The Nigerian Stock Exchange Reviews its Indices

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has announce the review of the NSE 30, and the six sectoral indices of the Exchange, which are NSE Consumer Goods, NSE Banking, NSE Insurance, NSE Industrial, NSE Oil & Gas and the NSE Lotus Islamic Indices.

These indices are normally reviewed bi-annually (June and December) except for NSE Pension index that is reviewed once in the year (December). Below are the incoming and exiting companies in the various indices.​

​Indices	Incoming	Exiting
​NSE 30 Index	​Fidelity Bank Plc	​Conoil Plc
​NSE Lotus Islamic Index	​Total Nigeria Plc	​Forte Oil Plc
​NSE Consumer Goods Index	No Change	No Change
​NSE Banking Index	No Change	No Change
​NSE Insurance Index	​Linkage Assurance Plc Regency Alliance Insurance Plc Universal Insurance Co. Plc​	​Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc Unity Kapital Assurance Plc Mutual Alliance Insurance Plc
​NSE Oil & Gas Index	No Change	​No Change
​NSE Industrial Index	First Aluminium Nige Plc	Paints & Coatings Manufacturers Plc

The NSE-30 and NSE Industrial Indices are modified market capitalization index with the numbers of included stocks fixed at 30 and 10, respectively. The Stocks are selected based on their market capitalization from the most liquid sectors. The liquidity is based on the number of times the stock is traded during the preceding two quarters. To be included, the stock must have traded for at least 70 percent of the number of times the market opened for business.

The Nigerian bourse began publishing the NSE 30 Index in February 2009 with index values available from January 1, 2007. On July 1, 2008, The NSE deve​loped four sectoral indices and developed the NSE Pension Index in 2013, with a base value of 1,000 points, designed to provide investable benchmarks to capture the performance of specific sectors. The sectoral indices comprise the top 15 most capitalized and liquid companies in the Insurance and Consumer Goods sectors, top 10 most capitalized and liquid companies in the Banking and Industrial Goods sector and the top seven most capitalized and liquid companies in the Oil & Gas sector.

The indices, which were developed using the market capitalization methodology, are rebalanced on a biannual basis -on the first business day in January and in July.

Chellarams in Joint Venture Agreement with DMK Group

Chellarams Plc yesterday announced it recently completed the signing of a joint venture agreement with DMK Group (a German based diary company) to establish a new company called Chellarams DMK Ltd. Chellarams DMK Ltd is to manage the production, marketing, sales of a range of diary products across the country.

Both companies have been in a distribution agreement for 25 years. Chellarams DMK Ltd will have in its product portfolio all of DMK group's products together with brands like Oldenbuger, Regal milk and Real milk. The new company intends investing in a larger distribution network by partnering with key distributors hence establishing a strong presence across all sales channels such as modern trade, general trade and food services.

The group has asked for more time for the release of its FY 2017 financials  in order complete its joint venture arrangement with DMK group

Chellarams has been listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 1978 under the conglomerates sector. The company is made up of 2 divisions industrial raw materials and consumer goods. The current portfolio of products within these two divisions comprise of Industrial Chemicals, Machinery, Ingredients for Food manufacturers, Frozen foods, Bicycles and Electronics.

The group in its FY 2016 financials had its revenue drop by 20% to N20billion while it returned to profits after recording a loss in FY 2015.

Naira may Depreciate on Increased Dollar Demand – Analysts

The Naira may depreciate marginally on the black market in the days ahead on an expected increase in dollar demand by small businesses and people planning for summer holidays, according to analysts.

The local currency was quoted at 368 to the United States dollar on the black market on Thursday, compared with 365 a dollar it traded last Thursday, Reuters reported.

It was learnt that commercial banks were yet to put up a quote on the interbank market.

“We are expecting a slight depreciation in the value of the naira as we approach the summer holiday period for many Nigerians unless the central bank increases dollar supply to the market to cater for the likely surge in demand,” one currency trader told Reuters.

