The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • West Africa needs $26b for regional electricity interconnectivity

    West Africa needs $26b for regional electricity interconnectivity

    The West African sub-region requires $26 billion to undertake its electricity inter-connectivity.

    The Secretary-General of the West African Power Pool, Amadou Diallo, made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja at the Seventh session of the general assembly of West African Power Pool (WAPP).

    The sub-regional electricity inter-connectivity programme is moving steadily with many countries in West Africa to have a common electricity platform and selling power to one another, he said.

    Diallo stated that many countries in the sub-region have embarked on power reform programmes cutting across the sub-region. He listed Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Mali and Mauritania as examples.

    The sub-regional power reform programmes, he noted, are now concentrated on regulatory, generation and transmission issues and are at different stages of completion among the countries.

    Diallo identified the challenges confronting the sub-regional electricity inter-connectivity initiate ive to be that of tariff, which he said, “is too high for the people but too low for the countries.”

    Earlier, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria and host of the session, Olushole Akinniranye, listed the construction of the Ikeja West 330KVA line that would supply power to Cotonou, and the on-going power stations for Togo, Benin and Ghana, as some of the achievements of the regional entity.

    He listed lack of funds to execute the projects as one of the challenges facing the WAPP, but noted that other challenges were being surmountable as the pool will continue to look for more funds to execute its projects.

    Both Diallo and Akinniranye said it was impossible for Nigeria to give out power much more than she needed, stressing that “we don’t supply more than we use to other West African countries,” they added.

  • Shippers’ Council bemoans foreign domination

    Shippers’ Council bemoans foreign domination

    WORRIED by the dependence on foreign shippers to carry the nation’s cargo, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has asked the Federal Government to arrest the situation.
    He blamed the incessant and arbitrary increase on charges on foreign shippers, saying with the concession of seaport terminals, the situation had become worse.
    The council decried the unnecessary delay in clearing cargoes. It urged government to tackle the problem.
    The NSC Executive Secretary, Capt Adamu Biu, sought the enactment of legislations that would empower the council.
    Biu also lamented the inadequate funding of the council.
    He bemoaned the absence of a commercial regulator at the seaports. Biu asked the Federal Government to create regulators that would stem arbitrary charges and see to the rapid growth of the industry.
    He said more than 75 per cent of Nigeria’s trade depends on imports and as such rely on foreign shippers. He urged the National Assembly to upgrade the council to a regulator to curb arbitrary increase on charges at the ports.
    The charges, he claimed, are increased by terminal operators without consultation.
    He said: “In 1978, when the NSC was established, we had a national shipping line, which was lifting as much as one third of our trade.
    “Without a national shipping line today, Nigeria is 100 per cent dependent on foreign shippers and they are not charity organisations, but are in business to make profits. The scenario has worsened since we concessioned our terminals. It is more than 90 per cent foreign-dominated.
    “Frankly speaking, we are being funded illegally, because, as it is today, there is no law that specifies how much we are being funded—that’s the truth and that one per cent is determined by the Nigerian Customs. If we are properly funded, we could do a lot more than we are doing today,” Biu said.
    Some of the ways the council facilitates trade, Biu adedd, are the provision of shipping information, legal and financial assistance to shippers, handling of shippers’ complaints on cargo losses, demurrage charges, insurance claims and the domestication of relevant international conventions for the carriage of goods.
    Besides, the council also has other problems.“Some of these challenges include lack of sanctioning powers in the Council’s enabling Act, non-compliance with rules by service providers, unethical attitude of some agencies, a situation which create problems and delays in cargo clearance at our ports, shippers’ ignorance of their rights, which lead some of them into illegal activities.
    “The foregoing issues make our international trade uncompetitive. We need the collective will of stakeholders to do things right so that we can achieve better results,” Biu said.
    The shippers’ scribe said trade facilitation was not only for the NSC, but for industry players.

  • Group seeks insolvency law execution

    Group seeks insolvency law execution

    The Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN) has called on the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to institute a general insolvency law structure that would encourage business rescue.

    BRIPAN said it was committed towards drafting insolvency legislative reform bill and the legislative agenda committee on the draft bill, which will be presented to the National Assembly soon.

    The insolvency legislative reform bill, when introduced, is expected to provide modern techniques that would make it easier for companies to survive.

