They forget that “the only free food is found on mouse-traps.” When they start again to scramble for deposits, the long queues in banking hall would have discouraged depositors from bringing money to banks. As in 1989-92, people learn quickly that hoarding money is the beginning of wisdom when cash in banks have been depleted by CBN. NEXT: IS YOUR BANK IN TROUBLE? ACT BEFORE IT GOES DOWN. Visit: www.delesobowale.com
BUSINESS NEWS Ex-JPMorgan traders urged to face Whale charges .S. prosecutors urged former London-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. traders Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout to surrender and face charges that they attempted to hide trading losses tied to the bank’s $6.2 billion loss on derivatives bets last year. Martin-Artajo , a Spanish citizen, andGrout, a French citizen, should “do the right thing,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said at a press conference yesterday. Both men face as long as 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious counts, including conspiracy and wire fraud. While Bharara said he was
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“hopeful” they would return, he had arrest warrants filed under seal along with criminal complaints Aug. 9, according to court records. The warrants were to be served on the State Department, Interpol and foreign law enforcement agencies. Martin-Artajo oversaw trading strategy for the synthetic portfolio at JPMorgan’s chief investment office in London, while Grout was a trader who worked for him. They are charged with conspiring to falsify securities filings from March to May of 2012. The U.S. sought to keep the charges secret while arrests were attempted, but
eventually had them unsealed yesterday. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon
characterized the $6.2 billion loss as “the stupidest and most embarrassing situation I have ever been a part of.” First disclosed in May 2012, the bad bets led to an
earnings restatement, a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing and probes by the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.K. Financial Conduct
CBN issues additional guideline for Agent banking
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he Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday released additional guideline as part of the approval process for financial institutions wishing to deploy agent banking services. A banking agent is a retailer contracted by a financial institution or a mobile network operator to process clients’ transactions.
Mr. Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking & Payments System Department of the CBN, in circular titled “Clarification on the Requirements for Agent Banking in Nigeria,” said that the apex bank will only review and process applications from Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs) and Primary Mortgage Banks
(PMBs) to operate agent banking services. According to him, “Agents are not required to apply directly to the CBN for approval, but shall be appointed and monitored by their principals based on the requirements for agents recruitment as contained in the guideline are to appoint and monitor”
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 33
Appointment and Promotions vicahiyoung@yahoo.com 08033348923
Guinness Nigeria names five new directors G
uinness Nigeria, has announced the appointment of five new directors as part of its strategy to maintain its leading role in the Nigerian market. They are Afeez Ajibowu, Regional Sales Director – West and North West, Chizoba Ojielo, Regional Sales Director – East and North East and Innocent Nwaononiwu, Sales Services Director. Patrick Awotwi joined the company as Consumer Director and Eyitemi Taire as Customer Marketing Director, effective 15th July 2013 Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Seni Adetu, confirmed that the appointment of the three earlier directors were with immediate effect. Ajibowu resumed at Guinness Nigeria Plc as Regional Sales Director- West and North West, from his former post as Head of Sales, British American Tobacco Nigeria, and (BATN). He holds a BSc in Biochemistry from Lagos State University (LASU), Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Marketing and MSc in Business Information Systems from University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. Ojielo resumes as Regional Sales Director – East and North East. Before his elevation, Ojielo was Distributor Development Director and worked with the company’s entire Sales Force to expand the company’s distribution footprint across the country. He has also acted as Field Sales Director also within Guinness Nigeria. Nwaononiwu has been confirmed as the Sales Service Director having functioned as acting Sales Director for Guinness Nigeria since March 2013. According to the announcement, he will now manage the company’s Sales
Operations, Sales Capability, National Key Accounts and Sales Projects. Taire is a consummate marketer and resumes as Customer Marketing Director. She was, until recently, the Head, Brands and Communications – Nigeria Region, Airtel Nigeria; where she led brand management, trade marketing, media operations, sponsorships and events in the business. Taire holds a Bachelor in History degree from the University of Warwick and an MBA from Imperial College, United Kingdom. Awotwi resumes as the new Route-to-Consumer Director and joined Guinness team from Glo Mobile as Sales Director. He has also been Sales Director, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, and was at various times in Guinness Ghana, the Distribution
Manager and Divisional Sales Manager - Greater Accra. He worked in East African Breweries Limited as Franchise Manager - South Sudan, posting a commendable performance.
•Ajibowu Afeez
usiness Initiative Directions (BID) has awarded Swiss Biodstat Limited with international star for Leadership in quality (ISLD) in gold category for 2013 at the just concluded Leadership in quality convention held in Paris. BID is an international organisation created to spread and promote quality culture, innovation and excellence among leading companies. The award was given in recognition of the company’s penchant and
•Eyitemi Taire
•Innocent Nwaononiwu
•Patrick Awotwi
Koledoye appointed AMC’s Vice-President for W/Africa ACTING President of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, NIMN, Mr. Ganiyu Koledoye, has been appointed Vice President of African Marketing Confederation, AMC, for the West African sub-region. Similarly, NIMN’s institute’s Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Rev. Deji Olokesusi, was made Deputy Secretary General. NIMN had earlier been named a founding member of the marketing Confederation. AMC is a body of marketing professionals striving for the development of the highest possible standards of marketing across Africa. Presenting the certificate of membership to the institute in Lagos, Vice President and member of the AMC Advisory body, Mr. Nigel Tattersall, said NIMN had been given the
founding member status in West Africa to enable it achieve its key needs of unifying the various national marketing bodies in the region. According to him, the AMC was formed to meet the continent’s unique and different
commitment to quality for all its products and services and for being customer-centric. While receiving the award in Paris, the chief Executive officer, Emmanuel Ajayi, commended the international body for promoting quality cultures among organisations and dedicated the award to his staff for their support in ensuring that the company continues to make giant strides in the industry. He further said, “The award
cultures, requiring home-grown marketing approaches, designed and nurtured by Africans themselves. He explained that the decision to appoint the two key figures from the institute was informed by the strategic importance of the West African market to the Confederation and the need to get competent hands that would effectively co-ordinate marketing activities in the region. Expressing NIMN’s appreciation to AMC, Koledoye explained that the decision to
collaborate with AMC was informed by the need to take marketing practice beyond the domestic level and expand the scope to the whole of African continent. According to him “We have had our problems internally, growing in Nigeria in the last ten years, but now AMC has come with what we believe will solve some of these problems.”
