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Tag: Africa

  • Lafarge Africa buys out Ashaka Cement’s shareholders with 85.26m shares

    Lafarge Africa buys out Ashaka Cement’s shareholders with 85.26m shares

    Lafarge Africa Plc has issued and listed 85.26 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the name of minority shareholders of Ashaka Cement (AshakaCem) Plc following the conclusion of share exchange agreement that seeks to fully consolidate the Gombe-based Ashaka Cement as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lafarge Africa.

    Listing documents at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday indicated that a total of 85.26 million ordinary shares were listed in the name of Lafarge Africa Plc, raising the cement giant’s issued share capital from 5.491 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to 5.576 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

    “The shares listed were issued to shareholders of Ashaka Cement in exchange for their shares in Ashaka Cement pursuant to a scheme of arrangement for capital re-organisation between Ashaka Cement and holders of its fully paid ordinary shares of 50 kobo each dated 26 September 2017,” the regulatory document indicated.

    Lafarge Africa had separately launched a Mandatory Tender Offer (MTO) and Voluntary Tender Offer (VTO) to acquire minority shares in AshakaCem. During the MTO and VTO, Lafarge Africa offered 57 new Lafarge Africa shares for 202 AshakaCem shares and a cash consideration of N2 per every AshakaCem exchanged.

    Shareholders of AshakaCem had at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in December 2016 approved the resolutions for a voluntary delisting of the company from the NSE. With the approval at the EGM, shareholders were given a 90-day window to decide on the exit plan on offer, in line with the requirements of the NSE on voluntary delisting.

    Within the 90-day period, shareholders had three options. They may decide to trade their shares on the NSE through their nominated stockbroker. Alternatively, shareholders may decide to receive consideration from Lafarge Africa in exchange for transferring their shares, on same terms as were for the MTO and VTO. On the other hand, shareholders may decide to retain their shareholdings in the unlisted AshakaCem.

    The board of Ashakacem said the voluntary delisting and full integration of the company as subsidiary of Lafarge Africa will offer minority shareholders many benefits, including revenue diversification by geography as a result of Lafarge Africa’s operations in Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana.

    Lafarge had on July 9, 2014 received shareholders’ approval to consolidate its cement businesses in Nigeria and combine these with South African operations to create a leading sub-Saharan building materials giant to be known as Lafarge Africa Plc. The consolidation was done by transferring Lafarge’s assets in South Africa and Nigeria to Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc.

    Following the consolidation of Lafarge’s businesses in Nigeria and South Africa into Lafarge Africa, Lafarge Africa had acquired 58.61 per cent majority equity stake in Ashaka Cement. The majority equity stake was previously held by Lafarge Nigeria (UK) Limited. The acquisition was done through a block trade at the NSE.

  • Fidelity Bank partners Africa’s young entrepreneurs

    Fidelity Bank partners Africa’s young entrepreneurs

    idelity Bank Plc. has partnered with the Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (AYE) to empower entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The partnership agreement between both organizations, signed recently, will strengthen the on-going efforts and initiatives of AYE in developing and supporting future business leaders. It will also afford Fidelity Bank the opportunity to offer financial and technical advisory services to enhance the competitiveness and dynamism of young Nigerian entrepreneurs.

    With a network of over 12.6 million members across the continent and 1.6 million Nigerian members, AYE is the largest network of entrepreneurs in the world. The organisation uses conferences, workshops and motivational talks to share practical information on how to develop and manage businesses. As one of Nigeria’s top lenders operating out of over 240 business offices and other numerous e-channels, this is in tandem with Fidelity Banks’ unique solutions to supporting small businesses and practical steps in hand holding and guiding entrepreneurs to building sustainable businesses.

    “The partnership was made possible because we share the same ideals on entrepreneurship and job creation.  In line with the Federal Government’s economic diversification plan, more employment opportunities lead to poverty alleviation, improved food security and GDP growth” said CEO Fidelity Bank,  Nnamdi Okonkwo at a media parley in Lagos on Wednesday, November 22, 2017.

