Forex: Industries, aviation, others get N1bn allocation in December

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday disclosed that it has given access to requests for foreign exchange valued at N1,00373,891.75 through the inter-bank window to enable respective industries procure industrial raw materials and machine spare-parts.

The apex bank said this was done in line with its determination to ensure seamless flow of activities in critical sectors of the Nigeria economy.

In the forex utilization figures published for the month of December, 2016, reveals that the industrial raw material group got the highest share of N483,075,669.82, approximating to 48.1 per cent.

Figures from the CBN report for the month December also showed that the petroleum and the aviation sectors received N372,116,111.79 and N123,666,001.06 or 37.1% and 12.2% respectively, while agriculture received N24,516,109.09 or 2.1%.

Commenting on the development, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, reiterated the commitment and resolve of the Bank to continue to ease the foreign exchange pressure of these critical sectors through forward sales under the new Flexible Exchange regime.

It will be recalled that the CBN in the month of September and October 2016, supported these critical sectors with $660million and $867million equivalent of forex to source industrial raw materials and spare-parts through the interbank Forex market.

Oil resumes rise after OPEC cut

Oil prices resumed their rise Thursday and held above the $50 barrier following OPEC’s decision to carry out its first output cut in eight years.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at a meeting in Vienna on Wednesday agreed on specific targets to enact a preliminary deal struck in September designed to ease a global crude supply glut and boost prices.

Many analysts had expected the producers’ cartel to fail to reach a deal as major players like Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia remained divided ahead of the meeting.

Crude futures prices gushed more than 10 percent immediately after the OPEC deal.

At 0630 GMT Thursday, after a brief dip in early Asian trade, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was up 70 cents or 1.42 percent at $50.14, while Brent crude for February was 81 cents or 1.6 percent higher at $52.65.

Not only had hopes of higher prices been realised, the reputation of the OPEC has also been salvaged, prompting the surge,” said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG in Singapore.

“Sceptics have now placed their focus on the implementation of the OPEC deal where Saudi Arabia will be shouldering the bulk of the cut.”

The 14-member OPEC agreed to lower its monthly output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 32.5 million bpd from January 1.

Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada said non-member Russia committed to reducing its output by 300,000 bpd, half of a hoped-for 600,000 bpd reduction from outside the organisation.

Prices had fallen to near 13-year lows of below $30 a barrel in February from peaks of more than $100 in June 2014 largely due to an oversupplied market outpacing demand.

Glo subscribers laud 11k tariff for local, international calls

Subscribers on the platform of data grandmasters, Globacom, have applauded the 11k per second for all tariff plans launched by the company recently, describing it as offering good value for money.

11k Per Second for All, which enables Glo customers who subscribe to it to make local and international calls at the flat rate of 11 kobo per second, was among the four products launched by Globacom at a press conference in Lagos recently.

Several subscribers who spoke on the plan, through which they can call all local networks and 30 countries frequently called by Nigerians at 11 kobo per second, said it gives them more talk time to communicate with family, friends and business associates locally and internationally.

The plan can be enjoyed by all prepaid customers who pay a daily access fee of N5. The 30 countries enclosed by the competitive 11k per second tariff are the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, French Guiana, Guam, Japan, Hong Kong, Israel, Luxembourg, Malta, Mongolia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico, Reunion Island, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden.

Hafiz Balogun, a legal practitioner in Abuja, said the plan was quite affordable and that he now makes a lot of savings when he calls his friends, clients and family members both in Nigeria and in the United States.

“Glo has always shown it is the leader in telecoms in the country. I am delighted to be a Glo subscriber,” he enthused.

A Lagos-based journalist, Funke Ishola, was also full of praises for 11k Per Second for All which she said helps her in her job: “As a journalist, I make a lot of calls. With this new tariff, I am able to make my private and official calls at a much cheaper rate. My experience on the network since I joined over a year ago has been fantastic. I say welldone to Globacom for giving me good value for money.

Total loses N22 to lead losers’ table on NSE

Total Nigeria Plc on Thursday for the third consecutive day led the losers’ chart on the Nigerian Stock Exchange forcing the All-Share Index to drop by 0.10 per cent.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Total dropped by N22 to close at N223 per share.

Okomuoil trailed with a loss of N1.92 to close at N40.08, while Forte Oil was down by N1 to close at N69 per share.

International Breweries lost 80k to close at N18.70 and Nigerian Breweries depreciated by 32k to close at N141 per share.