Oy eyemi re turned as Oye returned AD VAN President ADV
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•Ganiyu Koledoye
Swiss Biostadt honoured with Leadership in quality award
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•Chizoba Ojielo
will propel us to double our efforts in ensuring that our clients continue to enjoy our world class products and services and to give our shareholders good returns on their investment” Mr. Ajayi envisons Swiss Biodstadt as a global leader in the fields of Agrocare, Pharmacare and Medicare Engineering and is continuously working to contribute to the sustainable development of Nigeria and the African continent
EMBERS of Advertisers Association of Nigeria, ADVAN, have reelected the General Manager, Consumer Marketing of MTN Nigeria, Kola Oyeyemi, as the association’s President. At the association’s Annual General Meeting, AGM, Executive Director of Nestle Nigeria, Iquo Ukoh was returned first Vice President, Lampe Omoyele; second Vice President, Femi Adeniba of Friesland WAMCO; Publicity Secretary and Bukola Ogunwusi of Toyota; Treasurer. Three exofficios in persons of the Marketing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Dele Anifowoshe; Brand Building Director of Unilever, David Okeme and Commercial Director of
Promasidor, Kachi Onugbogu, were also elected. Speaking after the election, Oyeyemi thanked members for finding him and his team worthy for election and promised to ensure that ADVAN collaborated with other groups and relevant regulating authorities to sanitise and standardise the industry. Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, LASAA, Mr. George Noah, said “we have a huge problem. The Police, military and other FG establishments in the state are practicing outdoor by default and there is where in the law that permit these set of institutions to regulate and control signage industry.
34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Insurance BRIEFS Iran insurers to provide cover for tankers transporting crude
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he latest in the insurance news saga regarding Iranian oil tanker coverage, particularly when it is headed to India, is that Iran is offering to provide the coverage for the ships so that Indian companies will be able to accept it. However, the Indian companies still hold some reluctance as they do not want to expose themselves to sanctions. India has been considering adding an additional state guarantee of $327 million to help to support local coverage for refineries that process crude from Iran and are therefore not able to obtain foreign protection as a result of the sanctions from the West. This, according to a source within the industry in that country had shown that the government had ruled out that form of guarantee. However, the plummeting currency in India has brought it to record lows, so the country is eager to help once more by replenishing its oil imports from Iran, which has agreed to receive its payments in rupees, as it is growing more expensive for India to purchase their oil imports when they are priced in dollars.
SUV sales soar, but joyriders steer clear
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ports utility vehicles (SUVs) may be a popular choice for Australian families, but short-term thieves do not seem so keen. Sales of the vehicles have increased 44 per cent since 2008, a new report from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council shows. But last year only one in 10 passenger/ light commercial vehicles stolen was an SUV – just 5509 thefts. The “relatively low” rate is largely because there are fewer shortterm thefts, the report says. However, the vehicles are more popular with profitmotivated thieves.
*From left: Eddie Efekoha, Managing Director/CEO; Obi Ralph Ekezie, Chairman; Adedoyin Adeloye, Company Secretary representing Foundation Chambers during the 18th Annual General Meeting of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Company held in Lagos.
