The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MARKET

  • ‘Nigeria’s capital market literacy rate still poor’

    KNOWLEDGE of the capital market is still abysmally low in the country. This was the verdict passed by a cross-section of experts at different fora recently.

    According to some of these analysts, the level of capital market literacy among Nigerians plays a major part in determining the number of retail investors that participate in the capital market.

    Capital market literacy is the level of education, learning, articulacy, proficiency and scholarship of a country’s population about capital market activities.

    Interestingly, to ensure a more vibrant capital market, the capital market operators have engaged in a lot of investors’ education to attract retail investors, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) taking the initiative by setting up a committee to look into literacy in Nigeria capital market and to draw up a 10-year Capital Market Literacy Master Plan.

    Recently, at the quarterly Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting, the chairman, SEC’s Literacy Committee, Mr. Ariyo Olushekun disclosed that research had shown that the level of capital market literacy in Nigeria stood at 16 per cent.

    According to Olushekun, much as the numerous efforts being made to enhance capital market literacy is laudable, the capital market literacy programmes in the country currently “lacks strategic direction and proper coordination.

    “There should be an increase in public awareness as the committee has suggested that capital market literacy programmes to be included in curriculum of professional bodies, schools and universities. Others are exhibitions, road shows and annual public lectures and so on,” he stressed.

    Echoing similar sentiments, the chairman of Capital Market Master Plan Committee, Mr. Dotun Suleyman, said that capital market education level was still below par, considering the nation’s population.

    Suleyman said that the poor literacy level contributed to the little impact the market made on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of relevance and active participation in key sectors of the economy, saying that the Nigerian capital market was underdeveloped and needed to be much more robust if it was going to play significant role in the national aspiration of being part of 20 top economies in the world by 2020.

    While commenting on the issue, the Chief Relationship Officer of TFS Securities & Investment Limited said: “One of the core functions of SEC is to develop and create awareness about the capital market, saying that over the years, SEC has tried on their own part in ensuring that the capital market education gets to the grass root.”

    He noted that investors’ education on the capital market could not be achieved by SEC and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) alone but collective responsible of stockbrokers, adding “since the stockbrokers are the one dealing with the investors directly, they should take it upon themselves to ensure that they don’t only concentrate in the urban area, they should go to the hinterland in educating them on the importance of capital market investment.”

    He noted that there are a lot of companies in rural area that can be listed on the small scale subsector of the NSE, if they are properly enlighten.

    He pointed out that the capital market literacy should be taken to schools, calling for an overhaul of the curriculum of higher institutions to address the shortage of skills and poor financial literacy level.

    Lending credence to the foregoing, the Managing Director, Dependable Securities Limited, Chinanyem Anyanwu, SEC and NSE has being doing a lot in improving the capital market literacy of individuals. The more the people know about the potential in the capital market, the better for the market.

    “When it comes to investor education, every stakeholder in the capital market is supposed to be a part of this education. The most protected investor is the most educated investor. Right now the Capital Market Committee is putting together a 10-year master plan on improvement capital market literacy which is going to cover all investors, the entire capital market. And all the initiatives that will come under that literacy arrangement will ensure that people begin to know what the capital market is all about: why they should invest, how they should invest, who to go to, and issues like that,” he said.

    He pointed out that the Stock Exchange has its Investors Clinic, just as the Security and Exchange Commission, the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers and other stakeholders have their own investor education initiatives.

    He added that a lot of reforms and initiatives would have to be put in place towards achieving increase in the number of participants in the market.

    According to the domestic and foreign portfolio participation Investment report for July, 2014 by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that domestic participation at the nation’s bourse increased to N167.77 billion in July, up 81.77 per cent from January 2014, while Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) ceded about 49.66 per cent of trading to domestic investors as foreign transactions decreased significantly from 49.28 per cent to 25.17 per cent over the same period.

    Meanwhile, the NSE has said that more investors are returning to the capital market, increasing domestic participation, however, operators have said that despite the improved investor confidence on the capital market, the Exchange still has work to do.

