The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Unity Bank to re-launch e-product

    Unity Bank to re-launch e-product

    Unity Bank has announced a re-launch of its mobile banking application, Unity Mobile.

    In a statement, the bank said the reintroduced product places it in a leading role in the financial services sector by providing customers with secure real-time mobile transaction capability.

    The Head, Media Relations, Sani Zaria, said apart from the convenience to customers of being able to bank from their mobile phones, the product is unique in its simplicity of use, while remaining absolutely secure.

    He said the Unity Mobile application was part of the bank’s on-going rejuvenation process to improve service delivery to its customers.

    “Unity Mobile is very simple to use, it allows customers to have access to their accounts at any time of the day, and it is very secure.

    In addition, Zaria said Unity Mobile reduces risks, saves customers’ time and cost, as there is no longer a need to carry cash around or go into the bank’s branches to conduct transactions. “You can even pay your utility bills and top up your phone from Unity Mobile,” he stated.

  • Oando, Vigeo, 19 others jostle for 10 PHCN discos

    Oando, Vigeo, 19 others jostle for 10 PHCN discos

    The Oando Consortium; Vigeo Holdings, Gumco, African Corporation AFC &CESC, Oba Otudeko’s Honeywell, and 18 other firms have been shortlisted by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) from the 54 firms that submitted bids to acquire the 11 electricity distribution companies (discos).

    The 11 discos are part of the 18 successor companies unbundled from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) but because none of the bidders met the requirement for the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, the 21 firms currently shortlisted would be jostling for 10 discos.

    Having passed the technical evaluation bid test, the BPE will on October 10, open the financial bids for the 21 companies. There are 14 firms bidding for the two distribution companies located in Lagos, the Ikeja and Eko.

    The companies whose bid were shortlisted for Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company include Vigeo Holdings, Gumco , Oando Consortium; Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited; Honeywell Energy Resources International Limited; Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited, African Corporation AFC &CESC; Kepco/NEDC Consortium; West Power and Gas and Rockson Engineering Limited.

    In Eko Disco, Oando Consortium, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited, Sepco-Pacific Energy Consortium, Honeywell Energy Resources International Limited, Kepco/NEDC Consortium and West Power and Gas were shortlisted.

    For Ibadan Disco, three firms jumped the hurdle. They are Western Consortium, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company and Kepco/NEDC Consortium while Abuja has Kann Consortium Utility Company Limited and Interstate Electrics limited.

    The companies that made the Enugu Disco are Rensmart Power Limited, Proglobal Power International Consortium, Interstate Electrics Limited and Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited while Benin DisCo has Vigeo Power Consortium, Southern Electricity Distribution Company, Rensmart Power Limited and Rockson Engineering Limited.
    Port Harcourt Disco has Power Consortium and Rockson Engineering Limited as preferred bidders and for Yola Disco, only Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company made the list.
    The only one company that made Jos Disco target is Aura Energy Limited while for Kano Disco only Power SPV Limited was shortlisted.
    The result of the successful firms was disclosed by National Council on Privatisation (NCP) at its fifth meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa.

    Others at the meeting include, Atedo Peterside, Finance minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of State, Power, Darius Ishiaku and the Director-General, BPE, Ms Bolanle Onagoruwa.

    The financial bids for the five generation companies are slated for Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at Anambra\Borno\Cross River Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.
    Peterside, who briefed newsmen at the end of the meeting, said fresh bids will be invited from all the pre-qualified bidders in accordance with laid down rules for bidders that paid the required $20,000 fee for the bid documents are to be considered.

     

  • How banker ‘stole N23 b’ as loans to firms, by EFCC

    How banker ‘stole N23 b’ as loans to firms, by EFCC

    A Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, yesterday heard how a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Bank PHB Plc, Mr Ugo Anyanwu, authorised the transfer of N23billion of depositors’ funds to some accounts without their owners’ approval.

    An Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator, Mr David Ikpe, said the beneficiaries of the transferred sums did not follow the due banking process of applying for a loan.