The Naira recorded a marginal gain on Wednesday, closing at 367 per United States dollar up from 368 on Tuesday.

The local currency has been hovering between 363/dollar and 370/dollar as the Central Bank of Nigeria continues to supply foreign exchange into the market.

The CBN had sold $195m in various segments of the inter-bank market on Wednesday, the first day of transaction after the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

A breakdown of the intervention indicates that authorised dealers in the wholesale window segment received a $100m offer from the bank, while the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises and invisibles windows were allocated the sums of $50m and $45m, respectively.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s cedi is expected to gain ground against the dollar next week, while Kenya’s shilling is forecast to weaken, according to traders.

The Kenyan shilling is forecast to weaken due to retail merchants and oil importers buying dollars amid weak supply from foreign investors buying government securities, traders said.

Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 103.75/85 per dollar, compared with 103.75/55 at last Thursday’s close.

“Dollar supply side has become weaker, jittery demand from importers buying dollars to meet short-term liquidity needs,” a trader from a commercial bank said.

The kwacha is expected to remain steady with a bias to appreciating slightly towards the end of next week as companies convert hard currency to the local unit to pay taxes.

Continental Re aims to Become Premier Pan-African Reinsurer

The Chairman, Continental Reinsurance Plc, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, has reiterated the company’s vision to become the premier pan-African reinsurer.

Ogunshola said this during a dinner organised by the company to celebrate 30 years of Continental Re’s existence in Lagos on Wednesday.

“Anticipating the future, our vision for Continental Re remains to be the premier pan-African reinsurer. Ours is a permanent view of Africa, not just long or very long, but a permanent one,” he stated.

In order to realise its objectives, he said that Continental Re recognised that it must be highly adaptable to change to enable it take advantage of the immense opportunities that abound across the continent and beyond.

While expressing appreciation to all past and present clients in the business of insurance, the chairman said the company would continue to grow its partnership with stakeholders.

Ogunshola also thanked all those who had contributed in various ways to the success that the company was celebrating.

The Group Managing Director, Continental Re, Dr. Femi Oyetunji, said it was a great privilege to celebrate 30 years of successful business in Nigeria and Africa.

“For as long as I can remember, we have delivered profitable results year after year, and have consistently paid dividend to our shareholders increasingly from year to year,” Oyetunji said.

From its small office in Lagos in 1987, Oyetunji disclosed that the firm had grown to having offices in Douala, Nairobi, Abidjan, Tunis and Gaborone.

“We pride ourselves as the largest privately owned reinsurance company in Africa, but without the solid foundation laid by the pioneer staff and directors, we couldn’t have done it,” he said.

During the dinner, the company recognised the contributions of its former Chairman, Akin Laguda; and former Managing Director, Adeyemo Adejumo, as well as other directors and long serving employees.

SOURCE:Punch

Seven Insurance Companies to Manage Lagos Cooperatives’ Liabilities

The Lagos State Government on Thursday said it had appointed a consortium of seven insurance companies to manage losses that cooperative societies in the state might incur.

The government added that it had sent a bill titled: ‘The Lagos State Cooperative College Bill’, to the state House of Assembly for passage.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr. Benjamin Olabinjo, said this at a news conference to mark the 2017 International Day of Cooperative Societies.

He said the United Nations and the International Cooperative Alliance had endorsed the day to increase awareness on cooperatives and promote the ideal of international solidarity, economic efficiency and world peace.

Olabinjo said, “The administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has initiated a state policy to mitigate losses from the operations of cooperative societies in the state, sudden death and accidents, among others.

“It has become a state policy to introduce an insurance programme, which will be handled by a consortium of seven insurance companies.”

He explained that the insurance scheme became necessary to drive awareness among cooperative societies that they could mitigate losses that might arise from their operations.

The special adviser also explained that the Lagos State Cooperative College Bill was initiated after the Federal Government directed all states in the federation to establish cooperative colleges.

He added that the college must be established by law before it could award certificates.