  • Market closes in red

    The Nigerian equity market continued exhibiting sideways trading pattern, as the All Share Index closed in the red yesterday after the previous days’ modest uptrend, shedding 11bps to 40,683.45. This pared the YTD and MTD performance of the Nigerian bourse to negative 1.6 per cent and -2.0 per cent. The decline today was driven by profit taking in bellwether stocks – Dangote Cement (0.9 per cent), Seplat Petroleum (3.4 per cent) and Guaranty (0.5 per cent). Also, activity level measured by volume and value traded exhibited mixed performance as volume advanced 39.5 per cent to 273.4m while value declined 2.6 per cent N2.7tn.

    Sector indices within our coverage experienced mixed performance today. Pacing gains within the sector indices chart was the Consumer Goods Index, which gained 0.9 per cent on the back of Nigerian Breweries (1.0 per cent), Guinness Nigeria (3.4 per cent), Champions Breweries (3.5 per cent) and Dangote Sugar (1.8 per cent). The Insurance Index followed with a 0.6 per cent gain – attributable to gains in Wapic Insurance (2.8 per cent) and N.E.M insurance (2.5 per cent). The Oil and Gas Sector Index gained 0.4 per cent yesterday to end a three day bear run. This was on the back of bargain hunting Forte Oil (0.9 per cent) and OANDO (0.1 per cent), despite the selloff in Seplat (3.4 per cent). On the flip side, the Industrial Goods Index shed 0.1 per cent – pressured by profit taking in Dangote Cement (0.9 per cent) and Ashaka Cement (1.2 per cent). The Banking Index equally declined 0.1 per cent against the backdrop of broad sector losses led by Wema Bank (4.3 per cent) and Skye Bank (2.5 per cent).

    The Market Breadth closed Positive today at 1.0x as 26 stocks advanced against 25 declining stocks. Top gainers at the end of today’s trading session include Vono (9.5 per cent), Ikeja Hotel (9.5 per cent) and Unilever (5.0 per cent), while SCOA (4.9 per cent), Academy (4.7 per cent) and Trans Express (4.7 per cent) topped the losers chart. The decline in the market yesterday was broadly in line of our expectation of profit taking, especially within the Industrial Counters., even as market analyst expect investors’ to continue to trade cautiously in anticipation of the decisions at the MPC meeting while the market continues to trade sideways with an overall bearish trend.

  • Emerging market governors back Fed policy

    Emerging market governors back Fed policy

    Emerging market central bank governors support efforts to normalise developed-world monetary policies.

    This sis happening despite the stresses some have faced since the Federal Reserve signaled its desire to reserve its extraordinary policy measures in May 2013, according to Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

    “Most emerging market central bank governors that I have heard, say normalisation of monetary policy is welcome,” says Menon in an interview published today in Central Banking journal. “All they want is that normalisation is done in a calibrated, clear and orderly fashion.”

    In contrast to the views of many pundits in the financial services industry, Menon sees the benefits of normalisation – which includes raising interest rates as well as ending asset purchases – outweighing any short-term costs of capital reversals.

    “The sooner we see a normalisation of monetary conditions globally, the better for us here in Asia and in emerging economies,” says Menon. “The spill-over effects of unconventional monetary policies are not insignificant – volatility in capital flows, pressures in asset markets, a general increase in financial stability risks and a flattening of the yield curve that distorts investment decisions. These are not trivial consequences.”

    Menon says abnormally low interest rates have caused “longer-term structural challenges” for some financial market participants, such as pension funds.

  • Market capitalisation gains by N26.9bn

    The nation’s capital market closed in the green yesterday as the Composite Index advanced 20bps to 40,729.49, bucking the MTD performance to negative 1.9 per cent. Similarly, market capitalization gained N26.9bn to N13.4tn. This gain was driven by the rally in bellwether counters – Dangote Cement (0.9 per cent), Lafarge (3.1 per cent), Nigerian Breweries (0.6 per cent) and Guaranty (0.6 per cent). However, trading activity measured by aggregate volume and value traded plunged 62.2 per cent and 33.5 per cent to 195.9m and 2.8bn respectively.

    Bargain hunting within the Industrial Goods Index was sustained for the third day, as the index gained 1.4 per cent to pace sector gains for the second straight day. This was on the back of gains in cement stocks – Lafarge (3.1 per cent) and Dangote Cement (1.0 per cent) and CCNN (0.9 per cent). Similarly, N.E.M Insurance (3.9 per cent) and Mutual Benefit (1.9 per cent) firmed up today, driving the Insurance Index higher by a marginal 0.2 per cent to halt a three day bear run.

