The Nation Newspaper

Category: Equities

  • Stock Exchange eyes emerging technologies to drive growth

    •To lead fourth industrial revolution

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is considering the use of some major emerging technologies to further deepen investors’ participation and enhance the efficiencies of products and services in the stock market.

    Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, said while the Exchange had deployed advanced technologies that place it at the same level with global exchanges, there are plans to deploy new emerging technologies that would further deepen the market.

    Speaking at the 4th edition of the NSE-Bloomberg CEO Roundtable in Lagos, Onyema said the NSE plans to be at the forefront of the Nigeria’s advancement in the world’s fourth industrial revolution.

    “In order to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the fourth industrial revolution, the Exchange is investigating the market potential of key emerging technologies in order to deploy solutions which will empower a larger proportion of the populace to access the capital market and unlock efficiencies in product and service delivery for capital market operators,” Onyema said.

    He noted that the theme of the roundtable: Reshaping the Nigerian Economy for Sustainable Growth: Leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a Catalyst for Advancement, provided opportunity to examine the present state of Nigerian economy as well as share ideas on the fourth industrial revolution and its implications for the Nigerian economy.

    According to him, this year’s roundtable was designed not only to discuss frameworks for economic turnaround, but explore how to position the Nigerian economy for sustained growth.

    He noted that most of the world’s developed economies have begun to adapt to the fourth industrial revolution, which has integrated digital, physical and even biological technologies, with clear impacts on unlocking latent economic value, with far-reaching effects that have led to disruption of certain industries and creation of new ones.

    “The opportunity the fourth industrial revolution presents is unlike any other, as the barriers to entry are low, with an upside that is vast and yet to be quantified. At the Exchange, we consider ourselves to be a forward-thinking securities exchange, and have since begun the advancement of our offerings with the assistance of technology,” Onyema said.

    In 2013, the NSE launched X-Gen, its next generation trading platform and catalyst for boosting trading in Africa. On the back of this, it introduced TradeSmart, a mobile trading technology that enables investors to conveniently buy, sell and monitor their investments.

    Onyema said the Exchange has embraced cloud-based technologies by building its own Data Centre to provide a number of services ranging from cloud computing, storage and database offering, networking, and management tools among others.

    He added that the Exchange had also acquired SMARTS, a robust market surveillance technology with Artificial Intelligence to monitor and prevent marker abuse by fraudsters.

     

     

    “This technology helps NSE to proactively forestall market manipulation, spoofing etc. This has elevated the investor protection systems at the NSE to the same level as the exchanges in the Intermarket Surveillance Group (ISG), a global organization which monitors for manipulative and fraudulent market practices, and shares information between international members,” Onyema said.

     

  • Nestle Nigeria mulls interim dividend on Q3 results

    The board of Nestle Nigeria Plc is considering payment of an interim dividend on the third quarter results of the food and beverages multinational.

    Directors of Nestle Nigeria are scheduled to meet later this month to consider the unaudited report and accounts for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.

    Company Secretary, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Bode Ayeku yesterday confirmed that the board of directors would also discuss payment of interim dividend during the October 29, 2018 meeting.

    Nestle Nigeria had paid interim dividend of N11.89 billion, representing a dividend per share of N15 during the 2017 business year. The food giant had increased its total dividend payout by 325 per cent to N33.7 billion for the 2017 business year.

    Nestle Nigeria paid final dividend of N21.8 billion, representing a final dividend per share of N27.50 for the 2017 business year. This brought total dividend per share for 2017 to N42.50. It had paid N7.93 billion for the 2016 business year.

    Nestle Nigeria led the gainers yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors weighed possible distribution for the nine-month period. Nestle Nigeria’s share price rose by N15.30 to close at N1,420.30 yesterday.

    Many analysts expected Nestle Nigeria to sustain its dividend payment trajectory, with profit growth translating into higher returns to shareholders. First-half results showed that the food giant sustained strong growths across key performance indicators.