    The AYE encourages social entrepreneurship with role models, powerful mentors, social innovators, thought leaders, forward thinking investors and people passionate about addressing a range of societal and environmental challenges.

  • Nigeria tops Africa’s hotel market

    • Contributes 49.6% hotel rooms

    West Africa has a pipeline of 114 hotels and 20, 790 rooms, accounting for 42 per cent of sub-Saharan African hotel pipeline.

    Of the hotel pipeline for West Africa, Nigeria contributes 49.6 per cent, or more than 10, 000 hotel rooms (in 61 hotels). Nigeria is also the top market in Africa for planned hotel rooms, W. Hospitality Group’s 2017 Hotel Chains Pipeline report, has shown.

    According to the report, other substantial markets in West Africa include Cape Verde with 11 hotels and 3, 478 rooms, and Senegal with 14 hotels and 2, 164 rooms. These three markets contribute a total of 15, 955 hotel rooms, or 77 per cent of the West African hotel pipeline.

    The report, seen by The Nation at the weekend, showed that approximately 57 per cent of the pipeline in these countries have moved to site, adding however, that some of the projects have been stalled for some time. “In a country like Nigeria, this can be significant. For instance, 40 per cent of Nigeria’s pipeline was signed between 2009 and 2014, and a large portion of these projects is still in the “planning” phase,” it said.

    The report said in Senegal, only approximately 44 per cent of the deals signed have moved to site. It also said although, the pipeline of hotels to the sub-region was encouraging and indicative of strong investor interest, the low completion rate of projects could be troubling for the development of the hotel sector.

    It is also difficult for the hotel chains whose expansion plans in these markets rely on partnerships with local and foreign investors to develop these hotels. The report said that all the major global hotel chains have strong expansion plans to increase their operating presence on the continent, and in West Africa.

    The report noted that West Africa has been at the heart of the continent’s growth and economic transformation in recent years. It added that despite the sharp slowdown experienced in 2016 and 2017, the region’s economy is expected to rebound in 2017 onwards.

    The 2017 Hotel Chains Pipeline report said commodity-based economies like Nigeria are slowly recovering from the fall in oil prices and oil production, while countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal have shown economic resilience and sustained growth.

    According to the report, as many of the countries continue to stabilise – politically and economically – the region will be better integrated from a local and international context. This increased integration, it said, raises the need for quality travel and accommodation infrastructure.

    It noted that the growth of the hotel sector is an important indicator of how well a market is developing its travel infrastructure, and the indicators for West Africa are mixed. “West Africa has a pipeline of 114 hotels and 20, 790 rooms, accounting for 42 per cent of the Sub-Saharan African hotel pipeline,” the report stated.

    However, of these hotel deals signed and planned, only approximately 9,875 rooms, or 48 per cent have moved to construction. In addition, projects in the region have longer than average development periods at approximately six years, compared to the two- to three-year development program that is usually planned.

    The report identified some of the reasons for these delays to include high capital investment required, lack of access to adequate financing options, limited access to raw materials, high construction and material costs, a heavy reliance on importation, inadequate technical capacity to manage the development program, and other barriers to entry.

  • Ecobank research shows emerging trends for Africa

    Ecobank research shows emerging trends for Africa

    The 2017 version of Ecobank Research’s Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities (FICC) Guidebook, which provides expert knowledge and analysis on African markets for investors and businesses, was launched yesterday at AfricaFICC. Indicating a positive outlook for the continent, three key trends are forecast to take hold during the next 12 months.

    The first indicates an economic rebound in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by a recovery in the region’s economic heavyweights, Nigeria and South Africa, and ongoing growth in the top performers, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire and (more recently) Ghana.

    Growth will be driven by a rise in oil production (notably in Ghana, Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Angola), strengthening infrastructure investment across West and East Africa, and improved weather conditions which bode well for crops.

    Strengthening economic activity, plus a moderate improvement in oil and mineral prices, will help narrow the current account deficit, but pressure on SSA currencies will remain. The second emerging trend points to West Africa’s gas sector becoming a hive of activity in 2018, from Senegal to Angola, with the development of gas pipelines, floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platforms and major gas field projects.