Poverty is no excuse for not buying insurance — Adetimehin Stories by ROSEMARY ONUOHA
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igerians have been told to stop using poverty as an excuse for not having any form of insurance cover because the poor are more vulnerable to huge loss in the event of disaster. Immediate past President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Wole Adetimehin who made the assertion said that although poverty could be a factor, it cannot be a tenable excuse because the poorest class is the ones that need insurance most. Adetimehin said “The poor need insurance most because should anything happen to them or should they suffer any loss, the chances of their recovery are slim. But if they have insurance, their hopes are high. “In essence, from whatever income you earn, there must be a planned pattern of managing and spending, and such plans must include a level of saving from which you can always do some investment or do so many things. It is not ideal that somebody will be waiting for manner from heaven or until he can access loan or facility from the bank or a finance house before he could start a business or any venture. So for emergencies, there must be a reserve. Hence, poverty shouldn’t be an excuse, rather we should be preaching to people to get better organised and be operating a plan in whatever they do,” he said. Adetimehin said that the poor insurance perception in the country has to do with the literacy level to a great extent, adding “What is the level of education and knowledge that people have? That is why the insurance industry will need to do a lot more in educating the Nigerian public. Even the
so called elites hardly can appreciate how insurance works or the benefits. This may be peculiar to our environment because when some of these elites travel abroad, they comply with insurance requirements.” Adetimehin therefore charged Nigerians to cultivate the habit of savings saying “If you can cultivate the habit of savings, it will help you in life. Insurance, which is a way of savings, is there for you too. Through insurance you can save for the future and for the training of your children (education insurance). The general public should shun the apathy towards insurance. It is one of those services in modern times that can always provide a relief or a solution to some of our problems.” Adetimehin said that within the African continent, Nigeria cannot be seen as a country of the poorest set of people, then how come that insurance
penetration or awareness in some African states are a lot better than Nigeria? “It is only because of our mindset here and not due to poverty, so we should de-emphasise poverty but promote insurance education and awareness,” he said. He said that in recent times a lot of efforts are being put by insurance operators into widening micro insurance penetration through conscious efforts to spread insurance to the grassroots, the people on the streets, the market people, the artisans, and so on. “People are being grouped into corporative societies and credit facilities are being offered to buy some of the equipment’s they needed for their trade and such equipment’s are being brought back to insurance firms providing the facilities to give insurance covers. It’s quite attractive, and is really gaining ground in the East,
Lagos and Ondo States as well as in Abuja. It is not that the insurance sector has started promotion, where people are told to buy this and get that, No. Rather, it is sorts of suasion whereby you make people appreciate insurance,” Adetimehin said. “If you go to the banks, you cannot get credit facility with ease. But insurance firms are coming up to say, ‘ we can offer you facility, we can be partners in your business and you will get added protection by coming back to buy insurance,’ and you are secured,” he said. He added that a lot of efforts are also being put into product development that will really address our cultural values, stating “For example, when our aged people die, we spend a lot on funeral rites. However, insurance has developed products that are being packaged to cater for funeral expenses. Also, it is common knowledge that we value the best education for our children, so a number of policies are there to take care of our children’s education. But at the same time, the prospective buyers should begin to have a change of mind by addressing priorities that could be rewarding to their lives and families in their budget planning. Insurance has done quite a lot by making the products attractive and bringing added values that will attract the public. But the public reserve the right and decision to say ‘I want to buy it’, and one of the things they could do is to reorder their priorities. They need to reorder their priorities and cultivate the habit of savings and believe in the protection of their assets. It’s high time we begin to get our priorities right and appreciate the value of insurance,” he said.
Insurers should rally round regulator to drive reform programmes – Ogunko
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he nation’s insurance industry would become stronger and contribute more significantly to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) if operators can come together to speak with one voice, pool resources as a pool and rally round the regulator to drive the different reform programmes going on in the sector. Executive Director, Business Development of Mutual Benefits Assurance plc, Mr. Gbenga Ogunko who spoke during a meeting with the National Association of Insurance Correspondents (NAICO) in Lagos said the industry holds a lot of potential that was yet untapped. Ogunko said that Coming together with a strong pool will give the industry the capacity to play actively in the oil and gas sector, energy and power where a lot of premium flight is taking place in the country. “Rather than work as individual companies, let operators come together and