Source: Punch

Nigeria closer to 40 billion barrels oil reserve target – Official

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, says plans to grow the nation’s crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels by the year 2020 have received a major boost.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, said this in Abuja on Thursday in a statement by Ndu Ughamadu, the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division.

Mr. Baru, at a tripartite signing of agreements, said this target would be realised between the NNPC/FIRST Exploration & Production Joint Venture (JV) and Schlumberger for the development of the Anyalu and Madu fields in the Niger Delta under Oil Mining Licence, OML 83 and OML 85, offshore Nigeria.

He explained that under the agreement, Schlumberger would provide the over $700 million development cost of the Anyala and Madu fields, which would generate 193 million barrels of crude oil into the current reserves of 37.2 billion barrels.

Also, an additional 800 billion cubic feet of gas would go into the nation's proven gas reserves, which currently stand at 197 trillion cubic feet of gas.

“In terms of daily production, the fields will yield 50,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 120 million standard cubic feet of gas per day by early 2019.

“The approach to funding JV operations in response to the challenging economic environment was novel and aligned wholly with the government’s aspiration to increase crude oil and gas production, reserves growth and monetisation of the nation’s enormous gas resources.

“Apart from serving as a test case for future funding mechanism, the approach adopted was in sync with the realisation of the corporation’s 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFA) which is to ramp up crude oil production and reserves growth, amongst others.

“The projected increase in production of gas would come in handy as the Corporation strived to sustain the supply of gas to the existing power plants as well as the planned power projects billed to come on board within the period,” Mr. Baru said.

The Managing Director, FIRST E&P, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, who signed on behalf of FIRST E&P, remarked that the partnership between the NNPC/FIRST E&P JV and Schlumberger would “infuse a novel asset development model which combines FIRST E&P’s local knowledge and market position as an indigenous operating company, with Schlumberger’s financing and broad technical capabilities”.

He added that the joint project team would strengthen FIRST E&P’s project delivery abilities and the model would offer the upstream subsector a credible alternative funding and technical partnership model for growing production and adding reserves.

Also speaking, Patrick Schorn, Vice-President, Schlumberger, who signed on behalf of Schlumberger traced the advent of the multi-national oil fields service company in Nigeria to the first commercial oil find in Oloibiri when Schlumberger played a role in Shell’s drilling effort.

He noted that the partnership with NNPC and FIRST E&P would provide Schlumberger the opportunity to leverage on its reservoir knowledge, oilfield services and project management expertise to lower development costs and maximise value for the partners.

The OMLs 83& 85 are in shallow waters 40 kilometres offshore in the Niger Delta.

NNPC holds 60 per cent interest in the licences while, FIRST E&P, the operator of the JV, holds the remaining 40 per cent interest.

Apart from providing funding for the development of the fields, Schlumberger would also provide other oilfield Services to the JV on a limited exclusive basis.

A joint project team would be established to drive technology transfer whilst leveraging on the global technical expertise of Schlumberger and the extensive local knowledge of the JV partners.

(NAN)

Nigerian govt to make tougher demands on states on Paris Loan Refund – Adeosun

The Federal Government is yet to release the second tranche of London-Paris Club Loan refunds to the 36 state governments, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, confirmed on Thursday in Abuja.

The Minister, said the Federal Ministry of Finance was still working with the Presidency to determine the terms and conditions that would guide the disbursement of the funds.

“It’s not ready yet,” the minister said. “Before the payment of the first tranche of the funds, the President directed the states to use 50 per cent for the payment of arrears of salaries, gratuity and pensions to their workers.

“A lot of the states complied with the directive. When we are ready, part of the guidelines for disbursement will be that the states use 70 per cent of the payment for the same purpose,” she said.

However, the minister did not say why most of the states were still owing huge backlog of salaries to their workers.

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, said about 23 states of the federation currently owed local government workers’ arrears of salary ranging from one to 16 months.