    Key extracts of the six-month report for the period ended June 30, 2018 showed that Nestle Nigeria grew sales to N135.3 billion in first half 2018 as against N121.92 billion recorded in first half 2017. Gross profit increased from N48.34 billion to N55.58 billion.

    While marketing and distribution expenses increased, administrative expenses decreased and the company further optimized its bottom-line with 87.5 per cent decline in net finance costs from N2.24 billion in 2017 to N280.67 million in 2018. With these, profit before tax rose from N24.46 billion in first half 2017 to N31.87 billion in first half 2018. Profit after tax also increased from N16.55 billion in first half 2017 to N21.46 billion in first half 2018.

    Ayeku had said the company’s performance was made possible by the relentless efforts of its highly passionate team to provide high quality and affordable nutritious food and beverages to Nigerian consumers.

    “We will maintain the focus on delighting consumers with our nutritionally superior products by increasing promotion initiatives and providing more nutrition education,” Ayeku said.

    Ayeku added that in line with the company’s creating shared value principle, it remains committed to building thriving and resilient communities through local sourcing, expanding the commercialization of its products and strengthening its value chain.

    “We are pleased with the sustained growth of our company amid the tough competitive business landscape,” Ayeku said.

     

  • Germany, Tony Elumelu Foundation to empower African entrepreneurs

    The German Government and Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) have reached agreement to train and support young African entrepreneurs as part of efforts to scale up the development of the African economy.

    The TEF and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, German Government’s  Agency for International Cooperation, will empower 210 young African entrepreneurs, focusing specifically on female entrepreneurs and tech-enabled businesses.

    The joint partnership will equip more African entrepreneurs with the skills needed to build strong and sustainable businesses, while providing them with access to seed funding. The partnership will be implemented by Make-IT in Africa, a programme GIZ is implementing on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

    Make-IT already works in close collaboration with more than 20 corporate and financing partners, social enterprises, hubs, and networks to support an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs, to enable better access to finance, markets, and skills.

    Chief Executive Officer, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Parminder Vir, said the partnership with GIZ ensures that more entrepreneurs across Africa will access seed capital, as well as the world-class TEF proprietary online training and mentoring programme.

    “Since the launch of the programme, we have received over 300,000 applications, and we are actively looking at leveraging our success, so we can greatly exceed our own commitment to 1,000 entrepreneurs annually over 10 years,” Vir said.

    Country Director, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Dr Thomas Kirsch noted that employment is the key measure for socio-economic development in Nigeria.

    According to him, entrepreneurs and start-ups have the capacity to facilitate job creation in a way that was not imaginable 10 years ago.

    “We have entered a new era where initiatives by the German government, such as Make-IT in Africa, could be instrumental in empowering youth by addressing the skills gap and connecting them to markets, corporates, and financing opportunities. We are encouraged by this partnership with TEF and the opportunity to create lasting impact in the lives of many,” Kirsch said.

    The partnership is coming ahead of the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs – The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum – which will hold on October 25, 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria. The Forum will celebrate the 2018 cohort of the Foundation’s beneficiaries.  The entrepreneurship programme of TEF was launched in 2015, having supported more than 4,000 entrepreneurs with seed capital pan-African wide.

    The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is the $ 100 million flagship programme of the Foundation. It identified 10,000 African start-ups and entrepreneurs with ideas that have the potential to transform the African continent in the last 10 years. For TEF, the goal is to invest in the generation of at least 1,000,000 new jobs and to contribute $ 10 billion in new annual revenues across Africa.

    The Foundation’s investment and commitment to advancing entrepreneurship is predicated on the belief that Africa’s entrepreneurs hold the key to unlocking the potential of the continent and to facilitating its transformation.

  • Eterna plans N10b debt capital raising

    Eterna Plc plans to raise N10 billion in a new debt capital raising exercise aimed at strengthening the balance sheet of the integrated energy company.

    In a regulatory filing signed by the managing director of Eterna, Mahmud Tukur, Eterna stated that it would be issuing a N10 billion 270-day Commercial Paper (CP) to raise new funds.