Consequently, the All-Share Index shed 26.30 points or 0.10 per cent to close at 25,490.70 against 25,517.00 achieved on Wednesday.

Also, the market capitalisation which opened at N8.784 trillion shed N10 billion to close at N8.774 trillion posted on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Mobil Oil topped the gainers’ table, growing by N3.99 to close at N199.02 per share.

Flour Mills came second with a gain of 75k to close at N19.49 and Guaranty Trust Bank chalked up 21k to close at N21.52 per share.

Africa Prudential gained 13k to close at N2.79 and FBN Holding improved by 5k to close at N3.05 per share.

International Breweries drove the turnover volume with a total of 22.01 million shares worth N411.57 million.

It was followed by Access Bank with 20.03 million shares valued at N112.37 and GT Bank transacted 11.39 million shares worth N245.25 million.

Transcorp sold 9.91 million shares valued at N7.07 million and FBN Holdings accounted for 7.19 million shares worth N21.91 million.

In all, investors bought and sold a total of 97.14 million shares valued at N1.14 billion transacted in 1,929 deals.

NAN reports that this is in contrast with a turnover of 165.73 million shares worth N1.13 billion achieved in 2,484 deals on Wednesday.

Paper industry can create 500,000 jobs – CIPPON

The Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria says that the pulp and paper industry can create more than 500,000 jobs, if the value chain is revived.

The President of the institute, Mr. Wahab Lawal, on Thursday in Lagos said that paper products were very important because of their high consumption by Nigerians.

He urged the government to leverage on the high consumption of paper to create jobs for the youths.

He said, “The paper value chain, if harnessed well, can create up to 500,000 instant jobs.

“The only hindrance we have is that we lack paper mills and our pulp industry has gone extinct.

“If revived, the value chain of planting pulp, processing and refining of paper products into cartons, designed papers, and plain papers can create massive jobs for the youth, instead of complaining of unemployment.

“Take India for instance, they are one of our biggest importers of paper; they have up to 515 paper mills, and we rely on them for almost all the paper products we consume here, so that means we are creating jobs for their own youths.

Because of the current economic crisis, the prices of paper products have continued to skyrocket, and we have no choice than to accept whatever prices we are offered.”

Mr Kehinde Afolabi, the Chief Executive Officer of PckgPlus, a packaging company that uses paper products, said that the need for better packaging and branding of products by SMEs had caused a boost in the paper industry.

According to him, so many youths are being employed in Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, which are some of the largest hubs for paper products in the country.

Meanwhile, a report by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria stated that the capacity utilisation of the pulp and paper sector reduced from 60.5 per cent in 2014 to 52.8 per cent in 2015.

The report further stated that the rate of raw material sourcing for pulp, paper and publishing sector reduced from 49.6 per cent in the last quarter of 2014 to 32.5 per cent in 2015.

Fashola takes delivery of abandoned transmission equipment

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has received 77 of its 218 abandoned containers carrying equipment for power transmission projects across the country.

The delivery of the abandoned containers was initiated by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, under the supervision of the Vice President’s Office.

It was gathered that the containers had been abandoned in various ports and terminals across the country for the past eight years.

Speaking on the commencement of the delivery of the abandoned equipment at the Duncan Terminal inside the TinCan Port, Apapa, Lagos, on Wednesday, Fashola said a six-man committee was constituted to initiate the release of the 218 containers.

The minister, who was represented by the Managing Director, TCN, Mr. Abubarka Atiku, said, “A lot of hard work has been put into the negotiations for the release of these consignments due to the accrued demurrage as a result of the suspension of the issuance of import duty exemption certificate for some period in 2014.

He explained that on the release of the consignments, contractors would move to site immediately to complete ongoing priority and other projects, which would result in improved power supply.

Fashola said, “Some of these projects include the construction of new Abeokuta-Igboora double transmission line and 132kv double-circuit tee-off at Igboora-Igangan; construction of 2x60MVA, 132/33kV substation at Odogunyan and construction of 2x60MVA 132/33kV substation at Ayobo; Ikeja West Ayobo 132kV D/C transmission lines and 2x132kv line bays extension at Ikeja West; construction of Benin North-Osogbo 330KV DC line with turning in and out to the new Akure substation.”