The national president of the union, Ibrahim Khaleel, named Bayelsa State as owing local council workers for between 10 to 16 months, followed by Kogi, seven to 15 months and Delta, eight to 14 months.

Other states include Kaduna (12 months), Oyo (three to 11 months), Edo (10 months), Abia (five to nine months), Kwara (two to nine months), Benue (nine months), and Nasarawa (seven months), while Ondo, Ekiti, and Imo are owing six months.

Zamfara has not implemented minimum wage, while Adamawa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, and Plateau states owe four months each, and Taraba and FCT (three months).

Also, Osun State has been paying half salaries for more than 24 months, while few months are being owed salaries in Enugu. Ogun and Ekiti have continued to withhold union dues deducted from workers’ salaries for the past seven and nine months respectively.

Cross River state workers, who are being owed between one to three months salaries, have continued their strike action, following their refusal to heed to the plea by the state government for them call off the action this week.

Following the approval of the payment of the refund in the first tranche of disbursement, a total of N516.38 billion was paid to the 36 States and the FCT.

On November 21, 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the partial refund of long standing claims by state governments in respect of over-deductions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, allocation for external debt service between 1995 and 2002

The debt service deductions were in respect of the Paris Club, London Club and Multilateral debts of the Federal and State governments, which Nigeria reached a final agreement for debt relief with the Paris Club in October 2005.

Apart from the refund meant to assist the state governments sort out the huge arrears of salaries to their workers, and alleviate the challenges workers were facing, the President said the funds were part of his government’s efforts to stimulate the economy.

Consequently, the disbursements were premised on the condition that a minimum of 50 per cent would be applied for the payment of workers’ salaries and pensions.

A senior Ministry of Finance official familiar with the issue said the payment of the second tranche of payment was delayed, because the government was to review the report of the impact of the releases on the effort of the states government defray their arrears to the workers.

“The impact analysis report is being compiled by the Federal Ministry of Finance for onward submission to the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, as part of the process for approval for the release of the second tranche of payment,” the official said. He requested that name should not be disclosed, as he was not authorised to speak on the issue.

Spokesperson of the Nigerian Governors, Bello Barkindo, said all the 36 governors’ met recently in anticipation of the release of the second tranche of the money already approved by vice-president.

“The governors met in anticipation of the release of the other half of the Paris-London Club refund expected to hit the states’ accounts within the month.

“We all agreed that a substantial amount from the next tranche of the Paris-London refunds be used in the settlement of workers salary and pension arrears.”

The president, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Bobboi Kaigama, and his Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, counterpart, Ayuba Wabba, have asked the government to enlist the assistance of anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to probe the use of the first tranche as well as monitor the disbursement of the second.

“We have already called for the probe by ICPC and EFCC those states not only for the first tranche, but subsequent tranches,” Mr. Kaigama said.

“We are working with the Federal Government, which directed that the fund be used for the payment of arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions before anything else.”

Source: Premium Times

Airlines Lose N20 Billion Annually to Bird Strikes

There are indications that Nigerian airlines might be losing as much as N20 billion to bird strike annually, as the frequency of such incidents has increased over the years without efforts to curtail them by concerned authorities.

Some airlines operators noted that bird strikes have become very regular that they have to make provisions for the possibility of changing aircraft engines many times in a year.

A bird strike is when a bird enters the jet engine of an aircraft; it usually damages such engine, and forces the airline to replace the engine when it happens. Usually, the aircraft is grounded until a new engine is fixed on the aircraft and tested.

It was not only that the airlines lose huge resources on bird strikes as the engines are condemned, but oftentimes, the aircraft is grounded for days until a new engine is acquired.

On average domestic operation, a Boeing 737 generates N5million everyday it is put on air and when it is grounded for about 10 days, the airline loses about N50million.

The process of acquiring a new engine could take longer time than 10 day and the cost of the engine of Boeing B737 classic, which could still operate between 3000 to 4000 hours before overhaul is between $3 and $4 million; that of next generation aircraft like Boeing B737-800 is between $6 and $8 million.