    The net proceeds of the issuance will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. Eterna-an integrated energy company- manufactures, markets and distributes lubricants; supplies chemicals; trades in crude oil, Condensates & LPG, and distributes clean petroleum products.

    The company stated that it has been repositioning its operations to respond to the challenges in the energy sector while taking advantage of strategic opportunities to meet the needs of customers and increase returns to shareholders.

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had in July 2018 reclassified Eterna from low-priced stock to a medium-price, providing additional liquidity that will enhance price discovery for the energy company.

    As a medium-priced stock, stockbrokers could move the share price of Eterna with a minimum volume of 50,000 shares as against 100,000 minimum shares required for low-priced stocks.

    According to the Exchange, Eterna gained above the N5 mark on January 8, 2018 and traded above N5 up till close of business on June 29, 2018, which indicated that Eterna has traded above N5 in at least four out of the last six months and therefore would be reclassified from low-priced stock to mid-price stock with effect from July 16, 2018.

    The NSE had recently classified quoted companies into three categories-high-priced, medium-priced and low-priced stocks, based on their market price.

    The high-priced stocks consist of large-cap equities that are priced at N100 per share or above for at least four of the last six trading months, or new security listings that are priced at N100 or above at the time of listing on the Exchange.

    The medium-priced stocks  consist of medium-priced equities that are priced at N5 per share or above but less than N100 per share for at least four of the last six months, or new security listings that are priced at N5 per share or above but less than N100 per share at the time of listing on the Exchange.

    The low-priced stocks, where majority of listed companies fall, consist of equities that are priced at one kobo per share or above but below N5 per share for at least four of the last six months, or new security listings that are priced at one kobo per share or above but below N5 per share at the time of listing on the Exchange.

    Stocks under high-priced group shall have price change with minimum of 10,000 units; stocks under medium-priced group shall have price movement with a minimum of 50,000 units while stocks under low-priced group shall have price change with minimum volume of 100,000 units.

  • Stock Exchange suspends trading on six companies

    Authorities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday suspended trading on six companies for failing to adhere to best corporate governance and extant post-listing requirements.

    The suspended companies included DN Tyre & Rubber Plc, FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, International Energy Insurance Plc, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria Plc, Union Dicon Salt Plc and Unic Diversified Holdings Plc.

    In a circular signed by Head, Listings Regulation Department, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Godstime Iwenekhai, the Exchange indicated that the companies were suspended after they failed to file their accounts and operational reports as required by the listing rules at the Exchange. The suspension will remain in place until the companies file the relevant accounts and reports.

    “In accordance with the rules set forth above, the suspension of the above listed companies will only be lifted upon the submission of the relevant accounts and provided the Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the Exchange,” the circular stated.

    With the suspension, investors will not be able to trade on the shares of the companies, thus denying them opportunities to raise funds through such investments in case of financial needs.

    Post-listing rules at the NSE require quoted companies to submit their audited earnings reports, not later than 90 calendar days, or three months, after the expiration of the period. The rules also require quoted companies to submit interim report not later than 30 calendar days after the end of the relevant period.

    Not less than 83 per cent of quoted companies use the 12-month Gregorian calendar year as their business year. The business year thus terminates on December 31. While March 31 is usually the deadline for submission of annual report for companies with Gregorian calendar business year, the deadline for the quarterly report is a month after the quarter.

    NSE tags and applies fines on companies that fail to meet earnings reports’ deadline. The Exchange had on January 1, 2017 launched a new sanction regime for delay in submission of companies’ results. Under the new sanction regime, companies may pay fines that range from N100, 000 to more than N100 million as penalties for delay in the submission of their corporate earnings reports.

    Companies that also delayed their financial statements and accounts face threats of suspension and delisting in addition to the monetary fines.

    Under the new rules, quoted companies will be required to file their unaudited quarterly accounts with the NSE not later than 30 calendar days after the relevant quarter, and publish it within five business days after the date of filing, in at least two national daily newspapers, and post it on the company’s website, with the web address disclosed in the newspaper publication. Also, an electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the Exchange on the same day as the newspaper publication. Where the company chooses to audit its quarterly accounts, it shall be required to file such accounts not later than 60 calendar days after the relevant quarter.