    On the other hand, selloffs persisted in the Oil and Gas basket as the index shed 1.2 per cent – pressured by profit taking in Conoil (5.0 per cent) and Total Nigeria (2.7 per cent). The Banking Index also shed 0.5 per cent yesterday with Diamond Bank (3.7 per cent) and Union Bank (5.0 per cent) leading losses within the basket.

    Meanwhile market sentiment yesterday as measured by advancers/decliners ratio closed negative at 0.9x (29 stocks advanced against 30 declining stocks). Ikeja Hotel (9.8 per cent), Vono (5.0 per cent) and Premier Breweries (5.0 per cent) led the gainers list while top losers were UBN (5.2 per cent), Conoil (5.0 per cent) and RedStarex (5.0 per cent). The bargain hunting within the Industrial basket is broadly in line with expectation of stakeholders.

    However, with the market now technically trading marginally above the oversold region (NSE-RSI — 35.7), analysts anticipate bargain hunting activities will gradually reduce in sessions ahead.

     

  • Telcos urge NCC to create spectrum market

    Telcos urge NCC to create spectrum market

    elecoms firms have urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to create a spectrum market where operators could buy and sell the scarce airwaves resource.

    Its umbrella body, the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), argued that since it is the practice in other climes, the NCC should look into the option as it will assist the agency in its pursuit of universal access goal.

    Its President, Lanre Ajayi, said before the regulator puts a cap on  the auctioning of spectrum in the 2.6 gigahertz (GHz) band or allow a single operator have it all, it should first consider giving freedom to operators to have a spectrum market.

    According to him, the matter has been agitating the minds of operators for a long time as the licensing guidelines of the regulator constrained this from happening.

    He said: “Before we can put in a cap or allow someone to have everything, there is one important thing that we will need to do. There is something that has been missing in the industry for a while that people are already asking for and I think the NCC should start thinking about. It is something like a spectrum market. If I have a spectrum today and I buy based on certain business plan and for some strange reason, my plans are not working as I already scheduled, I may choose to sell my spectrum to someone else.

    “Today, that is not possible by the provision of licence document. People are now asking for such leverage, for such market to be created, the spectrum market where I should be able to sell my spectrum to an operator that is ready to deploy immediately with it. If I have a national spectrum and I will be able to deploy to Lagos, Abuja , Port Harcourt and my spectrum covers Sokoto, Bornu, and there is someone in Bornu State that is willing to use this spectrum to deploy service, why can’t  I sell that my spectrum to him?

    “I could sell to someone in Bornu even at a premium. But now you have constrained the operators through the licence regulation that they cannot do that. I think that constraint should be removed; a spectrum market should be created.

    “This is happening in some markets or other countries. So, if that is available, then we may allow an operator o buy the whole 2.6GHz spectrum with the hope that if he is not able to deploy today, he could sell it some other time. If that is not in place, there will certainly not be (people holding licences without deploying them to use for a long time).

    Director, Spectrum Administration at NCC, Austin Nwaulune, promised that the regulator would look at the “spectrum trading option” being proposed by ATCON, adding that speculative buying of spectrum licences is one of the things that holding back the industry.

    “ATCON is advocating spectrum trading. That is something different. We are also looking at that too.  In Nigeria, we are very good at speculation and that has hindered it so far. So, until we determine how we do it, .it is not a way yet but we are looking at all the options,” Nwaulume said.

  • Capital market operators seek extension of recapitalisation deadline

    Capital market operators have begun intense lobbying of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with a view to securing many concessions, including a possible extension of the deadline, on the ongoing recapitalisation of the minimum capital requirements for operators.

    A reliable source indicated that the operators, majorly under the aegis of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) and the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), have made several entreaties to the apex capital market regulators to reconsider certain elements of the recapitalisation plan.

    The elements included the structure of the capital requirement that fixed a minimum amount irrespective of the size and scope of operations of a firm, the implementation process and the deadline for full compliance.

    According to the source, the “positive interface” with SEC was yielding results. Although the operators were yet to secure the two major concessions including the restructuring of the capital requirements on a risk-based level and the possible extension of the January 1, 2015 takeoff date for the new capital base.

    As part of the results of the interface, SEC has extended the September 5, deadline for capital market operators to submit their recapitalisation plan.

