The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Southsouth chamber seeks govt’s partnership

    Forum for Southsouth Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (FOSSCCIMA)has called on the Federal Government to partner with the private sector in the creation of a platform for entrepreneurial training, mentoring and reorientation programs.

    Speaking during the induction of some stakeholders, the President, FOSSCCIMA, Prince Billy Gillis Harry said FOSSCCIMA will partner with the government to create feasible re-orientation programme for re-engineering the thought processes of people who need re-integration into the larger society.

    “ It is our humble way of contributing to the peace, security and stability of the region, so that we can enjoy a robust economy.

    “The gigantic task of regional emancipation requires the buy-in of all of us. It is a true saying that if we do not stand united, we will fall divided. We therefore urge you all to join hands in this determined and credible effort to partner with various relevant stakeholders in creating the region of our dreams.

    We will welcome every partner. We will embrace every sponsor. We will work with all and sundry to make our objective a realisable proposition,” Billy said.

    He said the chamber has made some contributory policy suggestions which are under intense contemplation.

    “We believe acceptance will be evidenced by the implementation of these policies as the various stakeholders work in concert with the FOSSCCIMA teams,’ he said.

    Harry said FOSSCCIMA is strategically positioned to ensure the optimisation of opportunities for the economic transformation of the Southsouth region.

    He said the chamber also create avenues to generate local and international opportunities for members, sponsors, local communities and the entire region.

    His words: “We Work closely with the relevant government parastatals to ensure effective local content participation, creation of a point for exchange of business best practice and institutional framework for the enhancement of sustainable economic growth across the region and to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

    “The creation of international awareness of available, viable and credible business opportunities in the region through various programs.

    “We also work closely with government to successfully promote social and economic re-orientation and reintegration programs and therefore guarantee peace and stable security for the region.

    “In its short but very active span since coming into being, FOSSCCIMA has had far reaching discussions and consultation with a broad spectrum of stakeholders on key issues such as security, economic empowerment within the region and infrastructural development among others.”

  • Push for industrialisation

    Nigeria and other African countries have marked Africa’s Industrialisation Day. The Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) during the event reviewed the country’s industrial development. TOBA AGBOOLA reports. 

    The 25th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in July 1989 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia declared November as the Africa Industrialisation Day. This was followed by a proclamation by the United Nations Assembly.

    It is an occasion yearly to draw attention to the problems and challenges of industrialisation in Africa.

    This year’s theme was Accelerating industrialisation for boosting intra-Africa trade. The Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment in collaboration with the United Nation Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) said they were working to promote industrial development for poverty reduction and had taken the lead in industrialisation by raising awareness on its role in Africa development and galvanises international support from stakeholders, including governments, the private sector and the civil society.

    Speaking in Abuja during an event to mark the African Industrialisation Day, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, said this development has compelled the need for infrastructure development, efficient trade facilitation, cost-effective transport services, logistics and customs reforms in Africa for rapid industrialisation and development.

    His words: There is no doubt, Nigeria’s economic and industrial potentials as the leading economic power in Africa will remain unfulfilled if the barriers to inter-regional trade are not addressed. This fact has made the Federal Government to establish a taskforce on Trade Facilitation to fast track free movement of goods and services within the ECOWAS corridor.

    “Subsequently, the taskforce held a Consultative Forum with relevant governments and private sector operators to harvest their views for effective trade facilitation in Nigeria to put in place measure to address challenges such as movement of goods and people around the import corridors occasioned by numerous check points, multiplicity of agencies, non-adherence to ETLS protocol or delay in cargo clearance, non-observance of axle weight regulation and over-loading, which had been a barrier to trade in Nigeria”.

    In addition, the Federal Government also kick-started the establishment of the Transnational Border Market with the state governments, European Union and Department For International Development (DFID), in the six geo-political zones starting with Okerete, a Trans Sahara Trade route in Southwest zone and others in the Northeast (Camboru Ngala in Bornu State), Northwest (Kamba in Kebbi State), Northcentral (Bambana in Niger State), Southsouth (Mfun in Cross Rivers State) and Southeast (Lokpanta Regional Market in Abia State).