    For annual audited accounts, the new rules require companies to file their audited annual report and accounts with the Exchange not later than 90 calendar days after the relevant year end, and published in at least two national daily newspapers not later than 21 calendar days before the date of the annual general meeting, and posted same on the company’s website with the web address disclosed in the newspaper publications. Also, an electronic copy of the publication shall be filed with the Exchange on the same day as the publication.

  • Fidson Healthcare wins best practice award

    Fidson Healthcare Plc has been declared the winner of the 2018 Frost & Sullivan – Best Practice Award for Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership. The Frost & Sullivan Award is a global award that has been in existence for the past 15 years and it brings together top business leaders and innovators to celebrate their successes.

    The award, which was held recently in Cape Town, South Africa, recognised Fidson’s definitive competitive strategy, innovation and strong leadership in the area of pharmaceutical production and distribution in Nigeria.

    According to Frost & Sullivan, at the forefront of Fidson’s innovation and competitive strategy is the N7.5 billion state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Sango Ota, Ogun State, the largest manufacturing facility in West Africa, designed to double the company’s production capacity, enabling it to grow sales volume and meet the rising demand for drugs in Nigeria and broader West African region.

    Beyond boosting the local economy and creating more than 300 jobs for skilled and unskilled Nigerians, the new Fidson plant is consolidating the company’s extensive manufacturing capabilities, increasing revenue growth, facilitating expansion into a new product category, and ultimately reinforcing the company’s firm position in the Nigerian pharmaceuticals market.

    Frost & Sullivan noted in its statement that the significant competitive advantage of the new Fidson’s factory is already evident after only one full calendar year in operation; when the company experienced revenue growth from N7.6 billion in 2016 to N14 billion in 2017.

    Chairman, Frost & Sullivan, David Frigstad noted that to achieve excellence in competitive strategy has never been an easy task, and it has been made even more difficult by today’s competitive intensity, customer volatility, and economic uncertainty.

    “Within this context, your (Fidson’s) receipt of this award signifies an even greater accomplishment,” Frigstad said.

    Receiving the award, Head, Business Development and Strategy, Mr Oshoke Ayebae commended Frost & Sullivan for recognizing Fidson’s contribution through its innovation and leadership in the Nigerian pharma industry.

    “Since inception in 1995, Fidson has relentlessly pursued its goal of becoming a leading player in the Nigerian pharmaceutical landscape and has built an innovative organizational framework that has helped gain dominance in the industry. We have built a structure of Innovation and Excellence around our system, process and people,” Ayebae said.

    He also noted that the award is a credible indication that the company is taking steps in the right direction assuring that the company will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that its operations are in compliance with the best practice globally

    “We, therefore, believe that this award will go a long way to boost our corporate reputation and also validate our commitment to deliver excellent quality healthcare solutions to Nigerians,” Ayebae said.

  • Equities’ return declines to -15.14%

    nigerian equities continued on the decline yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with a near tit-for-tat trading session shaving off N94 billion from the market value of quoted equities.

    With average decline of 0.79 per cent yesterday, the average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities worsened to -15.14 per cent.

    The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, declined from its opening index of 32,711.65 points to close at 32,454.03 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N11.942 trillion to close at N11.848 trillion.

    With 14 losers to 15 gainers, the negative overall market situation was due largely to losses recorded by large-cap stocks.

    Most sectoral indices also closed negative. The NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.3 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index dipped by 0.5 per cent. On the upside, the NSE Banking Index rallied 0.4 per cent gain while the NSE Oil & Gas Index closed flat.

    Dangote Cement-NSE’s most capitalised stock, led the losers with a drop of N4.90 to close at N200.10. Nigerian Breweries dropped by N2.50 to close at N89 while Unilever Nigeria declined by N1 to close at N45.