    The extension, the source said, was to give room for further discussions among operators on the ways forward on the recapitalisation, especially through the options of mergers and acquisitions.

    The Nation had exclusively reported that several operators were considering mergers and acquisitions as alternative plan while the bodies of operators continue to press the case for risk-based capital structure that will allow many niche and small operators to continue their businesses independently.

    The recapitalisation plan will now be submitted at a later date after a one-day workshop on mergers and acquisitions to be organised later this month by ASHON and AIHN.

    The source hinted that mergers and acquisitions plans could be used to push for extension of the December 31,  deadline given the intricacies and extended timeline for successful merger and acquisition deal.

    SEC had announced major increases in minimum capital requirements for capital market functions under a new minimum capital structure that is expected to take off by January 1, next year. Minimum capital base for broker/dealer was increased by 329 per cent from the existing N70 million to N300 million.

    Broker, which currently operates with capital base of N40 million, will now be required to have N200 million, representing an increase of 400 per cent. Minimum capital base for dealer increased by 233 per cent from N30 million to N100 million.

    Also, issuing houses, which facilitate new issues in the primary market, will now be required to have minimum capital base of N200 million as against the current capital base of N150 million. The capital requirement for underwriter also doubled from N100 million to N200 million. Trustees, rating agencies and portfolio and fund managers had their minimum capital base increased by 650 per cent each from N40 million, N20 million and N20 million to N300 million, N150 million and N150 million respectively.

    A  Registrar will now have a minimum capital base of N150 million as against the current requirement of N50 million. While the minimum capital base for corporate investment adviser remained unchanged at N5 million, individual investment advisers will have to increase their capital base by 300 per cent from N500,000 to N2 million.

    Besides, dealing members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are contending with minimum operating standards recently introduced for all the three classes of dealing members including broker dealers, brokers and dealers.

    The new standards address the five broad areas of manpower and equipment; organisational structure and governance; effective processes; global competitiveness; and technology. The new standards are also expected to take off on January 1, 2015, just as the new capital requirements by SEC.

    The Nation had reported that an emergency meeting called by ASHON had reached consensus on the need to develop alternative plan to ensure that as many as possible operators scale through the new capital requirements.

    The alternative plan is expected to serve as a rescue option in the event that the ongoing engagement on the new capital requirements between the stockbrokers and other operators and the capital market regulators fails to yield any meaningful relief.

    While stockbrokers were optimistic that the capital market regulators would consider reduction in the capital requirements and a reclassification of the minimum operating standards, they were worried that outright implementation of the capital requirements would reenact the “Soludo effect” in the capital market, a reference to capital base-centered banking reforms under the former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, during which number of banks reduced from more than 80 to less than 25.

    The alternative plan, according to the sources, will include mergers, acquisitions and raising of new funds through any of debt and equity means.

    A source at the meeting noted that stockbrokers, mainly founded on sole entrepreneurship, are now more than before open to discussions on mergers and acquisitions, giving the shrinking operating space for small firms in the industry.

    An informed estimate indicated that not less than 180 stockbroking firms may be affected by the new capital requirements, given their current state of illiquidity and operations.

    There are some 322 stockbroking firms listed as members of the NSE. A recent report by The Nation indicated that the NSE has already marked 81 out of the 322 stockbroking firms on its dealing members’ list as inactive, a classification that exposed them to the risk of being delisted under a new rule being considered by the NSE.

    Stockbrokers earn barely 4.0 per cent as total brokerage on complete buy and sale stockbroking transaction. Although several stockbrokers are registered for other functions such as corporate finance and investment advisory, they face strong competition from banks, insurance and other financial services companies which provide similar functions.

    The precarious position of the larger number of stockbroking firms is compounded by the heavily skewed transaction pattern at the stock market, where less than 20 firms account for more than two-thirds of trades at the NSE.

  • Brand South Africa identifies Nigeria as key market

    Brand South Africa identifies Nigeria as key market

    Brand South Africa, the agency responsible for creating positive and compelling brand image for South Africa has identified Nigeria market as a key focus for its Africa programme.

    This was disclosed by Miller Matola, Brand South Africa Chief Executive Officer at the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (NSACC) breakfast meeting in Lagos.

    The Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting is a monthly event which brings together individuals and corporates with vested business interest in both Nigeria and the South African economies.

