Ride-sharing company Juno looks to raise $50m in biggest fundraising round

Juno Inc, a startup looking to attract drivers from bigger ride-sharing rivals such as Uber Technologies Inc by offering them its own stock, is seeking $50 million in its biggest fundraising round to date, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Investors have poured more than $28 billion into the ride services sector over the past decade, propelling growth at Uber, Lyft Inc, China’s Didi Chuxing Technology Co and a host of smaller upstarts, such as Gett.
Economists have said there may be scope for even more competition, because ride-sharing services are relatively cheap to start, depend on contract labor with no inherent loyalty or specialized skills, and have free apps that can be downloaded in seconds.
Juno is working with investment bank Mizuho Financial Group Inc to find investors, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
The person said Juno had previously raised $30 million from companies such as Japan’s Rakuten Inc and angel investors.

I’m not interested in buying NLNG, other national assets even on credit – Dangote

Following the outcry that has trailed the advocacy for the sale of the country’s national assets as a quick measure to fund the 2016 budget and boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves, the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has dismissed insinuations that his advocacy for the sale of the assets was self-serving, saying he was not interested in any of the assets.
Dangote, who spoke in an interview, stressed that if the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company or any other national asset was offered to him, even on credit, he would not be interested in acquiring them.
Dangote, who is Africa’s richest man, said his advocacy for the government to sell some of its interest in some of the national assets was to help boost the economy as well as to stabilise the naira exchange rate, which has been under attack in the past few days.
According to him, he offered his proposal as a way out of Nigeria’s present economic recession because he is “a true Nigerian who really wants the issues about the economy to be sorted out”.
He added: “You know the issue, once your reserves are low, the banks, entrepreneurs, including external forces, would definitely attack your currency. They would speculate on your currency.

‘We must review past agreements before concessioning airports’

The Federal Government has been urged to review past concession agreements and address its sticking points before giving airports out to new investors.
Besides, concerned stakeholders have also asked for a clear-cut master plan on airport concessioning; seeking details on aspects of the facilities that are for private investments.
The stakeholders that recently met at an aviation conference in Lagos said settling old scores and clarity on what to do with the airports will given confidence to new investors and ensure better bargain for the Federal Government.
Former Director of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Engr. Harold Demuren, recalled that past efforts on concessioning have not yielded the desired result and lessons must be learnt in going forward.Demuren noted a classic case in government’s handling of the Nigerian airways and the plan to restructure the airline.

Nigeria’s existence depends on diversification of economy – Dangote

Foremost industrialist and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, yesterday declared that the very ‘existence’ of Nigeria depends on the rapid diversification of the economy.
“Since oil prices are unlikely to rebound any time soon, it would not be an exaggeration to assert that the very “existence” of our country is now hinged on the rapid diversification of our economy, especially in the manufacturing, agriculture and mining sectors,” he said.
This was as President Muhammadu Buhari explained that the manufacturing sector was well positioned to be a major driver of Nigeria’s economic growth because of the nation’s immense natural resources and the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians.
Buhari and Dangote spoke yesterday at the 44th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which held in Abuja.
The theme of the meeting is “diversifying the Nigerian Economy: the Role of Government in Manufacturing.”
The President of Dangote Group stated that in the face of economic recession confronting

ICAO commends FG for efforts to develop air travel sector

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has acknowledged the Federal Government’s effort to reposition the aviation sector and set it on the path of growth.
President of ICAO, Dr. Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, in Montreal, Canada, said efforts in the area of capacity building, infrastructure development and security were preparing the sector in Nigeria and the region for growth.
Aliu, while receiving the visiting government’s delegate in Canada, expressed delight seeing steps being taken on a number of initiatives and activities discussed during his last visit to Abuja.
He said: “I have taken note of all the efforts you are putting in place to advance these issues to raise the level of aviation development in Nigeria and in the region.
“In particular in the area of capacity building, I have read many times your reference with the need of Nigeria to have an aviation university. You have also been talking about the need to enhance the level of training in Zaria.

British Airways to scrap free meals

British Airways is scrapping free meals for short-haul economy fares from next year and inviting passengers to instead pay for Marks and Spencer sandwiches, creating a stir on social media.
The pair announced the tie-up on Thursday, which sees BA joining the no-frills airline model of charging passengers for food and drink.
From January, BA will charge £4.75 ($6.2, 5.5 euros) for a tomato and mozzarella focaccia, £1 for hand cooked crisps and a minimum of £4 for alcoholic drinks. No food item will cost more than £5.

Oil and gas should not be neglected – Dangote

Africa’s richest man and Chairman of the Dangote group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has emphasized that diversifying the Nigerian economy does not mean we should neglect our oil and gas sector.
Dangote, who was the Guest Speaker at the 44th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in Abuja, said the oil and gas sector needs to be deepened and expanded to enable us to unlock the full benefits in the hydrocarbon value chain.
He said diversification was basically aimed at increasing the range of products and services in the economy through domestic value addition.
He said that the objectives of diversification were to enhance export opportunities for a variety of products and create multiple streams of foreign exchange inflows into the domestic economy.
Dangote explained that the role of government in manufacturing simply was to expand the sector, enhance its productivity and improve its competitiveness.
He added that government embraced industrialisation after independence by putting in place several policies, one of which was Import Substitution.

Naira in free fall, plunges to N480/dollar

The naira plunged further against the United States dollar to a new record low of 480 on Thursday, down from 472 it recorded on Wednesday.
The currency had continued its two-week free fall on Monday, closing at 445 to the dollar after tumbling to 439 on Friday.
On Tuesday, the currency closed at 452 to the greenback. Also on Tuesday, the external reserves hit an 11-year low of $24.61bn.
“Dollar is very scarce in the market right now because many people don’t know how low it will fall in the near term, so people are holding on to their hard currencies in order to watch the direction of the market,” one dealer said.
The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators, Aminu Gwadabe, told Reuters that forex traders from neighbouring countries and some importers had also been moving in recently, mopping up dollars and putting pressure on the naira in a possible speculative bid.
Chronic dollar shortage plunged the local currency to a wave of depreciation, which economic and financial analysts have linked to speculative attack on the naira and increased demand from