    These, included business rescue options, moratoriumsm which it noted would give the business an opportunity to get an appraisal. “There are certain benefits that would be incorporated in the law that if you have a rescue plan, which would be prepared by experts you would get those benefits and that would encourage people to go for rescue rather insolvency,” the association said.

    President of the association, Anthony Idigbe, advised AMCON to come up with a structure that would encourage general business rescue in the country.

    He said that AMCON played a critical role in the market sector in terms of business rescues, but regretted that assets management was restricted only to banks and was not generally available. He added that it is about the only area where there is a modern law for assisting institutions in this regime.

  • Nigeria’s non-oil exports hit $1.40b

    Nigeria’s non-oil exports hit $1.40b

    Nigeria exported non-oil products worth over $1.40 billion this year, The Nation investigation has revealed. The figure represents about 11 per cent decline from the over $1.43 billion recorded over the same period last year.

    The country exported goods worth $161.6 million dollars in January, this year compared to   $307.2 million realised a year ago.

    The Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), David Adulugba, put the value of non-oil export for the first and second quarters of the year at $660.1million and $686.2 million as against $818.8 million and $676.2 million recorded for the same period in 2011.

    The NEPC boss attributed the decline to unrecorded exports, the fuel crisis and workers’strike in January.

    Adulugba said the nation exported non-oil products worth $242.9 million in February, this year compared to $273.6 million recorded in the same period last year, adding that Nigeria exported non-oil products worth $255.7 million and $220.6 million in March and April, this year compared, as against $237.9 million and $250.6 million recorded for 2011.

    He said the country’s non-oil exports in May and June, this year were $242.6 million and $223.1 million, compared to $703.5 million and $222 million recorded in the same period in 2011.

    “The agency is working hard to translate the $2.8 billion per annum export to 40 per cent ($3.92 billion). All sorts of strategies will be adopted to achieve the target within the regional market.’’

    He said the high incidence of unrecorded exports had been a major challenge to accurate reporting of the performance of the non-oil sector in the country.

    To tackle the problem, Adulugba said the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment was making moves to establish border markets at some strategic locations,pointing out that the country’s non-oil exports were dominated by raw commodities and few products with value addition.

     

     

  • LCCI queries overhead allocation in 2013 appropriation

    LCCI queries overhead allocation in 2013 appropriation

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for more transparency on the 2013 Budget.

    The chamber wants the Budget Office to explain the N1.08trillion provided under the Consolidated Transfer Funds in the budget.

    The Director-General, LCCI, Muda Yusuf, raised the alarm over the billions of naira proposed for entertainment and meals, honorarium and sitting allowances, welfare packages, stationery and consumables, as well as maintenance of vehicles in the Appropriation Bill. He said the allocations were grossly overstated.

    “Following the release of the budget appropriation details by the budget office, there is need for further clarifications on aspects of the budget, especially with regard to classification of budget heads and the integrity of some of the numbers,” he said.

    Muda said beyond the allocations to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), there were other expenditure headings with substantial allocations, which require clarification in line with democratic ideals.

    His words: “This budget head accounts for 22 per cent of total expenditure and 70 per cent of capital budget. It is critical to get explanation on these spending proposals to situate it within the context of national priorities and the delivery of value to the citizens. It is also important to clarify the institutions of government responsible for the management of these expenditure heads. The integrity of the budget process is fundamental to fixing the economy as the budget is a principal tool of value delivery to the citizens. The importance of transparency in the management of public funds cannot be overstated.

    “Given the experience with the management of pension funds, it’s time to fully devolve the responsibility to the National Pension Commission. We should be guided by lessons of experience if we are truly committed to transformation of the economy and our society. Relevant pension legislation should be amended to make this happen. The corruption risk of direct management of pension funds by bureaucrats is very high.”

    He said the release of the appropriation details revealed many curious numbers, which are replicated across the MDAs. Examples abound on the allocations to food stuff and catering materials, refreshment and meals , vehicle Maintenance/transport equipment, motor vehicle fuelling , honorarium and sitting allowance, among others.

     

  • ‘Bad eggs cause distortions in stock market‘

    ‘Bad eggs cause distortions in stock market‘

    The market is gaining back its lost ground as all indices indicate. The Managing Director, BGL Securities Limited, Mr Sunday Adebola, attributed the development to the introduction of the market making system. He speaks on infractions and the listing of cash-cows, such as telecoms and oil and gas firms to further deepen the market. AKINOLA AJIBADE met him.