    Anyanwu is standing trial before Justice Lateefah Okunnu, along with a former Managing Director of BankPHB, Mr Francis Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth.
    The EFCC brought a 27-count charge bothering on alleged conspiracy to commit felony and stealing against them. It said they allegedly stole the bank’s N25.7 billion between November 2007 and April 2008. They denied the charges.

    According to the agency, the three conspired with one another to steal from the bank various sums of money, which were fraudulently described as loans to various companies, including Future View Securities, Extra Oil Limited, Resolution Trust and Investment Limited, Petosan Oil and Gas and Tradjek Nigeria Limited.

    Testifying at the trial yesterday, Ikpe said Anyanwu gave the instructions to other bank officials to make the transfers, using his position as CFO, adding that the transactions were “not normal.”

    His investigations, he said, revealed that some officers who were asked to make the transfers “raised eyebrows.”  He said a bank official, Ifetayo Obi, complained that “she never had the customer’s instruction to transfer these funds.”

    The witness said an official asked to make a transfer had written on the instruction document: ‘Customer Instruction Outstanding.’ “The conceptualisation and utility of the transfers were not normal. The beneficial owners ought to have applied and approval given. It was the impunity that characterised the banking sector in the past which brought us here,” Ikpe said.

    According to him, the owner of one of the companies to which funds were transferred, Peter Ololo, expressed “shock” when his name was published as being indebted to Bank PHB.

    “Ololo said he did not authorise the transfers. The transfers were made without the knowledge of the owner of the account,” the witness said, adding that Ololo was confronted as to why the accounts were debited.

    Ikpe, however, admitted that no particular unit of shares was traced to Anyanwu’s account, and that the phone numbers and signatures on the transfer documents were not all of defendant’s.

    He also said Anyanwu was not on the committee charged with granting loans, but insisted: “As the Chief Financial Officer, his role in authorising the payments is clear.”
    “The third defendant (Anyanwu) authorised the transfer of the N23billion,” he said. “That the third defendant ordered this transfer is not in doubt. I did not see these transactions as done in the normal course of banking transaction. I disagree that it was a normal transaction.”

    Ikpe also admitted that he did not find any query in respect of the transfers Anyanwu authorised. EFCC in the charge said the defendants allegedly converted N25.7 billion to their personal use to acquire hundreds of millions of units of shares, including 140,625,000 units of Bank PHB shares on behalf of Guesstrade Services.

    They also allegedly used over N1 billion, fraudulently described as a loan from the bank and converted it to their own personal use by using it to buy 112,500,000 units of BankPHB shares on behalf of Sebtron Trading.

    Other companies involved in the alleged multi-billion naira fraud are: Montrax Investico, Claremount Asset Management Limited, Arabian Probity Management, Clearville Business Support, Commercial Trading and Services Limited, Trenton Trade Limited, Stamford Global Concept Limited, Felimon Enterprises, Ghzali Yakubu Investment Limited and AFCO Associates Limited.

    Atuche, Elizabeth and Anyanwu pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

  • Mails of wealth

    Mails of wealth

    Mail delivery has been negatively affected by alternate forms of communication, such as e-mail and the Internet. At the same time, the business is benefitting from an increase in the volume of internet shopping, which has seen greater demand for parcel deliveries. For  this reason, the Managing  Director, Swift Courier, Mr Toyin Olufade,  said  there are opportunities  for  Nigerians  to invest in the  sector  and make money. Opportunities, he said, are in freight delivery, serving local, regional, national  markets.

    Domestic freight delivery service providers, he noted, provide air freight delivery options, and operate ground freight trucking services. Local  firms, Olufade, who is also  the President, Nigerian Courier Operators  Association, added can  offer  port-to-port delivery, including freight packaging services. The strategy is offering   premium services, where – delivery is made   in less than 24 hours. He  said  local  companies  don’t  need to focus on international routes  as such  lanes would need deep pockets, which  only  global logistics companies  can afford.   He  said  the success of couriers depend to a large extent on fleets of vehicles and equipment, ranging from simple trucks to  other  forms  of  cargo  transportation. Olufade  said  service quality is becoming increasingly important.

