The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Analysts forecast interest rate retention

    Ahead of Monday’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), analysts have forecast that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will leave the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) unchanged at 12 per cent.

    They insisted that until broad-based macroeconomic stability has been achieved, the interest rate would remain unchanged.

    MPR is the benchmark rate by which the CBN determines interest rate while CRR is a portion of banks’ deposits kept by banks with the apex bank.

    Head African Research Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, explained that with the threat of a higher benchmark crude price being adopted in the 2013 budget, there is likelihood that the CBN will leave the rates unchanged on Monday.

    She said there are some interesting points to note about the December inflation figure, which fell to 12 per cent from 12.3 per cent.

    According to her, the key driver of Consumer Price Index appears to have been a rise in core inflation – up to 13.7 per cent in December.

    “In January, we expect to see an even sharper deceleration in headline inflation, to 10.5 per cent year to year or thereabouts – mainly driven by the base effect from the brief episode of full fuel price deregulation last year.

    “In order to adjust monetary policy however, the Monetary Policy Committee will need to be more certain that lower inflation can be achieved on a sustainable basis,” she said.

  • WAMZ to inaugurate council

    The West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) will today inaugurate a Council to facilitate improved integration of capital markets in the West African sub-region.

    This is to boost investment, trade, long-term funding and other economic activities.

    In addition, a Technical Committee will be constituted to assist the Council, which would oversee the capacity-building and operational integration agenda among the capital markets in the WAMZ member-countries.

    The Acting Director-General of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Dr. John Kitcher, made thsi known at the 28th Meeting of the Committee of Governors of the WAMZ, yesterday in Abuja.

    He said the initiative was among the key components of the financial sector reforms agenda being pursued to ensure financial and macroeconomic stability in the West African Sub-region.

    Kitcher noted that remarkable progress has been recorded by most West African countries in terms of their efforts to align their monetary and fiscal policy systems with international best practices.

  • Random thoughts on branding

    What informed the clamour for international hotel brands by investors and patrons in Nigeria in recent times? A cursory flashback into the history of hotel and hospitality branding in Nigeria would perhaps offer a ready answer. Nigeria’s oldest hotel, the Lagos Airport Hotels, Ikeja was established as Ann’s Inn in 1942 by a Briton, Sir Joseph Harold until it was bought over from him by the Odua Group of companies under the regime of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the then Western Region.

    Since then, the Lagos Airport Hotel has gone through a series of transformation including a recent rebranding pact with a foreign partner to make it more competitive in the market. In 1960 at the dawn of Independence, the federal government set up the Federal Palace Hotel currently owned by the Ibru family. The Festac Hotel established in 1977 in commemoration of the black Africa Arts festival was recently ceded to the Golden Tullip Hotel Group, an international brand.

    The acquisition of these hotel brands by reputable or global brands has its root in brand and branding. And this is because the hotel and hospitality business has a lot to do with experience.

    And that’s why a tourist who once patronised a Sheraton in China will definitely find it more convenient to sleep in a Sheraton Hotel in Lagos. Giving reason for this consumer behaviour, the mercuric British entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson in his book, Business Stripped Bare said: “Brands, remember, are about meanings. Every brand means something, and nobody can ever really control all the meanings a brand acquires. Brands are ideas. They are tangles of association. They are dreams. Whatever your brand stands for, you have to deliver on the promise. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver, and deliver everything you promise.”

    This brand experience underscores the reason why most Nigerian hoteliers now partner renowned global brands in branding their hotels. In marketing parlance, this term is described as franchising. And so what is in a name? A lot.

    A marketable name will attract positive affectation from prospects. According to Al Ries and Jack Trout in the book, Positioning, “Choosing a name is like driving a racing car. To win, you have to take chances. A good name is the best insurance for long term success.”

    Besides, a good name, the quality of offerings, management and staff play salient role in the hospitality business. In defining hotel business, Ken Ojerinde, a former managing director of Lagos Airport Hotel said: “A hotel is an enterprise that offers food, drinks and accommodation to people who desire such services and have the ability to pay for them. The person who runs such an outfit is a hotelier and what he does is hotel management.

    If you have to take care of people, to take care of their comfort and make them feel like they are home away from home, then you must be a warm hearted, open-minded person who is always willing to put people’s needs above your convenience. You must be patient enough, willing to help and make the client comfortable even at great personal risk.

    You need much strength and perseverance because there are difficult guests you must of necessity be able to manage. A hotelier’s job has a high content of public relations. Food and wine, drinks and accommodation are things that have different standards and are served under different conditions.”

    In Nigeria today, aside from oil and gas, the hospitality and tourism sector is a veritable goldmine. Besides, the hospitality and tourism sector if well developed and managed is a potential vehicle for rebranding a nation.

