The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Diamond targets N50.4b for Capital Adequacy Ratio

    Diamond Bank Plc is planning to raise N50.4 billion  to improve its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and boost its growth.

    The bank, which has released details of its rights issue on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and its website, will issue 8,685,145,863 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N5.80/share. Qualification date for the rights issue was June 13.

    CAR, also known as Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR), is the ratio of a bank’s capital to its risk. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) tracks a bank’s CAR to ensure that it can absorb a reasonable amount of loss and complies with statutory capital requirements.

    On the bank’s capital raising, Renaissance Capital (RenCap), an investment and research firm, said the rights issue was expected to open today and close on August 26.

    “We view this as a step in the right direction by Diamond, the fastest-growing Nigerian bank over the past three years, and recommend qualifying investors should take up their rights. The bank grew total assets by 155 per cent between 2010 and 2013. Delivering such impressive growth, despite its capital constraints and recording two consecutive years of 23 per cent Return on Equity 2012 and 2013. We find this remarkable,” it said in a report titled:”Diamond Bank – Time for the rights”.

    RenCap said the lender needed capital to support the next phase of its strategic growth plan, adding that the bank could achieve a loan growth of 20 per cent this year. The feat, it said, could be maintained over the next two years to 2016, with deposit growth coming in higher at 25 to 30 per cent over the period.

    Diamond Bank was in breach of CAR benchmark set by the CBN in the first quarter of 2012, a RenCap report titled: “Diamond Bank Plc – At last, in comes the capital”, said.

    The minimum CAR for banks with international operations was raised to 15 per cent from 10 per cent by the CBN. Diamond Bank  operates in Republics of Benin, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal and the United Kingdom.

    The lender’s CAR was 12 per cent, which was below 15 per cent benchmark stipulated by the CBN Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy Guidelines.

    The bank consequently increased the size of its planned tier two capital-raising programme to $750 million from $200 million to fill the CAR gap.

  • Nigeria eyes $900b GDP by 2020 to boost economy

    Nigeria eyes $900b GDP by 2020 to boost economy

    Nigeria is targeting a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of  about  $900 billion by 2020 to enable it realise its vision of being among the top world’s 20 economies.

    Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited Bismark Rewane said the objective was to enhance the economy.

    In a report titled: “Rebasing Nigeria’s economy and implications For FSS 2020”, the economist said GDP measures the size and activities in a country at a particular point.

    He said the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) recommended that countries rebase their GDP every five years, adding that Nigeria has been using 1990 base year until the April 6, this year’s rebasing that took the economy size to nearly $510 billion.

    Rewane said the attention the rebasing attracted suggested a need for a more structured argument for the exercise, adding that investment is necessary for capital accumulation and economic growth.

    “In April 2014, Nigeria rebased its GDP and changed its base year to 2010 from 1990. As a result, Nigeria is now regarded as a medium income economy. The rebasing exercise helped incorporate the informal sector into the national accounts and this showed a great increase in activities of the service sector of the Nigerian economy,” he said.

    Rewane said the rebasing has enabled the service sector to be better covered and has shown that economic activities, such as wholesale and retail trade, information and communication, real estate services, human health and social services, professional, scientific and technical services have gained importance in the country.

    He said the service sector was expected to grow fastest and ahead of sectors, such as industry and agriculture. He noted that while Nigeria is becoming slightly more diversified, the country is heading towards a more service-oriented economy.

    Rewane said the FSS 2020 Vision was developed to make Nigeria the safest and fastest-growing financial system among emerging economies.

    “It is made to strengthen the Nigerian domestic financial markets; enhance their integration with external financial markets; and engineer Nigeria’s evolution into an international financial centre (IFC),” he said.

    “In terms of performance so far, highest levels of achievement might have been recorded in the areas of predictable exchange rate, single digit inflation and financial (banking) soundness. At the other extreme end however, achievements in the areas of integrating informal financial sector, achieving a strong knowledge-based capital market and creating enabling environment and finance for SMEs can still be described as low. Also, in the other remaining areas, the levels of achievement can still be described as marginal and requiring much effort,” he said.

