The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Cost of cash movement to hit N232.1b in 2013

    The cost of moving cash in the financial system is likely to reach N232.1 billion this year, the Managing Director of Accenture Nigeria, Mr Niyi Yusuf, has said.

    Speaking during a stakeholders’ forum on cashless economy in Lagos, Yusuf said the cost of the exercise was N205.6 billion last year.

    He said: “The cost of moving cash around is steadily increasing. It was N141.5 billion in 2009, N127.4 billion in 2010, N182.6 billion in 2011, N205.6 billion in 2012, and N232.1 billion in 2013.  To reduce the cost of moving cash around, there is the need to embrace the cashless economy initiative fully,”

    This, he said, resulted in an increased cost of banking services and operations.

    He said the country remains a largely cash-based economy with cash payments contributing 80 per cent of retail and commercial transactions.

    The cash-less policy, he said, would in the short-medium term, have limited impact from infrastructure and change management readiness perspective.

    Yusuf said there are opportunities to reduce cost of cash management in the long-term, advising the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), banks, customers among other stakeholders to help in making the cashless project a reality.

    He said a holistic approach is required to make the cashless economy idea work, arguing that it must not be left in the hands of the government only.

    According to him, a cashless system would promote financial inclusion, reduce economic crimes, reduce cost of managing cash, lead to adequate budgeting and taxation, and promote economic growth.

    He listed factors to make cashless sustainable to include  broad-based consultation among the stakeholders, realistic phasing and timing of deployment infrastructures such as Point of Sales (PoS) terminals among others.

    “There must be a multi- stakeholder and multi-industry approach to drive financial inclusion, integration between government and private sector initiatives, appropriate dispute resolution mechanism and financial ‘Ombudsman’ to manage various cases arising from the operations of cashless initiatives, and  strong efforts to drive consumers’  awareness  and education,” he added.

    He said Nigerians would embrace cashless economy agenda with time, because it is the only way of preventing the risks associated with movement and using of cash for transactions.

  • Irregular cash flow derails W’Africa’s single currency

    •Money to be launched in 2015

    Irregular cash flow among the six West African countries working on achieving single currency for the sub-region has stalled the realisation of the project this year, FBN Capital, an investement and finance firm has said.

    An emailed report obtained by The Nation, explained that the West African currency union (the Eco), project is faltering in difficult circumstances. It added that a technical meeting of the six member states of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) in Abuja indicated that none of them met the four primary macro-convergence criteria as at June 2012.

    Rather, the performance of the zone on its convergence scale had deteriorated sharply from 79.2 in June 2011 to 62.5. Inflation, one of four primary criteria, averaged 12.6 per cent in June 2012, compared with 11.6 per cent one year earlier while this was not more than five per cent.

    It said the latest deadline for the launch of the single currency in WAMZ is 2015, 12 years behind initial target. Also, a second stage would see the inclusion of the nine other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    “The view of the zone’s secretariat is that the two most challenging primary criteria are inflation and a budget deficit of no more than four per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The two others cover central bank financing of that deficit and external reserves,” it said.

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Governor, Sarah Alade, told the meeting that the challenges in the Eurozone had contributed to the difficulty of WAMZ in meeting its criteria, citing uneven capital flows and increased unemployment. She said that the Eurozone’s challenges are largely the function of its institutional and policy weaknesses.

    “Currency union is often said to boost trade between members. The Franc Zone has been in operation for more than sixty years, and trade between members remains negligible. Its own members produce unprocessed agricultural commodities for export and the same semi-manufactures,” it said.

    FBN Capital said the Franc Zone has a good record of low inflation on the back of its shared currency pegged to the Euro, provided that its harvests do not fail.

    “A potential risk to the Eco lies in the dominance of Nigeria in WAMZ. The five other members, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will be sensitive to voting rights in the currency union’s structures while Nigeria will be wary of the entry of countries, in the manner of Greece and the Eurozone, without genuinely meeting all the criteria. Monetary union is not a priority for Nigeria, and in any event is highly doubtful for 2015, it noted.

     

     

     

     

  • Petrodollars from IOCs strengthen naira

    Petrodollars from IOCs strengthen naira

    Rising dollar inflows from international oil companies (IOCs) last week boosted the naira. It appreciated as the IOCs pumped petrodollars into the local market, pushing the currency to 0.2 per cent rise to N157.25 to a dollar on Friday, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website showed. The naira gained for a second week by less than 0.1 per cent.