According to him, others include the construction of the Kaduna-Jos 330KV D/C line in Plateau and Kaduna states; installation of 1x60MVA and 132/33kv power transformers, auxiliary equipment and devices at the GCM transmission substation, Onitsha; and construction of 330kv D/C Kaduna Power Plant-Mando substation transmission line.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Power, Mr. Daniel Asukwo, said the government would release funds to expedite the release of the remaining abandoned containers.

Symantec to purchase LifeLock for $2.3 billion

Symantec said it would obtain U.S. wholesale fraud insurance administrations organization LifeLock for $2.3 billion, in an arrangement that it trusts will prop up deals at its Norton cybersecurity unit. 

Symantec's security programming regularly comes packaged with PCs. Thus, the organization has endured as purchasers utilize cell phones more than customary PCs. While Norton stays gainful, its deals have been falling. 

"(Norton) had been declining with the decreases in PC piece of the overall industry. This procurement gets $660 million income to the purchaser business and returns it to longer economical development," Symantec Chief Executive Greg Clark said in a meeting. 

Reuters was first to report before on Sunday that Symantec was ahead of the pack to procure LifeLock. 

Symantec's buy of LifeLock is in accordance with its endeavors to enhance its offerings. In August, it purchased Blue Coat Inc, which helps firms keep up security over the web, in a $4.65 billion arrangement. Clark already held the top employment at Blue Coat, and did the switch after the arrangement shut. 

Situated in Tempe, Arizona, LifeLock offers administrations, for example, observing new record openings and credit-related applications with a specific end goal to ready buyers about unapproved utilization of their character. It additionally works with government offices, shippers and loan bosses to remediate the effect of data fraud. 

Fran Rosch, official VP of Norton Business Unit, said that Symantec had fiddled with character security however had no place close to Lifelock's 4.4 million individuals. 

"We needed to develop our strategic offer. It was an easy decision for us to return to development," Rosch said. 

Symantec hopes to back the exchange with money on asset report and $750 million of new obligation. 

The Mountain View, California-based organization has been moving far from what is sees as more commoditized administrations, offering its information stockpiling business Veritas in January to private value firm Carlyle Group LP for $7.4 billion. Innovation concentrated firm Silver Lake Partners has likewise made a $1 billion interest in the organization in two sections this year. 

Symantec said the LifeLock arrangement is not anticipated that would materially affect its budgetary results one year from now, and reaffirmed its monetary year 2017 and 2018 direction. The arrangement likewise speaks to a triumph for lobbyist fence stock investments Elliott Management Corp, which had pushed LifeLock to investigate its choices. 

Symantec was prompted by Citigroup and JP Morgan, alongside Bank of America, Barclays Plc , and Wells Fargo. LifeLock was exhorted by Goldman Sachs.

Insurance chief returns stolen N66m

An Insurance Company Chairman (name withheld) has returned N66 million stolen fund from an insurance firm through the intervention of the apex Insurance regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

In an interview, Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM, Mr. Mohammed Kari, also stated that there were some Non-Executive Directors (NED) who have left an insurance company and dipped their hands in the firm’s treasury to help themselves.

“I can confirm to you that one Chairman returned sixty-six Million Naira (N66 million). These are information we don’t go out brandishing. And we have identified quite a few cases like that. We always stood our ground for refund because these are shareholders money been pilfered,” Kari said.

He noted that the regulatory agency carried out a lot of activities on several insurance companies under regulatory Orders or under intervention, as their actions in no small measure had crippled the operations of most insurance firms leading to near bankruptcy.

He further revealed that some insurance directors acquired equities without actually paying for them, stressing that it was a bad development.

“We have found out that some directors acquired shares without paying for them and we have taken them to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). We also believe that what they have done is criminal. We are trying to get them to cough out what they have taken illegally. And those refunds we believe will go a long way in easing the financial constraints of these companies.

He observed that the development is a confidence booster because some of these people (insurance directors) believe there is no control at all, pointing out that the insurance industry is the only growth area left in the financial sector and this is a fact.

He opined that while the companies are rebranding themselves, we are watching how they behave, because if they clean the ‘frontage’ and the ‘back office’ is left dirty, that will not be good. “If you see a company complaining, know definitely that somebody is squeezing them. And we have never them complaining as they are doing now” due to increased momentum of the insurance regulator on the regulated.

Meanwhile, NAICOM has released the roadmap for Risk-based supervision and that could also have its own effects in the operations of the companies in the coming year, adding that there are components in the risk-based supervision that may require financial expenditure, or capital review, or structural reviews which will affect the fortune of the companies.