    On investment, he said it entails additions to the economy’s capital stock, involving the purchase of goods that are not consumed today used in the future to create wealth.

    He said investment could also be classified into domestic and foreign. The components of domestic investments are private domestic investment and public domestic investment, the latter being investments by government and public enterprises on social and economic infrastructures, real estate and tangible assets. Equally, foreign investment can be foreign direct investment (FDI) or Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI). While the former is investment in tangible assets by foreigners, the latter is their investments in shares, bonds, securities among others.

    Rewane said all these forms of investments are complementary and necessary for economic growth and development of the nation.

    He said higher interest rate imply higher cost of capital and this tends to reduce domestic investment; however, it may also serve as an indication of return on the investments of foreigners thereby aiding foreign inflows. He said increase in GDP is expected to increase domestic investment through what is known as the accelerator principle; it also encourages market-seeking FDI since higher GDP imply higher market size.

  • Will BDCs beat recapitalisation deadline?

    Will BDCs beat recapitalisation deadline?

    The deadline for Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to raise their capital from N10 million to N35 million expires tomorrow. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is insisting on the BDCs’ compliance. Will they scale the hurdle? COLLINS NWEZE reports.

    All his efforts came to nought after hours of trying to get the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) leadership to change its stand in the recapitalisation of Bureaux De Change (BDCs)

    President, Association of Bureau De Change of Nigeria (ABCON) Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe spent over two hours with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele trying to convince him on how vital BDCs are to the economy.

    He told the CBN boss that allegations that BDC operators are involved in money laundering and terrorism financing were not correct. He urged the CBN to rescind the June 23 guidelines on the raising of the capital base of BDCs from N10 million to N35 million, a caution fee of N35 million and another N1 million registration fee, bringing the total cost of operations to N71 million. Gwadabe said the recapitalisation policy was an indirect attempt to empower few operators and force many others out of business.

     

    The guidelines

    On June 23, the CBN, among other things, raised the minimum capital requirement of BDCs to N35 million from N10million. It  raised the mandatory caution deposit to N35 million from $10,000.

    Again, on July 7, the apex bank extended the deadline from July 15 to July 31, in response to appeals and intervention of ABCON and both chambers of the National Assembly.

    In a circular, CBN’s Director, Financial Policy and Regulation, Kelvin Amugo, said interest would be paid on the mandatory caution deposit of N35 million, based on the savings account rate. The CBN, Amugo said, would on expiration of the deadline, cease to fund any BDC that failed to comply with the fresh requirements.

    But Gwadabe said the amendments were far from the recommendations made by the association at a meeting with the CBN Governor on July 1.

    “We recommended that deadline for compliance should not be less than one year as it is the tradition of the CBN in the recapitalisation exercise for other regulated entities. This is because no organisation can meet the statutory requirements for recapitalisation, either by raising fresh capital or through mergers/acquisition, within the period stipulated as deadline by the CBN for BDCs to meet the new minimum capital requirements. By asking BDCs to recapitalise within one month, the CBN is probably asking them to disregard these statutory requirements, and hence commit illegality.”

    ABCON, he said, also rejected the CBN decision to limit the weekly dollar sale to BDCs that meet the new requirements by July 31. This, he said, would bring back the activities of black market and fake currency operation, which the BDCs were able to abolish following their emergence as a monetary tool of the CBN in 2006.

    The policy, Gwadabe said, would give banks the opportunity to hijack the weekly dollar sales to BDCs. “Before CBN started selling dollars to BDCs in 2006, banks were not interested in BDC business. But as soon as the dollar sale started, they saw it as an avenue to make cheap profit, and pressurised the CBN to categorise the sub-sector into Class “A” and Class “B” BDCs.

    He said the minimum capital requirement for Class “A” BDCs, mostly owned by banks and money bags,  was set at N500 million, adding that they were allowed to buy $1 million weekly, while Class “B” BDCs  with N10 million minimum capital requirement, were allowed to buy just $50,000 per week. That was how the CBN allowed the banks and money bags to hijack the dollar sales to BDCs in 2009, he added.