     

    What is the focus of BGL Securities Limited?

    The company is a dealing member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), operating in the secondary market. By this, we are licensed to buy and sell shares on behalf of our clients, as well as taking trading positions in the market.

    Besides, we are also registered by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an issuing house, which has put us in a position to raise capital for many companies. For instance, during the banking consolidation, we raised capital for many banks and, over the years brought many companies for listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    We are also the distribution arm of BGL Group responsible for marketing of financial products being packaged by BGL Group. I would like to say at this juncture that the holding company is BGL Plc. The holding company has three subsidiaries, namely BGL Securities Limited, BGL Assets Management Company Limited and BGL Private Equity Limited. However, BGL Securities Limited is the only dealing member of the NSE.

    What is your volume of transaction?

    We have traded over a trillion naira worth of shares, and the total volume is in excess of N200 billion.

    What is the level of confidence in the market, is it reassuring?

    Confidence is gradually returning to the market due to the efforts of the NSE and the SEC. The two bodies have put in place measures to bring confidence back to the market. If you look at some of the measures, you will realise that they are meant to bring the much-needed growth to the market.

    Recently, NSE introduced market making system programme to foster growth. What this implies is that there are market makers appointed by the NSE, who hold themselves out as being ready  to buy or sell the shares of companies under the market making arrangement  for their respective accounts on regular and continuous basis,  and sell them when there are demands for them. This has brought the much –needed liquidity into the  market.

    Another step taken to return confidence to the market is the entrenchment of best practices derived from the enthronement of corporate governance. Where there is corporate governance, people would do what they are supposed to do. When this happens, shareholders’ value would improve.

    The introduction of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)  is another initiative by the Stock Exchange that is highly commendable. More ETFs are still being expected to be introduced to the market in the very near future.  In the past, some companies were not rendering quarterly and annual returns as at when due. The Exchange has taken corrective measures and sanctioned most of these companies.

    Some of them were put on full suspension, while others were delisted for not complying with the listing rules of the exchange. Also, the introduction of securities lending has helped in making the market more liquid. It is instructive to note that without Securities lending, the market makers cannot achieve the desired  objectives.

    How has the introduction of market makers impacted on the system?

    We commenced market making programme in September, and we have seen the positive reaction of the market to this noble initiative. Some stocks have grown by 40 per cent in terms of price movement in the past few weeks. Some have grown by 56 per cent. This is what is making confidence to come back to the market. SEC has been having meetings with stakeholders on how to make sure that the market moves forward. This, among others, is one of the measures put in place to re-invigorate the market. If this continues, we believe within a short period of time, the market will bounce back in a sustainable manner and the investors would be better for it.

    What is the motivating factor for investors now?

    Every investor has his own objective of participating in the market. I can say that investors have made a fortune from the market in the past and even this year.  This year alone; the market has gained about 32. 60 per cent compared to about the 18.5 per cent it lost last year. This has made the market worth looking at by those people that have left the market. We are happy that investors are gradually coming back to the market.

    In recent times, the volume traded has improved. Before, we were trading between N150billion and N200billion worth of shares, but now, we are trading on the average N2.8trillion naira worth of shares. Also, if you look at market indicators, you will observe that the All-Share Index has actually moved up. It is over 27,200 points now. The market capitalisation is over N8.328 trillion compared to about N6.5trillion in the beginning of this year.

    By how much has the market grown in the past one year?

    To be precise, the NSE All-Share Index year-to-date (YTD) is about 31.63 per cent, which is remarkable enough, compared to the 18.3 per cent recorded last year.  On Sectoral Indices year-to-date movement, NSE 30 Index recorded growth of 40.14 per cent YTD, NSE Banking Index also recorded increase of 61.91 per cent, NSE Consumer Index  grew by 301.27 per cent, while NSE Insurance Index  fell by 1.8 per cent. NSE Oil/Gas Index also moved southward by 26.02 per cent. These indicators on the average, showed remarkable growth of the market.

    A lot of infractions were made and attributed to the stockbrokers. What measures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence?