    According to Otunba Segun Runsewe, Director-General, Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation NTDC), “Tourism is a veritable tool for rebranding a nation. It is also a multi-billion dollar spinning sector if well harnessed by stakeholders in the country. That’s why countries where tourism is appreciated and well developed, all the stakeholders and even the countries are better for it. And this is one of the reasons that informed our campaign that, ‘Oil exhaustible, tourism sustainable.’ By the time the country’s tourism is well developed, Nigeria can make more money from tourism than what it is currently making from oil.”

    Indeed the hospitality and tourism play a very important role in destination branding. Countries like France, Island of Malta, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Gambia and South Africa have been leveraging on this to draw investments into their countries. As a tourism destination point a country will not only attract foreign investments, it will develop beyond the expectation of its citizenry. But for a country to be recognised and acclaimed as a tourist haven, the issue of security must be tackled with utmost seriousness by those in government. Hotels will not only boost the tourism industry, they are also going to help in the sustenance of the aviation industry.

  • Choice

    That is why you are here, reading this. It also gets you to your present station. The number of choices you have made over the years pushed you to where you are now. It lifts you from one location to another place. It gets you to the height you have attained. If you have missed some opportunities, it must have been because of the choices you did or did not make.

    Moreover, if you had walked in just about the time the door of opportunities opened, would you say it is a mere coincidence? No, itis a combination of steps you have taken prior to the door opening. This is not a mere coincidence. It is a choice.

    However, every day you make a number of choices, in different ways, for different reasons, at different stations. For instance, you may have be torn between deciding if you should take up an employment opportunity in the oil and gas sector where you have the assurance ofearning load of cash and many development and learning opportunities.

    You may have had a hard time deciding whether you should sleep while your colleagues work harder. You may have had a harder time deciding whether to concentrate all your efforts at completing a project on schedule, irrespective of the constraints and challenges involved.

    On the one hand, you may have been struggling with several thoughts such as should you delay the project a week more to ensure the board approves extra budgetary allocation, or should you employ the pretty woman with a Masters degree but without the necessary experience to push the project through, or should you employ the other woman without a certificate but with a wealth of experience to deliver the project on time and on budget, or should you buy a brand new car or lease one after the completion of the project?

    On the other hand, you may have been called to choose between travelling by air or by road, and wearing a grey suit without a tie or a black suit with a tie.  This may sound trite, but, if you are a wife who has to please a demanding husband daily, you would agree it is not. Here it is: Should you prepare pounded yam and egusi soup, or rice and chicken for dinner? Or should junior be enrolled in a private university or a public one?

    Or should you marry your childhood love or settle with the stunning model? Whatever your choice, it flows back to you, and in most cases, it determines where your flower grows. Or not. In retrospect, some of the choices you have made have actually moved you to where you are today. For instance, the choice of where you work.

    A great company in the making, but in your heart of hearts, that is not your final destination. Or so you thought. This is your ninth year, anyway. In addition, you have had rapid promotions. The job is enriching. The money is good. However, that is where you are now, and it has enriched your life in ways you cannot imagine. You met your wife in this same office. Moreover, she has turned to out to be the woman who stole your ‘ribs’.

    Therefore, if you were asked to choose between your mother and wife, between your cash and your life, between your cell phone and wallet, how would you respond? A global survey has found that most people cannot live without their mobile phones, cannot leave home without them and, if given a choice, would rather lose their wallet.

    Referring to mobile phones as the “remote control” for life, market research firm Synovate’s poll said cell phones are so ubiquitous that by 2010 more humans owned more mobile phones. That is why right now the global total number of people with the mobile is over two billion.

    For instance, Nigeria has over 90 million mobile phones. Three-quarters of the more than 8,000 respondents polled online in 11countries replied that they take their phones with them everywhere. Russians and Singaporeans are the most attached. That is a choice.

    More than a third also said they could not live without their phone, topped by Taiwanese and again Singaporeans, while one in four would find it harder to replace the mobile than their purse. Some two-thirds of respondents go to bed with their phones nearby and cannot switch them off, even though they want to, because they are afraid they will miss something. Mobile phones give you safety. Mobile phones give you security.

    Mobile phones give you instant access to information. Mobile phones are the number one tool of communication for you and millions of people across the world. Sometimes, it surpasses face-to-face communication. Mobile phones are connections to your life, true. If you leave home without your mobile phone, it would seem as if an important part of your anatomy is missing.

    You would instinctively feel vulnerable, as if you were missing something vital, vital to your world, vital to your world of friends and business associates. You are not alone. It is like that with everybody even in the most advanced countries of the world. People of the world are the same, you would see shortly.

