The Nation Newspaper

Category: Equities

  • Flour Mills concludes N39.9b capital raising

    Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc recorded full subscription to its recent N39.9 billion rights issue, increasing the equity base of Nigeria’s largest flour-milling conglomerate.

    Regulatory report at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend indicated that a total of 1.476 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were listed as additional shares in Flour Mills of Nigeria’s name. The additional shares arose from the N39.9 billion rights issue.

    Flour Mills of Nigeria had sought to raise N39.85 billion through a rights issue of 1.476 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N27 per share. The rights were pre-allotted to shareholders on the basis of nine new ordinary shares of 50 kobo each for every 16 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each held as at Friday December 8, 2017. Application list for the rights opened on Monday January 15, 2018 and closed on Wednesday February 21, 2018.

    With the supplementary listing, the total issued and fully paid up shares of Flour Mills of Nigeria now stands at 4.10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each. The listing paved the way for trading on the supplementary shares.

    The success of the new capital raising placed the flour-milling group in a better position to strengthen its balance sheet and support business growth.

    Its Chairman, Mr. John Coumantaros, had said the rights issue would be used primarily to pay down some of the company’s outstanding short-term debt in order to reduce its finance costs, which have increased significantly in recent times.

    He said the company will maintain and expand its market leadership across all its five core businesses and value chains.

    He outlined that Flour Mills will improve route and extend its distribution footprint and launch new innovative consumer products like Gari, Margarine, spread, soya and vegetable oil, among others.

    The company, he added, will continue to focus on supply chain security through import substitution and value chain diversification. “We will also continue to improve in our processing facilities and manufacturing excellence, which will lead to productivity and efficiency gains,” Coumantaros said.

    Flour Mills of Nigeria Group Managing Director, Mr. Paul Gbedebo, explained that the rights issue was part of the group’s strategy to grow and build long-term value for all stakeholders.

    “The proceeds from the rights issue will be used to strengthen the company’s capital base by deleveraging our balance sheet, supporting our working capital needs and positioning the company to exploit value-accretive opportunities, whilst giving greater operational and financial flexibility to ensure business growth and continuity,” Gbedebo said.

    He noted that Flour Mills has a long and rich history in Nigeria and continues to evolve into becoming the leading food and agro-allied group in Africa.

     

    According to him, Flour Mills’ commitment to sustainability as a corporate strategy is shown in different levels of its operations and activities, while the company’s customer-centric culture remains focused on both product and process innovation aimed at building value for all stakeholders.

     

  • Stanbic IBTC grows profit by 44% in Q1

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc recorded significant growths in incomes and profit in the first quarter of this year, setting out for another strong performance after growing net profit by 70 per cent in 2017.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Stanbic IBTC Holdings for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 showed that gross earnings rose by 22 per cent while profits before and after tax grew by 43 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.

    Profit after tax increased to N23.1 billion in first quarter 2018 as against N16.1 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2017. Profit before tax had grown from N18.6 billion in first quarter 2017 to N26.7 billion in first quarter 2018. Gross earnings rose from N47.0 billion in first quarter 2017 to N57.4 billion in first quarter 2018. Total assets increased to N1.41 trillion by March 2018 from N1.39 trillion recorded at the end of December 2017.

    Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Mr. Yinka Sanni, said the first quarter 2018 performance was an affirmation of the group’s growth aspirations as Nigeria’s economic environment continues to improve.

    “Stanbic IBTC delivered strong results in the first quarter of 2018 in demonstration of its growth aspirations as the country’s economic environment continues to improve. The 22 per cent growth in gross earnings was driven by 38 per cent increase in non-interest revenue while net interest income remained stable year-on-year. The growth in non-interest revenue was driven by a significant growth in trading income and fee and commission revenue,” Sanni said.

    He pointed out that the current-and-savings-accounts ratio of the group improved to 52.6 per cent by March 2018 from 49.2 per cent in December 2017 in line with the drive to reduce cost of funds through the generation of cheaper deposits.

    He added that the decline in loans and advances was due to net repayments and slowdown in demand for loans in line with the market, while the group capital and liquidity positions remained solid.

    According to him, each business line within the holding group reported better performance when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2017 and would expect even higher performance going forward.

    “We expect that our risk asset position will improve with particular focus on the export sectors, including agriculture, even as macro-economic fundamentals improve to drive lending. We will continue to dedicate efforts in growing our client base through excellent service delivery in our quest to remain the leading end-to-end financial solutions provider in Nigeria,” Sanni said.

