Friday, 7 October 2016
FG releases N250b loan for mass transit buses
The Federal Government has provided a revolving loan of N250 billion for the purchase of mass transit buses in the country.
The loan will be disbursed through Infrastructure Bank.The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Elenamah, made this known at a two day workshop organized by the National Automotive Design and Development Council NADDC in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria.
The Minister, who was represented by a Director in the Ministry, Mr Mahmud Lehman, said the loan was to address exorbitant cost of mass transit buses and over reliance on fairly used.
Dr Elenamah reiterated the determination of government towards repositioning the automobile industry.
Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, represented by a Director, Dr. Antonia Ekpa, said government had put in place other measures toward enhancing the growth of the sector.
In a paper presentation, the Director-General of National Automotive Design and Development Council, Dr. Aminu Jalal, said the Council had trained stakeholders in the automobile industry towards improving and increasing local content in the sector.
Gainers list : 6th of October 2016
| Stock Code | Name | Price | % Change | High | Low | ||
| CONOIL | National Oil & Chemical Marketing Plc | 35.90 | 8.79% | 35.90 | 35.90 | ||
| 7UP | 7UP Bottling Plc | 158.00 | 8.37% | 158.00 | 158.00 | ||
| FLOURMILL | Flour Mills Plc | 21.05 | 4.99% | 21.05 | 21.05 | ||
| CAVERTON | CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC | 0.67 | 4.69% | 0.67 | 0.65 | ||
| UBN | Union Bank Nigeria Plc | 4.57 | 3.86% | 4.57 | 4.40 | ||
| NEM | N. E. M. Insurance Co. Plc | 0.81 | 3.85% | 0.81 | 0.81 | ||
| UCAP | UCAP | 2.46 | 3.36% | 2.46 | 2.39 | ||
| FIDELITYBK | Fidelity Bank Nigeria Plc | 0.95 | 3.26% | 0.96 | 0.91 | ||
| UBA | United Bank For Africa Plc | 4.15 | 2.98% | 4.15 | 4.02 | ||
| NASCON | National Salt Company Plc | 8.10 | 1.12% | 8.10 | 8.10 | ||
| DANGCEM | DANGCEM | 183.00 | 1.10% | 183.00 | 183.00 | ||
| SEPLAT | SEPLAT PETROLEUM | 350.00 | 1.01% | 350.00 | 349.99 | ||
| UACN | UAC of Nigeria Plc. | 21.00 | 0.96% | 21.00 | 21.00 | ||
| STERLNBANK | Sterling Bank | 1.06 | 0.95% | 1.06 | 1.03 | ||
| FO | FORTE OIL NIGERIA PLC | 159.90 | 0.88% | 159.90 | 159.90 | ||
| DIAMONDBNK | DIAMOND BANK PLC | 1.27 | 0.79% | 1.30 | 1.26 | ||
| CHAMPION | Champion Breweries Plc | 2.72 | 0.74% | 2.72 | 2.65 | ||
| VITAFOAM | Vitafoam Nigeria Plc | 2.80 | 0.72% | 2.80 | 2.79 | ||
| DANGFLOUR | DANGOTE FLOUR | 3.90 | 0.52% | 3.90 | 3.80 | ||
| NB | Nigerian Breweries Plc | 145.98 | 0.12% | 145.98 | 145.00 | ||
Exchange rate as at 7th of October 2016
Chinese coys to visit Nigeria on $80bn oil investments – Kachikwu
Chinese delegation will visit Nigeria by the end of this month to discuss investment in the country’s oil and gas industry, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu said yesterday.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had in June said it signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) worth $80 billion with Chinese firms to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, pipelines, refineries, power, facility refurbishments and upstream.
Agreements were signed with Chinese companies including Norinco, CINDA, CNOOC and Sinopec/Addax.
As part of the deal, the International Cooperation Commission (ICC) of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) was to develop a master plan and bankable projects that will attract Chinese investors to Nigeria’s oil, gas industry.
“We are having a team of over 40 Chinese ... visiting Nigeria by the end of this month,” Kachikwu told reporters in Abuja when asked about the agreements signed in June.
“I will say we have a one year period to work on this. We expect that some (investment) will come earlier,” he said.
Shareholders of PZ Cussons Approves N1.99 Billion Dividend
At the annual general meeting (AGM) held yesterday,shareholders of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc approved a N1.99 billion dividend payment for 2016 financial year thus translating to 50 kobo per share.
Chairman of the company, Chief Kolawole Jamodu said despite the deteriorating operating environment, the company had remained focused and managed to deliver a steady performance for the period to grow shareholder value.
Jamodu disclosed the company recorded an exchange loss of N2.9 billion, cutting its group profit after tax (PBT) by 52 per cent to N3.15 billion from N6.56 billion in 2015 while its consolidated revenue decreased by 4.9 percent to N69.5 billion from N73.1 billion.
