Kenya will issue a 30-year savings development bond and a 2-year bond to raise a total of 18 billion shillings, the Central Bank said on Thursday. The 30-year bond is the first of its kind and the longest dated bond yet. It will come with a coupon of 12 per cent, paid every six months, the bank said in a…
Royal Dutch Shell is facing opposition to its plans to seek shale gas in South Africa’s semi-desert Karoo region, as farmers fear methods used to extract it will contaminate water and harm the environment. The outcome of whether Shell is allowed to proceed could affect prospects for other oil and gas companies in the Karoo, which may hold substantial deposits…
Gulf Arab fund managers who only weeks ago were predicting Egypt would be the top regional performer in 2011, are now caught in the country’s political upheaval as the local financial markets remain shut. The main Egyptian share market index has dropped more than 21 per cent since the start of the year and financial markets have now been shut…
Switzerland and Nigeria will formally conclude a migration partnership in less than two weeks, Andreas Baum, the ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, has said. Mr. Baum, at the inauguration of a new factory by Nestle Nigeria in Ogun State on Thursday, said the partnership will be concluded during the planned visit of Odein Ajumogobia, the foreign affairs minister, to Berne…
The Nigerian economy will experience a surge in the third and fourth quarter of this year as the country begins to put behind her the aftermath of the April elections. The economy sectors that would generate significant interest are the equities market and the property development sector. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, managing director of UBA Asset Management Limited, gave this positive outlook…
Uju Udeme, the president, Asaba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ASACCIMA), said the association was committed to the promotion of industrial and commercial activities in Delta State. Mr. Udeme said this in Asaba on Wednesday when members of the association visited the state commissioner for special duties in-charge of Direct Labour Agency (DLA), Ngozi Okolie. He said that…
Uncertainty in the investment clime may be pushing investors to opt for more secured investment instruments. Some investment advisory firms have been encouraging their clients to switch to money market instrument in order to secure their investment and enjoy more returns. This may have counted for the loss recorded in the equities market in the last one week. FSDH Securities…
Sustaining the progress recorded under the Federal Government amnesty programme for former members of armed militant groups in the Niger Delta is important for lasting peace in the oil producing region. Timi Alaibe, the outgoing special adviser to the president on Niger Delta affairs said yesterday in Abuja at the formal handover ceremony to his successor, Kingsley Kuku, that he…
Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited has announced the appointment of Kelvin Balogun as the company’s new chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2011. Mr. Balogun succeeds Islay Rhind, who will be retiring from The Coca-Cola Company. Mr. Balogun, who becomes the first Nigerian CEO of Coca-Cola Nigeria, joined the company in October 1999 as strategic planning business development manager. In February 2002,…
Positive sentiments returned to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday after the market had recorded losses in the last five trading days. The Exchange market capitalisation of the 201 First-Tier equities closed higher yesterday at N8.607 trillion after opening the day at N8.541 trillion, reflecting 0.77 per cent increase or N66 billion gains. Meanwhile, the market had lost over…
It is difficult to resist the temptation of writing about the unfolding turmoil in the Maghreb region. The events in Tunisia, Egypt, and other countries that up until recently seemed untouchable by popular revolt is instructive in many ways. In Sub-Saharan Africa, we appear to be sitting on the ringside, buffered by the dessert, maintaining largely deserted streets, and probably…
Jasper Uche, the Transition Committee Chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area in Abia state, said that the council will soon open a cashew processing industry in the area. He revealed this on Sunday in Umunneochi, that the industry will be sited in Mbala community.Mr Uche explained that the industry will utilise the abundant but neglected cashew nuts at Mbala, as…
Six of the country's banks are ready to conclude the processes for their recapitalisation in the next two weeks. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) director of banking operations, Sam Oni, disclosed this at the end of the Bankers Committee meeting held yesterday in Abuja. He noted that with the progress recorded so far with the regulators intervention with the ongoing…
The move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce derivative foreign exchange products will eventually allow for a more stable national currency. According to the Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA), the body of financial instruments brokers, the commencement will be beneficial to the end users of foreign exchange. Akinsowon Dawodu, president of the FMDA, said the framework, as…
Uganda’s inflation rate rose for a third consecutive month to 5.0 per cent in January from 3.1 per cent in December due to seasonal food shortages, the government’s statistics agency said on Monday. Food prices rose 3.6 per cent in the year to January 2011 compared with a decrease of 1.1 per cent recorded for the year to the end…