    Before the meltdown, people alleged stockbrokers of many infractions, saying, they are the ones causing distortions in the market. In my opinion, these allegations are not right. For Instance, when you mandated a stockbroker to buy some stocks for you, he would do so in line with the instructions given to him. He would also sell in line with the mandate given to him. We have seen instances  where people  would give stockbrokers mandate to sell their stocks. When they realise that prices of those stocks are going up, they deny ever giving such a mandate, claiming that their mandates were forged.

    That is not to say that we do don’t have few bad persons among stockbrokers. But it cannot be generalised that stockbrokers are the ones causing distortions in the market, I do not agree.  There are principles guiding the market and the market is a structured one that has rules and principles driving it. These are followed by Authorised Dealing Clerks and the Dealing members. Erring operators are properly sanctioned on fair and equity basis.

    Are you saying brokers and investors connive to cause infractions in the market?

    Far from it. There are various infractions in the market. My own understanding of infraction is when you violate the rules and regulations guiding the operations of the market. In the past, we have where people committed series of professional misconduct. They were duly punished and sanctioned appropriately.

    Regulators neither condone market indiscipline nor professional misconduct. That is why our market is still one of the best in the world. Some of the erring operators were suspended, while others have their licences revoked. These are some of the disciplinary actions the regulators have taken to protect the integrity of the market.

    Do you see the surge being sustained or just a flash in the pan?

    It is an undeniable fact that  stock market is  a the barometer of the economy. Events in the economy have reflections on the stock market. Once the economy improves, the market witnesses a lot of activities. If the economy is improving, companies performance will improve and precipitate the release of good results to the market. Once companies’ performances are improving, it will impact positively on shareholders’ value which have direct influence on their prices and lead to market indicators moving upward.

    Besides, it is our prayer that the economy will continue to do well as other macroeconomic factors become more favourable to the market.

    First, it has been observed that there is direct correlation between the price of crude oil and out stock market returns. If the price of our crude oil continue to go up, we are going to see many foreign investors showing interest in the Nigerian market.  Secondly, availability of funding within the economy has also been impacting on the growth of the market. Once there is liquidity squeeze, market becomes sluggish. Thirdly, the decision of the monetary authorities to bring down the interest rate would help improve activities in the market.

    Nigeria’s oil price has been on the increase in recent times. To what extent has it attracted foreign investors to the country?

    According to a data released by the NSE, over 60 per cent of the activities on the buy-side in the nation’s stock market are being controlled by foreign investors. The reason is because the returns in our market are relatively higher than what it is obtained in other emerging markets.

    This has attracted so many foreign investors into the country. Once the oil prices are going up, foreign investors consider the Nigerian market of the positive correlation between crude oil prices and stock market returns. The more we have the oil prices going up, the more our economy becomes buoyant and our market becomes attractive to foreign investors.

    Who are those controlling activities in the stock market-Institutional investors or foreign portfolio investors?

    When we are talking about foreign investments, they are of two types. We have foreign portfolio investment and direct foreign  investment.

    The former refers to a situation whereby foreign investors come to invest in financial instruments in our domestic market, while the latter explains  foreign  investors coming to invest in physical assets  in  manufacturing, power and fast moving consumer goods, among other areas. Here, we are talking about foreign portfolio investors. We have seen some of them coming to buy shares in our market.

    Can you put a figure to year-to-date value of foreign  portfolio investments in the market?

    In foreign portfolio investment, the market has recorded some growth. If the market capitalisation has moved from N6.5 trillion to over N8.6trilion this year. We can safely say that over 60 per cent of this comes from the foreign portfolio investors. It has been estimated that fresh funds of about N419.93billion has been invested this year alone. I want to assume that 66 per cent of this is done by the foreign portfolio investors which  translates to N277.15billion.

    To what extent can we say the infighting between the leadership of SEC and its staff has affected the market?

    This is an internal  issue in SEC, and it cannot affect the market in any way. I believe the issue cannot have any meaningful effect on the market and the issue would soon be resolved soon.

    What is your assessment of the performance of the leadership of the Exchange?

    We can give him a pass mark, considering the good initiatives he has brought into the market. He has brought dynamism that has transformed the landscape of the market. He has initiated certain reforms, and they are yielding fruits. Before now, for the price of a stock to move,  we need to  trade some  stocks up to 50,000 units. This principle has not favoured some high priced stocks thus making their prices to be creeping for sometimes.  But now, with 10,000 units in a single trade, price of such stocks can move. The introduction of market makers is another noble achievement in the market. Others are the introduction of Exchange Traded Fund and the Investors Clinic to educate investors.

