The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • ‘Access to housing finance to grow by 2020’

    A former Managing Director of Shelter-Afrique, Nairobi, Kenya, Mr F. P. O. Fortune-Ebie, has predicted that access to housing finance will grow from 0.5 to 30 per cent by 2020.

    He spoke at a housing summit in Lagos.

    He said finance of the mortgage sector, including mortgage-backed securities, would grow from zero per cent to 20 per cent.

    Ebie, who is also the Chairman, Board of Trustees, Mortgage Banking Association of Nigeria (MBAN), however, said the sector would only move forward if the contribution of mortgage finance to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grows from 0.76 per cent to 15 per cent.

    According to him, housing is part of a critical infrastructure to accelerate economic development and also forms a substantial part of the GDP of most developed countries.

    He estimated that with a population of 150 million people, the nation requires at least 720,000 housing units per annum not only to replenish decaying housing stock, but also to meet rising demand and avert a further housing crisis by 2020.

    The MBAN chief canvassed the setting of yearly targets for housing delivery by building an average of one million new housing yearly and the diversification of funding structure in support of the housing sector.

    Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola said the state has fashioned a mortgage scheme targeted at first home buyers who reside in the state.

    He explained that it is a rent-to-own scheme to forestall the menace of Shylock landlords/landladies while ensuring that citizens are decently housed.

    On how it works, he explained that a prospective homeowner is expected to contribute only 30 per cent of the cost of the unit he intends to purchase and then pays the remainder on instalment over a period of 10-15 years.

    Fashola revealed that a mortgage division has been created at the state judiciary to ensure that matters relating to mortgage transactions are expeditiously handled.

    The governor said the success of the sector depends on the cooperation between the public and private sector. The efforts of these two sectors and the cooperation from stakeholders will improve the housing delivery in the country.

    He stressed that the country must have a virile mortgage sector to deliver houses to the people which will not only create jobs for both professionals and artisans but also benefit dealers in building materials.

     

  • NERC begins training for electricity workers

    The National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) has begun a compulsory training programme for management staff of electricity companies in the country.

    The “PHCN Management Orientation by NERC” took off in Kaduna. The Managing Director, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Mallam Idris Mohammed said the retreat was aimed at appraising the power sector in the country.

    He said input from the event would add value to the ongoing reform in the power sector. “For the reform to be achieved we need to brace up ourselves with adequate information on how to move the electricity companies forward.

    “As operators of the electricity system, we need to discuss and evolve best strategies and practices that would improve power supply in Nigeria.” The managing director said the retreat would also review the existing market structure to ensure optimal utilisation of resources in the provision of electricity.

    He urged the participants to make useful contributions that would have positive impact on the industry. Also speaking, Mr Samuel Omelo, an Assistant General Manager of the company, described the training as timely. He said the industry has become dynamic and challenging, adding: “this is the time to look at our past and proffer solution to the numerous challenges ahead”.

    Mr Baba Limmy-Omar, the Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, told The Nation at retreat that the NERC has developed guidelines and regulations to govern bulk electricity generation and procurement. “This framework establishes a systematic, transparent and competitive process for procuring additional electric generation capacity at least cost to consumers,” he said.

  • NAICOM targets MfBs for micro insurance market

    NAICOM targets MfBs for micro insurance market

    Plans are afoot to use microfinance banks(MfBs) as channels of developing micro insurance market and further generate more deals for the industry, it was learnt.

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is discussing with the management of microfinance banks to achieve this goal.

    The insurance regulatory body is leveraging on the 20million potential customers of microfinance banks to sell insurance products and further rake in billions of naira in premiums.

    NAICOM’s Director-General, Mr Fola Daniel, said efforts were being made to promote micro insurance to a level that would raise the earnings of operators.

    He said aside cooperative societies, microfinance banks are among the channels the corporation intends to use in selling micro insurance because they are closer to the grassroots. He said micro insurance clients would be reached through microfinance banks.

    Daniel stressed that with the micro insurance guidelines, poor Nigerians could buy insurance at a cheaper rate.

    The Chairman, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMBs), Southwest Region, Mr Olufemi Babajide said the decision of NAICOM to use microfinance banks to sell insurance policies to small savers is a good development to the industry. He said this would provide mutual benefits to the parties involved in the partnership.

    He said banks have a bigger market, strength, among other things,to make the idea of selling micro insurance policy a reality.

    He said: “We have our population, and that is a credit to the banks, especially in pushing such products in the market.”

    He said insuring the credits of the banks, is pertinent to the success of the banking sub-sector.

    According to him, NAICOM should be able to ensure that the banks’ credit risks, such as savings and loans, are insured for growth.

    Babajide said the major problem facing the banks is credit risk, adding that the banks would minimise its risks as much as possible if their credits are insured by the insurance companies.