share the risks, which according to him are why the local content development programme is not having reasonable impact on the insurance sector. Ogunko who was passionate about the achievements of the current leadership at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), particularly the recent policy on “No Premium No Cover ” which impact has positively translated to healthier insurance industry in terms of liquidity, called for increased support by all stakeholders. “As an industry, let us rally round the Commissioner for Insurance and his team to encourage them for more developmental policies and programmes that would help move the industry forward” Ogunko further commended the efforts of the Commission in instilling ‘know Your Customer’ (KYC) policy to check money laundry activities in the industry, pointing that all of these tell how important insurance sector is becoming in Nigeria and why government is taking special interest in the sector.
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 35
36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 37
C M Y K
Company Oil and Gas and Products Petroleum Prod ucts Capital Oil Plc 1st fTier Securities AGRICULTURE Crop Production FTN Cocoa Processors Plc Okomu Oil Palm Plc Presco Plc Livestock/Animal Specialities Livestock Feeds Plc CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. Levents Nigeria Plc Chellarams Plc John Holt Plc SCOA Nigeria Plc Transnational Corporation UACN Plc
Opening Price (N) 0.50
Daily Stock Market Report Closing Price (N) 0.50
Quantity Traded 3,000
Year High 0.50
Year Low 0.50
0.50 43.75 36.29
100,000 386,040 76,967
0.50 24.58 8.30
0.50 14.53 6.40
0.10 7.33 2.75
50.00 2.77 4.37
4.58
4.13
635,452
0.66
0.48
0.11
15.00
1.40 4.41 1.16 5.32 1.37 61.89
1.54 5.43 1.43 5.32 1.30 61.89
240,075 1,000 74,388 10,000 6,850,971 90,322
2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 1.82 42.50
1.45 6.43 5.89 5.52 0.50 28.70
0.16 0.31 0.00 0.35 0.24 6.89
5.18 20.74 0.00 15.77 3.64 4.14
5.60 1.18
5.60 1.20
4 1,033,833
4 2,720,390.38
20
CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Non-Building/Heavy Construction Julius Berger Nig Plc Roads Nigeria Plc
73.00 9.06
66.49 10.07
118,027 1,000
62.26 8.28
32.96 3.01
Real Estate Investment Trusts Skye Shelter Funds Union Homes Real Estate Investment CONSUMER GOODS Automobile/Auto Parts DN Tyres & Rubber Plc
4.11 4.73
10.11 2.26
18.00
18.00
173,495
20.15
11.59
1.69
7.33
100.00 50.00
100.00 50.00
13,400 -
100.00 -
97.00 -
11.75 -
8.51 -
0.50
0.50
174,030
0.50
0.50
0.00
0.00
19.35 265.00 21.45 169.50 0.75
139,095 37,269 462,651 1,151,337 20,000
4.63 255.00 7.10 100.00 1.01
2.23 186.00 5.23 72.50 0.93
0.00 9.95 0.41 5.08 0.00
0.00 19.98 16.29 22.22 0.00
Beverages-Non-Alcoholic 7-UP Bottling Company Plc
74.20
74.20
31,310
51.49
,39.00
2.69
Food Products Dangote Flour Mills Plc Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc Flour Mills Nigeria Plc Honeywell Flour Mill Plc National Salt Co. Nig Plc UTC Nigeria Plc
9.50 11.06 78.56 3.20 10.42 0.80
9.50 11.08 78.56 3.20 12.65 0.60
480,767 1,137,926 178,441 958,110 1,503,484 613,795
19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 6.70 0.88
4.31 4.02 57.00 2.31 3.80 0.50
0.00 0.91 4.09 0.39 1.01 1.13
Food Products-- Diversified Cadbury Nigeria Plc Nestle Nigeria Plc
48.31 930.00
50.90 935.00
369,118 255,501
37.27 840.10
8.33 400.00
1.35 25.43
Microfinance Banks Fortis Micro-Finance Bank Plc NPF Micro-Finance Bank Plc Mortgage Carrier, Broker and Sector Abbey Building SOC Aso Savings and Loans Plc Resort Savings & Loans Plc Union Homes Savings Plc Other Financial Institutions Africa Prudential Plc Crusader (Nigeria) Plc Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc FBN Holdings Plc Nigeria Energy Sector Fund Royal Exchange Assurance
6.60 0.80
6.00 1.83
3,000 686,300
6.00 1.18
1.53 0.50 0.50
1.53 0.50 0.50 0.50
1,000,000 1,000,000 260,365
1.57 0.50 0.50 0.50
1.88 0.50 2.02 17.50 552.20 0.55
1.88 0.50 1.34 16.36 552.20 0.52
47,096 22,000 70,000 69,684,902 34,660
0.75 0.50 2.02 20.00 552.20 0.78
8.73 8.34 5.00 7.93 0.00 12.39 9.15 5.43 11.19 0.00 0.00 0.43 10.24
0.00 0.50 0.14 0.02 0.50 0.28 0.01 0.00 0.03 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.16 0.00 0.37 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.07
0.00 22.20 6.79 27.30 10.00 7.43 50.00 0.00 16.67 50.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 0.00 16.67 16.19 0.00 2.19 26.00 16.67 15.50 12.50 5.65 0.00 0.00 0.00 25.00 0.00 15.43
0.00 0.92
0.04 0.92
150.00 10.56
1.37 0.50 0.50 0.50
0.19 0.02 0.00 0.00
47.6 7 25.00 0.00 0.00
0.00 0.50 2.02 8.57 552.20 0.50
0.19 0.00 0.00 2.03 12.68 0.13
0.00
0.00
0.50
0.00
0.00
4.32 4.74 2.05 65.00 2.45 1.40 7.36 2.03
4.80 4.74 2.06 65.00 2.40 1.40 8.17 2.07
400 600 510,500 21,160 515,977 56,409 1,894 25,000
5.31 1.45 3.20 23.11 5.61 1.96 12.91 200
5.31 0.70 0.83 2.58 3.61 0.95 0.95 4.28
0.19 0.44 2.62 0.20 0.09 0.00 0.00
9.16 0.00 0.00 9.85 43.55 6.00
88.50 0.00 3.07 9.05 14.13 0.00 0.00
ICT Computer Based Systems108 Courteville Investment Plc
0.66
0.69
2,635,500
0.52
0.50
0.10
10.00
Computers and Peripherals Omatek Ventures Plc
0.50
0.50
100,000
0.50