    However, the management of Stock Exchange can do better by intensifying efforts in collaborating with other stakeholders to bring more companies to the market. I am talking about giant telecommunications companies, power firms, Energy and oil.  This will go a long way to build capacity and deepen the market. Interestingly, the market currently has 235 dealing members but less than 200 quoted companies. There is the need for more companies to come to the market for listings, as well as introducing more securities so as to increase the market depth and width.

    What are the prospects for fixed-income securities like bonds?

    Some years ago, the Federal Government bonds, called Federal Government  Development stocks, were being traded on the Stock Exchange. At a point, the trading on these bonds stopped and became inactive. Then,  the Federal Government used to appoint stockbroker brokers to buy and sell on behalf of  other stockbrokers. With the establishment of Debt Management Office (DMO), government revisited the bond market by appointing primary market dealers Market makers (PDs/MMs) to trade in bonds.

    However, there is an on-going process  to deepen the bond market. NSE, SEC and DMO are working together to ensure that the retail aspect of bond is returned to the platform of the NSE. Permit me to say that any market that does not have solid retail platform cannot stand the test of time. This initiative of  bringing the retail aspect of bond trading to the exchange is a laudable one. The development would make more Nigerians to participate in bond market. It is only banks and discount houses that are trading in the Federal Government bond market because of their appointment as market dealers makers. They are dealing on wholesale basis. This excludes participation of retail investors in the secondary market.  By returning bond trading to the NSE platform, retail investors would be able to participate in the bond market.

    In what other ways can the government make the bond market stronger?

    For our any country to have a vibrant capital market, you  must have a good payment system, viable REPO market, as well as opening up your market to foreign investors. The inclusion of Nigeria’s bond in JP Morgan Bond Index is one way of opening the financial services market to foreign investors. Through this, foreign investors would have access to relevant data on the instruments and  our capital market would be better for it. Besides, interest rate management by monetary authorities should also be done to ensure that the interest of the market is considered. Furthermore, enlightenment programme by various regulators and market operators should be intensified so as to increase the number of participants in the bond market.

  • Career and job success skills for newly employed

    Now that you have made the big transition through job hunting and landed the job, the next goal is job success. Don’t take that for granted. There are specific skills you need to know and use to be successful at your job. It’s important to practise these skills prior to starting the job. First impressions show from day one. You only get one opportunity to create first impression.

    What follows here isn’t a complete list. It’s a good idea to check with your direct boss about what’s most important.An important information for you: employers say many people lose their job because they don’t use good work habits and not because they are unable to do the job.The following list of suggestions is based on feedback form a majority of surveyed employers.

     

    Employers expectations

    • A positive attitude is one of the most important factors in achieving job success. Don’t carry negative feelings into your new workplace. Resolve them elsewhere.

    • Always be on time. How long will it take to get to work? Allow a few extra minutes for traffic problems and getting children to school. Set an alarm clock to help you get up. Being reliable and dependable gains the trust and respect of your new employer.

    • Good attendance and promptness are always important. It you’re going to be unavoidably late or out sick, find out the proper method of informing them.

    • Know and follow office rules, policies and procedures.Read the employee manuals. Please find out the informal rules.

    • Listen and learn. Be open to new ways of doing things, even if you have taught differently in school or on a different job. Don’t be quick to find fault, criticise or complain until you can prove you can do something a better way.

    • Meet and exceed your employer’s expectations.

    • Learn all you can about the job you were hired to do before thinking about moving up.

     

    Communication

    • When you need to talk with your supervisor, ask when would be a good time to meet.

    • Take advantage of your performance reviews. Stay calm. Learn from them. Ask how you can improve. Show results or jobs-related classes you’ve taken. Most Supervisors appreciate employees who are concerned about performance and in finding ways to improve. Your job success is also their success.

    • Be a team player. Be willing to help. Know the goals of your job and how your job fits into the overall organisation. Avoid a “know-it-all attitude.”Try to fit in with the team. Keep your sense of humour.

    • Ask for help when you need it. If you make a mistake, let your supervisor know immediately. Find the proper chain of command. Discuss items with your supervisor first.