Although the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has insurance coverage for environment hazards, the airlines said that the agency does not compensate them when their aircraft are damaged by bird strikes.

However, FAAN’s Environment Department takes measures to reduce the presence of birds at the airports but the measures have not effectively kept the birds at bay; rather, almost every week, there are reports of bird strikes at different airports in the country.

But the President, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Nogie Meggison said that before now, bird strikes occur over five to six times monthly but it has been reduced to a minimum of about four or two monthly, which implies that bird strikes could occur more than 24 times annually.

But an insider noted that this is debatable because bird strike incident “happens every other week and I am not sure that the airlines report to AON whenever it happens.”

The Accountable Manager and Chief Operating Officer, Dana Airlines, Obi Mbanuzuo, said that bird strikes are one of the challenges facing airlines especially during the rainy seasons.

“In Africa, it is warm all the time and there are a lot of grasses and vegetation around the airports. If you go to the United States, their airports are concrete. Birds like vegetation, because of this, the airports are supposed to have bird prevention measures to scare off the birds but unfortunately some of our airports do not do that. One of our bird strikes was in take-off and the other one was in landing. The damage can take a lot of money to fix,” Mbanuzuo said.

April this year, a Dana aircraft, MD 83 with registration number 5N-SRI departed the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos for Port Harcourt, but had to make an air return to base barely few minutes after departing the airport.

The passengers in the aircraft were delayed for some time before the airline was able to make another aircraft available for the passengers, as the airline disclosed that the aircraft was grounded for days before another engine was acquired and fixed on the aircraft.

The Accountable Manager said Dana Air spent about $1.5 million (about N600 million) to replace the damaged engine and return the aircraft to service.

Source: THISDAY

Insights on Unilever's Right Issue

Unilever Nigeria yesterday announced it was seeking approval and listing of a right issue of 1,961,709,167 ordinary shares of 50k each at N30.00 per share on the basis of 14 new shares for every 27 already owned by shareholders.

If successfully raised, it will amount to N58.85 billion, which is lower than the N63 billion approved by the shareholders at the last annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

The directors had proposed to shareholders at the AGM to approve a N2billion increase in its authorised shares from N3.03billion to N5billion by the creation of additional 3.95 billion new ordinary shares of 50 kobo and to raise up to N63 billion by way of Rights Issue, subject to obtaining regulatory approval.

According to the group, the funds would be used to finance short term bank borrowings and enhance its operations among other reasons. Unilever Nigeria had increased its revenue by 17.8 per cent from N59 billion recorded in FY 2015 to N69 billion in FY 2016 while Profit After Tax (PAT) jumped by 157 per cent from N1.19 billion in FY 2015 to N3.07 billion in FY 2016.

Unilever Nigeria Seeks Aproval to List Right Issue

As released by the group

                                                         Unilever Nigeria Plc 

Proposed Rights Issue 

Dealing Members are hereby notified that Unilever Nigeria Plc (the “Company”) has through its Stockbroker; Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, submitted an application to The Exchange for approval and listing of a Rights Issue of 1,961,709,167 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N30.00 per share on the basis of 14 new ordinary share for every 27 ordinary share held. 

The Qualification Date for the Rights Issue is today, 28 June 2017. 

Red Star Express Announces N0.40k Dividend and Expansion Plans

Red Star Express Plc today announced its board resolution to pay shareholders N0,40k dividend for 2016/2017 financial year. The company which has a March year end, also noted that plans on how to raise funds for its expansion will be discussed at its annual general meeting which will hold on the 31st of August 2017.

The group in its 9 Months 2016 financials recorded a 2% growth in revenue to N5,095mn while profit in the period rose by 8% to N273mn. The stock has so far garnered 18% in terms of share price in 2017.

CBN supports Naira with $195m

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Wednesday, intervened in various segments of the inter-bank market to the tune of 195million dollar to support the Naira.

In a statement issued in Abuja, it said the move was continued effort to ensure the stability of the currency.

