Category: Business

Lagos, June 9, 2020 (NAN)  Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved the appointment of Mr Babalola Obilana, as the new Director-General of the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC).

Mrs M.A Eko, Public Relation Officer, LASPEC , in a statement on Tuesday,  said that Obilana’s appointment was in recognition of his outstanding performance and accomplishments in the financial sector.

She said Obilana took over from Mrs Folashade Onanuga, to become the third  Director-General of the commission.

“Until his appointment, Obilana was the Executive Director, Business Development and Services, Stanbic IBTC Asset management.

“He is an erudite scholar and graduated from the University of Lagos with a BSC (Hons) in Actuarial Science.

” He holds an MBA from the famous Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun,  and he is an alumni of Lagos Business School for Senior Management Programme (SMP),” she  said.

According to her, Obilana’s robust career spans over 28 years from different financial institutions such as ARM Pension managers where he was a pioneer staff responsible for business development.

She said: “Obilana on assumption of duty and in a meeting with top management official of the commission, earlier on Tuesday,  promised to bring his wealth of experience and knowledge to bear at the agency .

“He appreciated Gov. Sanwo-olu for giving him the opportunity to contribute his quota to  uplift  Lagos State.

“The new D-G assured to build and improve on the accomplishments of his predecessor, while soliciting for the cooperation of all and sundry, most especially the staff of the commission.”(NAN)

Lagos, June 9, 2020 (NAN) MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) Plc on Tuesday announced the successful issuance of N100 billion Series I & II Commercial Paper (CP) notes.

MTNN stated this in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the investing public signed by Uto Ukpanah, its Company Secretary.

The company said that the Series I 180 day CP was priced at an effective yield of 4.90 per cent for a N20 billion size.

According to the statement, Series II 270 day CP sizes at N80 billion, clears at an effective yield of 5.95 per cent.

“We initially set out to issue up to N50 billion under the N100 billion programme but, at the conclusion of the bank book build, the CP issuance was 400 per cent subscribed.

“Given the significantly over-subscribed book, MTNN opted to issue up to the N100 billion limit of the registered CP programme,” it said.

It noted that the CP witnessed active participation from a diverse eligible individual and institutional investors such as pension fund administrators, asset managers and corporates, among others.

“The level of interest in MTNN’s debut in the Nigerian debt markets is a strong reflection of investor confidence in its ability to continue to deliver on its strategic objectives,” the statement added.

Mr Ferdinand Moolman, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, was quoted by the statement as saying that the N100 billion issued was the largest debut CP issuance by a Nigerian corporate entity.

Moolman said the CP would enable the company to broaden its sources of funding.

“It allows to broaden our sources of funding and combines established lines of credit with access to capital market funding, which will lower our overall cost of borrowing.

“The proceeds from the issuance will be applied towards MTNN’s working capital and general corporate purposes.

“The Series I & II notes will be listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange,” Moolman stated. (NAN)

Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

The nation’s bourse re-opened trading for the week on Monday on a positive trend, growing by 0.93 per cent due to price appreciation in high capitalised stocks.

Specifically, the All-Share Index inched higher by 233.66 points to close at 25,249.96, against 25,016.30 on Friday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation rose by N122 billion to close at N13.171  trillion, compared with 13.049 trillion achieved on Friday.

The uptrend was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalised stocks, amongst which are; MTN Nigeria, BUA Cement, Nigerian Breweries, UACN and Vitafoam.

Analysts at Afrinvest Limited expect a mixed performance for the week as the market presents opportunities for bargain hunting and profit taking.

Market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, closed positive with 31 gainers and 11 decliners.

A breakdown of the price movement table indicates that Wapic Insurance led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms, gaining 10 per cent, to close at 33k per share.

Fidson followed with 9.80 per cent to close at N3.25, while Associated Bus Company rose by 9.76 per cent to close at 45k per share.

Neimeth grew by 9.60 per cent, to close at N1.94, while Consolidated Hallmark appreciated by 9.52 per cent to close at 46k per share.

Conversely, Japaul Oil dominated the decliners’ chart in percentage terms, dropping 10 per cent, to close at 27k per share.

Cornerstone Assurance trailed with 9.09 per cent to close at 50k, while Chams declined by 7.41 per cent to close at 25k per share.

Transcorp lost 5.19 per cent to close at 73k, while Courteville Business Solutions shed 4.76 per cent to close at 20k per share.

The total volume of shares traded increased by 7.46 per cent with an exchange of 230.49 million shares valued at N2.17 billion in 4,621 deals.

This was in contrast with 214.49 million shares worth N2.51 billion transacted in 4,342 deals on Friday.

Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings topped the activity chart with 34.50 million shares valued at N188.35 million.

Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 22.88 million shares worth N550.14 million, while Japaul Oil accounted for 21.21 million shares valued at N6.37 million.

United Bank for Africa traded 19.54 million shares worth N131.95 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 19.27 million shares valued at N327.06 million.

Chiazo Ogbolu
Nigerian Shippers’ Council(NSC) on Monday said it would be supervising the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of cargo evacuation between the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and the APM Terminal.

Mrs Ifeoma Ezedinma, Director, Regulatory Services, NSC made this known at the resumed evacuation of cargoes by rail in Lagos.

She said that to ensure that things move smoothly, the NRC and the APM Terminal would have to adhere to the SOP.

“There are many challenges in the port right now due to the shutdown which has resulted to congestion, but with this reintroduction of evacuation by rail, we believe it will go a long way in the port decongestion.

“The rail evacuation will reduce cost, the economy of demand and supply will also come to play as it will give room for our exports which are languishing on the road to gain access to the port,” she said.

Mr Jerry Oche, Railway District Manager, NRC, Lagos said that the new agreement for the evacuation of cargoes would work because of the SOP was binding on everyone and shippers council was standing as the supervisor.

“We have been on this for quite sometime, but the difference today is that we are starting with an SOP; in the past, all we were doing was that everyone was doing his or her own thing.

“Now we have an SOP binding on everyone and we have a shippers council as a supervisor; yes, we have done it in the past and I tell you this will work because this is different,” he said.

The district manager said that a train was made up of 19 wagons and each of the wagons could take 40ft or 20ft containers.

According to him, if they are doing 40ft it means 19 trucks off the road and if it is 20ft, that would take 38 trucks off the road.

Oche said that APMT had urged them to do four trips but they were starting with two.

”We want to start small and increase, but we believe we can do more than four trips,” he said.

Oche said that adopting the standard gauge would improve their operation, and when the standard gauge comes, the SOP would be on auto pilot, a seamless operation driving itself.

The External Affairs Manager, APM terminals, Daniel Odibe, said the new SOP would help bridge communication gap that they had experienced with NRC in the past.

“This is an important milestone being achieved here, and it is something we have always asked for, an SOP for receiving trains into the terminal and servicing them.

“It will definitely help in planning, bridge communication gap that we have experienced with NRC in the past and lead to more efficient operation with more cargo being handled through the rail tracks,” he said.

Odibe commended the Shippers’ Council for bringing together the NRC and APM terminals to bridge that communication gap.

“Right now, we have an SOP that will enable us receive the right containers coming to APMT without any hindrance and also enable us service the trains within the agreed timelines.

“We do not envisage more challenges with the commencement of the SOP and it will also create a platform for us to meet, review the past and seek ways to improve.

“What we proposed was for four trains in a day within every 12 hours but NRC advised we start with two and scale up as we go, assuring us that the process would be sustained,” he said.

Odiba said that their intention when they constructed the rail line in 2013 and connected it to the national line was to provide alternate mode of evacuation of cargoes to customers.

He said that the day’s event would increase the number of containers evacuated through the rail line, as it was coming at the best time, when the bridge was closed for repairs.

Oil climbed on Monday after major producers agreed to extend a deal on record output cuts to the end of July and as China’s crude imports hit an all-time high in May.

Brent crude was up 51 cents, or 1.2 per cent, at $42.81 per barrel, by 0628 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 32 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $39.87 a barrel.

Both hit their highest since March 6 earlier in the session, at $43.41 and $40.44, respectively.

Brent has nearly doubled since the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, agreed in April to cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis.

On Saturday, OPEC+ agreed to extend the deal to withdraw almost 10 per cent of global supplies from the market by a third month to end-July.

Following the extension, top exporter Saudi Arabia hiked its monthly crude prices for July.

But Howie Lee, Economist at Singapore bank OCBC, noted that the latest deal had fallen short of market hopes for a three-month extension of output cuts.

He said both benchmarks would require stronger bullish factors to propel prices back to where they were before March 6, when they crashed after OPEC and Russia initially failed to reach an agreement on supply cuts.

“It’s a big gap there; you need a strong conviction to go from $43 to pre-crash levels,’’ Lee said, referring to Brent being above $50 before the March crash.

Low prices have drawn Chinese buyers to boost imports.

Purchases by the world’s largest crude importer rose to an all-time high of 11.3 million bpd in May.

The OPEC+ move to extend cuts to July is, however, expected to lead to a supply deficit by October, aiding prices in the longer run, OCBC’s Lee added.

Market participants are now eyeing compliance among OPEC members such as Iraq and Nigeria, which exceeded production quotas in May and June, for trading cues, analysts said.