    The Transnational Border markets when fully implemented are expected to create more than five million direct and indirect jobs, formalise the informal trade activities, modernise the border posts with the associated infrastructure as well as curb the influx of substandard and hazardous goods into the country.

    To sustain the tempo of economic activities in the country, Aganga said the Federal Government through his Ministry in partnership with UNIDO and relevant agencies of the government has reviewed the nation’s industrial policy.

    Aganga said the backward integration policy has been consistently pursued and sustained in the cement sub-sector, which would enable Nigeria to be self-sufficient in the production of cement.  This has prompted the Federal Government to also introduce backward integration in the non-oil sector of the economy.

    Recently, the Federal Government kicked off the implementation of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan with many incentives to stakeholders and investors to raise the country’s local sugar production to a self-sufficiency level, stem the tide of high importation of the commodity, contribute to the production of ethanol/generation of about 411MW of electricity and create 117,181 jobs.

    UNIDO has been a major development partner to the country and has contributed to the nation’s industrial development and improvement in the living standards of the peopl through its numerous programmes and projects across the country.

    UNIDO and the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and state governments are executing projects, such as three ton/hr rice mill in Ebonyi and Benue states, Common Facility Centres in Aba, Kano and Benin, salt processing  in Ebony State, as well as, renewable energy in Enugu, Bauchi, Benin, Osun and Taraba States, as well as, oil palm in Akwa Ibom and Ondo states.

    Last month, the Federal Government inaugurated implementation committees on UNIDO Country Programme for Nigeria. The objective of the Country Programme is to promote indus trialisation and help Nigeria achieve its goal of becoming one of the 20 largest economies by 2020.

    A significant achievement recorded in the last one year has been the strategy adopted by Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to reduce the volume of sub-standard products from 85 per cent to 74 per cent, with a target of 30 per cent reduction by the end of this year.

    Notable improvements were recorded with life-endangering products, such that the volume of substandard electric bulbs had been reduced from 80 per cent to 50 per cent, reinforced steel bar (45 per cent to 30 per cent), while the volume of substandard tyres reduced from 60 per cent to 50 per cent.

    As part of efforts to improve the country’s business environment and make it the preferred  investment hub, the Ministry of Trade and Investment has strengthened its One Stop Investment Centre and streamlined investment procedures  to remove bottlenecks in business registration, incorporation and granting of permits and licences, among other things.

    Due to lack of internationally acceptable national accreditation body, UNIDO is collaborating with the ministry through SON and the Department of Weights and Measures to set up National Quality Infrastructure of Nigeria aimed at creating the missing quality control bodies and link up all stakeholders through a well accepted mechanism and initiate their acceptance to improve quality of products and services to be exchanged in Nigeria markets.

    The minister said in the last quarter, Nigeria recorded a landmark achievement in its Investment Climate Reforms Programme as the Corporate Affairs Commission, a parastatal under the Ministry of Trade and Investment, kicked off its start-to-finish 24-hour business incorporation service.

    According to him, the ministry has started the Nigeria Investment Climate Reform Programme, partnering with the World Bank and DFID. Also inaugurated was the Investor Care Committee and Doing Business and Competitiveness Committee as part of our investment climate reform programme.

    “The target of government is to achieve significant improvement in Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business ranking by a minimum 103 points by 2015 and improve on Nigeria’s Global Competitiveness ranking by 75 points by 2015.

    The ministry has strengthened the One-Stop Investment Centre in the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) and coordinate investment facilitation between all relevant government agencies.

    Onne Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone, in Rivers State has attracted investment worth $6 billion and investment commitments in the FTZ were worth $6.7 billion in the last one year. Free Trade Zones across the country under the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority also generated $4.4 billion investment in the last one year.