    However, the naira is expected to come under pressure next year, a year before the 2015 general election, Director, Africa Economist, Citi, David Cowan, has warned.

    Speaking at the EuroFinance conference in Lagos, Cowan, who spoke on the theme: Global economic update: Europe casts a long shadow, added that oil price will also weaken in 2014, a development which will put pressure on the naira.

    He said increased fiscal spending pressure will grow in 2014, adding that there is need to strike a balance between the urban inflation rate and the rural inflation rate in the country.

    A Fixed Income & Currencies analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Olakunle Ezun, said on the short run, the naira will likely continue to trade on the interbank market within the CBN’s three per cent band either side of N155 to a dollar.

    He said the steady rise in reserves to $46.9 billion, which is around 10 months equivalent of imports, provides a large cushion to support the naira in the months ahead. The foreign reserves rose $46.9 billion on February 20, and might be stable in the near term.

    The government’s borrowing costs fell for a fourth monthly bond auction last week after the CBN forecast that inflation slowed in January. The Debt Management Office (DMO) sold N105 billion ($667 million) in securities, it said in a statement on its website.

     

    Inter-bank rate

     

    The inter-bank rate rose 90 basis point to 14 per cent on, reflecting CBN’s effective liquidity management efforts. The CBN’s aggressive liquidity mop-up re-emphasised its monetary policy stance and it is supported by the circular issued last August reviewing its guidelines for how banks access its Standing Lending Facility window.

    Call and overnight and seven-day money market rates rose 14 per cent and 14.4 per cent. The three-month Nigeria Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) also rose 15.4 per cent though less activity is done on the tenor. The secured lending (Open Buy Back) rose 13.7 per cent for deposit money banks and 14 per cent for discount houses.

     

    Sustainable banking

     

    The CBN has called on banks to pursue and implement issues itemized in the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Practice (NSBP).

    In a circular to banks, Special Adviser to the CBN Governor on Sustainable Banking, A’sha Mahmood explained in a statement to banks that the policy involves integration of social and environmental considerations into banks’ operations, services, procedures and strategies.

    According to the CBN guidelines on the policy, the environmental and social policies as well as decision-making processes will also be integrated into the operations of discount houses and development finance institutions.

    The sustainable banking practice, it said aims at minimising or mitigating the negative impacts of financial institutions’ operations on the environment and local communities in which they operate.

    It captures the Nigerian sustainable banking principle on agric sector, power sector and the oil and gas sector.

    According to the regulator, for the successful implementation of the principles the institutions would be required to develop a management approach that balances the environments and social (E&S) risks identified with the opportunities to be exploited through their business activities.

     

    e-Clearing

     

    Electronic clearing (e-clearing), which is currently implemented only at banks’ headquarters will be extended to all banks’ branches across the country once the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gives its approval.

    The policy, which became effective last August, could not be fully decentralised to all the banks’ networks because of poor technical know-how and infrastructure needed for seamless take-off in those units.

    An executive of Sybrin Systems Limited, Daniel Parreira, who confirmed this development in an interview, said provision of sophisticated payment solutions, adoption of fully integrated management systems and anti-fraud mechanisms by banks will enable them achieve the feat. Decentralisation to branches, he added would further reduce the pressure on the clearing centres.

    Sybrin Limited, a software technology firm based in South Africa, provides e-clearing services and other payment solutions to Africa’s leading banks, clearing houses and corporations. The firm is in Lagos to seek partnership with banks and regulators of the financial system on effective implementation of e-payment solutions.

     

    Cashless

     

    Transactions recorded by the Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) under its NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) and Nigerian Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) have increased significantly to about N40 billion daily.

    NIP and NEFT are products used by corporate organisations to make payment for huge transactions electronically, in line with the cash-less policy. Data gathered from NIBSS also shows that as a result of the cashless policy, cheques, Point of Sale (PoS) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) use have continued to rise in volume and value.

    Head, Shared Services at the CBN, Mr Chidi Umeano, said the cash-less project has continued to record huge success, adding that the initial challenges associated with the alternative channels are being tackled.

    “Banks have continued to roll out more innovative electronic payment platforms to meet customers’ expectations. The cash-less policy has been very successful in Lagos considering when we started and how far we have gone in terms of PoS deployment. When we started the cashless Lagos, we had less than 10,000 PoS in Lagos, but currently we have over 150,000 PoS machines in the state alone,” he said.