    “What we are saying is that the issue of insuring our credits is important to us as well. NAICOM, though its operators, need not run away from risks to make the arrangements workable. The essence of insurance is risk,” he added.

  • Mazda to build cars for Toyota

    Mazda Motor Corporation, will build cars for Toyota Motor Corporation at a Mexico plant currently under construction.

    Production of the Toyota-branded vehicle, a sub-compact based on the Mazda2, will begin in mid-2015 at a rate of 50,000 units per year, the companies said in a statement last Friday. The agreement will help Toyota strengthen its lineup in North America and increase production efficiency at Mazda, the companies said.

    Mazda is selling assets, shifting production to outside Japan and improving gas mileage on models including the CX-5 sport utility vehicle (SUV) and Mazda6 sedan to reach its first annual profit in five years. The plant in Mexico, scheduled to start production by the year ending March 2014, will help Mazda counter a strengthening yen which makes Japanese-made cars less profitable.

    Toyota will invest “an appropriate portion” of production equipment costs and development costs related to the Toyota vehicle, and also costs related to the plant’s capacity increase, it said in the statement. The vehicles will be sold through Toyota dealerships, it said.

    Toyota shares fell 0.5 per cent at its close in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, before the companies announced the agreement. Mazda shares were unchanged.

    Mazda’s new plant, with an annual capacity of 140,000 units, will be located in Salamanca City, Guanajuato State. The company will build Mazda2 and Mazda3 vehicles at the factory.

    Mazda exported 75 percent of the cars it made in Japan this year, making it more vulnerable to gains in the yen than other Japanese automakers.

  • Firm urged to complete Abuja roads

    ARAB Contractors has been urged to expedite work on the Bwari township roads to alleviate the suffering of the people.

    Chairman, Bwari Area Council, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Peter Yohanna, said the poor state of the roads had hampered development in the area.

    “When you are coming to the area council you will assume there is no government; everyday people keep criticising the chairman for the poor state of Bwari township roads.

    “I appeal to Arab Contractors to expedite construction work on Bwari township roads to facilitate socio-economic development in the area,” Yohanna said.

    Yohanna, however, expressed optimism that the roads would soon be completed.

  • Group rates FRSC as outstanding public institution

    The Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group (ISDMG) has rated the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) among the most effective and efficient public institutions in Nigeria.

    The Executive Director of SDMG, Dr Chima Amadi, announced the rating in Abuja at the unveiling of the Service Delivery Report and Award.

    Amadi said in the course of discharging its function, FRSC had initiated some key policies, such as the Road Transport Safety Standardisation Scheme (RTSSS), which stipulates minimum safety equipment for fleet operators.

    He said the commission also recorded N558, 154,027 as revenues from National Vehicle Identification Scheme (NVIS) and fines from road traffic offenders in the last six months.

    Amadi said ISDMG followed international precedents and models for effective delivery assessment to arrive at its results.

    “ I must say the integrity of the assessment is not in any way compromised by virtue of the fact that the assessed picks the cost of such assessment.

    “We are confident that recognising achievement of agencies of government that deliver on their mandates will not in any way take the zeal and zing off our responsibility of constructively engaging them on issues of rendering efficient service delivery to the people.

    “The fact that the drivers of these MDAs are Nigerians not contracted foreign consultant proves that only Nigerians can bring about the much desired dividends of democracy, “ he said.

    Amadi highlighted some of the criteria used to arrive at the rating as transparency and fiscal discipline, prompt response to mails, contribution to the economy, web visibility and public perception.

    He said public institutions owed Nigerians service and account of service when demanded, stressing that service delivery entails respect for the rule of law.

  • Outdoor adverts, indoor jobs

    Outdoor adverts, indoor jobs

    Be it billboard, transit advert, poster or arena placement, they are all aimed at one thing: conveying messages to the public.There is an upside to them; they have the potential for job creation, AKINOLA AJIBADE writes.

     

    JOB seekers need not lose hope; though times may be hard, they are rest assured of jobs in outdoor advertising, if they are pushful enough.

    An area, with lots of prospects is billboard designing and planting. Regarded as the fulcrum of outdoor advertising, billboard designing and planting come with innovations which help to create jobs for structural engineers and their auxiliaries.

    Structural engineers are tasked with the responsibilities of mapping out the sites where billboards will be sited. They employ certain category of workers to carry out the job. Over the years, they have played crucial roles in the outdoor advertising business and are respected for this.

    From the manual and cumbersome method to electronic and imposing billboard advertising, structural engineers have been creating jobs for people in the formal and informal sector. The former includes fine artists, graphic artists, printers of large format posters, and computer programmers, while the latter are bricklayers, welders, and painters, among others.

    More jobs are becoming available, as companies including banks go into creative advertising to promote their brands.