    Group’s liquidity ratio closed in March 2018 at 119.5 per cent while the bank’s liquidity ratio was 107.3 per cent at the end of first quarter 2018. These are significantly higher than the 30 per cent regulatory minimum. Also, the group’s capital adequacy ratio remained well above the minimum statutory requirement of 10 per cent, with total capital adequacy ratio of 25.4 per cent.

    Sanni assured that the group’s capital is deemed adequate to drive business growth and support any contingencies.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Stanbic IBTC Holdings for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that gross earnings rose by 36 per cent while profit after tax jumped by 70 per cent. The report marked out 2017 as the most profitable year since the inception of the bank. Gross earnings rose to N212.4 billion in 2017 as against N156.4 billion in 2016.

    Profit before tax increased from N37.2 billion to N61.2 billion while profit after tax rose to N48.4 billion as against N28.5 billion in 2016.

    Total assets increased to N1.386.4 trillion in 2017, a 32 per cent growth on N1.053 trillion recorded in 2016. The growth on the balance sheet was driven mainly by customer deposits, which recorded a growth of 34 per cent to N753.6 billion in 2017 from N561.0 billion in 2016. Gross loans and advances grew by eight per cent to N403.9 billion compared to N375.3 billion recorded in 2016.

  • Diamond Bank sells UK subsidiary

    Diamond Bank Plc has signed a preliminary agreement to sell its United Kingdom (UK)’s banking operations, Diamond Bank UK, in another major divestiture aimed at narrowing down the commercial bank’s operations to its domestic Nigerian market.

    In a regulatory filing at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday, Diamond Bank stated that it has signed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement with a member of GFG Alliance, for the disposal of its entire shareholding in Diamond Bank UK. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulatory Authority – the regulators responsible for banking in the UK.

    The bank stated that the disposal was in line with its “objective of streamlining its operations to focus resources on the significant opportunities in the Nigerian retail banking market”. The latest transaction follows the bank’s divestment from its West African business, Diamond Bank S.A., which was completed in November 2017. Diamond Bank SA’s operations covered Benin, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.

    “The Bank and GFG Alliance are committed to, and are pursuing a quick completion of the transaction subject to approval of the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority who regulate banking business in the United Kingdom,” Diamond Bank stated.

    By focusing exclusively on Nigeria, Diamond Bank is seeking to capitalize on the vast growth opportunities presented by Africa’s largest economy. This includes macro fundamentals such as Nigerian’s changing lifestyle preferences in favour of mobile delivered services and an emerging culture of innovation and tech-enabled entrepreneurship.

    Diamond Bank will have no remaining international subsidiaries after the divestment from Diamond Bank UK, leaving it to focus solely on Nigeria.

    Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Uzoma Dozie said Diamond Bank’s strategic objective is to be the fastest growing, and most profitable technology driven retail banking franchise in Nigeria.

    He said the bank’s strategic intent requires it to optimize resources by divesting from non-core assets, and focusing exclusively on the Nigeria’s highly attractive market.

    “The commercial opportunities for Diamond Bank in Nigeria are vast, due to its positive fundamentals including millions of people who are either underbanked or unbanked, high mobile phone penetration and the continent’s largest economy,” Dozie said.

    According to him, Diamond Bank has already laid the foundation for growth in Nigeria with acquisition of over 15 million customers, many of whom are owning bank accounts for the first time. Through its technology-led approach, Diamond Bank is also fully aligned to most Nigerian’s digital first ethos, whilst also having a framework for scaling up quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.

     

     

  • Lafarge Africa optimistic on profitability

    •Restructures South Africa’s operations

    Lafarge Africa Plc is optimistic that the ongoing implementation of a turnaround plan at its South African business and continuing strong performance of the Nigerian business will quicken the return of the group to profitability. Lafarge had in 2015 consolidated its businesses, majorly in Nigeria and South Africa, to form Lafarge Africa Plc.

    Chief Financial Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Bruno Bayet, said the cement group has started implementation key initiatives that will further improve the performance of its Nigerian business and help to turn around the dwindling South African business, which had impacted negatively on the group performance over the past three quarters.

    According to him, with all the initiatives, Lafarge Africa will return to profitability in the very near future, with further improvement expected in the performance of the South Africa’s operations in the second quarter.

    He explained that the decision of the company to increase dividend payout for the 2017 business year by 42.9 per cent was a demonstration of the confidence that the company remains on sound footing despite the negative bottom-line occasioned by timing of inventory movements and performance in South Africa.