     

    Revenue

     

    The Federal Government earned N2.4 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Economic Report released last week.

    The report, published on the CBN website said the revenue, represents a decline of 0.4 when compared with earnings in the preceding quarter. However, the figure shows an increase of 101.1 per cent above the receipts in the corresponding period of 2011.

    At N1.82 trillion, oil receipts, which constituted 75.6 per cent of the total revenue, exceeded the budget estimate and receipts in the corresponding period of 2011 by 9.91 and 151.2 per cent. But the oil earnings declined by 5.8 per cent below the receipts in the preceding quarter.

    “The increase in oil receipts relative to the budget estimate was attributed largely to the rise in the receipts from petroleum profit tax, royalties and domestic crude oil and gas sales during the period,” it said. The report said that the Federal Government retained revenue for the fourth quarter was N821.24 billion, while total expenditure was N1.2 trillion, leading to a N420.81 billion deficit in fiscal operations of the Federal Government.

     

    Visa

     

    Visa, a global electronic payments company, has reiterated its commitment to unlocking trade and tourism potential within sub-Saharan Africa. In a statement, Ade Ashaye, Country Manager for Visa in West Africa, said: “Visa plays an active role in travel and tourism and its research in the tourism industry provides key insights into the trends. We believe that continued engagement in the industry is important.”

    He also announced the firm’s partnership with Future Group and its Nigeria-based partners, Tradeblazers Limited, to sponsor the BT Africa, conference holding in Lagos in March. Ashaye said Visa is committed to consolidating its position in the travel industry throughout sub-Saharan Africa. He said the company has been instrumental in reshaping the payment landscape in West Africa with the introduction of several products, including the Visa Corporate card, for enabling secure and convenient cashless transactions within the region.

     

    Debt

     

    Banks’ top 50 customers’ total obligations amounted to N2.39 trillion, representing 30 per cent of the total N7.87 trillion owed the banking sector, the CBN Financial Stability report for June 2012 had shown.

    The report, endorsed by both the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido and Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Kingsley Moghalu, said the banking sectors’ total credit was N7.2 trillion at the end of December 2011.

    It noted that the top 100 obligors accounted for 39.1 per cent of the gross credit, indicating a high level of loan concentration within the banking sector. The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to gross loans declined by 0.6 per cent from 4.9 per cent, but fell within the regulatory threshold of five per cent.

     

    Finance Houses

     

    The implementation of reforms in the finance houses sub-sector of the economy is being hindered by bureaucracy, among which is the pending Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor’s assent, The Nation learnt.

    An insider at the Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN) explained in confidence that stakeholders approvals have been secured in critical areas, especially in the drive to raise the sectors’ capital base from the N20 million to about N100 million.

    This, he said, will ensure that only seriously minded operators are allowed to carry on the businesses of finance houses in the country. The source said that stakeholders are expectant of the new reform, which is expected to be unfolded by the CBN before the end of this quarter. It is also expected that the reforms will expand the funding structure of the subsector to allow new investors into it.

     

    Banks’ credit

     

    Credit by banks is expected to rise by 20 per cent within the year, Renaissance Capital (RenCap), an investment and research firm, has said. In an emailed report obtained by The Nation, RenCap said banks excite it most within the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) banks context this year. According to the firm, with the country’s growth expectations for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 6.7 per cent, the Nigeria market should benefit from accelerating top-down trends.

    It also said West to East African banks are also viable performers within the year, with the Kenyan elections a potential headwind. RenCap said Equity Bank remains its pick of the bunch on a relative basis.

     

    Bank to bank report

     

    First Bank of Nigeria last week toured the University of Lagos (UNILAG) campus in a new campaign that promotes its FirstNaira MasterCard termed ‘expressions on card’. The product gives existing customers the opportunity to upload personal pictures of choice depicting memories, smiles and any others experiences on it.

    The bank’s Head, e-Business, Mr Chuma Ezirim, explained that the bank is giving customers, especially the youth and youth at heart, the flexibility to express themselves through images captured on the card. “We want people to carry along memories, smiles and any other thing that is personal to them on their FirstNaira MasterCard. It gives customers the opportunity to upload a picture of their choice on the bank’s existing naira MasterCard,” he said.