    With the recent restructuring and reforms in outdoor advertising also known as the out-of-home advertising medium, we can say that better days await job seekers as states now embrace the new generation billboards.

    The states, which have established agencies to regulate activities in outdoor advertising, are as follows: Lagos State Signage Advertising Agency (LASSA), Osun State Signage Advertising Agency (OSAAA) and Oyo State Signage AdvertisingAgency (OYSAA).

    Others are Rivers, Ekiti, Edo, Ondo, Enugu, Delta and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    While these states are generating revenue by approving and collecting commission on every billboard erected in their domain, they have helped in providing job opportunities for people.

    Experts said the stakes are high for job seekers, given that companies are committing fortunes to it. They said billions of naira are being spent on outdoor advertising which has a multiplier effects in the economy.

     

    The big players

    Media Reach, in a report, said MTN spent over $4 million on product advertising in 2011, followed by Globacom, Etisalat and Airtel, which altogether spent $12.518 million out of $22.750 million budgeted for advertising. The telecos were believed to have spent huge amount of money on outdoor advertising because their products would enjoy better exposure. This could be attributed to the flow of human traffic that would view the adverts since they are strategically positioned.

    Besides, manufacturers of Fast Moving Consumers Goods (FMCG), such as Nigerian Breweries Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc among others budgeted millions of naira for outdoor advertising last year. Industry sources said the development has increaed the capacity of the outdoor advertitising companies, by enabling them to employ more hands for their operations. The sources said each outdoor agency has on the avearge employed between 100 to 200 workers( direct and indirect) in the past three months.

    Speaking on the issue, the Managing Director, Rules Engineering Concept, Engineer Charles Duru said immense opportunities awaits for people who are ready to develop their potentials in the outdoor segment of the industry. The firm specialises in providing outdoor and allied for companies.

    Duru said the outdoor business is not only broad, but provide different avenues for people to showcase their skills when opportunity arises. He said various professionals are recruited to play one or role or the other in the area of conceptualising advertising ideas, planning and designing it to ensure maximum exposure for the clients and the consumers.

    According to him, roles are inter-dependent in the course of providing outdoor advertising services, which implies that many people would be engaged as the volume of jobs increases.

    He said: “It is only structural engineers that were employed to work in the process of providing outdoor services. There are many professionals that helped in production activities. One of these is architects, which help in the designing of billboards as well. Thereafter, architects pass their own designs to structural engineers who make ensure that the billboards stand structurally on the land. This implies that more jobs are going to be made available as outdoor activities increased.”

    Similarly, the former General Manager, Tequila Nigeria Limited, Mr Gbolahan Mosaku-Johnson said newspapers, radio and television advertising have over shadowed outdoor advertising for years, arguing that there is a renewed interest in outdoor advertising by telecom among other blue-chip companies that can spend a fortune in producing good copies. Tequila is an integrated marketing communication outfit providing services such as brands developments, promotion among several others.

    Mosaku-Johnson said many people would be employed either on contract or full-time basis to help in producing outdoor advertising services because some companies are ready to pay a lot of money for such services.

    “This is high time graphic artists, among other skilled personnel must prepare themselves for big opportunities in the outdoor advertising industry. It is projected that outdoor advertising will get more attractions in the next five to 10 years because states government are showing keen interest in the field by setting up agencies for such needs. Now that we have thousands of billboards in strategic places across the country, there would be more opportunities for the job seekers.” he said.

    He projected that at least 5,000 jobs would be created directly or indirectly in a year in each of the 36 states of the federation when the outdoor advertising begins fully.

    “Now mobile outdoor advertising which ensures that bigger buses and taxis are used to promote products/services of companies is on the increase in the country.These advertisements are produced periodically, depending on what the clients pay for. This shows that graphic artists and large format printers would be made to provide more services in the industry. Also, drivers, among other auxiliary staff would be employed for the job. Besides, the workers needed to produce billboards. With this, a lot of job opportunities would be open for the skilled and the unskilled workers in the country,” he added.

    In a related development, Publisher Brands and Fame, Mr Akinwumi Dickson said there are job prospects in the outdoor advertising sphere as companies are showing more interests in it. Dickson said quite a number of outddoor ad companies have increased their operational capital to meet the growing chanllenges in the industry. He said companies now have enough money to execute big projects, as well as employing highly qualified personnel to drive the growth of their companies.

    He said the more the advertisers are spending money on electronic and mobile outdoor advertising, the better for people that would provide services in the industry.

    He advised people to develop their creative skills to meet the growing needs of the industry, adding that the industry is positioning itself to be one of the best in Africa.

    He said: “The industry’s turnover is estimated to be billions of naira. This is a plus for the practitioners, consumers and the workers that would be employ in different segments of the industry. I think the outdoor advertising has better prospects, and this imply that there would be more jobs to do as the year rolls by.”