    The board of directors of Lafarge Africa had recommended distribution of N13.01 billion to shareholders as cash dividend for the 2017 business year. A breakdown of the dividend recommendation showed that shareholders will receive a dividend per share of N1.50, 42.9 per cent above N1.05 per share paid for the 2016 business year. The company has indicated that the dividend would be paid from its 2012/2013 pioneer profit reserve, implying that there would be no deduction of 10 per cent withholding tax.

    He noted that the performance of the company’s business in South Africa had been impacted negatively by the arrival of new competitors between 2015 and 2016, technical disruption to production and decline in South Africa’s overall cement market.

    He outlined that the group was also concerned about the performance of the South African business and has taken decisive measures to fixing the issues with the turnaround plan in place and the appointment of a new executive team that will return the business to profitability.

    “Luckily all of those issues have been sorted and we are looking forward to a much brighter future,” Bruno said.

    He said the first quarter 2018 results of the showed stability in the market and operations which have kept revenues steady in the past quarter, pointing out that improvement plans in Nigeria delivered strong operational performance while turnaround actions will be consolidated further in 2018 through energy optimisation as well as commercial and logistic improvement.

    He said the outlook for the group remains bright with expectations of a strong market, favourable pricing in Nigeria and gains from logistic and commercial initiatives expected to sustain market share and help to build earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins above the 35 per cent benchmark.

    With energy improvement plan in Nigeria continuing to outperform with increased use of alternative fuel and coal, capital expenditure for Nigeria will be mainly devoted to energy and production optimization while turnaround plan in South Africa is focused on cost containment, commercial transformation and industrial stabilisation.

    He assured that the company will continue to find ways of optimising its fixed costs noting that the increase in operating expenses was largely due to non-recurring restructuring costs.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Lafarge Africa for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 showed net sales of N80.6 billion in first quarter 2018, a marginal decrease of one per cent from N81.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2017 due to volume in Nigeria and South Africa.

     

     

  • Shareholders approve new name for Custodian and Allied

    Shareholders of Custodian and Allied Plc yesterday approved a change of the group’s name to Custodian Investment Plc in a strategic move to align the brand name with the enlarged business outlook of the group.

    At the annual general meeting in Lagos, shareholders approved a special resolution to change the name of the company from Custodian and Allied Plc to Custodian Investment Plc or any other name that may be approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) without any further reference to shareholders for their approval.

    Custodian and Allied, a holding company, includes four subsidiaries- Custodian and Allied Insurance Limited, Custodian Life Assurance Limited, Custodian Trustees Limited and CrusaderSterling Pensions Limited.

    Chairman, Custodian and Allied Plc, Dr Omobola Johnson said the group has been positioned to take advantage of emerging opportunities and sustain growth across all its portfolios.

    She noted that following the meltdown of the stock market and the relatively low interest rate regime of 2016, the environment in 2017 was more favourable to companies with net investible funds such as Custodian and Allied Plc.

    According to her, the various revenue streams of the group including premium income, investment income, fees and commission recorded significant growths while the company’s costs were effectively managed, resulting in a 37 per cent increase in net profit.

    “In spite of the uncertainty that usually accompanies election cycles in Nigeria, it is my utmost belief that our management is well positioned and adept enough to weather the storm and continue to take our company to greater heights,” Johnson said.

    She urged shareholders to support the board and management of the company as they strive to create better values for all stakeholders.

    Shareholders who spoke at the meeting commended the board and management of the company for the impressive performance and dividend payout. Custodian and Allied witnessed significant improvement in its profitability in 2017 as the group’s profit after tax rose by 37 per cent from N5.3 billion in 2016 to N7.3 billion in 2017. Gross revenue increased from N38.55 billion in 2016 to N43.05 billion in 2017.

    Shareholders approved the payment of a final dividend of 32 kobo for every 50 kobo ordinary share. The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of 10 kobo per share, bringing total dividend per share to 42 kobo, the highest payout by the company so far. The company has consistently paid dividends to its shareholders every year for the past 20 years.

    Custodian and Allied is a non-bank financial institution with investments in life and non-life insurance, pension fund administration, trusteeship and property holding businesses.

