By Collins Nweze

FBNQuest has listed the likely winners in the Coronavirus lockdown.

In a report, the investment and research firm said  ‘new world’ companies will emerge from the crisis stronger.

Amazon has made itself very useful by transporting medical supplies on behalf of governments. As we sit at home under varying degrees of lockdowns, it delivers the orders that some of us would previously have fulfilled by visiting stores.

Mobile telephony is another winner as we are obliged to make use of conference calls and video conferencing for routine conversations with colleagues and clients that we often held face-to-face in the office.

The handful of US corporations capitalised at more than $100 billion (led by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook) are set to grow in influence and reach. It will be more difficult for governments to rein them in on the grounds of their perceived monopolistic practices or poor conduct such as failing to close down terrorist or socially harmful sites.

Secondly, e-banking has received a boost from our being confined to our homes. The loser is likely to be cash transactions for health reasons and for practicality. We may well maintain the habit of paying for goods and service by card. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash-lite and financial inclusion programmes appear healthier in this light.

Thirdly, the crash in the oil price due to the weakening of domestic demand that was already evident before the onset of the virus has given fresh legs to fossil fuels.  The argument for the substitution of crude has weakened with the price at +/- US$25/b. Oil companies are adjusting by deferring share buybacks and capital spending, led by the majors.

Governments of oil producers have to adjust with fiscal retrenchment too, Nigeria being one of many examples. Developed countries may be tempted to adjust but have signed treaties and made policy pledges in the name of renewables. A huge international conference on climate change is planned for Glasgow (Scotland) at the end of the year.

The more indebted oil companies in the Permian Basin and elsewhere look vulnerable with the current oil price but the greater result of the crash is surely another lease of life for the industry. The cost of filling up the tank has nosedived where pricing is set by the market.

The economic case for the electric car or hybrid suddenly looks less convincing. Companies with an agenda of moving away from oil or gas fuelled power for their production may think again. Those segments of the airline industry that survive will feel that, once government closures of airports are lifted, they will be able to rebuild their businesses.

There are other winners and losers that we will examine as we drill down into industries. Almost all of us are nervous about change and may be clinging onto the hope that the impact will be less than feared and that our leaders are overstating the risks in their responses (as they must, otherwise they would be slaughtered by their voters).

By Collins Nweze

Businesses in Nigeria have identified liquidity and the safety of their staff among the most pressing business needs they are concerned about as they grapple with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These are some of the findings from a survey conducted by PwC Nigeria.

The findings were revealed during a recent webinar hosted by the firm, on the economic implications and policy responses to COVID-19.

It had about 3000 respondents ranging from managers to CEOs and business owners. Asked what their top business concerns were, 22.5 per cent pointed at liquidity, that is the availability of immediate cash to pay bills especially following disruption to business activities that has been experienced.

This was followed by Safety of staff at 15.4 per cent, which is an impressive indication that Nigerian businesses have a people focus and were not only concerned about their profitability.

The third significant business concern identified was infrastructure for remote working (14.6 per cent) further buttressing the need for access to electricity and internet connectivity.

Providing the results of the findings Taiwo Oyedele, Fiscal Policy Partner and West Africa Tax leader at PwC, noted that most businesses (78.4 per cent) do not plan to lay off workers as a result of the crisis. This presents a very positive picture.

However, decisions on staff retention are often top management decisions and it could mean that a good percentage of respondents may not be privy to such plans by their organisations. The other 21.6 per cent admit that they will lay off various percentages of staff as a consequence of the pandemic.

Of this group however, 55.3 per cent do not think government intervention will influence their decision on laying off staff with the rest indicating they would retain their employees if government’s intervention were able to take care of varying percentages of their staff wage bill.

Read Also: COVID-19: Need to avert the imminent food crisis

As part of its societal impact, PwC has indicated that it would provide free business continuity support services to small businesses employing between five to 50 employees who undertake to retain all their workers during this period.

It would appear that the much needed investments to stimulate growth and move the needle on poverty will be greatly impacted as a result of the COVID-19 crisis as 56.7 per cent of respondents indicated that they will delay investment decisions while 19.4 per cent stated that they would invest less.