0.50
0.00
12.50
18.70 2.29
18.70 2.29
790 910
9.31 3.59
3.25 3.25
0.00 0.01
1.43 0.00
50
50
75,000
50,000
0.50
0.50
2,307,692
1.47
0.50
0.00
0.00
23.00 9.61 43.65 9.30 192.00 0.50 1.58 94.10 5.56 1.82 10.93
22.00 9.61 43.65 9.30 190.00 0.50 1.58 96.00 5.56 1.67 10.93
250,093 11.065 26,316 148,744 1,236,867 2,000 7,218 802,171 85,000 5,000 30
30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 0.75 3.51 48.05 5.28 3.36 13.40
12.00 8.10 15.16 4.16 95.00 0.50 1.02 36.58 5.11 0.51 10.93
2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 7.56 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.44 0.23 0.00
7.86 4.97 8.88 2.31 13.17 0.00 0.00 42.86 14.19 2.89 0.00
ICT Telecommunications Starcomms Plc INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials Ashaka Cement Plc Berger Paints Plc CAP Plc Cement Co. of Northern Nig. Plc Dangote Cement Plc First Aluminium Nigeria Plc DN Meyer Plc Lafarge WAPCO Plc Portland Paints & Products Nig Plc Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Premier Paints Plc
6.80
4.39 32.91
0.50 0.50 0.58 0.50 0.50 1.08 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.06 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50
9.52
0.50
9.20
0.82 1.44
0.50 1.11 1.03 0.54 0.50 2.44 0.50 0.68 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.60 0.50 2.59 0.54 0.81 0.61 0.50 1.01 0.50 0.56 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.08
10.54
55
21.02 27.60
1,200 4,443,030 20,533,900 268,000 10,000 3,117,800 1,765 62,500 30,953 370 7,000 1,670,890 20,000 2,000 37,000 1,533,300 27,100 985,263 25,000 3,410 31,820 3,500 50,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 100 120,000 544,150
785 400,000
8.26
41.02 47.39
9.71 18.03 6.71
2.23
8.69
395,808 762,575
P.E Ratio
0.50
40
37.60 63.00
10.56 0.87 0.21
2.01
7.85
27.61 32.84
E.P.S
0.50
7.85
37.60 65.00
0.50 0.94 1.16 0.50 0.50 1.48 0.50 0.54 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.28 0.50 0.72 0.50 0.50 0.55 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.80
103.50 10.64 0.03
NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals BOC Gases Plc
Personal/Household Products PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc Unilever Nigeria Plc
0.50 0.93 1.15 0.50 0.50 1.58 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.03 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.29 0.50 0.66 0.50 0.50 0.55 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.75
Year Low
16.91 14.38 16.89 16.92 5.75 8.83
2.44 7.07 0.00
Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Sector African Alliance Insurance AIICO Insurance Plc Continental Reinsurance Plc Cornerstone Insurance Company Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc Equity Assurance Plc Goldlink Insurance Plc Great (Nig) Insurance Plc Guinea Insurance Plc International Energy Insurance Plc Investment and Allied Assurance LASACO Assurance Plc Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc Linkage Assurance Plc Mansard Insurance Plc Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc NEM Insurance Co. (Nig) Ltd Niger Insurance Co. Plc OASIS Insurance Plc. Prestige Assurance Co. Plc Regency Alliance Insurance Sovereign Trust Insurance Staco Insurance Plc Standard Alliance Insurance UNIC Insurance Plc Unity Kapital Plc Universal Insurance Plc Wapic Insurance Plc
103.50 15.69 1.41
6.91 3.60
13.89 0.61 0.00
1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.00 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 1.34 2.09
Year High
446,392 2,634,658
2,000 2,717,101
33.96 2.91 2.88
4.70 1.92 9.90 1.13 2.90 13.02 2.65 0.80 1.64 2.34 0.50 0.52 11.96
Quantity Traded
1.99 2.70
36.19 5.54 2.88
12.39 7.51 14.04 3.47 5.70 26.09 6.50 3.05 7.69 10.60 1.22 1.75 21.49
103.50 17.20 1.25
171 2.74
60 52,092 11,266
44,473,998 30,971,600 2,010,933 4,399,347 865,336 13,928,703 9,175,565 10,106,195 7,470,737 484,967 4,947,680 673,292 5,939,300
Closing Price N
Tools and Machinery Nigerian Ropes Plc
32.27 4.30 0.62
11.01 6.70 14.67 2.85 4.75 25.01 4.05 2.65 7.91 10.90 0.55 1.05 20.84
103.50 17.50 1.26
13.92
32.27 4.30 0.62
11.20 6.80 14.68 2.84 4.75 25.00 4.06 2.75 7.85 11.00 0.52 1.09 20.95
Opening Price N
Packaging/Containers Avon Crowncaps & Container Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company
Household Durables Nigerian Enamelware Plc Vitafoam Nig. Plc Vono Products Plc
FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking Access Bank Plc Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Fidelity Bank Plc First City Monument Bank Plc Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Skye Bank Plc Sterling Bank Plc UBA Plc Union Bank Nig. Plc Unity Bank Plc Wema Bank Plc Zenith Bank Plc
Pharmaceuticals Ekocorp Plc Evans Medical Plc Fidson Healthcare Plc Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig May & Baker Nigeria Plc Neimeth International Pharm Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc Pharma-Deko Plc
IT Services NCR (Nig) Plc Tripple Gee and Company Plc Processing Systems Chams Plc
19.35 265.00 21.45 145.90 0.68
Beverages-Brewers/Distillers Champion Breweries Plc Guinness Nigeria Plc International Breweries Plc Nigerian Brew Plc Premier Breweries Plc
Sim Capital Alliance Plc Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc UBA Capital Plc HEALTHCARE Medical Supplies Morison Industries Plc Healthcare Providers Union Diagnostics & Clinicals Services
0.09
0.50 43.75 36.29
CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction/Structure ARBICO Plc Constain (WA) Plc
Real Estate Development UACN Property Development
E.P.S.