    “This, we believe is what will happen once the CBN limits dollar sales to BDCs that meet the N35 million minimum capital requirement, and mandatory caution deposit.  It is an indirect way of handing over the weekly dollar sales to banks and money bags, which had no interest in BDC business until CBN started selling dollars to BDCs.”

    “The savings interest rate on caution deposit should also be reviewed to reflect market reality as the chunk of deposits to be realised by the CBN would be placed in treasury bills that attract between nine and 10 per cent per annum presently,” Gwadabe said.

    He said the CBN regulation should be in line with standard practice. “For instance, during the time of recapitalisation of banks and microfinance banks, a deadline of 102 days were extended to them. I was surprised that only 21 working days were extended to the BDCs. If this is allowed to go, it will be vindictive and will be seen as if the policy was designed to favour a kind of selected few,” he said.

    The ABCON chief said there was the need for categorisation of BDC operators and also promoting constructive engagement with the regulator. He said ABCON has met with the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to make its position known to him.

    “Some of our recommendations is extension of time. Also, N35 million should be a percentage of funding. During Prof Charles Soludo’s tenure as CBN Governor, he told us to put $200,000 in cautionary deposit, I will give you $1 million weekly. If Godwin Emefiele is saying, give us N35 million caution deposit, we expect the money to be a 20 per cent of the dollar he is going to sale to us,” he said.

     

    Way out

    ABCON has, therefore, proposed a 40-week timetable for operators to meet the new minimum capital requirements. He added that the proposal has been sent to the CBN Governor for consideration.

    He said though the apex bank has extended the deadline by three weeks to July 31st, the time was still too short to enable BDCs comply with the statutory and legal requirements of the new policy. The timetable, he said, contained actions needed to be taken to enhance the successful implementation of the policy for the subsector.

    Gwadabe said: “The timetable starts with sensitisation seminars to educate members on various options to consider in meeting the minimum capital requirement. We plan to hold these seminars in each geopolitical zone of the federation. Moreover, we would assist members scout for consultants to guide them on issues of valuation of existing companies in order to accommodate new members and or achieve harmonious merger. This is in line with what the CBN did for banks during the recapitalisation exercise of 2004”.

    The group has appealed to the CBN to allow the minimum capital base to be N35 million and the caution deposit N5 million so as to source the caution deposit from the capital base of the company and the balance of N30 million be used as working capital of the BDCs.

     

    Dollar sales to BDCs slashed

    The CBN has cut dollar sales to BDCs by 70 per cent from $50,000 per week to $15,000. This is coming ahead of tomorrow’s deadline for operators to comply with new requirements for their operation.

    The N35 million caution raused from $20,000 represents a 1000 per cent hike among other conditions set by the apex bank in its June 23 guidelines for the subsector.

    Managing Director, Kayewd Bureau De Change (BDC) Limited, Rotimi Dada, who confirmed the new dollar sales to BDCs, said the action has cut down dollar supply to the market, and reduced profit margins for operators while the overhead costs remain the same.

    On the sideline of the ABCON public hearing in Lagos, he said operators had rents to pay, adding that they are not able to meet market demands for the dollar which is bad for the market. He said there is a multiplier effect of the policy, which makes it difficult for operators to buy dollar from commercial banks.

    Dada said the CBN was acting a bit hasty by cutting the dollar sales to BDCs and that the regulator should consult with stakeholders on what needed to be done. He said the CBN should see the BDCs as macroeconomic factors that favour the economy.

     

    Alleged terrorism financing

    BDC operators have denied sponsoring terrorism. Gwadabe said this when he led members of the association to meet the Committees on Finance of both chambers of the National Assembly in Abuja.

    Gwadade urged the National Assembly to intervene in the N35 million capital base for BDCs imposed by the CBN. “Money laundering and terrorism are aspects of specialised relevant agencies. The National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the police and Customs will checkmate the activities of money launderers and terrorism financiers and bring the culprits to book. It should not be the CBN’s primary concern. Our members too have been trained by the relevant agencies and are helping them understand the consequences and implications of money laundering and terrorism financing,” he said.