    Governments in the Gulf of Guinea and across West Africa have ramped up efforts to secure gas supply in order to boost domestic power generation and diversify their revenues away from crude oil.

    Deregulating the gas market and allowing market-driven gas prices will be key to unlocking further gas infrastructure investment across the region.

    The third trend suggests Fintech innovation in Africa picking up speed in 2018, buoyed by a new generation of Africans who are ‘digital natives’.

    The proliferation of tech hubs across. Africa (notably in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire) will nurture the next wave of African start-ups and help connect them with investors. Digital innovation in SSA is being driven by the explosion in mobile phone usage, enabling African consumers to leapfrog existing business models and technologies.

    African Fintech firms are increasingly driving this innovation, deploying digital tools to build credit profiles for the previously ‘unbankable’, providing electricity to rural households that were previously off the grid, even using artificial intelligence to diagnose health problems remotely.

  • UNN set to establish $7m Science Park in Africa

    UNN set to establish $7m Science Park in Africa

    The University of Nigeria Nsukka and a Swedish investor is set to establish a science park in Africa.

    The park, which is to be set-up at UNN main campus and named Lion Science Park, is expected to cost over $7million.

    Lion Science park is a triple helix involving the university, business community and government, intended to boost technological innovation in the county.

    The founder of Science Park Sweden, Dr Sven-Thore Holm said the group  has been working with Swedish innovative system for the past 35 years, adding that Swedish companies are all over the world.

    He maintained that there has been collaboration between Nigerian universities and Sweden for decades, saying that there is a need for universities and institutes to set up new companies that would be rooted in research and education.

    “There is a need to institute a support system to train people to manage employment and make the economy of this country prosperous and our country to grow and to keep up the standard of living for everybody”.

    Holm, who is a Doctor of Technology at Wind University Sweden confirmed that some staff from UNN visited Sweden on February, which he said yielded to ongoing construction of incubator at UNN.

    He said with the first phase of science park in UNN that existing companies could move into the campus and collaborate with different faculties on educational research.

  • 75% of world’s poorest countries in Africa, says BoI chief

    75% of world’s poorest countries in Africa, says BoI chief

    The Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Olukayode Pitan, said 75 per cent of the world’s poorest countries are in Africa, adding that by 2030, it is estimated that 90 per cent of the world’s destitute children would be living on the continent.

    Pitan spoke at the 2017 Chief Executive Officers Forum of African Development Finance Institutions with: Strengthening African Development Finance Institutions as theme in Abuja. He stated that poverty and regional underdevelopment still pervade due to political upheavals, civil conflicts, terrorism and general economic challenges.

    He said: “With a current population of 1.21 billion, Africa is projected to experience the largest continental population growth by 2050, with an estimated addition of about 1.3 billion people within the period.

    “Therefore, all of us have the responsibility to ensure that we improve the quality of life of our people.  Although there have been marked economic improvements in some African countries through the adoption of science and technology.

    “As we all know, Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) play a very significant role in ensuring sustainable economic and social development. This is evidenced by the roles that they have played in the economic development of Asian, European and South American economies. We have also seen strides made by these institutions in Africa, albeit more developmental impact need to be achieved.

    “Poverty and regional underdevelopment still pervade due to political upheavals, civil conflicts, terrorism and general economic challenges. Research says 75 per cent of the world’s poorest countries are located in Africa. And by 2030, it is estimated that 90 per cent of the world’s destitute children will be living in Africa.”

    He said African DFIs have the potential to address these issues working in synergy among with respective governments. “Individually, we can bring about some development in our countries, however only our collective effort can deliver the level of sustainable social development that we desire.

  • Africa’s mobile subscriptions to hit 310m by 2023

    Long Term Evolution (LTE) subscriptions will expand by 47 per cent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023 in Nigeria and the entire Sub-Saharan Africa, latest Ericsson Mobility Report, has said.