    You would think Nigeria is the only place on earth where mobile phones have torn relationships apart, separating lovers and married couples. No, it is happening elsewhere. According to the survey mobile phones have also changed the nature of relationships with nearly half of all respondents using SMSes to flirt, a fifth set up first-dates via text and almost the same number use the same method to end a love affair. Apart from the obvious calling and SMS-ing, the top three features people use regularly on their mobile phones globally are the alarm clock, the camera and games.

    Ditto for Nigeria. As for email and Internet access, 17 per cent of respondents said they checked their inboxes or surfed the Web off their phones, lead by those in the United States and Britain. Ditto for Nigeria. One in 10 respondents log onto social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace regularly via mobile, again led by Britain and the United States. It is a pity Nigeria is not included in the survey.

    Nevertheless, the mannerism and addiction to the mobile phones is as real in Nigeria as it is in those countries. Are you addicted to your mobile phone? What is your attitude to the mobile phone? Whatever is your answer is also a matter of choice. The choices you have made make you. So, what choices are you making now?

  • Nigerian Idol: Voting begins for first top 10

    Nigerian Hip-Hop Superstar, Naeto-C at the weekend debuted at the Etisalat-sponsored Nigerian Idol Season 3, guiding the contestants on what it takes to really become a superstar.

    The artiste, who came on the show as a guest judge during the first theatre show for the top 30 contestants, took a tough stance in his assessment of the participants during their performances which took place at the Dream Studios in Omole, Lagos. Naeto-C is standing-in for Afrobeat legend and Nigerian Idol Judge, Femi Kuti, who will be absent for one month.

    Explaining his stance, he said he was firm in his assessments because he wanted to drive the contestants to bring out their best. “This is a competition, and when you’re in a contest, you have to bring something extra to the table,” he said, and encouraged them to strive to raise their game. According to him, “it isn’t always the most talented singer that becomes the star at the end of the day. As such, even if you don’t make it through the competition, you should not give up on your career.”

    His fellow judges, Jeffrey Daniels and Yinka Davies, echoed similar sentiments and advised the contestants to focus more on their vocal skills and less on their showmanship as the show was about finding the best singer.

    Speaking after the show, Head, Events and Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani, expressed satisfaction with the level of talent that the competition had to offer, stating that the competition will be even stiffer than the previous editions. She said the telecommunications giant was proud to be lead sponsor of the show as it creates a platform for the youths to express themselves and take their dreams to the next level. “We are committed to continually encouraging and empowering Nigerian youths to achieve their dreams, and Nigerian Idol is one of such platforms through which we intend to do this,” she said.

    The first theatre show saw returnee, Obinna Michael, aka Mr Byno making it to the top thirty stage of the competition.

    Speaking on his progress, he said: “Making it to this stage is not a small feat, as there were many talented contestants but it is my hope this year that I will progress past this point in this season.”

    This season’s winner will go home with N20 million worth of prizes, including N7.5 million in cash, a brand new SUV, and a recording contract with a record label. The first runner–up will receive N1.5 million and a saloon car which will be presented by Etisalat. The show airs on STV, NTA network, TVC, Soundcity and ONTV.

  • Winner emerges in Dealdey promo

    A 27-year-old Pharmacist from Madonna University, Busola Odunlami has emerged the winner of a Picanto Kia car by an Online Shopping Mail, Dealdey Limited recently in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Odunlami clinched the prize among the eight finalists selected for the final phase of the promo for their subscribers in Lagos. The other three finalists which are Stella Daniel, Babajide Ajilola and Oladapo Ojo got N10,000 each and a DVD player.

    Speaking at the event, the Vice President, Sales, DealDey, Etebarian Sanaz, said the giveaway was aimed at appreciating and rewarding customers for the patronage of their business in the outgoing year.

    “We are impressed by our acceptability and the patronage we get from our subscribers which have been tremendous and fruitful. We promise to always show our appreciation whenever we can with the firm support of our sponsors,” she said.

    In her response, Odunlami, said: “I am very excited by this gift as it is a dream come through and I give all the glory to God. I was recently introduced to the online mail and I have purchased a few things with them.”

    She promised to always patronise the company and urged others to explore the opportunities available on the internet.

  • CASRO endorses Nigerian firm

    The Council of American Survey Research Organisation

    (CASRO) has admitted Random Dynamic Resources, an indigenous fast-growing market research company as a member of the association when it profiled the company on its latest newsletter edition.

    CASRO used the platform to underscore various contributions the foremost fieldwork company has made in delivering quality market research data to its international partners like Millward Brown, Nielsen, GFK, TNS, Ask Afrika and other local companies in Nigeria.

    It was revealed that among the many countries and industries yearning for the opinions of African consumers, the South East Asia (South Korea and China) and Europe regions still lead the pack. With a rising interest coming from UK companies in sectors like the mobile telephony, Info tech, and FMCGs (Fast Moving Consumer Goods).