A breakdown of Wednesday’s intervention indicates that authorised dealers in the wholesale window segment received a 100 million dollars offer from the Bank.

It added that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisible windows were allocated the sums of 50 million and 45 million dollars, respectively.

The Bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the figures and disclosed that the Bank was impressed by the high level of transparency exhibited by stakeholders in the market.

It will be recalled that the CBN in its last intervention on Friday, June 23, allocated the total sum of 240 million dollars to the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) for spot and forward deals.

Okorafor said the Bank remained upbeat that the fortunes of the Naira would improve further in the months to come with the rate of inflation dropping from its April 2017 figure of 17.24 per cent to 16.25 per cent at the end of May.

Meanwhile, the Naira continued its stability in the FOREX market, exchanging at an average of N363/$1 in the BDC segment of the market on Wednesday.

NAN

Nigeria to Become Africa’s Fastest-growing Hospitality Market by 2021

Nigeria is expected to be the fastest-growing hospitality market from a revenue perspective over the next five years with a projected 14.7 per cent compound annual increase in revenue, PwC stated in the 7th edition of its ‘Hotels Outlook: 2017-2021.’

According to the report obtained Tuesday, the country was expected to benefit from an improving economy, continued growth in domestic tourism, and expansion in the number of available rooms.

A number of projects in Nigeria have been delayed or postponed in the wake of the recent economic uncertainty. The hotel market in Nigeria rebounded in 2016 with a 5.2 per cent increase in total revenue.

“Nigeria is projected to be the fastest-growing market from a revenue perspective over the next five years. This is mainly due to an improved economy, continued growth in domestic tourism, and expansion in the number of available rooms.

“Overall hotel room revenue is expected to expand at a 14.6 per cent, compound annual rate to US$517 million (R7.6 billion) in 2021 from US$261 million (R3.8 billion) in 2016,” the report added.

South Africa was projected to be the next-fastest growing market with a 9.3% compound annual increase in room revenue, most of which will be generated by rising average room rates and continued but moderating growth in tourism.

According to the report, South Africa’s hospitality sector was poised for further growth in the next five years bolstered by inbound travelers amid a difficult and volatile economic climate.

Hospitality & Gaming Industry Leader for PwC Southern Africa, Pietro Calicchio said: “Africa’s hotel sector has remained resilient in the face of strong economic headwinds.”

The report projected that South African hotel room revenue would grow by 10.1 per cent in 2017 to R17.5 billion. Overall hotel room revenue for South Africa was expected to expand at a 9.3 per cent compound annual rate to R24.8 billion in 2021 from R15.9 billion in 2016.

The PwC report stated that the outlook for the hospitality industry for 2017 was positive with an increase in the number of international visitors to South Africa expected.

“One of the positive outcomes for the hotel market in South Africa was the amendment of visa requirements that required foreign visitors from certain countries to provide biometric data in person. International visitor numbers to South Africa rebounded significantly in 2016 with a 12.8% increase as compared to the 6.8% decrease in 2015,” Calicchio commented.

Visits from China and India increased in 2016 as a result of the relaxation in the visa requirements; travellers from China to South Africa increased by 38% and India recorded a 21.7% increase. Of non-African countries, the UK is still the largest source of visitors to South Africa at 447 840 in 2016.

Overall, room revenue in South Africa rose 12.2% to R15.8 billion in 2016, the biggest increase since 2013. Over the past five years, the occupancy rate has risen, surpassing the 60% level and reaching 61.2% in 2016. This gain has stimulated interest and a number of new hotels are expected to open in the next five years.

Five-star hotels have had the highest occupancy rates in the market at 79.3% in 2016. Room revenue for five-star hotels is expected to expand at an 11.4% compound annual rate to R4.2 billion in 2021 from R2.4 billion in 2016.

Calicchio added: “The hotel market in each country is affected by both the local and global economy, with some countries being more dependent on foreign visitors than others. We are also seeing certain local governments continuing to invest in infrastructure and implementing other plans to unlock the substantial potential that this industry has to bring.”