    Ericsson is a world leader in communications technology and services with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden

    The report also announced that mobile subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow by six per cent, between 2017 and 2023, from 700 million mobile subscriptions in 2017 to 990 million subscriptions by 2023.

    Moreover, mobile traffic in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49 per cent while mobile subscriptions for the total MEA region are expected to grow at four per cent CAGR between 2017 and 2023, from 1.59 billion in 2017 to 2.03 billion by 2023.

    The report, which was accessed by The Nation, during the week, said this equates to three per cent growth in the Middle East and North Africa, from 890 million mobile subscriptions to 1.04 billion subscriptions between 2017 and 2023.

    On the other hand, mobile broadband subscriptions are forecast to grow by 15 per cent for the MEA region from 820 million in 2017 to 1.85 billion by 2023. This is broken down into a 13 per cent increase for the Middle East and North Africa from 460 million mobile broadband subscriptions in 2017 to 980 million by 2023.

    Similarly, Sub-Saharan Africa mobile broadband subscriptions are forecast to grow by 16 per cent from 350 million in 2017 to 880 million by 2023.

    When it comes to LTE subscriptions, the MEA region is expected to grow by 29 per cent, from 190 million to 860 million by 2023. This means that LTE subscriptions in the Middle East and North Africa will grow by 23 per cent, from 160 million in 2017 to 570 million by 2023.

    For the Sub-Saharan Africa region, LTE subscriptions will expand by 47 per cent from 30 million in 2017 to 310 million by 2023.

    Head of Ericsson MEA Rafiah Ibrahim said: “Total mobile traffic for the region is forecasted to grow by around 49 per cent annually between 2017 and 2023. This rapid growth is seeing operators increasingly exploring methods of optimizing their networks with more capacity and coverage.”

  • ‘Innovation key to Africa’s oil industry’s competitiveness’

    Sustained lower price of oil has been accepted as normal in the global oil & gas industry, with companies putting measures in place to enable a more agile response to commodity price fluctuations in the future.

    Instead of playing catch up with the rest of the world, Africa’s oil & gas industry should be learning to leapfrog and harness innovation and technology to stay ahead of the competition.

    These were the highlights of PwC’s Africa Oil & Gas Review 2017, which analysed what has happened in the last 12 months in the oil & gas industry within the major and emerging markets.

    The review, which was accessed by The Nation, said Africa’s oil & gas industry continues to face market challenges arising from the low oil price, competition for revenue growth and local talent together with new expectations from investors and regulators.

    “Africa’s oil & gas industry is experiencing significant change and upheaval. There are fundamental shifts in companies’ strategies, business models and ways of working,” PwC Africa Oil & Gas Advisory Leader, Chris Bredenhann, said.

    Bredenhann said for some, this means a diversification of portfolio, with many considering moves to an energy mix that includes some form of renewables. He said despite the challenges, there are a number of opportunities on the African continent.

    For instance, as at the end of 2016, Africa was reported to have had proven natural gas reserves of 503.3 trillion cubic feet (TcF), up one per cent in total gas reserves on the continent.

    Bredenhann added that about 90 per cent of African gas production continues to come from Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt and Libya though the overall quantity produced in 2016 reduced by 1.1 per cent down to 208.3bcm.

    He said Africa’s share of global oil production has continued its downward trend in the past four years, dropping sharply, moving down from 9.1 per cent last year to 8.6 per cent.

    According to the PwC review, the challenges in Africa’s oil & gas industry remained similar to those in previous years with uncertain regulatory frameworks, corruption, and tax requirements remaining in the top six for the past four years.

    “It is notable that financing costs and foreign currency volatility have both become more critical challenges since 2015 when they were ranked 11th and 10th respectively. It is disheartening that governments are not catching up with demands and calls from oil & gas companies to ensure regulatory certainty to players who are looking to invest in hydrocarbon plays in various African countries,” Bredenhann said.

    According to him, upstream regulation in South Africa remains uncertain, with the separation of oil & gas from mining still not achieved in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).

    Other key markets in Africa, such as Nigeria and Tanzania, are also experiencing significant regulatory issues.

