PwC hits $35.9bn gross revenue in FY2016

The PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) network yesterday reported total global gross revenues of $35.9billion for the fiscal year ended on 30 June 2016. With the record revenue, PwC’s total global revenues rose by over seven per cent.
Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd, Bob Moritz, said the revenue growth in FY16 across all major markets and businesses is testament to their fundamental purpose of building trust and solving problems.
Moritz said: “The strength of our brand, the opportunities we provide for our people, the quality of our services and our focus on meeting the needs of our stakeholders are at the heart of PwC and how we measure our success.
“To secure future growth, we are investing heavily in technology to enhance the quality and impact of our services and make the best use of the skills of our people. The world is changing

Global banks fight back on Brexit, warn $51 billion at stake

Britain crashing out of the European single market could cost banks and associated businesses in the U.K. almost 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) in lost revenue, undermining a key sector of the economy, an industry report will warn on Wednesday.
Finance firms are making a fresh bid for special status in upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU after U.K. government officials this week indicated banks would get no favors. The report, prepared by Oliver Wyman on behalf of TheCityUK lobby group, warns that almost 70,000 jobs and 10 billion pounds of tax revenue are at risk from a so-called hard Brexit, according to two people familiar with its contents.
Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out prioritizing protection of the banks in Brexit talks and has dismissed their key business demand for an interim deal to help ease the transition out of the bloc, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing three government officials. Finance executives have threatened to move jobs if Britain doesn’t secure a deal allowing them to serve European

Nigeria will soon close $4bn investment deal with China – Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said that Nigeria will soon close the deal on a $3 billion to $4 billion loan from China that will be channelled towards the provision of infrastructure in the oil and gas sector.
Kachikwu made the disclosure at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in the State House, Abuja wednesday, adding that the loan was a fallout of the July roadshow held by the petroleum ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in China.
Briefing State House reporters alongside the Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Interior, Abdurahman Danbazzau; and Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Kachikwu also revealed that over 40 Chinese investors would be visiting Nigeria by the end of the month, explaining that the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed during the road show generally have a gestation period of about one year, as both countries set up their teams on a bilateral basis to look at specific areas of investment interests.

Ericsson slashes 3,900 jobs

Swedish telecom equipment maker, Ericsson, announced on Tuesday plans to slash 3,000 jobs in production, research and development and sales and some 900 consultants in Sweden.
Ericsson said, in a statement, the slash was due to a tough global market.

Hajj: Medview Airline rounds off operations with 772 pilgrims

Medview Airline completed the airlift of Pilgrims for the 2016 Hajj back to Nigeria yesterday with a successful airlift of about 772 pilgrims.
The airline last two flights for the NAHCON assignment arrived Port Harcourt International airport and Kaduna International airport respectively on Monday.
The flight to Port Harcourt had 452 pilgrims from Rivers, Edo, Delta , Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Cross River states while that of Kaduna had 320 pilgrims on board.
While giving praise to Allah for a successful Hajj operations, the Managing Director/CEO of the airline Alhaji Muneer Bankole commended NAHCON and the Federal Government for the necessary structures put in place to ensure a hitch-free Hajj exercise.
He also commended the Federal Government for all the efforts it is making to bring about peace and stability in all parts of the country.
Medview airline deployed 3 wide body aircraft – B747-300, B777-200 and B767-300 for the hajj operations.

Industrialisation, as leeway out of recession – Olagunju

The Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Waheed Olagunju, has said that the industrialisation is the best way to diversify the economy.
Speaking at the 32nd Omolayole Management Lecture in Lagos, he emphasised that industrialisation, value-addition and processing will foster a higher quality of life for Nigerians.
Giving an analysis of the economy in the past 56 years, he said Nigeria is not occupying its rightful position compared with other countries with fewer natural resources.
Comparing the economy of Mexico with the Nigerian economy, he said that between the mid-70s and 2014, Mexico had diversified its economy away from oil with 80 per cent of its revenue coming from the manufacturing sector in 2014, against 20 per cent it generated from the sector in the mid-70s.
For Nigeria, he stated that its dependence on crude oil exported which accounted for 90 per cent of it revenue in the mid- 70s had remained the same till 2014.

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.