Source: THISDAY

ASEA, CFA Institute Partner to Raise Standards in Investment Management

The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) , has signed a two year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CFA Institute to increase access to the professional education programmes and standards of professionalism within the ASEA community’s jurisdictions.

As a result of the pact, CFA Institute has extended its suite of educational offerings to ASEA member exchanges, regulators, brokerage firms and any other capital market stakeholders within the ASEA member exchanges’ jurisdictions at discounted rates.

The programmes are: CFA Institute Investment Foundations certificate programme, which covers t the essentials of finance, ethics, and investment roles, providing a clear understanding of the global investment industry. The CFA Programme Scholarship that enables eligible candidates to enroll in the CFA Program to begin earning the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) credential, the most respected and recognized investment management designation in the world. There is also the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement Programme for advanced, globally-relevant, and practice-based investment performance and risk evaluation skills which enable professionals to put clients’ interests first. Another one is the Ethical Decision-Making webinar, which offers free access to an ethical decision-making framework for the highest standards of ethics in the investment profession.

Commenting on the development, President of ASEA, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said: “This new partnership with CFA Institute complements our strategic objectives and we are delighted to be working together for the mutual benefit of our organisations, by providing capital markets stakeholders on our continent with the skills and tools they need for sound investment management and ethical practices. The more we promote proficiency and ethics in our markets, the more African markets will be attractive to investors.”

Also speaking, President/ CEO of CFA Institute, Paul Smith said: “This MoU is our first significant step towards beginning to invest more meaningfully in Africa. By bringing our programmes to the ASEA community, we hope to enable employees to train and capacity-build for Africa and contribute to the development of its financial markets.”

Meanwhile, the stock market resumed on a positive note with the NSE All-Share Index rising by 1.67 per cent to close at 32,657.30 on bargain hunting by investors. Bellwether stocks in banking, industrial and consumer goods sectors contributed to the growth.

There were 26 stocks price gainers while 21 other depreciated. United Bank for Africa Plc led the price gainers with 8.17 per cent to close at N9.00 per share. N.E.M Insurance Plc trailed with 7.3 per cent, while Diamond Bank Plc garnered 6.19 per cent.

Conversely, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Okomu Oil Palm Plc led the price losers with 4.99 per cent apiece. Unilever Nigeria Plc and NASCON Allied Industries Plc trailed with 4.98 per cent each.

Source: THISDAY

Banks need Approval for Agency Banking, Says CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that banks do not need licences to operate agency banking.

This was made known by CBN Head, Financial Inclusion, Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, at the second edition of the Ciuci Consulting’s Nigeria Retail Banking Workshop, which had discussions on catalyzing SME funding and retail lending to Nigeria’s economic development.

Akin-Fadeyi clarified that retail banks only needed approval from CBN to perform agency banking.

She added that, super agents, on the other hand, go through stringent measures to obtain agency banking licence, showing how regulation supports retail banks in their push for financial inclusion.

The workshop was an opportunity for bank executives to discuss their challenges with agency banking, especially its difficult licensing process.

The CBN, at the workshop, also shared some exciting news- the creation of a joint technical task force with NCC. The objective of the joint task force, according to Akin-Fadeyi, is to deepen mobile financial services in Nigeria leveraging Telcos and Retail Banking Collaboration. “Issues such as SIM swap, connectivity and network coverage, are now jointly being tackled by the banking sector for increased gains to the industry,” she said.

Other speakers at the workshop were GM, EFInA, Linda Quaynor; Director, Consumer Banking, UBA, Feyi Ogoji; Group Head, Retail, and SME Banking, Unity Bank, Funwa Akinmade; Divisional CEO, InterswitchNG, Akeem Lawal; and Managing Partner, Ciuci Consulting, Chukwuka Monye.

Source: THISDAY 

World’s first ATM Clocks 50

The world’s first Automated Teller Machine, ATM, a technology which brought transformation in the way people obtained and used cash, on Tuesday clocked 50 years.