    The ministry in partnership with UNIDO is working hard to sustain the industrial development development and skills acquisition, affordable finance for SME’s with Special Funding Scheme for women and strengthening use of Free Trade Zones in a more strategic manner, as well as improve the country’s investment inflow so that it could take its rightful position as major player in the global economy,”he said.

    However, African industrialisation stride has been hindered by inadequate infrastructure, limitations of small and fragmented markets and inadequate diversification of industrial structures.  This has resulted in low levels of trade among African countries.

    The high costs and lengthy duration of movement of goods across African borders have reduced commerce and industry competition and discouraged trade and investment.

    Africa still accounts for a low share of global manufacturing. The share of the region in global MVA fell from 1.2 per cent in 2000 to 1.1 per cent in 2008. In developing Asia, it rose from 13 per cent to 25 per cent over the same period. In terms of exports, Africa’s share of global manufacturing exports rose from one per cent in 2000 to 1.3 per cent in 2008.

  • CSR: Lafarge Cement empowers host communities, block makers

    Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc  has launched a dual empowerment programme in block making and technical apprenticeship aimed at improving the socio-economic status of its host communities and the Nigerian society.

    The programmes include the Elephant Supaset Block Makers Empowerment Programme and the Lafarge Technical Apprenticeship Scheme, which are designed to help small scale block makers and school leavers with technical skills and zeal to venture into the vocation while Apprenticeship Scheme is to impart technical skills in community youths in order to support their leadership and success in their chosen endeavours.

    There were 10 beneficiaries of the block makers programme drawn from some communities in Ogun State and they were given full tools used for block making like moulder, wheelbarrow, wooden panel, shovel, water, hose among others and also, there were over 20 apprentices examined and selected to take on with the scheme.

    In his address, at the Lafarge WAPCO CSR day in Ewekoro, Ogun State, the Managing Director, Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria PLC, Mr Joseph Hudson, said the Elephant Supaset Block Makers Empowerment Programme will help the willing and committed block makers to either start up or expand their businesses and move from unemployment or small scale artisans to medium sized entrepreneurs and employers of labour.

    He said the company is running the programme through dual partnerships with SEAP Microfinance Bank to help in training, mentoring and monitoring the beneficiaries and also with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) who will guide them on technical standards and adherence.

    As for the Apprenticeship scheme, he said it is an 18-month intensive programme designed for science based school certificate holders to enable youths from different communities to acquire the necessary technical skills in electrical, mechanical and automation with plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience within the company’s operations.

    He added that a Lafarge WAPCO Diploma Certificate will be awarded to the graduates of the scheme which will be the minimum requirement for employment in their organisation.

    He said: “We also have annual presentation of developmental initiatives to the Ewekoro community through education, youth empowerment, farmer’s empowerment and infrastructural support. 120 Ewekoro community undergraduates will be recipients of this year’s bursary award, 101, 600 exercise books will be distributed to primary and secondary schools within the community. In all, 1,128 undergraduates have benefitted from the bursary awards in the past five years.”

    “Another 107 Ewekoro youths will be equipped with various working tools to assist in improving the economic power of the communities such as motorcycles, sewing machines, bags of flour, and washing machines among others. Also, 122 farmers are supported with tangible working tools to ensure food security and transportation of their produce like tricycle. Other projects include rehabilitation of roads and bridges, building of drainages, schools and many others he said.”

    He said over N100 million was earmarked for development programmes in 11 host communities in Ewekoro.

    One of the partners of the Block Makers Empowerment Programme, the Managing Director, SEAP, Dr. Dokun Olatunde, said the beneficiaries will get everlasting income from the initiative as the programme is to create a future and better networks for youths.

  • Lawmakers to pass SON Act soon

    The National Assembly will soon pass the new bill on standardisation.

    The  bill, which has gone through the  second reading, is  set for the public hearing before the end of this month.

