AMCON links debtors with private investors

Debts buying firm, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, said it has begun linking prospective foreign investors with debtors, with a view to salvaging their businesses.
The development comes as AMCON disclosed that the Federal Government had no intention to force mergers and acquisition on operators in the troubled aviation industry.
AMCON’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Kuru, said: “Some of them (debtors) don’t have capability; some don’t have cash and some don’t have the right temperament. So, we’re bringing them (investors and debtors) together. Instead of taking over the businesses, the three of us can come together and allow professionals run the businesses.”
He revealed that AMCON was in talks with a lot of prospective investors in this regard. “All that is required is have an understanding. You know, due diligence takes time and it also takes time to identify the area you want to go into. We’re talking to quite a lot of investors, especially from

Budget: FG to raise $1bn via Eurobond in November

In order to finance the 2016 budget, the Federal Government is to raise $1bn through the issuance of Eurobonds by November, investigation has shown.
The amount to be raised from the international bonds market is part of the $4.5bn that the Federal Government plans to borrow from the market in three years.
Authoritative sources said on Wednesday that the government was watching events in the international capital market to know the best opportune time to approach it to raise the fund.
Further investigation revealed that the international capital market had become very attractive to the Federal Government because of the dearth of foreign exchange in the country as a result of poor earnings from the nation’s major forex earner, crude oil.
It was also learnt that most of the monies expected from external borrowings to finance the 2016

FirstNation shifts resumption of operations

The FirstNation Airways has postponed resumption of its flight operations, earlier scheduled for Sept. 15, by a few days.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the airline had on Aug. 17 suspended operations to enable the aircraft in its fleet undergo engine maintenance.
NAN, however, gathered from the airline’s ticket stand at the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2, Lagos, that it might return to operations on Sept. 17.
A reliable source told NAN that the equipment needed to fix the airplanes was only released by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) a few days ago.
The source said: “The airline had anticipated that all customs formalities would have been done last week Friday before the Sallah holidays.
“It is hoped that the team of engineers would finish work on the engines before Sept. 16 as the airline plans to resume operations immediately after the engines are fixed.’’
Capt. Chimara Imediegwu, the FirstNation Airway’s Director of Flight Operations, had on Sept. 6, told newsmen that a team of engineers were coming to Nigeria to service the planes.

Nigeria losing $8bn in tourism revenue – RenCap

The Global Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital, Mr. Charles Robertson, says Nigeria is losing at least $8bn in tourism receipts.
Robertson, who stated this in an emailed note on Wednesday, stressed the need for improvements in airport quality and visa policy.
He said, “Why is Ghana 25 times more successful than Nigeria in attracting tourism revenues? Indeed, why is Nigeria the second least successful African country in attracting tourism receipts out of the 43 we have data for (only the DRC is worse)?
“One deterrent is the visa process, which we argue is sometimes an example of countries putting pride before economics. It can be an unpleasant experience for an east European or African to get a visa to visit the EU or US – and so it’s not surprising that some emerging markets and frontier countries make it hard for people in richer countries to visit them.”
According to him, patriotic countries like Turkey and Croatia do not jeopardise the economic benefits of tourism by insisting on visa reciprocity.
Robertson said, “We argue that deterring tourists is an economic mistake, especially when the EM

Telcos, banks, others stake N143.1bn on print media adverts in 10yrs

Firms in the telecommunications and banking industry have accounted for the bulk of N142.1 billion earned advertising income for Newspapers in Nigeria between 2006 and December 2015 according to latest figures released by mediaReach OMD, despite lagging behind the television and Out of Home (OOH) media.
According to a special edition of mediafacts in the last ten years, by mediaReach OMD titled: mediafacts Nigeria 10 Year Trend Review (2006 to 2016), the N4.4 billion advert income in 2006 moved up to N4.8 and N4.9 billion in 2007 and 2008 respectively. The newspapers got N15.8 billion in 2009 and N16.5 billion in 2010.
The figure declined to N15.4 in 2011 and slipped further to N9.0 billion in 2012. The downward slope however changed in 2013 with an advert income of N18.5 billion and rose to its peak in 2014, hitting N25.8. The figure went down by N2.1billion in 2015 when the newspapers received N23.7 billion.

African financial institutions to adopt Nigeria’s agric credit scheme

African financial institutions are to adopt the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) strategy for lending to agriculture and allied investments on the continent.
The plan followed the approval and commendation the NIRSAL project received at the just concluded 2016 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Nairobi, Kenya where Nigeria was cited as a country that had successfully developed a national risk sharing facility for banks to lend to the sector.
Specifically, it was stated that through NIRSAL, the nation witnessed a 600 per cent increase in lending to agriculture. The development, it is believed, led to many banks establishing specialised agricultural desks.