     

    Foreign reserves soar

    The foreign reserves have been on the rise since the CBN cut dollar sales to BDCs from $50,000 per week to $15,000.

    CBN said the BDCs’ guidelines were modified to, among others, conserve the foreign reserves. Analyses of the reserves, based on data from the CBN, showed that they have risen by over $1.2 billion since June 24, when the CBN unfolded new requirements for BDCs operations, which also led to cut in dollar sales.

    The reserves which were $37.2 billion on June 24 rose to $38.94 billion on July 24. The rate of accretions to the reserves has been marginal but consistent since the dollar cut.

    The reserves were $37.23 billion, on June 25; $37.26 billion, June 26 and $37.31 billion, June 27. The reserves also rose to $37.54 billion on July 1 and continued the upbeat till current position.

     

    CBN’s position

    The CBN has reiterated that its modifications to the guidelines on the regulation of BDCs are aimed at conserving the country’s foreign reserves, among other objectives.

    Emefiele, who spoke during an interactive session with the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, explained that modifications had to be made on the guidelines following observations that the operations of BDCs in the country had deviated from the objectives for which they were lisensed in the first place.

    He observed that many operators were only interested in widening margins and profits from the foreign exchange market, regardless of the prevailing official and interbank rates.

    He said a cross-country survey of BDCS done by the CBN revealed that 93 per cent of them were in breach of the objectives and provisions of the guidelines. He also said many BDCs had no good accounting records, many had no adequate sales document and lacked audit trail.

     

  • ‘Stop discrimination in online transactions’

    PayPal’s Regional Director for Africa and Israel, EfiDahan has called on stakeholders in the e-payment market to address discrimination against Nigeria in the e-commerce market.

    Speaking at a partnership forum with FirstBank, he said many merchants were refusing to approve transactions with Nigeria Internet Protocol (IP) address, noting that there is need to instill confidence in the global e-commerce market.

    PayPal entered 10 countries last week, including Nigeria, to provide online payment alternatives for consumers via mobile phones or personal computers in markets often blighted by financial fraud.

    PayPal Executive in charge of  Emerging Market, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region said the payments unit of eBay Inc, told Bloomberg the expansion would bring the number of countries it serves to 203.

    He said consumers in Nigeria, which has 60 million users and Africa’s largest population, along with nine other markets in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, would be able to make payments through PayPal.

    “PayPal has been going through a period of reinvention, refreshing many of its services to make them easier to use on mobile (phones), allowing us to expand into fast-developing markets,” Keeley said.

    Once the services go live, customers in the 10 countries with access to the Web and a bank card authorized for Internet transactions will be able to register for a PayPal account and make payments to millions of sites worldwide.

    Initially, PayPal is only offering “send money” services for consumers to pay for goods and services at PayPal-enabled merchant sites while safeguarding their financial details. This is free to consumers and covered by fees it charges merchants.

    “We think we can give our sellers selling into this market a great deal of reassurance,” said Keeley, a former regional banking executive with Standard Chartered Plc and senior executive with payment card company Visa Inc.

    PayPal does not yet cover peer-to-peer transactions, which allow consumers to send money to other consumers. It has not yet enabled local merchants in the new markets to receive payments, nor is it offering other forms of banking services, he said.

    A 2013 survey of 200 UK ecommerce sites by Visa’s CyberSource unit estimated that 1.26 percent of online orders are fraudulent and that 85 percent of merchants expected fraud to increase or remain static last year.

  • Bank seeks improved PoS use

    There is a need to educate stakeholders and consumers  on Point of Sales (PoS) so they can benefit from the cash-less policy, Keystone Bank’s ManagingDirector/Chief Executive, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, has said.

    In his assessment of the cash-less policy at a media parley in Lagos, Ikeazor noted that given what happened to the economy prior to the cash-less policy, the country has gianed tremendously.

    The only area that financial services providers should do more is in the education on PoS uptake, he said.

    Ikeazor noted that it is only in the PoS that the market is slow in understanding the cash-less policy.