    The review of the Standardisation Act is to give the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) more powers to carry out its stated objectives of reducing influx of substandard products into the country.

    SON’s Director-General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said this during a visit to the LG Electronics factory in Apapa.

    According to him, the review of SON Act, which has gone past the second reading, was last reviewed in 1990 and and its provisions will cover so many areas to further improve SON activities.

    Odumodu said there would be a collaboration in the next four months where SON could make a validation to test some of the products in electronic market.

    He said: “We are so impressive with this kind of innovation the LG team brought to our market. The University of Ibadan has worked on electronic basis that knocked down mosquitoes to prove the innovation scientifically. It is not the cooling effect that does the killing but the small feature attached to it. Although there are different species of mosquitoes, I hope LG and other Nigerian universities would subject that revolution to additional scientific proof.”

    He reiterated that the reason the visit was made was because SON is concerned about all the products in the market, adding that they have visited South Korea and discovered there is a ne1ed to ensure better collaboration between SON and manufacturers of electronic products, saying that almost every LG television, refrigerator and air conditioner are all assembled in Apapa, which is the biggest factory in Nigeria.

    Speaking on the quality of LG electronics during the visit, Odumodu said: “The visit helps the work we are doing in SON which, therefore, helps us to know the kind of features we should look out for in LG’s brands. If I see an LG television set in the market without a Fouani’s sticker, such television has to be confiscated.

    “Every product in the market has somebody who brought it there. If people fake your brand, you have the responsibility to ensure that those brands are removed from the market. That is why we are here to collaborate with companies whose products are threatened to ensure that they get back their integrity and avoid extreme damage of the brand”.

    Speaking on the mutual benefits existing between LG and Nigeria, Odumodu said: “This is a classical case of backward integration; they bring everything from Korea and other places and assembled them here. As they are doing that, Nigerians are building some skills in the processes which are learning process. The process of having a service centre is even more difficult. For somebody to investigate a challenge of a product and then repair it, using a computer in Nigeria, seems to show its skill acquisition. A lot of skills are being transferred. We need to encourage people like that who are doing what they are doing. We now have to set some targets for them. We need to make our local content go beyond labour, whereby we can make materials; that is how we can build our own economy.”

    “Looking forward in the next two years, I hope to see backward integration ensuring that Nigerians are able to manufacture in your company, not just to assemble electronics, he emphasised.

    The Managing Director, Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr Mohamed Fouani, who is the major LG electronics distributor in Nigeria, said SON’s visit to their assembly plant, service centre and other key areas of the company, was first of its kind and the company had been producing, meeting up with the standards of the SON.

    He said  the factory in Apapa is

  • Customs targets N150b monthly

    Customs targets N150b monthly

    The Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) monthly revenue is targetting N150 billion next year, its Comptroller of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, has promised.

    He gave the assurance at the just-concluded Comptroller-General’s Annual Conference in Katsina, which was attended by Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

    The service currently generates N100 billion monthly.

    The service, The Nation learnt, generated N28 billion monthly before Dikko became its helmsman.

    He said 2013 would be a trying year for most Customs Area Comptrollers and their senior officers who are unable to meet their target.

    Dikko has urged officers and men of the service to boost revenue generation at their stations, a source said, adding that he asked his officers to imbibe the culture of transparency and integrity in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    Answering questions from The Nation in Katsina on the allegation that officers were not ready to take over from the service providers after the expiration of their contract this month, to provide scanning and risk management support under the Destination Inspection (DI) regime, Dikko debunked the allegation, saying that the Customs have the technical know how.

    Fourteen of his officers, he disclosed, are undergoing training in Canada so that the service would not face any problem after taking over.

    Dikko also said the management of the service had embarked on a modernisation programme to develop the Data Base cargo clearance and Nigeria Integrate Customs Information System (NICIS).