According to the Metro News, the world’s first ATM was unveiled by Barclays at its Enfield branch in North London on June 27, 1967.

As a tribute to the golden anniversary, Barclays transformed the ATM at its Enfield branch into gold, added a commemorative plaque and placed a red carpet in front for its users.

The original ATM was the brainchild of Scottish inventor Shepherd-Barron, and was commissioned by Barclays to create six cash dispensers, the first of which was installed at Enfield.

English actor Reg Varney, who starred in the British TV comedy show “On The Buses”, was the first person to withdraw cash from the new machine.

The ATM was designed to transform people’s ability to manage their finances by giving customers access to cash outside bank branch opening hours.

Despite the rise in other new technologies such as online and mobile banking, the ATM remains popular 50 years on.

Now there are an estimated three million cash machines across the globe with some 70,000 cash machines in the UK alone which dispensed 175 billion pounds in 2016.

This month also marked 30 years since Barclays introduced the debit card to the UK, on June 3, 1987.

(NAN)

Nigeria to supply Walmart with $6 billion worth of cashew nuts

Nigeria is set to supply 130,000 tonnes of roasted cashew nuts valued at $6 billion to Walmart Super Market chain in the United States of America, USA.

This was revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbe, on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the State House Presidential Villa Abuja.

“But the other good news is cashew nuts. These things look small, but we are in conversations with Walmart, the biggest supermarket chain in the U.S., they came here and asked us to roast cashew nuts for them

“Their demand is a 130,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per annum, the total value is $7 billion,” he said.

Mr. Ogbe said what Nigeria currently does is ship the nuts to Vietnam, who in turn roast and sell to the U.S.

“This year we are going to create six cashew processing factories in Nigeria, one each to be cited in Enugu, Imo, Benue, Kogi, Kwara and Oyo states. These are the cashew belt for now,” he said.

The minister said these options are coming now because Nigeria is beginning to focus on non-oil export.

“Once you can diversify your economy, if something goes wrong in one sector you can hang on to the other,” he said.

Mr. Ogbe had earlier said Nigeria will formally flag off the export of yam to the UK on Thursday.

He said the government is also looking to use yam for industrial starch for the textile industry and for export to China.

He added that India is also asking Nigeria for the supply of beans. He said the beans market in India alone is about $100 billion.

“When the Indian Vice President came here, he asked me to visit so we could talk, so the market in Agric is huge, the prospects are large; it’s about improving on our strategies at home and getting all our states to get involved, not all of them are doing what they ought to be doing now,” the minister said

Source: Premium Times

Customs generates N239.4 billion in Q1, 2017

The Nigerian Custom Service generated a total sum of N239.4 billion in the first three months of this year, figures obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance have revealed.

The amount is contained in a document obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja, showing the activities of the ministry of finance in the last two years.

The NCS,according to the document, stated that its revenue performance for the first quarter of this year exceeded its target of N193.2 billion.

This, the service added, was achieved through a reform programme aimed at restructuring the agency, re-orientation of its officers, removing defects and adopting simplified procedures in its activities.

“The NCS collected N904.07bn in 2015 against a target of N944.4bn; the total collection in 2016 was N898.67bn against the target amount of N973.3bn.

“Between January and March 2017,the NCS was able to generate N239.4b, thereby exceeding the target of N193.22bn set for the period,” it said.

The service also said it had complied with a Presidential directive to deliver all seized perishable goods to the Internally Displaced Persons affected by the insurgency in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Benin camps.

It said the reforms embarked upon by the government has started yielding results as there is a strict compliance with rules governing the operations of the NCS, adding that a standard operational procedure has been developed to ensure transparency and accountability.

The service also said it has strengthened international engagements with the World Customs Organisation and the World Trade Organisation for trade facilitation and optimum revenue collection.

It added that a compliance team has been set up to ensure conformity with trade regulations adding that this would help to block all illegal routes for smuggling.

(NAN)