    On-time pickup and delivery, speedy customs clearance, in-transition traceability, parcel safety, and 24-hour accessibility are important elements in overall service quality for shippers. However, the constant business shake-outs create a climate of vulnerability for potential entrants. But  Olufade  said his  association is  working  to address this.

    The  Group Managing Director, Bowill Group of Companies and  Secretary General, Nigerian Courier Operators Association, Mr Siyanbola Oladapo  said  his  association expect the service quality of local players to improve, which will allow them to challenge the large integrators for market share.

    He  said  there are huge opportunities for entrepreneurs in  courier and  freight delivery. He said they are determined  to assist local  operators  break down barriers that prevent them  from reaching their high-impact potential. To this end, he  said  the association  has  scheduled a  public lecture and  award ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, September 25,2012. Start-up costs for a freight delivery company vary widely, but can be quite expensive. Depending on type of freight delivery, costs may include business facility leasing, office furniture, computers and printers, commercial vehicle purchases, freight hauling equipment, freight and packaging supplies, labour and insurance costs. Most  Nigerians  on errands service  use  a vehicle and communication equipment such as a mobile phone to operate. A critical mass in the industry own about five to 10 vehicles. For participants to expand beyond this point, a significant investment in technology and radio equipment is necessary.  The banking industry, which has been the mainstay of the express document business, saw stagnation in shipments in the past two to three years. However, the document business from banks is expected to grow in line with anticipated bank expansions. Given that usage is now primarily for original documents, a shift to electronic media is not expected. Oladapo said  local  operators  should  focus more on high-margin industries and customer segments and put into practice more flexible pricing strategies.

  • How small businesses leverage technology to grow

    How small businesses leverage technology to grow

    Cloud computing is an information technology solution for small businesses to run their operations profitably, General Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Mr Emmanuel  Onyeje, has  said.

    Cloud computing is accessing services and applications on a user’s computer or internal network via the Internet.

    At a briefing in Lagos before the launch of the solution, Onyeje said  for  small businesses  to operate successfully, they  must explore   technological  platforms, such as cloud  solution.  He   said   digital services are delivered efficiently from the cloud and, adding that service providers are helping small businesses to compete and grow in ways hitherto the domain of larger companies. For small businesses, he said protecting digital information has been a challenge but that there are Cloud-based data back-up services, which   store information automatically and securely.   With theft and security compromises lurking, coupled with the need for greater data storage capacity and accessing files from anywhere, Onyeje urged   small businesses to  consider online data backup via a cloud solution.

    He explained  that cloud storage is an easy and affordable way to protect critical data.  Since small business owners need to access files from home, at work, and on the go, he  said cloud  computing  offers more flexibility and allows  owners and operators to upload, retrieve and share data without their external hard drive.

    Since cloud technology is virtual infrastructure for users, he said small business owners didn’t have to worry about the security of their storage hardware. He said Microsoft has  data centres with high enterprise-grade network security to protect against potential breaches, which will keep  one’s  critical information safe.  He said Microsoft Office 365 is now   available  as  a cloud solution and  can benefit small business owners in any industry.

    With Microsoft Office 365, he  said small businesses  can  have access to email, instant messages with presence, video and voice conferencing and document sharing.  According  to him, office 365 brings together Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Lync Online in an always-up-to-date service, at a predictable monthly cost. “We are evolving from the information age to the collaboration age, where the ability to take action on information will set successful businesses apart from the rest,” said Onyeje.

    Speaking during the event, Information Worker Business Group Lead for Microsoft Africa Marc Israel, said small firms don’t have capital to throw around like larger players, so, they have  to  buy technology for their immediate needs.

    Israel said cloud technologies provide  small businesses  the  affordability, which is essential to quickly grow a start-up times.  He said  Microsoft is making  technology cheaper to  allow more small businesses to adopt IT solutions in  cloud.  According  to him, the company is  providing a pay-as-you-go model, from infrastructure and servers to software applications. In this model, the user pays for the resources used over a given period, such as a month. This means, for instance, that a small business can pay for storage as their storage needs grow, instead of having to buy storage based on growth projections.