    The review also said corruption remained among the top three challenges over the last four years, with numerous instances occuring across the continent. It noted that despite the existence of anti-corruption programmes at government and corporate levels, the effectiveness of such programmes was questionable.

    “In the context of corruption issues, it is not surprising that the costs of finance have risen to third among major challenges for African players. It is likely that the regional issues and uncertainties combined with a constrained wider industry, have led banks and other institutions to be wary of offering favourable financing terms,” the review said.

    It further noted that the lack of skills development continues to be a problem in Africa, and it is becoming a global challenge in the oil & gas industry overall.

    The review said aside from the challenges highlighted by companies, adjusting to the new  lower oil prices remained a concern for companies.

    The oil price has been relatively ‘stable’ through 2017. Having recovered since the January 2016 low, it has typically been trading in the $50-60/bbl range.

    As the Brent oil price reached close to $60/bbl in September 2017, the market began asking whether ‘lower for longer’ may be over. The demand for oil is picking up, and supply is easing off, suggesting a market rebalancing is underway.

    The review, however, stated that as often seen with global oil prices, nothing is ever certain, adding that in response to many of these challenges, oil & gas companies are looking to alter their strategies and operating models, which has changed the competitive landscape.

  • COP 23: What is at stake for Africa?

    COP 23: What is at stake for Africa?

    Delegates from about 196 countries have gathered in Bonn, Germany for what looked like a yearly ritual – the 23rd conference of parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

    The conference, which began last Monday, will end on November 17,  under the leadership of Fiji, the first small island developing state to hold this role. The COP is coming at a time extreme weather events such as floods, hurricanes and fires have destabilised millions of people in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Caribbeans. COP 23 therefore, aspires to propel the world towards the next level of ambition needed to tackle global warming and put the world on a safer and more prosperous development path.

     

    Africa and the COP Process

    At the beginning of COP 22 in Marrakech, Morocco, November 2016, the Paris Agreement era had been ushered in. Countries of the world had demonstrated commitment and the Agreement had come into force faster than anticipated. Due to this reality, COP 22 then focused on how to make Paris agreement work by setting up mechanisms and structures that would facilitate its implementation. A year later and with over 33 African countries ratifying the Paris Agreement, Africans are heading to Bonn with a bag full of expectations for the continent and the world. As the region with least contribution to green house gas emissions and the most affected in terms of climate disasters, African delegates are not happy with the failure of the COP process to close the finance gap; inadequacy in pledges; delay in addressing ‘orphan issues’ under the Paris Agreement, especially common time-frames for NDCs, and adjustment of existing NDCs. Others are recognition of developing countries’ adaptation efforts; guidance related to finance; and the slow pace and ambiguity in sequencing of work on the Paris Agreement Rule Book, thus creating roadblocks in advancing its formulation.

     

    African demands

    Prof Seth Osafo of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) believed that the slow progress by developed country parties towards reaching the $100 billion goal of joint annual mobilisation by 2020 is not in Africa’s interest. Speaking at the African civil society Pre-COP workshop in Bonn, Prof Osafo said Africa’s interest lies in developed countries providing financial support to developing countries and positioning the Paris Committee on Capacity Building (PCCB) to provide support to developing countries in finance, technology and capacity building.

    At the Pre-COP workshop, organised by African civil society actors including farmers, pastoralists, youth and gender groups under the umbrella of the Pan African Climate, Justice Alliance (PACJA), non-state actors from the region, expressed their desire for loss and damage concerns to be fully taken into consideration as the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) shifts to serve the Paris Agreement after 2020. According to Mithika Mwenda, Secretary-General of the alliance, parties should establish a globally supported insurance mechanism (especially for agriculture and infrastructure sectors) in line with the objectives of the WIM for Loss & Damage by 2020. “We call on parties to establish a framework, preferably outside, but complimentary to UNFCCC, for addressing liability or compensation due to losses and damages in developing countries by extreme weather events and severe impacts of climate change,” he added.