P.E. Ratio
as at Friday, August 16, 2013
5.94 1.47
0.5 0.25 0.00
0.78
39.60 9.16 0.00
6.50
6.50
Metals Aluminium Extrusion Ind Plc
7.37
10.55
10.55
500
12.39
10.70
0.13
85.77
Non-Metalic Mineral Mining Multiverse Plc
0.50
0.50
5,000
0.50
0.50
0.01
0.00
Paper/Forest Products Thomas Wyatt Nig. Plc
0.67
0.67
82,290
1.38
1.38
0.00
0.00
Electronic and Electrical Products Cutix Plc Nigerian Wire & Cable Plc
1.99 0.50
1.80 0.50
127,593 1,318,179
2.50 2.58
1.62 2.58
0.11 0.00
13.15 0.00
1.44
1.44
2,000
1.51
1.33
0.03
28.80
3.98 13.18 12.68 4.30 1.05 2.92 0.66
3.98 13.18 12.68 4.30 1.05 2.78 0.66
6,888 1,500,100 500 29,198 200 84,311 2,749,340
3.98 15.58 15.03 4.30 1.86 2.92 0.63
3.98 12.71 13.97 3.60 1.05 2.92 0.63
0.00 3.90 0.90 1.22 0.30 0.07 0.00
0.00 3.26 0.00 3.52 6.18 41.71 0.00
Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Se Abbey Building Society Plc INDUSTRIAL GOODS Packaging/Containers Abplast Products Plc Beta Glass Co. Plc Greif Nigeria Plc Nampak Nigeria Plc Poly Products (Nig) Plc Studio Press (Nig) Plc W.A. Glass Ind. Plc OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services Japaul Oil & Maritime Service
0.51
0.52
2,070,197
0.97
0.87
0.19
6.06
Intergrated Oil and Gas Services Oando Plc
12.80
12.20
3,826,888
78.97
27.99
1.73
4.17
20.50 0.50 33.67 38.91 119.00 36.14 155.00
20.50 0.50 33.00 40.00 119.00 36.14 155.00
82,191 100 131,435 172,212 19,625 1,540 25,864
37.10 0.70 5.59
0.50 0.50 3.89
4.93 0.00 0.61
7.40 0.00 6.99
163.50 2,100 240.00
141.00 63.86 195.50
6.11 2.98 14.63
11.11 19.23 17.07
0.50
0.50
1,000
200
0.50
Petroleum and Petroleum Products African Petroleum Plc Beco Petroleum Plc Conoil Forte Oil Nig Plc Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc MRS Oil Nigeria Plc Total Nigeria Plc Hospitality Tantalisers Plc SERVICES Afromedia Plc Automobile/Auto Part Retailers RT Briscoe Plc Courier/Freight/Delivery Red Star Express Plc Trans-National Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC Hotels/Lodging Capital Hotel Ikeja Hotel Plc
0.01
0.50
500
0.72
1.57
1.42
272,639
3.65
1.30
0.21
8.19
4.89
4.69 1.08
327,998 1.05
3.67 247,420
2.65 0.25
0.60 11.12
4.91
0.50
107,000
1.64
4.55 0.79
10,000 12,000
400 2.07
0.50 4.55 0.79
0.51
0.90 3.00 1.33
0.00
0.04 0.34 0.92
12.75
11.25 34.09 2.12
Media/Entertainment Daar Communications Plc
0.50
0.50
80,500
0.50
0.48
0.00
0.00
Printing & Publishing. Academy Press Plc Learn Africa Plc Studio Press Nig. Plc University Press
1.76 1.70 2.52 4.10
1.76 1.70 2.52 4.10
17,730 95,200 500 202,186
3.68
0.25
12.19
0.00 6.82
3.17 0.30 0.00 3.60
0.54
27.69
Road Transportation Associated Bus Company Plc
0.93
0.90
346,371
0.80
0.50
0.00
0.00
Speciality Interlinked Technologies Plc
4.90
4.90
1,050
5.15
4.90
0.00
0.00
Transport-Related Services Airline Services and Logistics Plc Nigerian Aviation Handling Company
4.00 6.20
4.50 6.26
164,400 290,942
2.78 11.75
1.57 6.50
0.60 12.53
4.22 8.75
38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Capital Market
Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013 — 39
Advertising, Media & Marketing
D
r. Kola Ibirogba, is Chairman, Hogan Guards Limited, a Forensic Psychophysiologist and Certified Polygraph examiner, and has been in the business of security solutions for 33years. In this chat with Princewill Ekwujuru, he said Nigeria can protect its Pipelines, saving billions of Naira, if Government deploys the right security tools. Read on.
•Kola Ibirogba
Nigeria can save billions on infrastructure —Hogan Security boss resources to be deploying security agencies to protect pipelines. To me it is archaic and crude. The solution to Nigeria’s security problems
,
About Forensic Psychophysiology Psychophysiology is the aspect of psychology that is concerned with the physiological basis of psychological mental processes. In a nutshell, Psychophysiologist measures the interrelationship of mental and physical phenomena. About Polygraph science Polygraph is concerned with the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Polygraph is the psychological reaction to stress, fight and flight response. Recently, I was speaking to a member of ‘The Prerogative of Mercy,’ the other day. I was shocked to learn from her that a great percentage of prisoners in our prisons should not have been incarcerated in the first place. This means there are lots of wrongful conviction due to lack of knowledge and the dearth of investigative tools. Polygraph as a science is part of forensic psychophysiology. As demonstrated earlier. It is impossible to beat the polygraph. That is why we always carry out what is called, ‘stimulation test’ before any examination. The stimulation test is to reenforce to the examiner that polygraph works. The test I did earlier is a stimulation test. I was able to tell the examinee the name of her father and the name of her boyfriend out of the various names she wrote on the board. Examinees only try counter measures to beat the polygraph but we have a lot of sensors that measures that. For example, we have the seat pad that measures every move. Polygraph technology has advanced, but again, I must caution that a lot depend on the examiner. What I have been doing of late, is a lot of pre-employment tests for several corporate organisations. We have been helping filter the saints from the devils before employment. We are also helping with criminal investigations. Pipeline vandalism, insurgency and other vices On the issue of pipeline protection, it is not as complex as people make it look. It’s share waste of time and
The solution to Nigeria’s security problems are in the hands of Nigerians
,
are in the hands of Nigerians. When I say Nigerians, I do not mean all those contractors running around in Abuja. I can categorically say that Hogan Security can fix some of these problems at minimal cost to the Government. We have our partners in the United States whom we are
working with. They have built pipeline monitoring, wide area computer and radio networks for decades. A cost effective technology with central monitoring can be provided if Government is ready. The same technology can be deployed to monitor the activities of Boko Haram in some parts of the country. Solutions to Nigeria’s security system Solution to Nigeria’s security and infrastructural challenges depends on the determination of government. The basic problem with Nigeria is corruption and it is so endemic. Until government faces this devil called ‘corruption,’ Nigeria shall continue to have problems. I have been in security solutions for 33years. The equipment in our surveillance room if fully deployed can do extensive monitoring. We monitor our clients all over Nigeria live from our Head Office. The use of these tools will safe Nigeria billions of Naira. Other vices Hogan has handled a few cases of matrimonial disputes relating in most cases of adultery. The most outrageous is the test we carried out recently where a domestic servant admitted to having forceful carnal knowledge (rape) of a teenager. We got all these without torture. When the evidence is glaring, examinees in most cases come out and admit. The whole process is recorded and documented.