    With the elastic, pay-as-you-go model of the cloud, any small business can have access easily to (or even automatically) scalable computing platforms, reducing the risks of downtime and the need for accurate projections. The scalability and elasticity one get by storing information in an offsite data center allows one to easily adjust the mount of space one needs and only pay for what one use.

    He  said small firms could start operating much more quickly with the solution, and scale operations as needed. He said they could manage  their  email in the Cloud with Microsoft Exchange Online and provide  their  teams  access to email and calendars anywhere. He said  his  company  is  committed to supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs to help the world run better and improve people’s lives.

    Developer Platform and Evangelism Lead, Microsoft West East and Central Africa,Dele Akinsade  said Microsoft  is offering  a wide variety of useful cloud-based software applications that was developed bringing together many of the most productive online applications. The   easy-to-use applications, he  added,  can assist  individual business people  at all skill levels, build their own websites, business cards, banners, blogs and much more, to increase visibility that helps attract attention and generate profit.

    He  explained  that  cloud computing  and office 365  was designed for individuals and small business owners to help maximise quality, efficiency and productivity.  Moving to the cloud with Office 365 doesn’t require a business to change the way it works, because the service is based on familiar productivity tools people know and trust, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access and more. Employees get new ways to work together with ease, on virtually any device or mobile phone, and businesses get the reliability, security and IT controls they need in the cloud, even without a dedicated  IT staff.

    “We thoroughly evaluated other cloud productivity offerings in the market before choosing Microsoft,” said Abiodun Atobatele, Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer, ATB TechSoft Solutions. “Office 365 is the right choice to help our company support the way people work today and encourage a more mobile work environment.  With the service, we have the added benefit of working together with familiar tools on almost any device and can make quicker decisions when needed.”

  • Made by enterprise online

    Made by enterprise online

    Mrs  Iyabo Oyawale, a former Deputy Editor of City People Quarterly, a subsidiary of City People, is drawing  many Nigerians to take part in an entrepreneurial spark business start-up programme online. It is designed to help businesses start up up and run successfully.

    She was brought up by indigent parents. Her parents were traders who couldn’t afford to send their children to schools. But she was determined to make something out of her life. “I was ambitious and never cared about the challenges I had regarding finance.”

    Her struggle and entrepreneurial acumen led her to establish successful online coaching  companies. Known as Nigerian Adsense and Quit your day job Queen, Mrs  Oyawale  resigned from City People   after she got to know about Internet business and started a couple of successful ventures online. She  started her business with N10,000 in 2003. She created  an information product, How to Successfully Start Your Dream Business with Little or No Money based on her own experience.

    The manual was introduced into the Nigerian market. It sold well with high profit margins – encouraging her to do another manual on 101 Businesses You Can Do Without Quitting Your Day Job. This did well, too, on the Internet.

    Since then, Mrs Oyawale has done several other successful businesses on the Internet. She believes anybody can run a profit able business online. She started her Internet business part-time. She would go to her day job and return at night to face what she was trying to build. Then, she used to call herself an employee by day and entrepreneur by night. Those were really heady days as she won’t sleep for days but she endured all the sacrifice because she knew she had a destiny to fulfill.

    Mrs  Oyawale is a popular fixture on  the social  media, and  earns good  money  from blogging.  She  runs  two  blogs http://naijanetwarriors.com and www.askiyabooyawale.com. She   started blogging in 2003. She started after registering some success online and felt comfortable teaching others. The two  sites give people solid  guides to Internet business. Since she quit her  day job in 2007, the entrepreneur said she has no regret.