    The theme for the August 2014 NSACC event which is sponsored by Brand South Africa is’Africa’s Competitiveness  Nigeria/South Africa, Cooperation or Competition’.

    According to Matola, the choice of Nigeria along-with Angola, DRC, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal as key markets is informed by South Africa’s foreign policy, both political and economic diplomacy as well as trade and investment imperatives.

    Matola mentioned the importance of the South Africa nation brand viz-a-viz the promotion of the African brand in view of developing the continent as a whole and competing at par with international standards.

    “Brand South Africa pursues its Africa Programme with an emphasis on promoting the South Africa nation brand as part of the continent brand, ‘Brand Africa’; therefore Africa’s reputation and competitiveness is central to that agenda,” Matola stated.

    He challenged the organized African business and corporate brands to invest in changing the perception of Africa from negativity to positivity.

    The Brand South Africa CEO said, “There is no doubt about the power of commercial brands to convey the overall brand of their country of origin  be it innovation, excellence or quality –  which will result in investment in changing the narrative about how Africa as a continent is perceived.”

    Matola stressed the importance of the African nations having in-depth working and friendly relationships drawing conclusions from the 2013/14 Project Thrive Study on the familiarity of Nigerians with South Africa.

    The study indicated that the average familiarity rate about South Africa amongst Nigerians stands at 46 per cent  and only 18 per cent of the sample has a high knowledge base of South Africa.

    He advised that it is imperative for each of the African nations to reflect a collective unity of the continent in order to improve the perceptions of Africans and Africa as a whole.

    Mzwandile Masina, South Africa Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry was part of the Brand South Africa delegation to the breakfast meeting.

  • Food seasoning market on fire?

    Food seasoning market on fire?

    The drive for market leadership, greater brand equity, awareness and market share has pitted food seasoning brands against one another, with seasonings such as Maggi, Knorr and Royco employing every trick to winthe battle. The entry of a leading seasoning powder into the cube market may, however, set the market on fire, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

    Food seasoning plays a very significant role in family bonding if the right brand  is used in preparing delicacies. A good meal makes the family to yearn for  mummy’s food. This is because with culinary expertise, especially when the right brand of seasoning that makes people salivate is used, the meal becomes something of an experience the family relishes.

    From the interpretation of some great television commercials, which though look real, some house wives have made their children to inhale the aroma emanating from  neighbour’s kitchens while some have even lost their husbands to other women’s pots. This scenario has for long been played up by makers of various food seasoning brands and have made them to understand consumers’ behavoural pattern to stay ahead of competition.

    Currently, Nigeria’s seasoning market parades great seasoning brands such as Maggi from the staple of Nestle Foods; Knorr and Royco, from the staple of Unilever. These brands are leaders in their various market segments. None of them can be pushed aside in terms of brand equity, sales,  consumer loyalty and quality market offerings.

    Food seasonings belong to the food and beverage sub-sector of the consumer market. BGL Research and Intelligence, one of the foremost investment banking companies in Africa, estimated that the seasoning sector is worth N14.7 trillion. It also estimated that the total national demand for various types of food condiments and seasonings at 5,475 tonnes per annum.

    A ValueFronteira’s Food Seasoning Report showed the market potentials maintaining a continuous growth with long list of brands produced locally and abroad competing for appreciable market share.

    However, as keenly competitive the cube seasoning market is, it has continued to attract new entrants while old brands are not relenting on offering innovative products to stay ahead of competitors.

    Before now, Doyin Group of Companies; Unilever Nigeria; Daily Need Nigeria Limited and Nestle Nigeria Plc were among players dominating the market. Then, Unilever’s Royco Seasoning Powder variants – one for stew and the other for soup, and the popular Maggi brand successfully caused a stir in the market. The entry of more brands, however, is unsettling dominant brands, while incursion of powder seasoning such as Onga seasoning powder with its variants has provided alternative for consumers. Yet the cube market has remained huge.

    While big corporate brands such as Unilever and Nestle appeared intimidated with the level of sophistication of the technology, which drives innovation, market followers such as Doyin Group of Companies, manufacturers of Doyin cubes and Daily Need, manufacturers of Suppy brand have made little inroad into the market which has other strong brand, Knorr, that has carved out a niche for itself in the seasoning market over the years. Knorr cubes, after it was bought over from Cadbury Nigeria by Unilever, has remained a force to be reckon with.