    He said: “I don’t have the statistics here. But if you see the volume of cash that goes through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and the volume of cash that goes through Internet transfer alone, it shows that banks have improved in the country in terms of efficiency of transfers and cost reduction.

    “We should understand that before the advent of Internet banking and the advent of using ATM cards, we carried around huge cash with the inefficiency that comes with it.  But, today, that story is different. All that our customers require from us is to ensure that our channels work.

    “Banks have done very well in terms of Internet transfer, so have we (at Keystone Bank).  Banks have also done very well in terms of providing ATMs. The only place that the cash-less policy requires education is the uptake of PoS machines.”

    Ikeazor, however, noted that Nigeria still has a long way to go in the execution of the cash-less policy when compared with her counterparts abroad.

    He said: “We have not reached anywhere in terms of what we have abroad. If we can get to that level, then we can get to the stage where PoS machines that can be used to send details and the money goes straight into his account.”

  • UBA grows gross earnings to N138b in first half

    UBA grows gross earnings to N138b in first half

    United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc at the weekend released its earnings for the first half of this year showing modest growths in key headlines.

    Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of UBA for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014 indicated that gross earnings rose to N138 billion in first half of 2014, representing an increase of 8.7 per cent on N127 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2013.

    The top-line performance was boosted by strong growth in the bank’s core banking operations as interest income rose by 11 per cent to N98.5 billion in 2014 as against N88.6 billion in the comparative period of 2013.

    The report showed that net interest income rose slightly to N55.2 billion, non-interest income rose 3.1 per cent to N39.8 billion; operating income was up 2.7 per cent to N92.2 billion and  profits  stood at N29 billion for the period.

    Group managing director, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, said the bank would remain focused on its medium and long term strategies to grow market share in all its businesses across Africa while reducing its costs.

    “We are confident that business returns will be much better in the remaining period of the year as we continue to deploy new and innovative ways of delivering value adding products and services,” Oduoza said.

    He assured that the bank would deliver better returns to shareholders.

    The bank had last year initiated a new business development plan aimed at consolidating the bank’s position as a leading pan-African global financial services group.

    The three-year business development plan codenamed Project Alpha was designed as the group’s next focus of strategic transformation and it contained key transformation initiatives.

    Oduoza said the new business plan was designed to consolidate the group’s strategic positioning and fully capture the opportunities from Africa’s economic renaissance.

    According to him, Project Alpha is focused on leveraging all aspects of the group’s footprint, product offerings and operational capability, allowing a commitment to customer service transformation, market share growth, the implementation of key e-banking initiatives across all segments, the growth of corporate and trade finance capabilities.

    He outlined that a critical aspect of the Project Alpha initiative is the focus on UBA Africa, which currently contributes 20 per cent to group performance and is projected to contribute about 50 per cent by 2016.

    UBA had grown its top-line by 20.2 per cent to about N265 billion in 2013 as it sustained positive trends in several key performance indices. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of UBA for the year ended December 31, 2013 showed appreciable improvements in the top-line, operational efficiency and customer’s confidence. The bank paid a dividend of 50 kobo per share.

    The report indicated that gross earnings rose from N220.1 billion in 2012 to N264.7 billion in 2013. The top-line performance was largely driven by a growth of 40.4 per cent in loans and advances as well as a 25 per cent growth in the bank’s total deposits.

    Consequently, the bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio improved from 38.7 per cent to 44.3 per cent. It also enhanced its operational efficiency and productivity with the cost-to-income ratio improving by four percentage points from 64.8 per cent to 60.9 per cent. Profit before tax grew by 7.8 per cent to N56.06 billion in 2013 as against N52.01 billion in 2012. This indicated a return on equity of 21.8 per cent.  The bank’s balance sheet expanded to N2.64 trillion while total deposit base closed the year at N2.22 trillion.

     

  • Sterling Bank gains on core banking focus as earnings rise

    •Grosses N49b in six months

    Sterling Bank Plc rode on the back of increasing efficiency and growing market share in its core commercial banking business to deliver impressive growths in the top-line and profitability in the first half of 2014.