Majority of the survey respondents think that governments interventions have either been grossly inadequate (23.8 per cent) or inadequate (43.9 per cent ) with 17.5 per cent expressing indifference to what government has done up to the date of the survey.

Only 14.4 per cent agree that government’s intervention has met their expectations. This provides a clear message to government both at the federal and state levels pointing either to the need to do more, or to better communicate what is being done already to help shape public perception.

Among the top two areas that respondents believe government’s intervention should be focused include tax relief (30 per cent), provision of loans at zero or low interest rate (29.3 per cent), and cash transfer to the poor (16.9 per ent).

Overall, the businesses surveyed agree that the private sector has a role to play in supporting government’s fight against Covid-19 with 85.5 per cent suggesting that they are best suited to provide support in the area of provision of items, equipment and facilities compared to only 10.7 per cent who will consider donating cash to government.

Taofik Salako, Deputy Business Editor

Lafarge Africa Plc has earmarked N16.11 billion for payment to its shareholders as cash dividend for the 2019 business year after the cement group completed a major balance sheet restructuring.

Shareholders on the register of the cement group as at the close of business on April 30, 2020 will receive a dividend per share of N1. Lafarge Africa did not pay any dividend for the 2018 business year.

A breakdown indicated that Lafarge Holcim, which increased its majority shareholding to 83.81 per cent, will receive N13.5 billion out of the N16.11 billion dividend, leaving the sundry retail shareholders with about N2.6 billion.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Lafarge Africa for the year ended December 31, 2019 showed that total turnover dropped from N217.8 billion in 2018 to N213 billion in 2019. Gross profit also declined from N67.11 billion to N55.95 billion. Operating profit also dropped from N38.53 billion in 2018 to N34.91 billion in 2019.

With the successful completion of its capital injection and balance sheet restructuring, the group recovered from pre-tax loss from continuing operations of N1.51 billion in 2018 to a pre-tax profit of N17.89 billion in 2019.

Country Chief Executive Officer, Lafarge Africa Plc, Khaled El Dokani, said the performance of the company was due to its turnaround and cost-reduction strategy in FY 2019 and the divestment of the South African business.

According to him, the decrease in net debt has significantly strengthened the group’s balance sheet and has placed it in a vantage position to face the future.

He noted that Lafarge Africa has taken necessary measures to protect the health of its employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders from the ravaging impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic.

He pointed out that the construction sector and construction sites are generally more resilient than other sectors and Lafarge Africa has a strengthened balance sheet and is well equipped to weather the storm.

He said the company is closely monitoring the evolving situation and the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the Nigerian market.

He noted that the Nigerian cement industry growth momentum is expected to slow down in 2020 compared to 2019 on the back of the Coronavirus pandemic and the challenging global macro-economic environment.

He said the group has launched an action plan-health, cost and cash to curtail the effect of the disruptions on its business adding that the group will continue to focus on the implementation of its cost optimisation initiatives during this period to minimise the impact on the business.

Year-end shareholding analysis showed that Lafarge Hiolcim now holds 83.81 per cent majority equity stake through two subsidiaries- Associated International Cement Limited (AIC UK), which holds 27.77 per cent equity stake and CariCement BV, which holds 56.04 per cent equity stake. No any other shareholder held more than five per cent stake in the company.

Taofik Salako, Deputy Business Editor

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has stated that its guidance on virtual board, committee, and management meetings for stakeholders was designed in order to ensure that companies comply with best practices while adopting virtual meeting to foster their business interests.

The Exchange stated that the guidance was in response to the shift from conventional physical meetings to virtual meetings due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the critical need to protect investors’ interests.

According to the Exchange, it is one of its thought leadership initiatives designed to provide direction to market and other stakeholders on carrying out successful, productive, and rewarding virtual meetings at this time and other times when in-person meetings are unfeasible.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema, said the Exchange provided the guidance to assist stakeholders with identifying and adopting best practices and procedures and complying with applicable corporate governance standards whilst conducting their virtual meetings.

“The goal is to ensure that when companies opt for virtual participation in meetings, they are accessible, transparent, efficient, and cost-effectively managed, while meeting the important business and corporate governance needs of all relevant stakeholders,” Onyema said.