    Nigeria Customs, Dikko added, is partnering with some Customs administrations in countries, such as South Africa, Turkey and the United States for the promotion of mutual administrative assistance for the service.

    He urged members of the National Assembly to review the Customs and Exercise Management Act (CEMA) Cap 45 based on the challenges facing the service.

    He said: “The current level of the Customs Service modernisation requires an enabling legislation in line with present day realities and challenges. It is in this regard that we acknowledge the efforts of the members of the National Assembly to review the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) CAP 45 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

    “We salute them for their vision and courage, and appeal to all stakeholders to understand and support the efforts of the management to leave behind for posterity an enduring legacy.”

    Dikko said the theme of the conference, Borders divides, Customs connects, was chosen to highlight what the Service aimed to achieve through its Single Window project.

  • ‘Why solar energy cannot drive cashless economy’

    ‘Why solar energy cannot drive cashless economy’

    An energy expert has given reasons why banks and other financial institutions are yet to consider solar power as alternate source of energy in driving their automated teller machines (ATMs) and carry out other online transactions.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Prostar Global Energy Services, Hyacinth Udemba, told The Nation that the cost of accessing solar energy and the space required by the banks to install the solar panels are some reasons the solar energy option does not appear attractive.

    “Every bank requires a large quantity of energy to run its operation and solar system may not be an option now because of the cost implication compared to the power demand. But ATMs can always depend on inverter backup depending on the location of the ATM or the branch of the bank. To deploy solar for maximum usage like that of full bank operation will require large space for the panels,” he said, lamenting that the banks were not doing anything to encourage the mass use of the alternative source of emergy in the country.

    “What we are saying is that if banks have policies in place to support renewable energy as we have in other countries of the world, it will be a major boost to the economy. But unfortunately, Nigeria banks are not looking towards that direction. It may be because they are not aware of the roles they can play in the sector. Operators are therefore left to do the little they can. So, at the moment, operators in the alternative energy sector are not encouraged in the sense that the incentives from government through the banks are not there,” he added.

    According to him, the government is not helping matters as it prefers to give installation contacts to offshore firms thereby depriving the economy of local value addition and job creation.

    “The situation is not even been helped by the government. Any time the government wants to give major jobs out, they don’t give them to indigenous experts. It is either they are given to foreign installers or companies or they are done the same way they do other projects in the country,” he said, adding that the story may have started changing now by virtue of the new Procurement Act.

    “I think they are beginning to give jobs to those who have the competence to do the jobs. But as government is beginning to pick interest in the sector, if things are done properly, I want to believe that in the next five years, we shall be somewhere in the area of energy in the country. It is only then that the roles of the banking industry in the sector may be established,” he said.

  • Investors lament non-listing of IPOs, private placements

    Investors lament non-listing of IPOs, private placements

    • We are engaging them, says SEC

    Investors have criticised the lukewarm attitudes of several companies towards listing their shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) many years after luring them to buy into their initial public offerings (IPOs) and private placements with promises of listing on the secondary market.

    Retail investors who spoke with The Nation said the non-listing of the shares of the companies which had undertaken IPOs during the 2005-2008 stock market boom have locked down their funds without any verifiable means of accessing such funds.

    But the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it was engaging the issuing houses that fronted for such IPOs and placements to encourage them to quicken listing of the shares.

    Several private limited liability companies had converted to public limited liability companies and floated IPOs to raise funds from the capital market with assurances that they would list their shares after the conclusion of the offer.

    While some have listed, many companies that floated IPOs have backed down from listing their shares citing the steeply downtrend at the stock market.

    IPO is the first sale of shares by a company to the general investing public.

    Shareholders said the non-listing of the shares was a breach of agreement noting that this has not only denied them the opportunity of knowing the true current worth of their investments but they have also been unable to retrieve their funds.

    National President,Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA),Chief Timothy Adesiyan, shareholders expect capital market regulators to have taken up the issue of listing with the companies since they also gave similar promise to the regulatory authorities when they were seeking approvals for their offers.