Libya’s supply could also rise soon as two major oilfields have reopened after months of a blockade that shut off most of the country’s production.

“The potential return of Libyan output could also cause considerable challenges for the OPEC leadership,’’ said Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

Even as oil prices recovered, they are still well below the costs of most U.S. shale producers, leading to shutdowns, layoffs and cost-cutting in the world’s largest producer.

The number of operating U.S. oil and natural gas rigs fell to a record low for a fifth week in a row in the week to June 5, according to data from Baker Hughes Co.

Nearly 30 per cent of the U.S. offshore oil output was also shut on Friday as tropical storm Cristobal entered the Gulf of Mexico.

The storm weakened to a tropical depression on Monday morning.

Higher oil prices could invite the reinstatement of supply, notably the U.S. shale, that was planned to be shut-in in June and July, BNP Paribas’ Harry Tchilingurian said.

“OPEC+ faces a Catch-22 situation,’’ he said.

“The resumption of output … may moderate the pace of rebalancing of the oil market.’’

Chiazo Ogbolu
The Nigerian Government has handed over a fishing vessel, `Marine 707’, suspected to be carrying out illegal activities in the Gulf of Guinea to Ghanaian authorities for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Nigeria also handed over 51 crew members including 48 Ghanaians and three South Korea nationals to the Governments of Ghana and Korea respectively.

Mr Philip Kyanet, Head, Corporate Communications, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), disclosed this in a statement in Lagos on Sunday.

According to him, the vessel which has authorisation to fish in Ghana and Benin waters was arrested by the Nigerian Navy on May 18,  around Southwest of Lagos waters when her Automatic Identification System (AIS) switched off.

He said that they were suspected to be used for piracy or being used as a mother ship to conduct piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and handed over to the NIMASA after preliminary investigations by the Navy.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, during the handover of the vessel and crew to respective authorities, said the Navy, NIMASA partnership which was now hinged on intelligence had put Nigeria on a pedestal of winning the war against piracy and other illegal acts at sea.

Jamoh who was represented by the agency’s Commander, Maritime Guard Command, Commodore Aniete Ibok, said that preliminary investigations could not establish that the vessel and her crew were directly linked to piracy.

He said that, however, the vessel still ran afoul of international laws for shutting down its Automatic Identification System (AIS) 36 times in the last 6 months, three of which were done in the Nigerian waters.

According to him, we are handing over this vessel to the Ghanaian authorities in the spirit of bilateral cooperation that both countries enjoy.

“We have done our preliminary investigations and we are yet to establish any concrete evidence against the vessel.

“But again, we will not know what she will be doing whenever she turns off her AIS which occurred 36 times without being logged in her record book in line with international protocols and three of these were in our domain.

“However in the spirit of brotherhood that Ghana and Nigeria enjoys, we are handing over the vessel to Ghana for further investigations,” he said.

The director-general warned individuals or organisations thinking of perpetuating any form of illegalities in the Gulf of Guinea to be ready to face the full wrath of the law.

He said that with the Anti-piracy law in place along with the Navy, NIMASA’s partnership that was waxing stronger, major focus would be on security in the Nigerian maritime domain and the entire Gulf of Guinea.

“We will not condone any act of illegality in our maritime space. We have improved our intelligence sharing with relevant agencies.

“With what we are doing now, in no distant time, piracy will be a thing of the past in the Gulf of Guinea because we have a robust anti-piracy law that will deal with perpetrators of illegalities in our waters,” he said.

While receiving the vessel and the crew on behalf of the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Second Secretary Consular of Ghana in Nigeria, David Ako Sowah, commended the Nigerian authorities for being professional in handling the case.

He said that what Nigeria did, was for the benefit of the entire countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

“As the big brother in this region, Nigeria has done well in showing a lot of maturity in handling this case and I want to assure you that Ghana will also look into more collaborations with Nigeria to ensure that the Gulf of Guinea remains safe for maritime activities’,” he said.

Equally speaking during the hand over, the Consular General of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria, Kim Ln-taek, commended the party involved in handling the case.

He said his findings from the Captain of the Ship who was a Korean, informed that the AIS was bad.

He noted that the vessel and her crew erred by not following the protocols of logging it in the record books when the AIS was down but he was happy that the case had been resolved up till this point.

The Ghana-flagged vessel with International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) number 7419755 and registration number 316880 is owned and operated by World Marine Company Ltd., Japan.

As at the time of arrest, it had 51 crew on board with most of the crew being Ghanaians except three who were from the Republic of Korea.

This case also brings to the fore the efforts of NIMASA and Navy in the battle against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

It would be recalled that the Navy recently arrested 10 pirates on a Chinese fishing vessel and handed them over for prosecution under the newly-signed anti-piracy law.