Enugu chamber slams FG, says economy in depression

ENUGU—The Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ECCIMA, on Wednesday, lashed out at the Federal Government, revealing that the economy has already plunged into depression contrary to the claims of recession making the rounds in government circles.
ECCIMA said unless the Federal Government quickly rejigs its economic team if it had one in the first place, people’s means of survival may be greatly diminished.
It also regretted the prevailing situation whereby families can no longer afford one square meal a day, adding that it is a clear pointer that the economy is depressed.
Continuing,ECCIMA further maintained that the south-east geopolitical zone is the worst hit, occasioned by the abysmal infrastructure in the region which has crippled trade and commerce that forms the bedrock of the regions’ economy.
While fielding questions in his office yesterday,a sober looking Director General, ECCIMA, Mr.

Lack of long term capital, bane of housing sector – CBN

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has identified the non-availability of long term capital to boost mortgages as the major challenge crippling the country’s housing market.
Emefiele, who stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at the opening of a three-day African Union for Housing Finance (AUHF) conference, pointed out that mortgages were not run by credit or short-term investment.
He also cited the high cost of building materials which, he said, had led to the growing spate of unaffordable housing in the country.
AUHF is a 55-member association of mortgage banks, building societies, housing corporations and similar organisations working on the mobilisation of funds for shelter and housing on the African continent.
The AUFH conference, with the theme, ‘Housing and Africa’s Growth Agenda’, is organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).

nvestors gain N22bn as stock market trading resumes bullish

Investors gained N22.2billion at the stock market yesterday as the trading resumed on bullish note after two days holiday.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index rose by 0.23 per cent to close at 27,642.13, while market capitalisation added N22.2 billion to be at N9.5 trillion.
The performance trimmed the year-to-date decline to 3.49 per cent. The positive close was propelled by price gains recorded by Dangote Cement Plc, Stanbic IBTC, Unilever, Lafarge Africa and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc among others.
However, Conoil Plc led the overall price gainers’ chart as investors continued to react to the impressive 2015 full year results of the petroleum products marketing firm.
The stock appreciated by 10.1 per cent to close at N26.21 per share, trailed by Unilever Nigeria Plc with 4.9 per cent. Conoil Plc posted a growth of over 176 per cent in profit after tax to N2.308 billion for 2015, up from N834 million in 2014. Based on the improved bottom-line, the directors recommended a dividend of 300 kobo per share, up from 100 kobo in 2014.

Unity Bank sacks 215 workers

Unity Bank Plc has sacked 215 members of staff. The bank has over 2,000 workforce.
The exercise, it was leant, was to enable the lender realign its operation and pursue a long term growth strategy.
Some of the downsized staff members were said to have opted to resign while management approved severance package for them in line with the bank’s policy.
The lender last May, forged a strategic alliance with Black Trituium, equity and investment fund manager.
Investigation revealed that the affected members of staff were those that achieved less than 40 per cent of their performance target, which affected the lender’s overall profitability in recent years.

‘Forex scarcity stifling insurance operations’

Even as insurance practitioners are complaining about the prevailing apathy by the public towards its services, operators have lamented the negative effects of the foreign exchange crisis confronting the nation on their businesses.
The operators under the aegis of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), and the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), noted that the devaluation of the Naira has wiped off the value of their capital base and insurance stock price.
Currently, the official exchange of the Naira per dollar is N305.00 while that of the parallel market (black market) hovers between N400 and N420 per dollar.
The Chairman of NIA, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, and the Deputy President of the CIIN, Mrs. Funmi Babington-Ashaye, spoke at different fora on the plight of the insurance sector in the face of the protracted foreign exchange crisis.
Speaking on the challenges of the sector at a recent Insurance Professionals Forum, held in

Nigeria records $2bn revenue deficit monthly due to falling oil revenue – NECA

Larry Ettah

The Nigerian Employers Consultative Association of Nigeria (NECA) has disclosed that falling oil price has resulted in a loss of about $2billion in federal government’s revenue. This is even as the nation’s economy continues to struggles under recession.
NECA president, Mr Larry Ettah, said the government required about $3billion monthly to function, but its receivable was about $1 billion per month, reflecting a drop of $2 billion.
Consequently, the NECA boss called on the government to direct more effort to address the economic challenges, saying that government should look beyond oil because the price of crude would remain low.
According to him, gone were the days the price of oil was $100 dollar per barrel in the international market.
“The oil price will not go up to $100 per barrel as we used to enjoy. Gone are the days when we used to buy it for $80, $90 or $100 per barrel. We have to be living in a restructured environment in which case we have to be looking into how to diversify the economy. And I think this is a painful opportunity for us which we have to take,” he stated.
He pointed out that for the country to exit the recession, the government should work on the