Executive Director, Regulation, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Ms. Tinuade Awe, said the Exchange recognised the legal and regulatory uncertainties that Nigerian businesses may face regarding convening virtual meetings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She noted that the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap. C20 LFN 2004 (CAMA) is silent on the issue of virtual meetings, although CAMA does not expressly prohibit virtual meetings.

“It is, therefore, expedient that the Articles of Association of a company or its Board, Committee, and Management Charters or Terms of Reference should provide for and authorize virtual meetings,” Awe said.

Matters addressed in the guidance relate to statutory and regulatory considerations, availability of technological infrastructure, inclusion and management of external attendees, information security, protocols and participants’ responsibilities among others.

The Exchange has continued to provide an enabling regulatory environment to stakeholders since the activation of its business continuity plan on Monday, 23 March 2020 which saw the transition to remote working and remote trading on March 24 and March 25 respectively.

Since then, the Exchange has published notices to companies on the conduct of 2020 Annual General Meetings (AGMs); the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)’s guidelines on AGM’s through proxies; and on the extension of the deadline for filing returns; as well as notices to dealing member firms on the extension of time to complete the 2020 self-assessment form; and notices to the general public on the activation of the Exchange’s business continuity plan which saw NSE transitioned to carrying out business and trading activities remotely; all, in order to effectively cushion the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on affected stakeholders.

By Collins Nweze

Rosabon Financial Services, a non-bank financial services provider, has announced collateral-free and guarantor-free loans as low as N40,000 and up to N6 million to cater to civil servants in light of the Coronavirus crisis.

This is part of measures being implemented by Rosabon Financial Services to cater to civil servants who are affected by the lockdown and have their payroll handled by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

Speaking about the public sector loan package, the Managing Director of Rosabon Financial Services, Chukwuma Ochonogor said: “Rosabon is indeed proud to provide solutions for our customers in their time of need. There is no gainsaying that the lockdown has placed many civil servants in a huge financial predicament. While loans and other credit are usually hard to get hold of, obtaining a loan for many public sector workers may be more difficult during this lockdown.”

Read Alsos: Report: CACOVID formed to tackle Coronavirus pandemic

The Federal Government has mandated civil servants’ salaries to be paid to mitigate the impact of the lockdown. However, many States have still not paid salaries. This has crippled many workers’ ability to buy food and other necessities and may cause severe hunger during the stay at home order to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease.

With the Rosabon Public Sector Employees’ Loan, civil servants, upon meeting the  terms, have the advantage of accessing affordable loans with a flexible repayment tenor of up to 24 months with favourable interest rates.

Ochonogor reiterated the firm’s commitment to supporting individuals and businesses in tackling the economic impact of the lockdown.

“Rosabon is focused on delivering the best possible service to Nigerians and supporting the Nigerian economy, while taking deliberate steps to further support parts of the nation most in need at this critical period,” he stated.

Rosabon Financial Services, a non-bank financial services firm,  has extended its brokerage programme to  brokers across the nation.

The move, it said, is to  provide opportunities for Nigerians to earn extra cash  during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the lockdown to curtail the spread of COVID-19, most firms directed their employees to work from home.

Launched in 2016, the Rosabon Brokerage programme enables clients to get loans, leases, investments and partnership packages; while those working for them partime to get deals get a commission of two per cent for their referrals once the deal is sealed.

Managing Director of Rosabon Financial Services, Chukwuma Ochonogor, said: “Over the years, we have evolved into one of Nigeria’s leading providers of highly affordable and custom made credit and treasury products to suit the diverse needs of individuals and corporate organisations.

Read Also: FRC issues guidance for external auditors

“The idea is to encourage individuals to take advantage of this sit-at-home phase by simply connecting their friends and contacts interested in our credit and investment offerings with our team of qualified experts. They can also earn exclusive rewards when they refer friends and family to connect with our offerings.

“In particular, we are creating tailored lifestyle solutions to every individual and doing everything we can to support households and businesses.”

Business Consultant, Isiekwu Benjamin added: “Through the Rosabon Brokerage programme, I have gained a wealth of experience. I understand the dynamics of what it required to get loans approved and why some loan requests are declined. The Rosabon Brokerage Programme guarantees me financial rewards in form of my commission for successful referrals.”