    To keep on growing a start up, Mrs  Oyawale said  one  needs passion day in and day out.  According  to her, when one is  passionate about something, it will keep one  up late at night. A strong passion, she explained will compel one to wake up early in the morning for the simple fact that one truly enjoys what one is doing. Once one discovers a passion, she added, the person will start following it with deep commitment to obtain business success. A champion of the “Quit Your Day Job” message, Mrs  Oyawale  is concerned  about people who have high-paying jobs but are inwardly unhappy because they are not fulfilling their God-given purpose.” I want to encourage these set of people that they can still do what God created them to do. That is why I am passionately spreading this message. I see it as a pure waste of life for people to come to this world and die without fulfilling the purpose for which they were created.”

    Her   greatest challenges in this business have been poor power supply from Power Holding  Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and Internet connectivity. She got a generator to tackle the power issue.

    Mrs  Oyawale  is able to make a living because she has  succeeded in developing multiple avenues to serve  her audience.

    An important hurdle some entrepreneurs, she said bloggers need to overcome is inability to self-promote. While working to produce great works, she said bloggers must work hard  to ensure people  find it. To be a successful entrepreneur, one has to make sure people find such works. Her blogs have built a brand that brings her income from other platforms.  As her profile grew, she has taken up other paying opportunities as seminars. These talks help build her brand and network of contacts.

  • Market recovery: Firms revive fund raising plans

    Market recovery: Firms revive fund raising plans

    Many companies that had shelved earlier plans to raise new capital from the capital market due to the lingering recession have restarted discussions about prospects of accessing new equity funds from the market.

    Investment banking sources said there were indications of renewed interests in the new issue market following sustained recovery in the stock market, which has seen considerable restoration of equities’ values and investors’ confidence in recent period.

    They indicated that ongoing discussions could lead to debut of early new issues in the market around the first quarter of 2013 if the market sustained its ongoing recovery.

    Market sources said although the talks were still not definitive, the discussions pointed to imminent rebound of the new issue market.

    From a whooping N1.3 trillion in 2007, the recession that started in 2008 had withered enthusiasms for new issues, especially equities, as new issues dropped to about N86 billion in 2009. It has since declined consecutively with the few new equity issues in recent years – largely rights issues motivated by large core investors seeking to recapitalize their companies.

    Companies were however, said to be considering that the positive sentiments from the secondary market recovery would impact on new equity issues.

    Reports by boards of directors of several companies had indicated that companies were constrained by their inability to source new equity capital due to the meltdown at the capital market while recourse to high-interest bank loans depressed probable returns to shareholders.

    Reports by quoted companies highlighted the twin-problem of high cost of fund and liquidity squeeze on corporate earnings.

    Several companies had earlier indicated plans for supplementary equity issues and initial public offering (IPO) but suspended the plans due to what they described as unfavourable situation at the primary market.

    Not less than 11 companies had earlier indicated interests in raising new equity funds. These included companies such as Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), May and Baker Nigeria, Fidson Healthcare, RT Briscoe, DN Meyer, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (Nahco), Lafarge Wapco Cement Nigeria Plc and UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc. Two prospective new listings- Promasidor Nigeria Limited and Notore Chemical Industries Limited had also mulled plans to float IPOs.

    Many banks were said to be considering proactive fund-raising plans to boost their lending capacity and forestall adverse impact from global and domestic regulatory changes.

    Many banks have subsisting shareholders’ resolutions to raise new funds through equity and debt issues.

    Most of the companies had already intimated shareholders of the necessity of accessing new funds while many have started and completed some key steps in the new issue process. Already, CCNN had secured shareholders’ approval to raise N45 billion. The company had gotten approval to raise N15 billion each through rights issue, public offer and a rights-based secured convertible debenture issue.

    This implied that the company would be seeking to raise up to N30 billion from existing shareholders while new investors and existing shareholders would contribute N15 billion. A secured convertible debenture would give opportunity to debenture holders to choose to convert their holdings to ordinary shares at a later date.

    While some of the companies plan to use net proceeds of their offers for business expansion, most of the companies would use the funds to restructure their balance sheets by reducing bank loans and providing additional working capital to support long-term growth.