On the outlook for 2017, Kari said “as long as it is still futuristic, we can only say we have a lot in store for us in 2017. Again a lot of things could even happen this year, because of some of the pronouncements from the code of governance of the FRC which was released recently.”

Agro dealers want CBN to make foreign currencies available, affordable

Agro-merchants Association of Nigeria has engaged the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make outside monetary forms accessible to merchants for importation of crude materials for compost generation. 

Mr Kabiru Umar, the National Chairman of the affiliation, made the interest in a meeting with newsmen in Nasarawa State on Thursday. 

He talked on the sidelines of the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) conspire preliminary meeting on the 2016/2017 dry season cultivating 

Umar said that accessibility of the outside monetary standards to agro-merchants and providers would guarantee diminishment in the cost of manure to end clients (ranchers), help agrarian yields and certification nourishment security in the nation. 

The national director communicated lament that manure makers and blenders were at present getting outside monetary forms at high costs, subsequently the high cost of compost and nourishment things in the business sectors. 

"The Federal Government must stride into this circumstance to ensure that manure blenders get the privilege remote coin at the right cost. 

"On the off chance that you permit makers of compost to go to the open market and purchase dollars, which implies it will be extremely troublesome for them to create and offer at the ordinary cost and the cost will go high. 

The makers and blenders should be helped at any rate at control cost with a stringent law that the money must be utilized for that reason and the rural area will blast once more, " he said. 

Mr Sanusi Yari, the National Board of Trustees (BOT) individual from the affiliation, recognized the Federal Government for its support to ranchers in the supply of sources of info and compost. 

Yari spoke to the administration to counterbalance the over N40 billion owed agro merchants so as to support horticultural creation. 

"It is imperative for government to enter into the supply of manure and different contributions to ranchers to help agrarian creation. 

"Since oil and gas are no more extended light, many people are currently swinging to farming. 

"We value the administration for the installment of 30 for every penny installment it gave us yet they have to off-set this bill. 

"The banks are not willing to bolster us for the present but rather we will enter into the horticultural approaches of the legislature and partake effectively, " he said. 

Mr Muhammad Lamir, the Chief Executive Officer, Manny Agro and Allied Chemicals, spoke to the Federal Government to critically address issues in the agro-united part. 

Lamir said the 2016/2017 Growth Enhancement Support (GES) conspire dry season cultivating would not be effective and beneficial if issues in the area were not settled.

Total realised $10bn investments in Nigeria in five years

The Managing Director, Total Exploration and Production, Nigeria Limited, Mr. Nicolas Terraz on Thursday said the company has made over $10bn investments in the country in the last five years.

Terraz said this at the 34th Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists Annual Conference Management Session -1, in Lagos.

The conference has as its theme “Upstream Business Environment in a Recession Economy – Nigerian Example”.

The CEO said that the company had added over 2.3 billion barrels of crude to Nigeria’s production from 1966 to 2015.

He said, “In the last five years alone, we have made approximately $10bn of investments in Nigeria .

“Through decades of executing development projects, Total’s activities have contributed to creating jobs and developing human capacity in Nigeria.

“Despite the challenging operating environment, Total remains strongly committed to the developments of its activities in the country, while working relentlessly to adapt to the current environment.

“In September 2015, we achieved first oil from the Ofon Phase 2 Development Project, which will increase production capacity from the Ofon field by 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

“Development drilling is currently on-going to reach the production plateau. Beyond the incremental production, this project also eliminated routine flaring in Ofon field and allowed monetisation of the gas from Ofon.

“This was recognised by the World Bank – sponsored Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, which gave an Excellence Award to our Ofon-2 Project on 9th September 2015, for this achievement.”

He said that the environment required them to adapt and reduce cost without compromising safety while preparing for a future of growth or expansion.

According to him, the impact of the low oil price is not peculiar to Nigeria alone; the country is particularly affected because a large part of its revenue comes from the hydrocarbon sector.

Terraz said that in addition to low oil price, Nigeria had also experienced a reduction in production volumes due to security issues.

He said, “The current context is challenging for both the country and the industry.

“The Government is facing revenue shortages. Oil and gas companies, on their part, have to adapt to the present realities.

“This context, combined with funding challenges for the joint ventures, has resulted in the deferral of investments and a significant reduction in development drilling.

“This situation has also resulted in the loss of activity and jobs for contractors providing services to the industry.”