     

     

  • UBA records N26.6b profit in Q1

    United Bank for Africa Group (UBA) Plc started the 2018 business year on a strong footing as the commercial banking group witnessed considerable growths in the top-line and bottom-line.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of UBA for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 showed that gross earnings rose by 18 per cent to N119.4 billion in first quarter 2018 compared with N101.25 billion recorded in corresponding period of 2017. Profit before tax rose to N26.6 billion in first quarter 2018 as against N25.5 billion posted in first quarter 2017. Profit after tax stood at N23.7 billion in first quarter 2018 compared with N22.4 billion recorded in corresponding period of 2017. The group sustained its strong profitability with an annualized 18 per cent Return on Average Equity (RoAE).

    Group Managing Director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said the first quarter was impressive given the intensifying competition and moderation in yield environment in Nigeria and Ghana.

    According to him, the first quarter result is a good start to the year and a reflection of the bank’s capacity to sustainably grow earnings over the medium to long term.

    “We recorded 18 per cent growth in gross earnings, as both interest and non-interest income grew 18 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Notwithstanding the moderation in sovereign yield in Nigeria and Ghana, we achieved a 60 basis points improvement in net interest margin to 7.6 per cent, as we extract efficiency gains from balance sheet management,” Uzoka said.

    He noted that the eight per cent growth in retail deposit during the three month period was a reflection of the benefit of improved customer service and continued customer acquisition.

    “We are committed to exceeding our 2018 deposit growth target in the year, with strategic focus on retail, low cost savings and current accounts, which is critical to sustaining our net interest margin uptrend,” Uzoka said.

    He expressed optimism on the steady recovery of the Nigerian economy and improving fundamentals of most African countries, where the bank operates.

    He pointed out the increasing relevance of the group’s African operations to its bottom line, adding that the bank is increasingly becoming systemically important across the 19 other African countries, where it operates.

    “Barring unforeseen circumstances, we look forward to sustaining this strong performance through the year, with the primary objective of delivering superior return to our shareholders,” Uzoka said.

    Group Chief Financial Officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the management is committed to delivering on the group’s financial goals for the year.

    “We are diligently executing our priorities for the year, as we focus on profitable growth. We are making strong progress in Nigeria, where our continuous market share gain is translating into higher profit. I am pleased that our drive towards optimal scale across our subsidiary operations is progressing well. More importantly, the contribution of these foreign operations to the group’s profit is impressively reflective of geographic diversification,” Nwaghodoh said.

     

  • UBA targets higher returns as shareholders get N29.1b dividend

    Directors of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc yesterday assured that the bank will continue to improve its performance as shareholders unanimously approved the distribution of N29.1 billion as cash dividend for the 2017 business year.

    At the annual general meeting in Lagos, shareholders commended the board and management of the pan-African commercial banking group for the strong growth in 2017, particularly the remarkable growth and profitability of the group’s subsidiaries, which contributed 45 per cent of UBA’s profit for the year.

    With the approval of the dividend payment, shareholders will receive a total dividend per share of 85 kobo, consisting of a final dividend per share of 65 kobo in addition to interim dividend of 20 kobo earlier paid after the first-half results. The total payout for 2017 represented a 13 per cent growth on a dividend per share of 75 kobo paid for the 2016 financial year.

    Chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr Tony Elumelu, said the bank remains strong and continues to explore opportunities across the continent to deepen its growth and diversify income sources.

    “Our balance sheet is well protected and our commitment to exceeding regulatory requirements remains unhindered. We recently opened operations in Mali, because that economy is a viable one and will contribute to our bottomline. Mali will benefit from UBA’s presence across Africa, especially with the economic and trade ties amongst Senegal, Guinea and Mali. UBA Group as well as other subsidiaries will also benefit from the Mali operation,” Elumelu said.

    He assured shareholders that the bank will remain a socially responsible organisation by continuing its investments as well as donations to worthy causes aimed at the progress of host countries and Africa at large.

    Group Managing Director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said the banking group has been positioned to surpass its previous performance in the years ahead.

    According to him, while the significant growth of 16 per cent in profit before tax to N105.3 billion in 2017 demonstrated the viability of the bank’s growth model, management’s focus on operational efficiencies and other initiatives will position the bank o achieve better performance in the next financial year.

    “UBA has built a great brand that is recognized all over the world, and because of this, we have decided to focus on strategy on what the customer wants rather than what we like. Everything we do is from the standpoint of the customers because this approach will ensure the sustainability of our growth trajectory. To this end, we have made a lot of investments in technology to ensure that we cater to the dynamic needs of our customers at all times,” Uzoka said.