    CCNN was planning to raise funds to finance expansion while Promasidor and Notore plan to use net proceeds of their IPOs to partly finance its new factory.

    Notore plans to raise more than N160 billion. The net proceeds from the IPO would be used to finance a brand new fertilizer plant, with a conservative estimated cost of $1 billion. The new fertilizer plant was part of the company’s expansion programme, which aimed to build new capacity to support the current attainable capacity of the existing plant of 750,000 metric tonnes.

  • How savings from currency overhaul’ll be spent, by CBN

    How savings from currency overhaul’ll be spent, by CBN

    Savings from the planned currency overhaul will be used by the government in creating jobs and strengthening key infrastructure in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

    CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo, who disclosed this in Lagos, noted that cost of currency management has been on the rise, with over N125 billion spent in the past three years printing and minting currency.

    Lemo was responding to criticisms against the apex bank currency restructuring programme, which will see N5,000 banknote introduced into the economy early 2013. The currency will become the highest value bill in circulation even as other changes will see the lower denomination bills of N5, N10 and N20 converted into coins. This will increase the country’s currency structure to 12 from 11, divided equally between coins and notes.

    He explained that the currency overhaul will save the country a lot of funds, as the new banknote is cheaper, easier to carry and manage. It will also lead to drastic reduction in cost of banking operations. Such funds, he said, will be used to create jobs and boost infrastructure.

    However, he said that banks do not have the power to compel their customers to accept the N5, 000 banknote if and where it is not convenient for such customers. Such customers, he advised, can ask for alternative banknotes where they think the N5, 000 is not convenient and banks should oblige such requests.

    ”Banks cannot compel bank customers to take the N5, 000 banknote. Bank customers can decide to accept or reject the proposed banknotes where they are not convenient. If you do not need it, you can as well ask that alternative banknotes be provided,” he said.

    Lemo said there is no link between inflation and higher currency denominations, adding the value of the currency will remain the same. He argued that in  many economies in which large-denomination notes and coins circulate actually have some of the lowest inflation rates often combined with impressive records of growth citing the United States,  Japan, United Kingdom and the Euro area are some of the examples. He said that Japan has a single banknote of 10,000 Yen (Y10, 000) and that inflation in the country is one of the lowest in the world.

    He said there is no contradiction between the proposed banknotes and the cashless policy of the apex bank, adding that the objective of cashless policy is to drive efficiency in the management of banking transactions.

    According to him, cashless simply means that less cash will be used and not absence of cash. He said that introducing the N5, 000 banknote will create efficiency and drastically reduce cost of printing banknotes in the country.

    He said that Nigerians do not hate coins as most people have insinuated, rather, it was the fact that coins used in the past could hardly buy anything. He said that the CBN is yet to decide on which company will print the N5, 000 banknote, adding that the bidding process for the contract will be competitive.

    He expressed surprise at the response that greeted the proposed banknote, adding that perhaps, it was a transferred aggression because of the hardship in the country. Lemo said economic hardship is not peculiar to Nigeria alone, adding that other countries of the world are also going through severe economic hardship.

    Justifying the currency overhaul, the Lemo said that every currency gets reviewed once in a while and that Nigeria is not an exception.

    “Currency review is something that we must do. So as a monetary authority it is a responsibility enshrined in the CBN Act 2007,” he said.

  • Transcorp targets N2b net profit

    Transcorp targets N2b net profit

    Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc could make a net profit of about N2.01 billion this year, according to latest estimates by the board of the conglomerate.

    Forecasts for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2012 indicated that the company expected to make profit before tax of N2.17 billion from total income of N3.6 billion. After taxes, net profit is expected to be N2.005 billion.

    The forecasts indicate possible earnings per share of 7.8 kobo.

    Speaking recently on the outlook for the company, chairman, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said the conglomerate would optimize its idle assets and invest in new facilities and businesses to ensure stable growth and returns to shareholders.

    He said the company has commenced the execution of its expansion plans to fully utilise the massive unutilised land on its Transcorp Hilton Abuja site and roll out new hotels across major economic centres in Nigeria such as Lagos and Port Harcourt.