    Interim report and accounts of the bank for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014 released at the weekend indicated double-digit growth of 16.3 per cent in the gross earnings, driven by larger growth of 20.5 per cent in interest income. Net interest income rose by about 40 per cent, underlying significant improvement in the cost-to-income ratio in the core banking operations. This also impacted on the operating income, which rose by 25.4 per cent.

    Gross earnings rose to N48.7 billion in first half 2014 as against N41.86 billion in comparable period of 2013. The top-line was driven by interest income, which rose from N31.08 billion in first half 2013 to N37.44 billion in first half 2014. Net interest income leapt to N21.28 billion in 2014 as against N15.17 billion in 2013. Non-interest income also increased to N11.3 billion in first half 2014 compared with N10.8 billion recorded in comparable period of 2013. Operating income thus rose from N25.95 billion to N32.54 billion.

    However, the bank’s operating expenses increased by 28.5 per cent to N23.8 billion in first half 2014 as against N18.5 billion in first half 2013, driven by on-going investments in branch refits and expansion, and rollout of alternative channels. This moderated the net bottom-line. Profit before tax rose slightly from N6.27 billion in 2013 to N6.34 billion in 2014. With 131 per cent increase in income tax from N350.15 million to N809.73 million, net profit after tax stood at N5.5 billion.

    Commenting on the results, managing director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the performance in the first half of the year further demonstrated the underlying strength of the bank’s core business.

    He noted that in spite of the challenging operating environment, the bank achieved a 130 basis points improvement in net interest margins to 7.7 per cent resulting from a 60 basis points reduction in cost of funds and a 70 basis points increase in asset yield.

    He explained that the increase in cost-to-income ratio increased by 20 basis points to 73 per cent due to ongoing investments in the upgrade of the bank’s physical infrastructure and the rollout of alternative channels.

    “During the period, we completed eight new branches while 13 others are at various stages of completion. We also remodeled several of our existing branches, deployed 120 additional Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and signed-on over 200 merchants to drive our Agent Banking model for financial inclusion,” Adeola said.

    He said the bank would remain focus on further improvement in its efficiency and cost reduction to ensure that it delivers on its full-year targets and provides increased returns to shareholders.

    “We are confident that the second half of the year would reinforce the trend we have seen in the first six months. We remain focused on efficiency – keeping the cost-income ratio within an acceptable range. By and large, we are optimistic that Sterling Bank’s full year returns will be in line with our forecasts and expectations,” Adeola assured.

  • Don’t try govt’s will, drivers warned

    Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Alhaji Tajudeen Agbede has warned his members against trying the government’s will on driver’s documentation.

    Speaking with The Nation on phone last Tuesday from Mecca where he is performing the lesser hajj, said drivers’ cooperation was key to the policy’s success.

    Agbede, who spoke on the heels of drivers’ demand for the registration to be taken to motor parks across the state, said the government had exercised enough patience since November 1, last year, when the exercise started. He said the enforcement which should have begun on January 1, had been put on hold to enable drivers comply.

    He said the documentation was meant to create a database of professional drivers and vehicle owners, adding that he has been at the forefront of the campaign because of his belief that it is in the interest of his members.

    The documentation, he said, was not another avenue to tax drivers, but one aimed at sanitising the sector.

    “This is not another attempt by the government to extort any driver in this state, that is why the government has left it free for all those who are yet to embrace it. What the government wanted to do is to ensure that only those who are qualified are in this business.”

    Agbede said when everyone embraces the documentation, it would weed out those who use their vehicles for criminal activities thereby soiling the name and integrity of genuine drivers and the union.

    He added that not only would details of the vehicles as well as those of all drivers using it for commercial purposes be in the database, any passenger who has issues with any bus, or its drivers or the driver’s mate, could report to the agency created for the purpose to seek redress.

    “This is a new initiative that I think we should all support. It will drive away incidences of crime and criminals giving our profession a bad name would have to relocate to other states,” Agbede said.