    Obviously, the brand is growing very fast beyond Unilever’s heartland of Europe, especially in Africa, Latin America, Middle East and Asia. In Nigeria, Knorr has been the taste benchmark for Unilever. Based on this, the conglomerate was committed to building on the premium credentials of Knorr. No wonder, the company said, in the past one year, it has invested in machines and a new savoury hall. This, according to the firm, ‘is to enable us to adequately supply the market and continue to give consumers premium quality cube they have come to associate with Unilever’.

    The game is becoming tougher and every brand is tightening its belt to avoid a catastrophic market share slide with the entry of one of the leading powder seasonings, Onga, into the cube market.  Onga had dominated the power seasoning market for 10 years and in the last two years Promasidor, owner of the brand, had gone to its Research and Development (R&D) department to create a Onga Cube. From the look of things, the leading cube brands seem prepared to welcome the power seasoning giant with a defensive marketing. Months before the unveiling of the Onga Cube, both Maggi and Knorr  deepened and engaged various activations to sustain their market share and build new mindshare. Market analysts, however, said  it is a reflection of fear despite the firms’ market leadership.

     

    Fear or market insight?

    On Monday, October 7, last year, Unilever  deepened its campaign for Knorr to sustain its brand equity and share-of-mind among consumers through its Knorr Taste Quest Season 2, a cooking TV show. The firm’s Brand Building Director, Mr. David Okeme, said the show was expanded to increase participation hence, the need to create additional regional auditions in Lagos, Calabar and Abuja.

    Three months after, it re-launched its Knorr Beef and Chicken cubes to deliver superior taste with a new package believed to be a winning concept with a compelling insight and proposition for its consumers.

     

    NESTLE Maggi

    On February 17, this year, Nestle Nigeria Plc upset the market with a strategic partnership with Nokia to build more mileage for the Maggi cube, using the mobile phone to connect with Maggi offering. While Nokia is one of the leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the mobile telecommunication market category, Maggi has also been touted as the market leader in the food seasoning market category.

    Experts say the partnership between the two firms is meant to deepen the market of both brands. As a way of engaging its customers through first hand experience, consumers of both brands were treated to a special night of food and photography tagged: “Eat. Shoot.Repeat”. The event was organised to showcase Nokia’s flagship brands- Nokia Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320. It was also a great platform for Maggi to penetrate the market of phone users, whose exponential growth, has placed Nigeria top in the global graph for phone users.

    Nestle’s, Business Manager, Culinary,  Guy Kellaway, said: “MAGGI, Nigeria’s leading cooking brand, is synonymous with good food. Good food means great memories, and of course, great stories, which is why we are creating and capturing good food-moments-the essence of the Maggi Brand. It was for this reason that Maggi was able to associate strongly with Nokia for this event.”

    Nestle again entered the Lagos market to give retailers and consumers a first look and taste of the new Maggi Chicken cube.  The move, according to Kellaway, was part of ongoing efforts of the firm’s brand managers to constantly improve Nestlé products and make them tastier, healthier, and affordable with better nutritional value.

     

    Promasidor’s Onga powder joins the Cube league

    With the buoyant cube seasoning market expanding yearly, Promasidor has taken a bold step to dare dominant brands from the staple of leading  companies by creating the cube form from its Ongaseasoning powder. Early this year, when Promasidor  launched the product, its Executive Director, Commercial, Mr. Kachi Onubogu, said: “After almost two years of insightful and innovative work by the Promasidor team, I am happy to welcome Onga Cube into the Promasidor Nigeria family of brands.”

    He remarked that the new OngaCube comes in singles of 4gm and in two variants. It is packaged with 50 cubes in a pouch and 24 pouches in a carton.

    To sell a new value-creation for consumers and still retain its powder market dominance, Onubogu said: “Onga in cubes is a completely different formulation from the existing Onga powder because we did a complete reformulation from scratch, paying particular attention to what the consumers want in an ideal brand of seasoning cube.”

    Onga is arguably the number one in the seasoning powder segment and it was introduced in 2004. The big players (and smaller brands) have launched variants of their brands, attesting to the fact that Promasidor did the right thing by pioneering the powdered segment of the seasoning market in Nigeria. However, they have hardly made any success in that category.