    He added that the conglomerate has also signed a partnership agreement with Symbion Power, a US-based energy company, to engage in power production venture, which would lead to a significant increase in power production for the benefit of the nation.

    According to him, the conglomerate took several significant steps in its key sectors of agri-business, energy and hospitality – that would no doubt see Transcorp taking its rightful place as a key player in the economic development and transformation of Nigeria.

    He outlined that Transcorp’s agribusiness subsidiary, Teragro Ltd, has the annual capacity to process 26,500 metric tonnes of oranges, mangoes and pineapples, turning them into juice concentrate that will be supplied to ready-to-drink juice manufacturers in Nigeria and beyond.

    “This plant will contribute tremendously to increased employment, the utilisation of local produce, as well as serve as a domestic supply substitute for indigenous manufacturers. I am excited and optimistic about Nigeria’s coming of age. Now is the time to become fully engaged in transformational investments that create economic prosperity and social wealth by increasing employment and enhancing the quality of life for all Nigerians,” Elumelu said.

    In his remarks, president, Transcorp, Mr. Obinna Ufudo, said the company has fully embraced and enthroned the highest level of global best practices and governance standards in its operations and businesses.

    “Our major priorities now are creating value for our stakeholders as well as making profits for our shareholders, and we believe very strongly that the foundation that we are laying, and our hard work, will lead to dividends being paid by the end of this financial year,” Ufudo said.

  • Banking stocks gain N717billion

    banking stocks have added N717 billion in new capital gains this year, nearly half of the total capital gains by the stock market.

    Banking stocks opened this week with a market capitalisation of N2.553 trillion, an increase of 39 per cent on total sectoral value of N1.836 trillion recorded at the start of the year.

    Aggregate market value of all equities indicated total gains of N1.533 trillion at the start of trading this week as equities’ secondary values rose from 2012’s opening value of N6.533 trillion to open this week at N8.066 trillion.

    However, number of quoted banks reduced during the period from 16 to 15 following the absorption of Ecobank Nigeria Plc by its bank-holding parent company- Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc.

    Capital gains analysis of banking stocks so far showed that First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc has made the highest recovery in terms of value while Union Bank of Nigeria led in terms of percentage of growth. Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) meanwhile remained the most capitalised banking stock. Access Bank made the most dramatic upshot to the top-five bracket.

    But five banks including First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Unity Bank and Wema Bank Plc are still on the negative with losses within the range of N897 million and N25 billion.

    First Bank has gained N182.74 billion to lead the banking stocks. GTB followed with a gain of N145.69 billion. Zenith Bank placed third with total capital gains of about N130 billion. Access Bank trailed with about N126 billion. Union Bank gained about N95 billion while UBA added N70.3 billion.

    Others with sustained capital gains included Diamond Bank, N19.54 billion; ETI, N15.7 billion; Fidelity Bank, N9.56 billion and Sterling Bank, which has added N5.65 billion to investors’ value.

    On the other hand, market value of Stanbic IBTC Bank showed a depreciation of N25.13 billion. FCMB followed with a loss of N13.75 billion. Shareholders in Skye Bank were down by N10.6 billion while Unity Bank and Wema Bank struggled with losses of N1.7 billion and N897 million respectively.

    In terms of percentage growth, Union Bank quadrupled its market value with an increase of 353 per cent. Access Bank followed with 146.6 per cent. UBA returned about 84 per cent while Diamond Bank and First Bank indicated 70 per cent and 63 per cent respectively.

    Most analysts still hold that banking stocks generally remain relatively below their fair values.

    Analysts said there were still possibilities that the sector could witness further gains given the comparable fundamentals and market considerations of Nigerian banks and their peers in other markets.

    However, several analysts were wary of what they described as regulatory somersaults that often lead to dramatic changes in the outlook for the banking sector.

    Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), Mr. Bismarck Rewane, said there were greater growth prospects for Nigerian banks compared with the developed economies and other frontier markets.