    Union Bank of Nigeria Plc said it had to continue the transfer of legacy pension for post 2005 pensioners to their Pension Fund Administrators (PFA) in line with the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004.

    In a statement, the bank said the PFAs will consequently take over full responsibility for pension payments for affected pensioners, excluding pre-2006 pensioners, with effect from February 2013. The affected pensioners have been informed through letters and test messages. The bank also said it has set up a contact centre on the fourth floor in the Head office (Stallion Plaza), which can be reached by concerned pensioners.

    Ecobank Foundation has donated cash to the Kanu Heart and Lumina foundations as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibilities reaching out to communities where Ecobank does business in Africa.

     

  • Sterling Bank unveils customer-friendly product

    Sterling Bank Plc has launched a new financial product christened KIA KIA Account.

    This is in line with the lender’s objective of making its services available to everyone in the country irrespective of socio-economic status and in comformity with the new Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    KIA KIA account, according to a statement from the bank, gives people in the low income bracket such as artisans and other unbanked people in the country easy and instant access to top class banking services. The account is distinguished by the immense ease and convenience associated with its opening process as it can be opened on the spot even without the customer being physically present at the branch with little or no KYC documentation required.

    The KYC requirement for the lower end of the population has always been a challenge as experienced with opening an account. Sterling KIA KIA account, the statement explained, affords the customers the opportunity to open an account without hassles, which implies that prospective customers can complete their savings account opening process and start running the account instantly by filling a simple form onsite at branches or online.

    Customers can open a Sterling KIA KIA account with zero balance and there is no minimum balance requirement on the account once it starts to operate. As with most savings accounts, only the account holder can make withdrawals on the account; but deposits by third parties are allowed. Holders of the Sterling KiaKia Account are able to transfer money to other accounts within and outside Sterling Bank in Nigeria.

    Sterling Bank Plc is a leading commercial bank in Nigeria and one of the country’s fastest growing banks. Originally, incorporated in 1960 as NAL Bank (the country’s first investment banking franchise), it acquired the operations of the erstwhile Equitorial Trust Bank in November 2011 in pursuit of its growth and expansion plans. The bank currently operates from 165 branches, about 2,000 Point of Sales (PoS) terminal and 200 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) across the country.

    Sterling Bank has since grown in leaps and bounds through a smooth blend of organic and inorganic and continues to reach for the summit of professionalism and global best practice standards. Today, with a capital base of more than N50 billion, over 160 business offices complemented by 3,800 alternative delivery channels nationwide, Sterling Bank has grown into a major financial solutions provider and justifiably prides itself as “The one-customer Bank” that celebrates every customer as a unique individual.

  • Foreign reserves hit $46.9b

    Nigeria’s foreign reserves soared to $46.91 billion on February 20, adding $900 million from the figure, in two weeks. The reserves had on February 5, stood at $46.004 billion, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) website had shown.

    Given the steady increase of oil prices, the external reserves have been rising impressively. Other factors that impacted positively on the reserves were the swelling of the excess crude account. The reserves had maintained a steady rise from $45.263 on January 21; $45.35 on January 22; $45.425 on January 23 and $45.78 on January 28.

    The reserves had gained nearly $10 billion in the last six months. It was $36.35 billion on August 7; rose to $36.41 in August 8; $36.46 in August 9 and $36.51 in August 10. It had dropped to $36.36 billion in July 20, from $37.19 billion four weeks earlier, losing about $830 million within the period.

    The foreign currency reserves rose to $68 billion in August 2008 before the global financial crises impacted negatively on it. The apex bank had consistently maintained that inflow into the reserves was not consistent with the oil prices and, this underscored the need for tighter fiscal controls around oil revenues.

     

  • Investors stake N348b on bonds

    •Pause on equities

    Investors appeared cautious and ponderous last week with most of them opting to play safe by placing funds on virtually risk-free sovereign bonds. Consequently, investors increased stakes on Federal Govern-ment’s bonds on both the Over-the-Counter (OTC) bond market and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) but turnover dropped on the equities market.

    Companies last week started to announce their audited reports and accounts and dividend recommendations for the year ended December 31, 2012, fuelling a furry of portfolio rebalancing and repositioning.

    The market dynamics last week were partly decided by reconsideration of share prices with fundamentals yields, especially for stocks that had driven the market rally overtime. Investors also showed stronger preference for low-priced stocks.