    According to the Chief Executive Officer, Random Dynamic Resources, Mr. Paul Nnanwobu, “the most effective method of data collection in most African markets is Pen and Paper, Face to Face Interviews (PAPI-F2F) and it accounts for approximately 80 per cent of any research process.”

    While for the online data collection, the procedure has not gained footing due to unreliable slow internet and telephone connectivity, he said.

    Nnanwobu noted that in some countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya, data collected via PAPI can be entered using an online data entry link and the use of social network sites like Facebook, Linkedin, etc to collect data is just beginning to bud and has not gained much momentum. Other methods, like video streaming for focus group research are still in the experimental stage. He said the inability to use technology to achieve quicker results is part of the several challenges faced in the reduction of project turnaround time.

    Research has shown that the infrastructural decay and insecurity in Nigeria also contribute to the challenges in fieldwork as communal clashes, ethnic tensions and acts of terrorism are being perpetrated in every nook and cranny in Africa. Without regular electricity supply, it is difficult to maintain a steady workflow, also meet deadlines which are the basis of research analysis.

  • Justrite begins promo

    Indigenous retail outlet, Justrite is set to reward its customers with a brand new Hodan Hyma series 3 car as the grand prize for the promo tagged ‘Chop Life’.  The promo, which commenced recently, will run till April.

    According to the Branch Manager of the outlet at Abule Egba, Mrs. Yetunde Ibukunolu, the promo which is offering every customer who buys goods worth N10,000 the chance to win a car or some other exciting consolation prizes.

    Ibukunolu described the promo as a way of saying “thank you” to customers and to give back to them. “For every purchase of goods worth N10,000 in any of our retail outlets in Sango and Abule Egba, it qualifies the customer for a raffle ticket to win  either a car or other consolation prizes. Someone must win that Hodan Hyma Series 3 car”, she emphasised.  She added that the draw for the car and other prizes will be held in April.”

    “Our idea of business is to reach those in the interior because we want them to know that they too can also enjoy what the high class in the society is enjoying. We also drive our business on the fact that every good thing is meant for everyone to benefit,” she said.

    Ibukunola dismissed the rumour that there is a foreign interest in the ownership of the retail outlet.  She noted that Justrite is strictly an indigenous organisation which is not affiliated with any foreign body, it is 100 per cent owned by Nigeria.

    She revealed that the establishment of the various outlets in strategic locations between Ogun and Lagos states has created gainful employments to some Nigerians thereby reducing the number of unemployed in the various locations.

  • Lagos boosts investment with countdown festival

    With the recently held Lagos Countdown Carnival which climaxed on new-year’s eve, the Lagos State government has reaffirmed its resolve to attract foreign investment into the state, with its business-friendly policies, infrastructure and tourist attractions.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Aderemi Ibirogba, said this on Tuesday, in Lagos, during the Lagos Countdown – a cross-over event driven by the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA). He said the government is leveraging the proposition of Lagos as a premium destination for business and leisure, with tourism platforms such as the countdown.

    “The Lagos Countdown was conceived to place Lagos on the same scale with cities such as Sydney, London, New York and Los Angeles, which have been know world-wide to celebrate the entry of each year with colourful festivities, while attracting thousands of tourists and businesses with each edition,” he said.

    He further stated that the event boosts the micro economy of the state and also rehabilitates and employs the majority of the high-risk youth and individuals, popularly called area boys, who usually cause nuisance to their communities during the festive seasons. An estimated 615 individuals were employed during the course of the event, and majority of these previously unemployed individuals also benefited from the training programmes that were organised to assist them discharge their functions.

  • Fidson holds excellence awards

    One of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Fidson Healthcare Plc has once again taken another bold step in its effort to ignite the passion for excellence among its employees with ACE; a newly instituted staff award ceremony which birthed on January 11.

    The awards which derives its name from the acronym of its rationale, is designed to Acknowledge and Celebrate Excellence among staff of the company. The maiden edition witnessed a constellation of the company’s staff members, who trouped out from all the regions of the country; all appearing in dark-coloured suits and black ties for the glamorous event under a colourful ambience.

    The Managing Director, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Dr Fidelis Ayebae opened the evening with a remark and congratulated all staff members for their efforts and commitment in 2012, especially the six recipients of the ACE who displayed exceptional performance in the course of the year.

    “We are here today to acknowledge and celebrate the very best among the best – our teammates who have shown exceptional capabilities in the course of a very challenging financial year in 2012. You nominated them for this award. You have shown exceptional team spirit by nominating them. They are being celebrated today because you not only played with them, but you played for them. You have lighted their candles. They sparkle today because of the light you shone on them. You are all worthy men and women of excellence,” he said.