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Tag: London Stock Exchange

  • Mouka an inspiration to Africa, says London Stock Exchange

    The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has again named Mouka Limited as one of Africa’s most inspirational and high growth companies. Mouka, an indigenous mattress and foam products manufacturer, is among a few African companies to be recognised twice by the LSEG in its Companies to Inspire Africa report.

    Mouka was listed in the 2019 report. It had been listed in the 2017 inaugural edition. Mouka was recognised alongside 360 companies from 32 countries across the continent represented in the 2019 report. The report noted that Mouka recorded average compound annual growth rate of 46 per cent, up from 16 per cent in 2017.

    Companies to Inspire Africa 2019 was produced in partnership with African Development Bank Group, CDC Group, PWC and Asoko Insight which contributed their insight and expertise to select the featured companies, and the report is sponsored by Instinctif Partners and Stephenson Harwood.

    To be included in the list, companies need to be privately held, and show an excellent rate of growth and potential to power African development.

    Chief Executive Officer, Mouka Limited, Raymond Murphy noted that after Mouka was mentioned in the inaugural edition of the report, the company made remarkable progress by consolidating its previous achievement and earning the enviable recognition for a second time in 2019.

    “One of the biggest opportunities over the past year has been to use the challenging operating environment to demonstrate the strength of our operations, by ensuring product availability in a marketplace where our competitors are struggling to do the same… As a result, we have been able to gain market share,” Murphy said.

    In 2017, the same year it made the inaugural list of Companies to Inspire Africa, Mouka was also awarded the Mattress Manufacturing Company of the Year at that year’s edition of The Guardian Manufacturing Excellence Award. The mattress manufacturer also earned another recognition by the African Brand Congress as the Mattress Brand of the Year.

    Established in 1959,Mouka Limited manufactures foam and spring mattresses, as well as other bedding products at its three production facilities across Nigeria. The company has also developed an extensive distribution network with more than 1,000 branded sales outlets and over 300 third-party distributors across the country.

     

  • Obaseki, others, discuss Edo, Nigeria investment opportunities at London Stock Exchange

    Obaseki, others, discuss Edo, Nigeria investment opportunities at London Stock Exchange

    As more transnational companies, multilateral organisations and several trade missions swell the numbers and ranks of participants in the maiden edition of Alaghodaro Investment Summit, the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, was at the London Stock Exchange on Friday to speak to companies listed on the London bourse about the investment opportunities that abound in the state.

    Also at the London event are the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema and the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Ms Patience Oniha, who presented data to show Nigeria’s way to recovery after exiting economic recession.

    At a panel session entitled “The Nigerian Opportunity,” Obaseki who first came to the London Stock Exchange 30 years ago, took his audience of global business leaders through the opportunities in Agro processing, mining, infrastructure, education and healthcare amongst other sectors in the state.

    According to the governor, Alaghodaro Investment Summit is part of his administration’s drive to open up the state for more foreign and local investments and build a modern and progressive Edo state where every citizen is empowered with opportunity to live life in its fullness.

    His detailed and insightful presentation elicited the positive responses from the London Stock Exchange and international business leaders who assured that they would attend the Alaghodaro Summit in Benin City holding from November 10-12.

    He paraded the investment opportunities Edo State is offering investors such as the huge land mass for agro and agro-allied businesses and a favourable weather condition that have sustained the investments of Presco Plc. and Okomu Plc., both listed companies and the biggest projects financed on the continent-

    Azura-Edo Power Plant, which is showcasing project opportunities in the State.

    He told the audience at the London bourse that Alaghodaro which means moving forward in Edo language is a clear 30-year vision for the state, covering Institutional Reform, Economic Development, Social Welfare, Environmental Sustainability, and Art, Culture and Tourism

    He explained that his administration is in a hurry to mainstream the private sector in governance to harness the sector’s huge capital and expertise for an efficient public sector.

    “We are determined to see how the active collaboration between the state and the private sector can produce a win-win situation for both parties. The essence of our government is to serve as an enabler for businesses to thrive,’’ he said.

    Obaseki said that his decision to mark his one-year anniversary in office with Alaghodaro Investment Summit stems from the state government’s conviction that public-private partnership holds the key to unlocking the vast investment potential in the state.

    He added that participants would include local and international business leaders, investors seeking new environments where governments are committed to providing incentives for businesses, policy makers, industry experts as well as academia.

  • Nigeria’s inflation rate to fall to single digit in mid 2018 – Emefiele

    Nigeria’s inflation rate to fall to single digit in mid 2018 – Emefiele

    Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor ( CBN ) Godwin Emefiele said on Friday he expected inflation rate to fall at a faster pace and hit high single digit rates mid-next year.

    “We are very optimistic that food prices will come down and as they come down, it will help to complement the reduction in core inflation,” Emefiele told journalists on the sidelines of an investment conference at the London Stock Exchange.

    “I expected a more aggressive moderation.

    “We are hoping that by the middle of next year we should begin to approach the high single digits,” he said, adding that around nine percent would be a good target.

    Annual inflation in Nigeria slowed for an eighth month in September, easing to 15.98 per cent.

    Read also: Emefiele wins Forbes Achievement Award

    NAN

  • Zenith Bank shares listed in London Stock Exchange

    Zenith Bank shares listed in London Stock Exchange

    Zenith Bank Plc listed $850 million worth of its ordinary shares on the floor of the London Stock Exchange as global depository receipts (GDRs) at $6.80 apiece, the bank said on Thursday.

    One GDR represents 50 ordinary shares, the bank said, adding that JP Morgan is the depository bank, while Citi is the custodian.

    It listed 125,000,000 units of the receipts.

    Zenith Bank Chief Executive, Godwin Emefiele, said the listing will allow foreign investors to buy their shares on the LSE and improve liquidity rather than to raise capital immediately.

    Reuters reports that the lender has a primary listing in Nigeria with a market capitalisation of more than $4 billion.

    “The GDR will allow us to raise money cheaply in the future,” Emefiele, told CNBC Africa television, adding that Zenith was well capitalised with a capital ratio of 30 percent.

    Emefiele said the bank’s operations were focused on Nigeria and he expected plenty of financing opportunities to come from developments in the infrastructure and power sectors in Africa’s second-biggest economy.

    Nigeria is reforming its infrastructure and power sectors, creating financing opportunities for banks as it tries to diversify away from its commodity-based economy in order to boost growth and unlock a consumer market of 160 million people.

    The LSE this month said it expected an increase in new listings from African companies this year as businesses in the continent’s fast-growing economies seek to attract foreign investors.