    He noted that several shareholders were lured into buying the IPOs due to the promise of public listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and resultant opportunity to trade on their investments.

    According to him, it was unbecoming of the companies to raise funds from investors and refuse to subject themselves to public scrutiny by listing their shares.

    “They have never called any annual general meeting; they have not paid any dividend nor make kind of return whatsoever on our money, no iota of accountability, they just sat on our money. It’s highly unbecoming and we want the regulators to do something about this,” Adesiyan said.

    Citing example of a popular insurance company, Adesiyan said capital market regulators should be decisive by compelling the companies to list their shares if they refuse to heed appeals from the regulators and shareholders.

    He said the sense of deception that underlined the non-listing and other revelations of shady deals in the market have adversely affected investors’ confidence in the market.

    However, a director of one of the companies that had delayed listing of their shares said they took the decision to suspend listing because of the fear that the recession at the stock market might seriously undervalue the shares.

    Citing other companies that had listed at IPO or above IPO prices, he noted that most of the listed IPOs have depreciated to their nominal values.

    Responding to concerns over the delayed listing of previous issues, Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, said the Commission had interacted with the affected companies to impress it on them the imperatives of listing their shares.

    According to her, the apex regulator has been engaging the issuing houses to the issues with a view to finding solutions to the problem.

    She however said the Commission would not compel the companies to list noting that the companies would have to be fully prepared in terms of corporate governance and compliance before listing their shares.

  • ‘Financially excluded adults to drop to 20% by 2020

    THE number of adults excluded from the finanacially system would drop to 20 per cent by 2020, Chief Executive Officer, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), Ms. Modupe Ladipo, has said.

    At the moment, no fewer than 34.9million Nigerians, representing 39.7 per cent are excluded from financial services.

    Unveiling the results from the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria’s survey, he said between 2008 and 2012, the number of adults that are financially excluded decreased by 10.5 million.

    She explained that the report was meant to measure trends in access and use of financial services in the country and to establish credible benchmarks and indicators of financial penetration in the country.

    According to her, financial inclusion is the provision of high quality financial products, such as savings, credit, insurance, payments and pensions, which are relevant, appropriate and affordable for the entire adult population, especially the low income segment.

    “An inclusive financial sector is characterised by the diversity of financial services products and providers, the level of competition between them, and the legal and regulatory environment that ensures the integrity of the financial sector and access to financial services for all,” she said.

    The absence of relevant and reliable data and analysis on how individuals and households manage their finances was one of the biggest hurdles to improving access to financial services in Nigeria.

    CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in his address entitled: Overview of the national financial inclusion strategy and the role of banks in promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria, said, there has been some improvement in the move to drive financial inclusion in the country.

  • States’recurrent expenditure hits 58%

    The recurrent expenditure of the 36 states was 58 per cent of last year’s budget, FBN Capital, an investment and research firm, has said.

    In a report obtained by The Nation, the firm said on the surface, states have a better mix of expenditure but recurrent items accounted for 58 per cent of their aggregate spending in 2011, capital items 38.9 per cent and extra-budgetary costs 3.1 per cent.

    It said personnel consumed 19.2 per cent of the total and overheads a further 13.7 per cent even as Federal Government’s minimum wage legislation, pushed up the cost of salaries this year.

    At the Federal Government level, the firm said the rise in recurrent expenditure was affecting real sector funding and growth. It said personnel costs amounted to 36.5 per cent of total spending in 2011, and related overheads an additional 14.3 per cent. Statutory payments to bodies, such as the National Judicial Council and the National Assembly, have accounted for 5.9 per cent of government expenditure year to date.

    “We can grumble at inefficient capital spending by the Federal Government, and cite the thousands of unfinished projects it has sanctioned. That said, we should stress the swollen recurrent budgets, which constrained the development of productive sectors of the economy,” FBN Capital said.