    He added: “As more as companies direct their outdoor agencies to use more unipoles, rooftops of 48 or 96 sheets, gantries, bridge panels, iconic structures for billboards, there exists job opportunities for structural engineers, electricians, artisans, and even security guards. The prospects of securing jobs are going to be higher, when the economy improves.”

     

  • CITN to honour Nigerians

    The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has unveiled plans to honour some Nigerians for their invaluable contributions to the development of tax practice and administration in the country.

    In a statement, the Institute’s Registrar/Chief Executive Mr Abayomi Jayeoba, said the conferment of the awards on distinguished persons and also fellowship of the Institute on deserving members is scheduled for the Annual Dinner Nite slated for this Saturday in Lagos.

    “The decision to honour few Nigerians at this year’s Annual Dinner was taken by Council in recognition of their invaluable roles in moving the nation’s tax system forward and their contributions to the nation at large.

    “Although the country’s tax system is yet to attain the desired level of efficiency, the Institute is confident that a the on-going tax reforms would go a long way in correcting some of the lapses that are still noticeable in the system”, the statement added.

     

     

     

     

  • Sterling Bank rewards more customers

    STERLING Bank Plc has rewarded another set of customers in its on-going Savers’ Promo which kicked-off in July this year. The bank, during the monthly draw of the promo in Lagos on Friday, said 14 customers across the country won both consolation and cash prizes for October edition.

    Out of this, four customers won a cash prize of N5 million each, while 10 others won consolation prizes such as refrigerators and Home Theatres.

    The cash prize winners are Abioye Oluwakemi Grace ( Ikeja Mainland Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB); Ocheinu Adah ( National Assembly Branch); Taiwo Godwin Anoemuah( Challenge ETB Branch); and Pepple Douglas Elewe( Uyo ETB Branch).

    Winners under the consolation category include Madu Stella ( Ilupeju branch, Lagos); Ibrahim Olumide Kazeem( Ikorodu-ETB Branch); Ipinlaye Moses Abayomi( Garki Area 8 Abuja); Elias Friday ( Garki-ETB Branch); Kolujo Abidemi Segun(Ijebu-Ode ETB-Branch); and Igwe Emeka Chidi( Owerri Road Branch). Others include Ojeabulu Omogbohu Esther( Benin Sapele Road- ETB-Branch); Mrs Uchenna Osuji( Onitsha Bridge ETB-Branch); Olusoji Aina (Port Harcourt Mainland ETB Branch) and David Daniel Etuk( Uyo, ETB-Branch).

    Head Consumers Protection Council, Lagos Branch, Mrs Ngozika Obidike said the process of selecting winners for the promo was transparent.

    Group Head, Liability Products, Mr John Akingbade said the promo is intended to reward loyal customers of the bank, and further promote the lender’s brand. He said the bank is leveraging on the promo to take banking to the nooks and crannies of the country.

    “This is the bank’s way of promoting financial inclusion policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) so that more people would have access to banking services. We have made the account opening process more convenient to customers to ensure wider accessibility of services. Four draws have been organised, with fourteen winners emerging from each of the draw. So far, 56 winners have emerged from the promo”, he said.

     

  • ‘MPC may leave rate at 12%’

    Ahead of tomorrow’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, until broad-based macroeconomic stability has been achieved.

    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 CBN.

    Fixed Income & Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Olukunle Ezun, said key issues influencing whether to hold or cut rates are the naira and inflation short term outlook, fiscal performance and external factors such as the eurozone crisis and the United States “fiscal cliff”.

    Ezun said in an emailed report that expectations are skewed towards the MPC holding the MPR unchanged at 12 per cent despite inflation slowing and increased capital inflows linked to Nigeria’s inclusion in a key global investors’ bond index.

    “One argument against an MPR cut is the capital outflows by non-resident portfolio investors that would undermine recently attained naira stability. The likelihood of the MPR being held unchanged could lead to some fixed income market drift that lacks direction,” he said.

    He said the MPC has met five times so far this year, and at each meeting, has left the MPR unchanged at 12 per cent – it was last raised by 275 basis points in October, last year.

    “Going into the meeting, there are some expectations that the CBN could ease monetary policy in line with some other African countries following the slowdown in annual inflation to 11.3 in September,” he said.

    However, most market expectations are skewed towards the MPC holding the MPR unchanged at 12 per due to concerns over the eurozone crisis and possible fiscal cliff in the United States both of which indirectly will present downside risks on naira.

    He said that although market operators are committed towards making markets for Federal Government Nigeria (FGN) bonds and Treasury bills in the primary market, trading in the secondary market has gradually slowed in terms of transaction volumes since the beginning of November.