    On the upside, Nestle Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N1 to close at N1,400. Dangote Sugar Refinery added 60 kobo to close at N14..50 while Zenith Bank rose by 30 kobo to close at N21.80 per share.

    Total turnover stood at 136.73 million shares valued at N1.43 billion in 2,801 deals. FCMB led the activities chart with 38.38 million shares valued at N65.72 million. United Bank for Africa followed with 20.81 million shares worth N172.54 million while Fidelity Bank recorded 19.18 million shares worth N35.34 million.

    “We expect a rebound by the end of the week as we anticipate bargain hunting in bellwethers that have declined in the last two trading sessions,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

    Analysts at Cordros Capital stated that they remained conservative, amidst brewing political concerns, and the absence of a one-off positive trigger.

    “However, stable macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term,” Cordros Capital stated.

     

  • Mobolurin outlines path to sustainable capital market growth

    Nigerian governments need to institutionalize a culture of policy stability and certainty and implement policies that will encourage savings and investments in equities funds in order to drive stable economic growth and development.

    A foremost investment banker and chairman, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr Olutola Mobolurin said the current steep decline in the stock market was due majorly to perception of political risks and uncertainties around pre and post election periods as well as the low level of domestic capital available in the equities market.

    Addressing financial journalists yesterday in Lagos during the 30th anniversary of Capital Bancorp Plc, Mobolurin called for a complete review of strategy to boost investor confidence and build up long-term equities funds for the development of local industries.

    According to him, uncertainties in the economy and fear that 2019 general election might throw Nigeria into deep crisis were major factors that have led to massive dumping of shares by both foreign and Nigerian portfolio investors.

    He said government has a duty to address uncertainties at every level of its developmental efforts in order to rebuild investor confidence in Nigeria.

    “Everywhere in the world, politics and elections affect the stock market. I don’t think we should worry too much about it. However, people may worry about what can happen after the elections. It may turn some people totally away from Nigeria if they perceive us as an unstable country. If you scare people by giving them the impression that this is a country that is about to break up, that is where I see a problem. Politicians need to watch their utterances,” Mobolurin said.

    He said Nigerians must demand from the government and the politicians that they need stability in the political system, economy, and currency.

    “They must demand for low inflation because, that is where the prosperity of every citizen can be assured. If our system becomes more stable and we improve the environment for business and investment, even Nigerians who have money abroad will start bringing them back here,” Mobolurin said.

    He noted that there is apathy in the equities market from not only the foreign investors but also Nigerian investors pointing out that even pension funds managers have stopped investing in the stock market due to perceived high level of political risks and uncertainties.

    According to him, there are negative implications for all these uncertainties and apathy as equity investment represents the largest form of investment one could have, because it has no maturity date and the returns on equities is the residual returns from the company.

    “Equity investment has no coupon like debt instruments and for many other reasons; it acts as hedge against inflation. If everybody is investing in debt instruments, what will happen when interest rates falls? It is important that we have a strong stock market. The second thing is that if people perceive equity investment as risky and a no-go-area, the rate of capital formation in the country will decline. The only contribution to capital formation by a middle income person who will not be in business is his investment in the stock market,” Mobolurin said.

    He called for a comprehensive overhaul of the Nigerian financial system in a way that will allow the system to support economic growth.

    “There are ways we can save.  It may be corporate savings which can help to drive this economy. We should encourage private equity fund private funds to come up and we must find a way of getting every business to contribute to the growth of that industry. We need to get capital into the hands of those who have idea. We cannot satisfy 200 million people on the basis of importation. We must get this economy back to work,” Mobolurin, who is also chairman of NASD OTC Securities Plc, said.

    He attributed Capital Bancorp’s success story spanning 30 years of corporate existence to adherence to ethical standard and innovation.

    “We started Capital Bancorp on strong ethical values. We strive for professionalism as we invest in our people; train them to be knowledgeable and fair to everyone. We do everything in our power to adhere to regulations and to play by the rules,” Mobolurin said.

    Managing Director, Capital Bancorp Plc, Mr Higo Aigboje assured that the company would sustain its customer-focused approach by continuing to explore ways to satisfy customers.