    Shareholders who spoke at the meeting commended the bank for the impressive performance, which has seen steady growth in dividend payment to shareholders.

    Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie, commended Uzoka for his hard work on customer service, product innovation and more importantly, the continuous improvement in the group’s profitability.

    “We are impressed with what our bank is doing across the continent and I will say that we are beginning to live our name, as the Global Bank for Africa. It reinforces the fact that good things can come from Africa. UBA has showcased a high level of ingenuity in the banking space, and we are glad for how this is translating into gains for our business and steady returns to shareholders,” Okezie said.

    Shareholders also lauded the bank on the recent promotion of more than 47 per cent of its workforce, within 12 months, adding that it remained a commendable feat at a period where many banks and companies are laying off staff, due to the recession that rocked the country about two years ago.

    Another shareholder, Mr. Timothy Adesiyan, commended the bank for being the first bank in Africa to embrace artificial intelligence technology into the banking space, through the introduction of UBA’s virtual banking robot, called “Leo”.

    He said shareholders remained impressed that UBA’s investments in key countries such as Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire were paying off adding that UBA has become a catalyst for growth in Africa.

    “We have been benefitting from this in the area of dividends, and we ask that this momentum be sustained,” Adesiyan said.

    A shareholder and analyst, Nonah Awoh, also commended the bank for the performance and urged the management to do more to ensure that all the African subsidiaries contribute at least 50 per cent to the bottomline.

  • Tripple Gee eyes growth with new anti-counterfeiting solution

    Tripple Gee & Company Plc will this week launch an anti-counterfeiting solution aimed at boosting the business of the security printing company.

    The application, known as tru-Data, is designed to protect true identity of sensitive documents and prevent counterfeiting. It will be unveiled at the fourth ID4Africa Exhibition in Abuja between April 24 and 26.

    Tripple Gee & Company Plc Vice Chairman, Chief Gbade Giwa described the product as a revolutionary product needed to fight identity theft and counterfeiting of sensitive documents.

    According to him, with the new solution, fraudulent attacks can easily be detected when the  encryption of the critical data of the document is decrypted using the app, which is freely available on the Google Playstore, to confirm the authenticity of the document.

    “What is more, the picture of the original owner of the document can also be encrypted making ID theft absolutely impossible. The encryption could be on documents such as certificates from tertiary institutions, birth certificates, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Certificate, Certificate of Occupancy (C of O), ID cards among others,” Giwa said.

    He noted that the app, which is powered by HD Barcode Technology, is the first of series of products Tripple Gee plans to launch into the Nigerian marketplace.

    “Tru-Data has many benefits as it can capture images and longer texts-172 times more than normal QR code, and ZIP files. It makes quick verification of documents possible and eliminates counterfeit of products in circulation. You do not need internet or data connection to verify a document.  Verify-on-the Go, anytime and anywhere. It is good for identifying original Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products. It is a must-have for organisation which wants brand protection and anti-counterfeiting.  We highly recommend it to tertiary institutions, human resources managers, government agencies and private organisations,” Giwa said.

     

     

    Tripple Gee is a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-accredited security printer with over 38 years experience in providing ultimate protection against documents alterations and anti-counterfeiting.

     

  • Fictitious investors get September 30 deadline to claim shares

    Investors that used fictitious names and other covert means to buy shares during public offerings have been given up till September 30, to provide proof to claim and regularise their shareholdings.

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), at the weekend, extended till that date the deadline for the forbearance window granted to investors with multiple and fictitious accounts to harmonise their shareholdings.The extension was part of the highpoints of the meeting of the Capital Market Committee (CMC).

    The 2005-2008 boom period of the capital market had witnessed significant increase in public offerings as several banks, insurance companies and other non-financial quoted and unquoted companies jostle to raise funds through the capital market.

    Available reports at SEC indicated that in order to beat limits that were essentially features of public offerings including age, number of applications and allocation processes, several subscribers had used fictitious names and various forms of their names to push through multiple allocations.

    Speaking at a media interactive session after the CMC meeting in Lagos, Acting Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, said the Commission has decided to extend the deadline by six months till September to provide all such investors with multiple and fictitious accounts with opportunity to claim their shares.

    She noted that registrars have acknowledged that investors with fictitious accounts have started coming forward to claim their shares but there are challenges in the process, adding that the CMC deliberated and recommended the appropriate technical committee to seek input and come up with recommendations to address the challenges.

    “Therefore, we encourage all affected investors to come forward and take advantage of the window before the new deadline,” Uduk said.