    Turnover on the OTC bond market picked up to 271.38 million units valued at N328.18 billion in 1,327 deals last week as against a turnover of 172.42 million units worth N204.58 billion in 1,005 deals two weeks ago.

    On the NSE, investors increased stakes on bonds by 143 per cent with turnover of 16,050 sovereign bond units valued at N19.34 million in 66 deals. Investors had staked N7.97 million on 6,460 units in 21 deals in the previous week.

    Contrary to the increased momentum at the bond market, turnover at the equities market slowed down to 2.48 billion shares worth N22.82 billion in 32,471 last week as against 4.25 billion shares valued at N23.18 billion traded in 39,391 deals in the previous week.

    With earnings and dividend yields so far indicating current yields of below 3.0 per cent, investors appeared to be looking forward to matching fundamental returns with technical prospects.

    Low-priced stocks dominated the top bracket of activity chart. Unity Bank Plc, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc were the most active stocks, accounting for 552.779 million shares worth N4.070 billion in 4,417 deals.

    Financial services sector remained the most active sector with 69 per cent of total turnover. Financial stocks altogether pooled a turnover of 1.72 billion shares valued at N13.68 billion in 18,961 deals. The consumer goods sector staged a distant second with a turnover volume of 199.67 million shares worth N6.12 billion in 5,677 deals. The conglomerates sector placed third with a turnover volume of 187 million shares worth N479.22 billion in 1,441 deals.

    In spite of swings towards negative, the market closed positive with a weekly increase of 1.91 per cent. The All Share Index (ASI), the main index that tracks all equities on the NSE, appreciated by 1.91 per cent to close at 33,895.08 points. Aggregate market capita-lisation also trended upward by 1.91 per cent to close at N10.846 trillion.

    With more decliners than advancers, gains by highly capitalised stocks supported the overall market situation. Nestle Nigeria led 37 other stocks on the gainers’ list with a gain of N54.77 to close at N890. Dangote Cement followed with a gain of N15 to close at N160 while Total Nigeria rose by N14.52 to close at N151.53.

    On the downside, Guinness Nigeria led 54 other losers with a drop of N13.70 to close at N276.30. Julius Berger Nigeria trailed with a loss of N12 to close at N54 while Okomu Oil Palm lost N9.27 to close at N52.36 per share.

     

  • DMO: Infrastructure gap needs to be bridged

    The appalling state of infrastructure in the country needs to be urgently fixed, Director-General, Debt Debt Management Office (DMO), Abraham Nwankwo has said.

    Speaking at the sidelines of Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Conference held in Lagos, he said that only an efficient infrastructure will enable the country achieve the growth indexes it desires.

    Nwankwo, who was represented by DMO Executive, Pat Oniha, said the agency has significant of the N3 trillion pension fund invested in equities. He said that the Nigerian Capital Market has progressed rapidly, returning huge profits for investors mainly because of rising confidence in the market.

    The highlights from the presentations and discussions at the forum indicated that Nigeria’s pension sector currently has 5.32 million registered contributors.

    According to PenCom, there are currently N3 trillion in pension assets with 5.3 million registered pension contributors, about 64 per cent of whom are below 40 years. It said that only 25 to 30 per cent of quoted stocks are active on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    The Commission also said about that same percentage meets minimum criteria for pension funds investment and this form up to 80 per cent of the trading activities in the market.

    It also said that countries with large pool of funds generally have better developed economies, with developing countries holding only three per cent of long-term funds (LTFs) globally while developed countries hold 34 per cent and emerging economies hold the majority 63 per cent.

     

  • Nestle Nigeria declares N16b dividend

    •NSE’s index rises by 1.1 per cent

    Nestle Nigeria Plc has announced that it would distribute N14.66 billion as final cash dividends for the 2012 business year. This brings the total cash payouts for the year to N15.85 billion. The food and beverage giant had earlier declared interim dividend of N1.19 billion.

    In a statement made available to the investing public yesterday, Nestle Nigeria again blazed the trails as the first quoted company to release its audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012.

    The board of Nestle Nigeria indicated it would recommend a final dividend per share of N18.50 in addition to interim dividend of N1.50 paid in December 2012, bringing total dividend per share to N20.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts showed a general improvement in the profitability of the company. On the average, Nestle Nigeria made N21.46 in pre-tax profit on every N100 unit of sales in 2012 as against N18.58 recorded in previous year. Gross profit margin also improved from 41.44 per cent in 2011 to 42.99 per cent in 2012.

