NCC to sanction 13 operators over unsolicited telemarketing

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday said it would sanction 13 telecommunications operators for failing to comply with the ‘2442 Do Not Disturb (DND)’ directive on unsolicited telemarketing.
According to a statement signed by the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo, the directive was issued on April 20, 2016.
Ojobo said that the 13 operators included: Airtel Network Ltd., MTN Nigeria, Globacom Nigeria, Smile Communication, Visafone Communications, Ntel, Etisalat, Multi-Links, Starcomms, Danjay Telecoms, Gamjitel Ltd., Megatech Engineering Ltd. and Gicell Wireless.
According to him, the service providers have been given another one-week ultimatum, from Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, to remedy the situation or face the sanctions enshrined in the directive.
“Worried by the non-compliance by the operators, occasioned by a deluge of complaints by subscribers

Naira appreciates after DSS action on currency dealers

Despite last week’s raid and arrest of some licensed currency dealers who were said to be selling foreign exchange (FX) above the prescribed limit, the naira appreciated on both the interbank and parallel segments of the market.
Precisely, on the interbank FX market, the spot rate of the naira climbed N1.45 to close at N304.75 to the dollar last Friday, stronger than the N306.50 to the dollar the previous day.
Also, on the parallel market, the naira appreciated by N5 to trade at N455 to the dollar at the weekend, compared with the N460 to the dollar the day before.
But on the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment, the nation’s currency depreciated to N405 to the dollar, from about N400.
It was reported that security operatives from the DSS had raided the offices of some BDCs in Lagos and Abuja and arrested dealers for selling above the stipulated exchange rate.

Siemens buys software maker Mentor Graphics for $4.5bn

Siemens AG agreed to buy Mentor Graphics Corp. for $4.5 billion in its biggest acquisition since 2014 as the German engineering company extends its industrial software capability.
Siemens will pay $37.25 a share for Wilsonville, Oregon-based Mentor, the industrial giant said in a statement on Monday. That’s 21 percent above the closing price on Friday. Elliott Management Corp., which owns 8.1 percent of Mentor’s shares, backs the offer, Siemens said.
The acquisition “will allow us to supplement our world-class industrial software portfolio,” Siemens board member Klaus Helmrich said in the statement. “It will complement our strong offering in mechanics and software with design, test and simulation of electrical and electronic systems.”
The deal follows the $970 million January purchase of CD-adapco of the U.S. as Siemens seeks to grow its

Bank of Industry disburses N36bn to agro-allied sectors in 2016

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has disclosed that it has disbursed over N36 billion within nine months in 2016 to agro-allied sector of the economy in the country.
Speaking at the Lagos International Trade Fair SMEs forum organized by the bank over the weekend, Regional Head, BOI, Mr. Obaro Osa disclosed that the bank plans to move its loan advances from $2.7 billion in 2014 to $5.4 billion in 2019 in order to drive home its mission statement.
He said: ‘‘it is imperative to know that BOI’s non-performing loan ratio is less than 4 per cent. Our mission is to transform Nigeria’s financial space by supporting the large, the medium and small scale in a bid to bring life to entrepreneurship”.
He noted that the bank is hell bent on expanding its footprints from 15 state offices to 19 offices, revealing that it has a significant project for those in exports.
“Graduate Employment Fund focuses on Youth Corpers with a minimum of N2 million whereas the YES