IBM to partner Nigerian firms on IT Infrastructure development

A United States-based Multinational Technology Company, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has disclosed plans to partner with some Information Technology firms in Nigeria in the development of the sector.
Senior Vice President IBM Systems, Tom Rosamilia, in a chat at the ongoing 2016 Edge Conference in Las Vegas, USA, observed that Nigeria has a huge market considering its population adding that it is an interesting business market for the company which intends to partner with some firms in Lagos to develop the market.
Rosamilia noted that Africa is a huge continent with diversities, stressing that the IT infrastructure gaps in the Continent presents a lot of potential for investors, adding that IBM opened a research laboratory in Nairobi, Kenya in order drive innovations in Africa and also use technological solutions there to create products for other markets.

NSE moves 3.09bn shares worth N6.24bn

Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday traded a total of 3.09 billion shares valued at N6.24 billion exchanged in 2,815 deals.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that this was against the 231.46 million shares worth N2.49 billion traded in 3,452 deals on Tuesday.
The Financial Service Sector remained the toast of investors as GNI emerged the most traded in volume terms, accounting for 2.87 billion shares valued at N3.24 billion.
Zenith Bank came second with a total of 51.23 million shares worth N752.69 million, while UBA sold 39.84 million shares valued at N416.14 million.
GT Bank trailed with 37.92 million shares worth N1.53 billion and investors staked N478.40 million on 25.07 million shares of FCMB.
NAN also reports that the market indicators closed positively, appreciating marginally by 0.01 per cent due to price gains sustained by some highly capitalised equities.

Naira crashes against major currencies

The Nigerian currency on Wednesday depreciated against the three major currencies in all the segments of the Forex market.
At the Interbank market, the Naira fell by 0.25 points to exchange at N310.08, from N309.83 posted on Tuesday.
Trading at the Bureau De Change (BDC) market showed that the naira lost 1 point to close at N424

Why businesses fail in Nigeria – ICAN boss

Poor infrastructure, lack of basic amenities and multiple taxations frustrate enterprise in Nigeria. Organisations surviving the harsh economic conditions, therefore, deserve kudos, as the country remains one of the toughest places to do business.
President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Deacon Titus Soetan, stated this yesterday in Lagos.
Noting that: “Doing business in Nigeria is not a tea party,” Soetan expressed optimism that the country would “improve in its development processes.”
He added that findings have shown businesses in Nigeria do not live up to the fifth or sixth year,

Microsoft raises dividend, plans $40 billion share buyback

Microsoft Corp on Tuesday raised its quarterly dividend by 8 percent and said it would buy back up to $40 billion as part of a new share repurchase program.
The company raised its dividend to 39 cents per share, up 3 cents from the previous quarter.

Investors sue VW for 8.2 bn euros over ‘dieselgate’

Volkswagen investors have filed 1,400 lawsuits seeking 8.2 billion euros in damages over the emissions cheating scandal, a German court said Wednesday, adding to the embattled car giant’s legal woes.
Investors say the automaker failed to disclose details of the case in a timely way, leading them to lose money as the group’s share price plunged by 40 percent in two days after the crisis erupted last September.
The $9.1 billion in claims are mostly made up of “bundled” actions containing lawsuits from multiple plaintiffs, many of them private investors, according to the court in Brunswick, close to VW’s Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony headquarters.
The US government and several German state governments are also among the claimants.
Another claimant is Blackrock, the world’s largest fund manager, and a group of institutional shareholders who are suing VW for 2 billion euros.
A spokesman for Volkswagen reiterated the carmaker’s position that it “continues to believe that

Qatar planning ‘Wall Street-like’ business hub

Qatar is planning to build a new financial centre, similar to New York’s Wall Street and London’s Canary Wharf, that will serve as a pioneering financial and commercial hub in the region.
The Msheireb Downtown Doha project has a funding of more than $5bn and is located in an area currently going under massive development in an attempt to revive the commercial and historical centre of the Qatari capital.
The new project, which will cover an area of 300,000 square metres in Doha, will not only include a financial city but also a number of museums, hotels, historic sites and luxurious apartments.
The initiative was announced on Monday by Yousef al-Jaida, executive head of Qatar Financial Centre [QFC].
The aim is to improve Qatar’s financial standing and create Doha’s “version of Wall Street or Canary Wharf”, said Jaida.
“The objective … is to create a leading financial and business centre in the region,” he said.
Qatari laws state that foreign firms are required to have a local partner that owns at least a 51

MTN facing investor pressure over lower returns

South African mobile operator, MTN Group, said on Wednesday that investors were concerned with lower returns and revenue growth in spite of a boom in data traffic.