    While total sales rose by 19.1 per cent, improved cost management magnified the impact of sales growth on the bottom-line, pushing pre and post-tax profits up by 37.64 per cent and 28.12 per cent respectively.

    Total sales stood at N116.71 billion in 2012 as against N97.96 billion in 2011. Gross profit rose from N40.59 billion to N50.17 billion. Profit before tax increased to N25.05 billion in 2012 compared with N18.20 billion in 2011. Profit after tax rose from N16.50 billion to N21.14 billion. With these, earnings per share improved from N20.81 in 2011 to N26.67

    Nestle Nigeria, the highest-priced stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, rallied further on the back of the results, leading the advancers with a gain of N71 to close at a high of N981.

    With highly capitalised stocks leading the rally, the main index at the NSE, the All Share Index (ASI) rose by 1.12 per cent to close at 33,708.18 points as against its opening index of 33,335.11 points.

    Aggregate market capitalisation of all equities increased by N12 billion to close at N10.8 trillion as against its opening value of N10.7 trillion.

    Other top gainers included Nigerian Breweries, which rose by N7.99 to close at N169.99. Dangote Cement added N1.99 to close at N146.99. Presco rose by N1.65 to close at N25.90 while Cadbury Nigeria added N1.59 to close at N40.80 per share.

    On the downside, Julius Berger Plc led the decliners with a loss of N5.99 to close at N54 per share. Guinness Nigeria followed with a loss of N5 to close at N275. PZ Cussons Nigeria dropped by N3.25 to close at N37. Okomu Oil Palm lost N2.99 to close at N58 while GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria slipped by N1.77 to close at N47.96 per share.

    Turnover stood at 434.2 million shares valued at N4.35 billion in 7,293 deals. FBN Holdings was the most active stock with a turnover of 39.51 million shares valued at N790.01 million in 755 deals. Fidelity Bank was the second most active stock with a turnover of 32.50 million shares worth N108.32 million in 210 deals while Unity Bank placed third with a turnover of 29.95 million shares valued at N26.78 million in 224 deals.

     

  • AFEX appoints CEO, COO

    Africa Exchange Holdings (AFEX) has announced the appointment of Paul Kukubo, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Information, Communication and Technology Board as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for its East Africa Exchange (EAX) subsidiary in Rwanda.

    Also, John BoscoSebabi, Director General at the National Bank of Rwanda will take up the positions of Chief Operating Officer.

    In a statement, the firm said the appointment was in line with its strategy to build commodity exchanges across Africa.

    The EAX appointment, which was co-founded by Heirs Holdings, the pan-African investment company, and Berggruen Holdings, came shortly after the exchange was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

    Heirs Holdings said: “AFEX has been set up to transform commodities trading in Africa, starting with agriculture in Rwanda. Both Kukubo and Sebabi bring the intellectual capital and operational experience we need to deliver the full economic and social impact of this Exchange.

    “As AFEX expands across Africa into Nigeria , we will continue to recruit high caliber leaders with the expertise to build world-class infrastructure and deliver on our vision.”

     

  • Bankers’ Committee to engage NCC on cash-less policy

    The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido has said that the Bankers’ Committee is currently working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other service providers to ensure that some of the challenges of cash-less policy are addressed.

    Sanusi said this at the fourth annual investors’ forum organised by Renaissance Capital (RenCap) in Lagos. The CBN governor expressed satisfaction with the level of progress made on the cashless policy.

    “The numbers done in terms of Points of Sale (PoS), Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are very remarkable. We started last year with 5000 PoS machines, we ended the year with 165,000 PoS machines. Mobile banking for example, in January was doing N4 million per month, by December last year, it went up to N8 billion. It is moving up and we hope it continues,” he added.

    Sanusi stressed that some of the challenges confronted by the policy had to do with telecommunication. He said: “If you want to move data for example, you need more bandwidth. It is not enough to have PoS terminals, or to have ATMs, there is need to expand the bandwidth. There are operational issues, simple things such as: my name is Mohammed Michael in one bank and there is Michael Mohammed in another bank, you will be amazed that you do a transaction on the PoS and you have operational issues because the name doesn’t match. So these are all small things that we discovered. We can say that we are not where we want to be, but definitely we are inching closer and we will get there”.