     

    Pre-2020 commitments

    Heading into the 23rd session of the Conference of Parties this year, one of the issues that have emerged as key expectation for African Parties to this year’s climate talks is progress on pre-2020 commitments. African groups want COP23 to provide an opportunity for rich countries to revisit their commitment to undertake pre-2020  actions. The deliverables could be the concrete progress or signal with regards to the ratification of the Doha Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) to enable the entry into force of the second commitment period (for emissions reductions by developed countries under the KP) and the operationalisation of the $100 billion per year from 2020 and other resources for developing countries.

    The implementation of pre-2020 commitments, which cover actions to be taken before the Paris Agreement comes into force are of high importance to safeguard the future of the climate.

     

    Rule book for Paris Agreement

    Another issue of urgent African importance at this COP is progress on the work programme to implement the Paris Agreement. Negotiations on the Paris Rule Book will be critical to ensuring that the promises made in the Paris Agreement are met. Some of these promises include the commitment of governments to respect, protect and take into consideration existing human rights obligations. To enhance the likelihood that the Paris Agreement is effectively implemented, when developing the Paris Rule Book, parties are expected to integrate human rights and the social and environmental principles reaffirmed in the agreement’s preamble, including the rights of indigenous peoples, public participation, gender equality, safeguarding food security and ending hunger, a just transition, and ecosystem integrity.

     

    Facilitative Dialogue 2018

    According to the agreement reached in Paris, a facilitative dialogue (FD 2018) is to be convened to take stock of the collective efforts of parties in relation to progress towards the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement and to inform the preparation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

    The Facilitative Dialogue is expected to ensure the linkage between policies, actions and means of implementation. It will also be instrumental to maintaining the political momentum of the Paris Agreement and its long-term goal and the need to be informed by what science indicates as necessary for climate actions and ambition for next 15 years.

    The design of the dialogue as an overall feature together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on 1.5°C, the work of the climate champions and work of non-state actors, are critical for this purpose.

    • Courtesy: PAMACC News Agency
  • Osinbajo: Africa to have $75.5b FDI

    Osinbajo: Africa to have $75.5b FDI

    The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into Africa is expected to grow from $56.5billion last year to $57.5billion by the end of this year.

    African economies have performed better than global average expectations as a result of good governance, enabling business environment especially for the private sector, micro-economic stability, large markets and widening domestic demands among others, he said.

    Prof Osinbajo spoke while declaring open a two-day facilitating trade and investment for development forum in Abuja. He said African continent has become the second fastest growing foreign direct investment FDI destination in the world

    He said: “For Africa to maximise the benefits, she must embrace the importance of trade and investment in economic development all over the world. Poor infrastructure and lack of capacity building need to be addressed by various leaders to ensure that trade and investments takes the centre stage in  the economic development of the continent.The Nigerian government would work with decisions reached  by stakeholders.”

    Also speaking, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelama  said of Nigeria needs $2.5 trillion yearly for foreign and domestic investment to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].

    Enelama said the recent forecast by the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)  that developing countries will need an additional $2.5 trillion annually in FDI to meet the SDGs..

    The minister also said the World Bank estimates that Africa’s total infrastructure investment requirements to be at roughly $120-$150 billion per annum and estimates the gap between infrastructure investment requirements and available financial resources at about $60-$80 billion yearly should not to be taken for granted.

    He noted that the case for trade and investment facilitation can therefore, not be overemphasised stressing that all these have informed the administration’s commitment to investment facilitation, by creating a more investment friendly business climate.

    Enelamah used the occasion to appreciate the  latest World Bank report on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) which ranked Nigeria 145th position out of 190 countries in the index for 2018.

    According to the Report, Nigeria moved up by 24 points from 169th position on the 2017 ranking to 145 in the current index. Furthermore, the report indicated that Nigeria alongside El Salvador, India, Malawi, Brunei Darussalam, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Zambia and Djibouti are the top 10 improved countries worldwide, after carrying out numerous reforms to improve their business environments.

    He explained that some of these efforts include the prioritised holistic improvement of the business environment for local and foreign businesses especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to drive economic development.