     

    Personal

    • Prior to starting the job, have all your appointments with doctors, dentists, etc., out of the way. Have your transportation and daycare lined up so you don’t immediately have to take time off. Have an emergency plan for daycare and transportation.

    • Be willing to learn new skills. Keep a record of classes you’re taking that relate to the job. Review this with your supervisor at an appropriate time.

    • Take time in making new friends. Find positive and upbeat co-workers. Avoid negative, critical and gossiping people.

    • Be clean and well groomed. Wear clean and job-appropriate clothes. Pay attention to how your coworkers are dressed. Avoid wearing strong perfumes or colognes.

    • Keep you personal life and problems at home. Do not use the employer’s equipment and time to do personal things like making personal phone calls, using the copy machine or resolving your personal problems on the job. If you’re having trouble resolving personal problems, counseling, support groups or employee assistance programmes may be useful.

    • Create the image. Dress for the job you want next.

    • Be patient with yourself and your employer. It takes time to get used to, learn and like a new job.

    • Volunteer to projects and committees if your work is completed and your supervisor approves.

     

  • ‘Nigeria, South Africa drive region’s growth’

    ‘Nigeria, South Africa drive region’s growth’

    Nigeria and South Africa account for major portion of Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report said.

    It said intraregional trade and financing links within sub-Saharan Africa have been expanding significantly in recent years. However, it recognised that there is a long road to travel in terms of achieving close economic integration at the regional and sub-regional level.

    “As this integration proceeds and economic linkages deepen, the importance of spillover effects from large countries to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, and within their own sub-region, will grow: closer economic linkages inevitably imply increased exposure to shocks, both favorable and unfavorable, in partner countries,” it said.

    IMF African Department senior economist Cheikh Gueye said that to a large extent, South Africa is shaping the structure of trade within sub-Saharan Africa. He said that at least 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa export to South Africa and this represents one per cent of their GDP.

    “On the investment side, we have noticed that South African companies are investing in the rest of Africa, and this has an impact in shaping trade flows. Third, there are linkages in the financial system. Since 2005, Nigerian banks have extended their operation in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. That is also true of South African banks,” he said.

    According to him, Nigeria has different trade policies through its neighboring countries, and these policies have been a source of transmission of shock from Nigeria to the other countries.

    “Let us look at South Africa and its trade channel because it is quite large. South Africa is part of the SACU, the South African Customs Union.  The country and the other members of the SACU have what we call a customs revenue sharing formula.

    This means almost 50 per cent of the customs revenues within the zone will go to the remaining countries of the SACU,” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Here comes women-only car

    Here comes women-only car

    ACROSS the world, building and designing cars remains a male-dominated business, and many companies live by an old axiom that women will buy a man’s car but men won’t buy a woman’s car. While a few companies have attempted to bend that rule, only Honda has chosen to embrace it with the Honda Fit She’s — the only model built by an automaker today aimed exclusively for women.

    There is a long and embarrassing history of automakers attempting to lure women with ladies-only models. At the turn of the 20th century, electric cars were marketed to wives with the pitch that their lack of hand-crank starting would avoid broken shoulders and/or death.

    In 1955, Chrysler made a bid for feminine attention with the Dodge LaFemme — which came in a two-tone pink-and-white paint scheme, along with a storage place for the matching purse and rain hat. Lest you think modern executives learned from errors of the past, in 2000 Ford showed off a concept Windstar minivan developed with Maytag featuring a compact washer/dryer, microwave and vacuum in the rear hatch, because why would a soccer mom ever want to be parted from her appliances?

    As women have grown to buy more cars in recent decades — accounting for about one-third of car shoppers in the United States — such attempts have given way to more savvy marketing. But in Japan, the gender divide remains more stark; half of all working-age women stay out of the workforce due to more stringent societal pressure to choose homemaking over careers, a major reason Japan’s economy has been stuck in a rut for decades. But there’s a cohort of younger Japanese women putting work first, and in a weak market Honda sees an opening.

    Nigeria has her own fair share among women vehicle owners. Women with good earnings nowadays hardly wait for their husbands (if they have) to buy a car for them.

    Sometimes, male commuters slugged it out with their female counterparts on highways and in-roads.

    While many old model vehicles are commonly found with the men, women cruised more on new cars. Honda Fit She’s would make a better sales if introduced to the Nigerian market.