    He added that if all drivers comply, government would be able to go ahead with other aspects of the state’s traffic law, which according to him, is aimed at achieving a roboust transportation system for the state.

    Agbede noted that drivers stand to benefit greatly if they allow the new scheme to work, adding that his leadership will not rest on its oars until all its members throughout the state are duly registered with the drivers institute.

  • RT Briscoe gets shareholders’ nod to raise N10b

    Shareholders of RT Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc yesterday authorised the board of the company to raise N10 billion to deleverage its operations as the automobile and real estate company struggled with losses induced by huge interest expenses.

    At the annual general meeting in Lagos, shareholders mandated the board to raise new funds through any option or a combination of debt instruments, preference shares and ordinary shares by way of rights issue, private placement or offer for subscription.

    To create room for the impending fresh capital, shareholders also increased the authorized share capital of the company from N2 billion divided into 4.0 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to N3.25 billion divided 6.5 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

    Addressing the shareholders, chairman, RT Briscoe (Nigeria), Mr. Clement Olowokande said the directors on the company have been strategizing on how to optimize the use of available resources and opportunities for maximum returns.

    According to him, in order to raise the much needed capital for business expansion and working capital, the board is exploring the possibilities of recapitalizing through debt instruments, additional equity or a combination of both.

    He assured shareholders that the board will on behalf of the shareholders, carefully select auspice time and modality for implementing these options.

    He enjoined the shareholders to support the company in its efforts to recapitalize its business and stem the tide of losses in recent years.

    “The automobile industry in Nigeria, particularly for motor dealers and distributors like us, is currently in a development phase that requires significant capital outlay for stock, after sales infrastructure and implementation of development phase for the future,” Olowokande said.

    He said the competition in the market place has become more severe as all major brands in the world are now present in the country.

    On the future prospect of the company, the chairman the recent rebasing of Nigeria’s GDP confirmed enormous business opportunities in the country for a company like RT Briscoe.

    Olowokande observed that contrary to prior economic data before the rebasing, that the oil and gas sector represented 32 per cent of the economy, under the new set of data, that sector only contributed 14 per cent while much of the balance came from previously unreported, consumer-driven sectors.

  • SEC to sponsor foreign training for award winners

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is concluding arrangements to sponsor five Nigerian journalists on an intensive training on capital markets at the International Law Institute, Washington DC, USA.

    The journalists are being sponsored by SEC in redemption of their prize winnings in the 2012 and 2013 editions of the SEC Capital Market Essay Competition for Journalists which was instituted by the Commission in 2012.

    Of the five journalists, two were prize winners in the 2012 edition of the competition. They are Iheanyi Nwachukwu of Businessday newspaper and Taofik Salako of The Nation newspaper. They are to undergo two weeks and one week of intensive training on The Foundations and Development of Capital markets at ILI respectively. Winners in the 2013 edition included Teslim Shitta-Bey of Business Hallmark newspaper, Patrick Atuanya of Businessday newspaper and Sule Teliat Abiodun of Businessday newspaper. Shitta – Bey and Atuanya will undergo two weeks of training at ILI while Abiodun will spend a week in the institution.

    The third place winners – Abiodun Eromosele of Thisday newspaper (2012) and Chris Ugwu, then of Leadership Newspapers (2013) who were entitled to a week – long training in a leading local institution have since redeemed their prizes by undergoing training on Business Writing and Communication Skills at the Financial Institutions Training Centre, FITC in Lagos.

    In a statement, SEC stated that the SEC Capital Market Essay Competition for Journalists, a signature annual event of the SEC, is a specific capacity building mechanism for the media industry.

    “It also fosters investor education through interest in reading and writing about the markets among journalists as well as the wider society. Plans are afoot to activate the 2014 edition of the competition through which fresh winners will emerge,” the Commission stated.

    It noted that in line with the objective of widening knowledge of the capital markets among journalists and wider audiences, the competition offers only training and non pecuniary rewards to winners. These include two weeks and one week of intensive training on finance,  business and capital markets for first and second prize winners respectively in a major learning centre abroad while the third prize winner is entitled to a week-long training in the subjects in a reputable local institution.