However, the chairman said: “Improved planning and execution in supply chain and targeted investments in key brands helped to limit the negative impact of the scarcity of foreign currency and other adverse effects.”He said in the overall assessment, the company “did well to hold its position in the market, reducing the negative impact of the prevailing adverse conditions and performing satisfactorily against peers in the sector.”
According Jamodu: ”We regard current economic challenges as transitory and we remain excited about the future of the company. Our confidence has been emboldened by positive policy changes being adopted by the government such as the new foreign exchange regime that has been introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Our brands remain strong and popular with consumers which leaves us well placed to hold our market and exploit any emerging opportunities.”
Naira Appreciates on Parallel Market as travelex make Dollar Sales to BDCs
Travelex annouced yesterday about the disbursement of $15,000 to each of the 3,000 registered Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators.
President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe said with each of the 3,000 BDCs getting $15,000 each, a total of $45 million will flow into the system.He lauded the CBN for authorising Travelex to take responsibility of disbursing huge dollar inflows from the diaspora estimated at $21 billion annually to BDCs.
He said the development, which was an improvement from the initially approved $10,000 weekly, would deepen dollar liquidity in the system and strengthen the naira against the dollar.
Gwadabe, said the experience and integrity of Travelex would be key in getting the dollars down to BDCs.
He urged all ABCON members and BDC operators, as a matter of urgency, to visit the apex bank’s branches in their respective zones to update or validate their en-cashers and signatories mandate card for Travelex biometric data capturing.
Gwadabe said the Travelex biometric data capturing would enable the BDCs access the International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs)/Travelex dollars window.
He said remittances had direct positive and significant impact on consumption, investment, and demand in the country as it could be used to address short-run output shocks, and even long run growth. He said remittances tended to be stable and could increase during periods of economic downturns and natural disasters.
He commended the CBN for reaffirming the country’s commitment to building an enabling environment and level-playing field for international money transfer services to Nigeria.
He said by increasing the number of IMTOs from three to 14, the CBN under its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, would set the economy on the path of development in the medium- to long-term and also, restore integrity in the international money transfer business.
Gwadabe also commended the CBN’s efforts to strengthen the BDCs to meet the forex demand at the retail end of the market, so that they would continue to enhance employment generation in the country.
The ABCON boss was optimistic despite the challenges facing the economy, the CBN and BDCs would continue to work together and find sustainable solutions that could help the country wriggle out of the ongoing forex crisis and achieve full economic recovery.
He pledged that ABCON under his leadership would continue to ensure that purchased funds are sold to end users and on eligible transactions only, while weekly returns on purchases from the banks will be rendered to Trade and Exchange Department of the CBN. He further promised to ensure strict compliance to the provisions of the anti-money laundering laws and observance of appropriate KYC principles in the handling of forex transactions.
IMF offers Nigeria zero-interest loans
At the ongoing meeting of IMF/Worldbank,the Managing Director, IMF, Christine Largade said the International Monetary Fund is prepared to lend money to Nigeria and other countries facing economic crisis at zero interest rate in order to stimulate their recovery.
“If we want to improve the inequality issue, we must have a strong international safety net. In this context, I am pleased to reveal that our board recently approved the extension of the zero interest rate on all concessional facilities from 2016 to 2018, and thereafter, if there is a need for an extension,” she said.
Giving further details about the facility, the IMF boss said, “That is really important for low-income countries to be able to actually absorb the shocks without necessarily going to the international markets or relying on bilateral lending capacity of close to $1tn by extending access to bilateral borrowing agreements. The new agreements that are being signed this week will run at least through the end of 2019, and will continue to serve as a third line of defence.
“As you know, the first line of defence is quota; the second line is a new arrangement to borrow; and the third line of defence will be those bilateral loans.
Giving further details about the facility, the IMF boss said, “That is really important for low-income countries to be able to actually absorb the shocks without necessarily going to the international markets or relying on bilateral lending capacity of close to $1tn by extending access to bilateral borrowing agreements. The new agreements that are being signed this week will run at least through the end of 2019, and will continue to serve as a third line of defence.
“As you know, the first line of defence is quota; the second line is a new arrangement to borrow; and the third line of defence will be those bilateral loans.
GTBank MD named Ai Socially Responsible Investment CEO of the Year
The MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje emerged the 2016 Ai Socially Responsible Investment 30 CEO of the Year.
The Chief Executive Officer, Africa Investor, Hubert Danso, was quoted to have said, “We are proud to honour a prolific business leader whose contributions across the continent have raised Africa’s profile as a viable international investment destination.
“In winning this award, GTBank’s CEO, Segun Agbaje, has displayed astute foresight in positioning the GTBank brand at the forefront of the African banking industry by providing alternative approaches to inclusive banking and economic growth across the continent.”
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