    Launched this summer, the Honda Fit She’s designers say they wanted to take a regular Fit subcompact and make it in their words “adult cute.” That means lots of pink: Pink stitching in the seats and steering wheel and floor mats, matched by pink metallic bezels around the shifter and displays. There are also a few extra shades of pink in the special She’s badge, spelled with a heart for an apostrophe. If pink isn’t a customer’s style, Japanese buyers can also select a Fit She’s in shades of brown and white that a Honda executive told the Yomuri Shinbun, a foreign newspaper match the color of eyeshadow.

    To Honda’s credit, the Fit She’s beauty treatment is not just skin deep. It also comes with special windshield glass that cuts 99 per cent of ultraviolet rays and a “Plasmacluster” air conditioning system that Honda claims can improve a driver’s skin quality, all aimed at stopping those wrinkles that turn adult cute into just adult. With a starting price of $17,500, the Fit She’s got an attractive price for a home-market Japanese car — but automakers would not need special editions if taking advice from women was not such a noteworthy event.

  • Sterling Bank grows net profit by 64%

    Sterling Bank grows net profit by 64%

    Sterling Bank Plc continued its impressive performance in the third quarter almost doubling its gross earnings recording a 64 per cent increase in profit after tax.

    Interim report and accounts of the bank for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012 showed substantial growths across key performance indicators, improving prospects for considerable improvement in dividends for the current business year.

    The report indicated 92.6 per cent growth in gross earnings, underlining the success of the bank’s bank-focused business strategy. Interest income doubled by 109.9 per cent while net interest income jumped by 84 per cent. Profit before tax thus rose by 58.5 per cent.

    Sterling Bank grossed N50.74 billion by third quarter 2012 as against N26.35 billion recorded in comparable period of 2011. Interest income leapt to N39.56 billion in 2012 compared with N18.85 billion in corresponding period of 2011. While interest expenses increased from N8.97 billion to N21.37 billion, net interest income also nearly doubled from N9.88 billion to N18.19 billion. Non-interest income increased by 49 per cent to N11.2 billion as against N7.5 billion. Altogether, operating income rose by 78 per cent from N15.9 billion to N28.3 billion.

    With these, profit before tax jumped from N3.01 billion to N4.77 billion. After taxes, net profit distributable to shareholders increased from N2.74 billion to N4.49 billion. Earnings analysis showed earnings per share of 29 kobo for third quarter 2012 compared with 22 kobo in similar period of 2011. At current share price, the net earnings indicated strong double-digit returns for Sterling Bank. It should be recalled that the outstanding issued shares of Sterling Bank had increased in the last quarter of 2011 following issuance of scheme shares to shareholders of the defunct Equitorial Trust Bank, which Sterling Bank had acquired last year.

    Besides, the report showed strong and quality balance sheet with growing deposit base and increasing lending activities underpinned by reduction in the proportion of non-performing loans to total loans 4.8 per cent in December 2011 to 2.4 per cent by September 2012. Customers’ deposits increased from N392.05 billion to N433.98 billion. Loans and advances similarly improved from N164.3 billion to N229.43 billion. Total assets also rose to N564.06 billion from N504.72 billion.

    Commenting on the results, managing director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the results reflected the continuing success of the bank’s strategic growth initiatives as it continued to draw benefits from the seamless integration of Equitorial Trust Bank.

    According to him, Sterling Bank has been well positioned to capture emerging growth opportunities with customer-centric approach to financial services and products.

    “In line with our forecast, loans and advances grew by 23 per cent to N229.4 billion on the back of our enhanced presence in the corporate banking space. We also grew customer deposits by 13 per cent to N434 billion and added over 22,000 retail accounts. Despite the 400 basis points increase in Cash Reserve Ratio in July, we recorded a 70 basis points reduction in cost of funds to six per cent,” Adeola said.

    He said the performance of the bank showed its underlying strengths, pointing out that the increase in cost-to-income ratio was as a result of one-off merger related expenses.

    He noted that the growth in loans and reduction in non-performing assets were in line with the bank’s objective to grow risk assets as the economy rebounds while focusing on quality growth..

    He assured that directors of the bank were confident they would sustain the performance.

    “In the last quarter of the year, we will consolidate on the progress made thus far and sustain our drive towards building our retail deposits with a view to achieving our corporate goals for year-end,” Adeola assured.