Adhere to industry standard —Watts tells Africa distillers
A
frican Whisky distillers have been advised to adhere strictly to industry standards in order to take their brands to the global market stage. This advise was made by Mr. Andy Watts, Master Distiller of Africa’s first single grain whisky, Cape Mountain Whisky in a statement he issued in Lagos, while revealing the success secrets that won Bain’s whisky a recent global recognition. Advising the distillers he further urged them to be committed to quality production process and utilization of local raw materials. While urging manufacturers to maintain
industry best practices, he also called on regulatory authorities to intensify efforts at identifying and flushing out fake and substandard products from the market. The master distiller disclosed that the maturation process adopted by his distillery in brewing its whisky was a unique process. He said the product is made to undergo a double maturation process, whereby the spirit is placed in oak barrels and matured for a minimum of three years, after which the drink is revalidated for additional two years before it was bottled for consumption. According to him, “whiskies do not age while they are in the bottle. Rather, maturation is achieved years before bottling, stressing that absolute skill and passion goes into each bottle of Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, utilizing only the finest grain and double maturation process to produce a lightly flavoured, refined spirit that can be discovered in each and every sip”
What really matters to customers? I
t has been said that customers are perpetually tuned to a radio station called WIIFM – What’s In It For Me. In every business relationship, the customer is primarily concerned about the benefits he derives. It appears he wants to get the best service at the lowest cost possible. If the customer wants anything, he wants it now. He brooks no delay. In the words of the famous sales trainer and best-selling author, Brian Tracy, “customers are both demanding and ruthless; they reward highly those companies that serve them best and allow those companies that serve them poorly to fail.” By the same token, customers change vendors for any number of reasons ranging from perceived poor service to the availability of lower prices elsewhere. Customers don’t care a hoot about your company policy; not the least when they have some problems to solve. The fact is that when things don’t work the way they expect, customers are usually not interested in excuses; they are more interested in solutions to their difficulties. This attitude is quite baffling to salesmen, especially new ones. I have heard sales people refer to customers as “unreasonable” because a customer refused to accept the explanation that his goods could not be invoiced because “the system was down.” To me, the salesman was being unreasonable. The customer paid for goods, not excuses. Any sales person that expects a customer to accept excuses and show “understanding” at the expense of her own needs is simply being naïve. In these days of online real-time banking how does any one expect a customer to “show understanding” when she is told that she cannot withdraw money from her own account because the server is “down”? It simply doesn’t make sense to the customer; nor does it make sense to any one else apart from bank workers. Customers, like everyone else, have their own desires, needs, wants, pressures, goals – whatever you call them. Those desires, needs, wants, pressures and goals are the only things that matter to them. As Dale Carnegie said, “People aren’t interested in you. They’re interested in themselves.” Organisations and individuals that fail to realise this principle are setting up themselves for a fall. The bane of service is that too many organisations and their people put their needs ahead of those of their customers. If only they could realise that their corporate needs would be best served when customer needs are met. It bears repeating that customers are not in the business of being sympathetic to excuses for poor service. You either serve them well or they go elsewhere. By the way, do you as a customer behave differently? Think about it.