    According to him, the company shall continue to uphold the ideals of its founding fathers which have kept it waxing stronger in the last 30 years. The company held its 30th Annual General Meeting yesterday where shareholders were rewarded with dividend.

  • 45 companies, others win awards on capital market performance

    More than 53 companies and individuals were at the weekend honoured for their performance and contributions to the development of the Nigerian capital market.

    At the maiden edition of the CAMCAN Nigeria Capital Market Performance Awards 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria’s best-performing quoted companies across the sectors were celebrated for their resilience and value creation. The companies were assessed based on their audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2017.

    In the individual awards category, CAMCAN acknowledged the contributions of Mr. Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, a major investor in United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc; Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp); United Capital Plc and African Prudential, all listed on the NSE. His price was received at the occasion by Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, Managing Director, of Transcorp Hotels Plc; and Mrs. Owen Omogiafo, Executive Director at Transcorp Plc.

    Besides honouring all past Presidents of CAMCAN, including Gbenga Agbana, whose wife received his posthumous award; the organizers also honoured past Directors-General of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa and Musa Al-Faki; as well as Apostle Hayford Alile, former Director General of the NSE; as well as his successor, Prof  Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke.

    The UBA was also recognized for living true to its name by taking and hoisting the Nigerian flag in 20 countries across the African continent, thereby diversifying its earnings and profit base, among others. The bank was represented by Ugo Nwagodoh, Group Chief Finance Officer and Abiola Razak and the Head, Investors’ Relations

    Dangote Cement Plc, the biggest company at the Exchange emerged the most profitable with its net profit of N204.25 billion in the industrial goods sector as well as the entire market. Dangote Cement beat Zenith Bank Plc, which had emerged best in its sector with its N177.61 billion and Guaranty Trust Bank which was second in its sector after reported N170.67 billion.

    Dangote Cement also showed that it was not just about being biggest or most profitable, it emerged most efficient stock in its sector with 25.35 per cent net profit margin, which measured how much of each Naira of revenue is converted to net profit by dividing net profit by turnover and multiplying it by 100. It however came behind Seplat Petroleum Development Company, which clinched the overall prize with 58.66 per cent, after winning in the oil and gas sector.

    Diamond Bank won the award for the stock with best price-to-book value both in its sector and the entire market; while Total Nigeria was best in return on investment (RoI) for market-wide; while MRS Oil won in the earnings yield category.

    Nestle Nigeria however won the prize for best RoI in its consumer goods sector, as well as the entire market for the period.

    In the consumer goods sector, Dangote Sugar Refinery, another member of the Dangote Group emerged most profitable with N39.78 billion; followed by Nestle Nigeria’s N33.72 billion.

  • C & I Leasing eyes with new vessels

    C&I Leasing Plc has acquired two new vessels as part of efforts to enhance the performance of the company under its various contracts.

    The new 2018 ‘ASD 2913 Tugboats’ named ‘MV Chidiebube’ and ‘MV Folashade’ with SIFAX Marine Limited under the SIFAX  C&I Marine Limited joint venture arrangement.

    Managing Director, C & I Leasing Plc, Mr. Andrew Otike-Odibi, said the boats would be deployed immediately for a long-term contract with Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG).

    C&I Leasing had in July 2018 concluded the buyout of a 27.5 per cent minority stake in C & I Petrotech Marine Ltd- the company’s marine business subsidiary, and in the process took over complete ownership of six vessels presently deployed in a long-term contract with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

    Otike-Odibi said the acquisition of these new vessels in addition to the buyout transaction of C & I Petrotech Marine Plc were evidence of C & I Leasing’s commitment to expanding its marine business and service delivery in this segment which it entered in 2010.

    “C& I Leasing is committed to becoming the most preferred Marine partner for the international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria. We will continue to follow through on all that needs to be done to meet their needs. These new vessels have been built to specification for the assignment ahead and we are confident that they will deliver even beyond expectation,” Otike-Odibi said.