     

    Can Ongaupset Maggi, Knorr in cube category?

    The Managing Director/ Chief Executive of Promasidor, Chief Keith Richards, said the success of the Ongabrand in the powder form will be replicated in the cube market. He said this is evident considering the success of the company in other market offerings.

    Analysts believe that with Promasidor innovation in making average consumers have access to milk by bringing the first sachet milk into the country, the company could upset market leaders in the cube seasoning market. This is evident in Richard’s statement: “At Promasidor Nigeria Limited, we pride ourselves in pioneering cutting-edge innovative solutions to the delight of our consumers in terms of our product offerings. Twenty years ago, we set out to improve the lives of every Nigerian with the introduction of nutritious Cowbell milk in single serve sachets that made milk affordable to every Nigerian household.

    “Since then, we have continuously raised the bar of innovation with the introduction of Top Tea in round tea bags, Onga Seasoning in powdery form and flavoured milk drink: Cowbell Choco, Cowbell Strawberry, Cowbell Sweet Milk and Cowbell Coffee. This is a true testament to our vision of providing quality products and empowering the lives of Nigerians.”

    Meanwhile, as the competition intensifies, market observers are of the view that the entry of Onga into the cube market category will re-configure the market share of the leading brands and this might come with some consumers switching brands to experience the new entrant.

  • Keystone Bank, NTDC partner on travel market

    the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Bank, Philip Ikeazor, said the bank would partner with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) to ensure successful participation in the World Travel Market slated for London this year.

    Ikeazor, who stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Director-General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, (NTDC), Mrs Sally Mbanefo in Abuja. He praised  her for the Corporation’s achievements in ensuring that Nigeria, which is endowed with natural and man-made tourist sites, benefits immensely from the money-spinning sector.

    Ikeazor said the appointment of Dr Mbanefo as the boss of NTDC was and intended to reposition the nation’s tourism industry, and thereby making Nigeria stand tall in the comity of tourism nations.

    The bank boss noted that ‘domestic tourism remains a viable catalyst to developing tourism in any nation, stating that Dr. Mbanefo is getting it right.

    Ikeazor pledged that the bank would build a befitting Information Desk for NTDC at the Dr Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja and Murtala International Airport, Lagos.

    “We are willing to ensure that NTDC has a befitting Information Desk at the airports in Lagos and Abuja to enable the corporation further promote Nigeria and her tourist sites. NTDC has been doing wonderfully well in this course, and we are ready to support the course,” Ikeazor assured.

    Dr Mbanefo said the corporation derives its strength from the nation’s cultural tourism assets, stressing that those assets must be promoted effectively to attract those that are interested in what the body has to sell.

    She said NTDC will explore the opportunity provided by the World Travel Market to market Nigeria’s domestic tourism potentials, thereby wooing foreigners to appreciate Nigeria’s tourist sites and crowd-pulling festivals, which according to her, will empower people at the grassroots level, as well as create jobs and wealth for them.

    Dr Mbanefo reiterated her commitment to promoting domestic tourism in Nigeria, while making NTDC generate good revenue for the government.

  • Robbers kill one in Enugu market attack

    •Several others injured

    Robbers have killed a salesgirl during an attack at the Building Materials Market at New GRA, Abakpa, in Enugu East Local Government Area.

    Several others sustained gunshot wounds.

    The robbers attacked the market at 1pm and raided several shops.

    They stole goods and about N1 million cash.

    An eyewitness, who spoke in confidence, said the bandits operated at the market, located on the NOWAS–Nike Lake Hotel Road, for about an hour without any challenge.

    Traffic on the road was halted as the robbers blocked both ends of the road. They forced motorists to take other routes while those caught in the holdup were forced to lie face down.

    The salesgirl, who was in her employer’s shop during the invasion, reportedly refused to surrender the day’s proceeds to the robbers.

    The bandits shot her dead instantly.

    Another trader was shot in the leg and rushed to a hospital at Trans-Ekulu. A woman in a cement shop, who reportedly hid the proceeds for the day under bags of cement, was hit in the head with a gun butt. She bled from the mouth.

    The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital.

    It was learnt that the bandits snatched a car from a woman and fled the scene.

    Police spokesman, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, confirmed the incident.

    He said the police were working “assiduously to unmask the perpetrators”.