40— Vanguard, MONDAY, AUGUST 19, 2013
Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.com Blog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2 Website: www.lesleba.com Tel:0805 220 1997
Heavens save us from our economic (mis)management team their money!” Mr. Chukwudi Jones Onyereri, Chairman, House Committee on Banking & Currency, also noted that his committee’s goal is to see a total withdrawal of public sector funds from the commercial banks! Thus, critical stakeholders in the lower house obviously see the Central Bank policy as a step in the right direction, and also expect that the banks will have to work harder to justify their bountiful annual profits by promoting an enabling environment that would
,
I
n recent times, one of the causes of malfunctions in the Nigerian financial system is the paradox of substantial government deposits in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and high government borrowings from the deposit money banks; as at June 13, 2013, the three tiers of government had N2.384tn in the DMBs out of which about 90% are in zero interest-bearing Current Accounts. To mop up the liquidity at 14% will cost N301.33bn, which is more than the annual budgets of most states…. “This corporate welfare, transfers or subsidy is clearly wasteful and costly. In addition, it undermines and corrupts the public sector and makes public resources to generate inefficient outputs and ineffective outcomes. Improving the market and the state demands the correction of the causes of distortions.” The above remarks were made by Alhaji Suleiman Barau, a Deputy Governor in the Central Bank (CBN), to corroborate the same argument recently made by CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, in support of the belated decision to increase the cash reserve ratio for government deposits in banks from 12% to 50%. In similar vein, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Dr. Abdul Mumuni Jubril, also observed at a recent public lecture, that “In simple mathematics, when the government goes and borrows all the money available…, private people that want to set up business will have no money to borrow. So we said, government, get out of the domestic market…. But they will not take that, you know why, they are a bunch of lazy people! What they do is to wait for government to borrow, and then give (charge) government double-digit interest rates. This is how they make
For how long did this ugly mess go on while our industries were starved of funds and our people wallowed in poverty? In those economies where public officers are accountable, such anti-social management of public funds may count for criminal negligence
,
sustain inclusive economic growth. Indeed, CBN’s belated wake from slumber vindicates my over 10-year old consistent advocacy for a restructured payment system. The question, however, is why it took so long for CBN to recognize the folly and attendant poisonous economic impact of government borrowing back its own money! Secondly, will CBN’s directive on public sector deposits achieve the expectation of creating a positive enabling economic environment with low single digit interest and inflation
rates, and the containment of the causative factor of systemic surplus cash? Our recommendations were widely published in hundreds of articles in prime newspapers as well as several media interviews to drive home the impact of the apparent fraud in government borrowing back its own funds. Our advocacy was also brought to the attention of major stakeholders such as NLC, TUC and NBA and NACCIMA. Indeed, for how long did this ugly mess go on while our industries were starved of funds and our people wallowed in poverty? In those economies where public officers are accountable, such anti-social management of public funds may count for criminal negligence or at least, a voluntary/forced resignation of the self-indicted from office. The above notwithstanding, the other question is whether the new CBN directive on public deposits will actually positively redirect our economic trajectory. In reality, the banks can still leverage on the residue of 50% of government deposits to expand credit; besides, the fact that soon after its directive, the CBN, itself, borrowed about N100bn with a plan to mop up another N50bn this week from banks’ vaults, is a clear indication that not only is the problem of excess cash in the system not resolved, but also that government may still be crowding out the real sector by still borrowing back its own funds at a high cost, as it has done for several decades at an average cost of over N300bn annually. Paradoxically, the CBN’s directive on public sector funds will also seriously constrain the apex bank’s ability to achieve its core mandate of price stability; i.e., low cost of funds
and low rates of inflation as well as an appropriately priced currency. The emerging reality since Sanusi’s announcement is that the reduced cash volumes with the banks have expectedly instigated higher lending rates beyond the already oppressive average of about 20% to the real sector! Consequently, critical sectors like industry and agriculture may actually become more seriously disadvantaged, with an attendant reduction in employment opportunities and the adverse ripple impact on social welfare and security. Consequently, the CBN may have inadvertently opened the door wider for cheaper imports of consumer goods to meet the needs of an inflationriddled and industrially shackled economy. Thus, total withdrawal of government funds from banks may eliminate the folly of government borrowing back its own funds, but the collateral impact on cost of funds to the real sector may also be equally industrially and socially destructive. The decades long practice of government borrowing back its own money is clear warning that we can no longer trust our eminent Economic Management Team to redeem our people from the clutches of poverty. It would be a monstrous sin for all true public spirited professionals to keep silent as the Central Bank bountifully swells its reserves with our dollar revenue, while it conversely consciously floods the money market with its liberal creation of increasingly worthless naira, which instigate the poisonous ripple that manifests in inflationary spiral with high cost of funds to the real sector and the irony of government borrowing back its own funds How long will it take the CBN to recognise that its contradictory and ineffective policies can only be resolved in the absence of perennial excess liquidity? Fortunately, this will be possible with the adoption of dollar certificates for the payment of dollar allocations to constitutional beneficiaries. SAVE THE NIGERIANS
NAIRA,
SAVE
Business & Economy
NSE will see a number of listing soon — Okonjo-Iweala By NKIRUKA NNOROM & WILLIAM JIMOH
T
he Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, is on the verge of witnessing a flurry of listing from companies in the telecommunication, oil & gas, manufacturing and agricultural sectors, said the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She made the revelation when she, in the company of Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, paid a courtesy visit to the management of the NSE, Friday. She also said that the process of implementing the removal of VAT and stamp duty from transactions on the NSE was on course and would C M Y K
soon be gazetted. Okonjo-Iweala assured that the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan would do all that is necessary to see that more companies are listed in the market, saying, there is increased collaboration among all regulatory agencies to see that the companies that under represented in the market are listed. “We are here today because we believe that the stock market needs to be deepened and one of the key ways of doing it is to get more companies to list. Our vision for this stock market is that it must become a preferred stock exchange for the rest of Africa. We all have a job to do; this government is solidly behind you and we must do all that is necessary to support the growth.” Speaking, Omobola Johnson said, “I am here today to support what the
tell you that we are finding the best SEC and the NSE are currently doing and that is to increase the number of approach as to how we are going to bring them into the market.” companies that are listed on the Exchange. Like OUR TEAM we all know, the stock Omoh Gabriel Group Business Editor exchange is the Babajide Komolafe Finance Editor actually the Clara Nwachukwu Energy Editor strength of the Peter Egwuatu Head, Capital Market economy. Yinka Kolawole Snr Bus. Correspondent That is part of Favour Nnabugwu Insurance Correspondent the things that Godwin Oritse Maritime Correspondent we are Godfrey Bivbere Maritime Correspondent discussing Michael Eboh Capital Market Reporter right now, I Franklin Alli Industry/Agric. Reporter cannot give you Ebele Orakpo Energy Reporter a specific a time Ifeyinwa Obi Maritime Reporter range when CONTRIBUTORS t h o s e Princewill Ekwujuru Media/Marketing companies will Naomi Uzor Industry start coming for Providence Obuh Micro Finance listing, but I can LAYOUT Graphics Department