    It noted that the recurrent/capital mix in Federal Government spending has been around 65/35 per cent, with the recurrent share increasing to 71 per cent year to date without transfers.The medium term framework assumes a cut in recurrent spending in real terms. Nominal remuneration can be maintained but the core assumption is that the government’s fiscal stance is not undermined by the 2015 elections,” the report said.

    FBN Capital said on the surface, state governments have a better mix of expenditure but recurrent items accounted for 58 per cent of their aggregate spending in 2011, capital items 38.9 per cent and extra-budgetary costs 3.1 per cent.

    Personnel consumed 19.2 per cent of the total and overheads a further 13.7 per cent even as Federal Government’s minimum wage legislation, will push up the cost of salaries this year.

  • GTBank sells GTB Registrars

    Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc might have concluded the sale of GTB Registrars, its share registration and management subsidiary, as the bank continues with the divestment from its non-core banking subsidiaries.

    A source close to the bank said it has concluded the sale of GTB Registrars, bringing to three subsidiaries that have been sold in furtherance of the decision of the bank to remain a commercial bank.

    CBN’s Scope of Banking Activities and Ancillary Matters No 3, 2010 requires banks to concentrate on core banking functions. The new model requires banks to either sell non-core banking businesses or form a holding company to hold such non-core banking businesses, including activities, such as insurance, asset management and capital market operations.

    Most banks including GTBank, Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Sterling Bank, Zenith Bank, Unity Bank and Wema Bank have chosen to divest from non-banking subsidiaries.

    GTB Registrars acts as registrar for GTBank Plc, Mansard Insurance Plc, and GTHomes Ltd. It manages over 400,000 shareholder accounts.

    The share registration firm prides itself as a customer excellence company.

    “Whether providing registration services or handling a specific corporate action project, we work in partnership with our clients and their advisers to understand their requirements and deliver innovative solutions in an effective and efficient manner,” it stated on its corporate information portal.

    GTBank had earlier sold its insurance subsidiary- Guaranty Trust Assurance, which changed its name to Mansard Insurance.

    GTBank’s former wealth and investment management subsidiary, GTB Asset Management (GTBAM) Limited, at the weekend changed its name to Investment One Financial Services Limited following the sale of the investment firm through a management buy out.

    Although the value of disposed GTB Registrars was not available, the source said the bank sold the share registration and management business at a competitive price.

    According to the source, GTBank places emphasis on sustainability of reputation of its erstwhile subsidiaries as providers of excellent services in its consideration of potential buyers. It also seeks to extract the best values from the disposal of assets.

    GTBank had received N11.91 billion from the sale of its majority equity stake in GTAssur. It sold 67.68 per cent equity stake in GTAssur to Assur Africa Holding (AAH). The shares were sold at a price of N1.76 per share for a total consideration of N11.910 billion, approximately $76 million.

    In confirmation of the completion of the deal, a total of 6.77 billion shares of GTAssur worth N11.91 billion were exchanged in 17 deals on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). GTAssur paid up share capital consists of 10 billion shares of 50 kobo each.

    With GTAssur market price then at N1.32, the selling price represented a premium to GTBank and also indicated that the deal recognised that GTAssur was undervalued by the interplay of market forces at the secondary market.

    AAH was incorporated in the Republic of Mauritius as a special purpose vehicle incorporated for the GTAssur acquisition.The shareholding structure of AAH is made up of six members comprising three international developmental finance institutions – DEG (Germany), Proparco (France) and FMO (Netherlands) and three private equity funds with substantial investments across Africa – ADP I Holding 7, subsidiary of African Development Partners I, LLC and ADP I L.P. (together “ADP I”), advised by Development Partners International LLP (“DPI”) based in the United Kingdom, AfricInvest II LLC and AfricInvest Financial Sector Limited, both advised by AfricInvest Capital Partners (“ACP”) based in Tunisia.