    The issue of fictitious investors, otherwise known as ghost investors, is one of the sore points of the market carried over from the boom-burst period of the market. Many reliable industry sources had told The Nation that about N45 billion, or nearly three-quarter of the outstanding unclaimed dividends, and millions of shares belong to such fictitious investors.

    SEC had earlier issued a deadline of September 1, 2017 for the regularisation of the multiple and fictitious accounts and later extended this to March 31, 2018.

    Claimants are expected to provide verifiable evidence and identifications to proof ownership of such unclaimed dividends and shares, after which such unclaimed dividends and shares will be forfeited to the Nigerian Capital Market Development Fund.

    In a circular, SEC had noted that stakeholders agreed to adopt a non-prosecutory approach to resolve the issue of multiple subscriptions, although the market also needs to ensure the balance not to be seen to be rewarding wrongful act and illegality of the perpetrators.

    SEC pointed out that a review by stakeholders had shown that one major source of unclaimed dividend remains the use of non-existent identity to make multiple subscriptions to public offers.

    A report by an investigate committee set up by the CMC had reported that there were two groups of investors involved in multiple subscriptions. The first group, categorised as Group A, consisted of existing investors that joggled their names in different forms to enable them purchase more than the permitted units of shares on offer. The second group, categorised as Group B, consisted of non-existent or ghost investors that did not actually exist but used fictitious names for the purpose of purchasing more than the permitted number of shares during public offers.

    While condemning the two groups for their fraudulent intentions and collectively illegal actions, the CMC however approved that Group A should be considered for a level of forbearance by giving them a grace period up to September 1, 2017 within which to come forward and expressly prove their individual identities, subject to highest Know-Your-Customer criteria, to be defined by the SEC.

    Those owners, whose identities are established, would then be allowed to consolidate their accounts. After the expiration of the timeframe, unclaimed dividends, traceable to this category that have not been identified and consolidated, along with their securities shall be transferred to the Nigerian Capital Market Development Fund to be managed transparently in a separate basket under clear guidelines.

    Investors under Group A that cannot conclusively prove the ownership of their shares and the second group of investors, Group B, will permanently forfeit the unclaimed dividends and related securities. Since these shares cannot be ascribed to anyone, both the unclaimed dividends and securities shall be transferred to the Nigerian Capital Market Development Fund.

    After the conclusion of this special resolution arrangement, anybody who engages in the wrongful act of multiple subscriptions for the same public offer shall be prosecuted while the market shall put in place adequate processes, leveraging on technology, towards detecting and identifying such cases of multiple subscriptions in the future.

  • CoralPay, Alipay boost e-payment

    Coralpay is partnering Alipay, the world’s largest online and offline payment platform, to ease transactions on e-channels in Africa.

    The partnership further expands Alipay footprints in Africa and opens the door for its more than 600 million active users in China to make purchases in the continent using the CoralPay platform.

    By the agreement, millions of Alipay users could conduct seamless transactions in Africa at CoralPay affiliated merchant locations, beginning with the market.

    Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony in Hong Kong, Coralpay Chief Executive Officer Chioma Nkechika, assured Alipay users of his company’s ability and capacity to deliver on the African franchise, leveraging on their business network and partnership.

    He assured that CoralPay was well-placed to deliver seamless transactions and thereby help to achieve the expansion required especially as its technical partners is already partnering with Alipay to process transactions in Asia.

    Head, International Acquiring, Alipay, Oliver Tang, said the deal had opened a new frontier for Alipay customers to transact with their Alipay wallets while travelling across Nigeria and Africa.

    Alipay, regarded by many as Asia’s PayPal, is supported in 24 countries and regions and works with over 250 overseas financial institutions and payment solution providers to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas and overseas customers who purchase products from Chinese e-commerce sites.

    In signing this agreement, CoralPay has broken new grounds as this is the first such contract and partnership in Africa and plans to work with African banks to enable seamless e-payments for which Alipay is renowned.

    The partnership is coming at a time when Africa has emerged as a preferred destination for Asian investments with continent enjoying high influx of tourists and business travellers.

    CoralPay has sealed partnership deals with leading banks and Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSPs) as well as aggregators to serve their customers. With the partnership, customers can easily make payments for visa applications, pay for air tickets and other transportation services as well as used for payment at services at hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.

    The partnership, therefore, offers Alipay users access to a proven e-payment solution powered by CoralPay without the need to open a bank account when they take up residency in Africa or whether they are visiting.