Economic headlines

Guinness Nigeria quotes N10bn commercial papers on FMDQ http://www.punchng.com/guinness-nigeria-quotes-n10bn-commercial-papers-on-fmdq/ 19/02/2016 FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange on Thursday announced the admission of the Guinness Nigeria Plc N7,225,956,000 and N2,774,044,000 commercial paper notes for quotation on the Exchange. The over-the-counter exchange described the latest admission as another stride in its commitment to the development of the Nigerian commercial paper market. CPs are short-term debt financing instruments (no longer than 270 days in tenor) consisting of unsecured and discounted promissory notes by large corporations, which can be readily traded. According to a statement from the FMDQ, the CPs represent series 2 and 3 under the organisation’s N10bn commercial paper issuance programme. This achievement immediately follows the recent successful listing of the Transcorp Hotels Plc N10bn bond on FMDQ at the beginning of the year. Nigerian Breweries Delights Investors http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigerian-breweries-delights-investors/232775/ 24/02/2016 At a time the stock market has remained bearish, the declaration of N38 billion as dividends by Nigerian Breweries is timely for shareholders 2015 Financial Performance: Nigerian Breweries ended 2015 with revenue of N299 billion, up by 10 per cent, from N266 billion in 2014. Cost of sale went up from N131 billion to N151 billion, while  distribution/administrative and other expenses rose from N70 billion to N70 billion to N81 billion. Similarly, financial charges rose by 45 per cent from N5.3 billion to N7.7 billion. The high cost of running the company affected its bottom-line as profit after tax fell by 11 per cent from N61.5 billion to N54.5 billion, while profit after tax declined by 16 per cent to N38 billion, from 42.5 billion. However, the directors have recommended a dividend of N4.80 per share. Buhari’s wife commissions N4bn Erisco Foods tomato paste plant http://sunnewsonline.com/new/buharis-wife-commissions-n4bn-erisco-foods-tomato-paste-plant/ 19/02/2016 ERISCO Foods Limited on Thursday commissioned its new 450,000 tonnes tomato paste processing plant in Oregun, Lagos State, constructed at a cost of N4 billion ($150 million). Wife of Nigeria’s President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, who inaugurated the plant tasked relevant government regulatory agencies to step up actions towards checking the import of foreign and substandard foods into the country to protect local manufacturers and the health of Nigerian citizens. “I think we have imported enough and we have to change that culture of importing things  we can produce locally,” Mrs. Buhari said in her address. “This is part of the change we are talking about that must happen in the country. Local food manufacturers have to be encouraged to grow as that is the only way to create employment for the youths and help local farmers to benefit more from their labour. Nigerians must also patronise local companies and their products,” she added. As Guinness Faces New Challenges http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/as-guinness-faces-new-challenges/232115/ 17/02/2016 Despite its efforts to reduce operating and financing costs, Guinness Nigeria still encountered new challenges that depressed its bottom line in the half-year ended December 31, 2015, writes Goddy Egene. Guinness Nigeria is one of the leading beverage manufacturers in Nigeria. Apart from having an   array of products that appeal to every segment of the market and being a popular brand, the company is also a subsidiary of Diageo Plc. However, challenging operating environment has affected the fortunes of many in recent times, leading to dwindling returns on investments for shareholders.  The shareholders have been contending with   constant reduction in dividend payment  since 2010. Besides, there have been senior management changes in apparent move to turn around the fortunes of the company. While the company has made some significant improvement in its cost management, the half year results released recently showed that it is not yet uhuru. Stiff competition in the market for did not only lead to reduced revenue but also led to major decline in profit. This implies that if  nothing positive happens, shareholders will receive lower dividend at  the end of year in June 2016. Procter & Gamble holds symposium, spends $2bn on R&D http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/02/procter-gamble-holds-symposium/ 16/02/2016 Charles Darwin of Origin of Species fame once said that ‘it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’  This seems to be the driving force behind Procter & Gamble (P&G) Nigeria, a fast-moving consumer goods company. To underscore this point, P&G, at the weekend, held a two-day annual symposium tagged:  Chemical Sciences and Technology Enabling Growth in Africa, in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). In his opening remarks, the Managing Director of P&G Nigeria, George Nassar, said innovation is one of P&G’s and by extension, Nigeria’s most vital methods for growth and development.

CPC Orders MultiChoice to Compensate Subscribers, Unlock Free-to-Air Channels http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/cpc-orders-multichoice-to-compensate-subscribers-unlock-free-to-air-channels/232639/ 22/02/2016 The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has issued far-reaching directives to MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, owners of the Digital Satellite Broadcast Television (DStv), to among other things, make compensations to its subscribers within 90 days, after the council established allegations of violations of consumer rights against the broadcaster. Specifically, the council ordered DStv to henceforth put services on hold whenever consumers are away and also release of free-to-air channels even at the expiration of subscription. DStv had often refused to release the free to air channels, which should include local television stations whenever current subscription expired. Sources had told THISDAY that pay television stations are under obligations to unlock the free to air channels as part of broadcasting agreement signed. But this had often been in breach. However, the CPC further ordered compensation across board to consumers for lost viewing time and introduction of local toll free lines as well as reasonable equitable spread of popular sports channels, among others.    MTN Partners Jumia to Launch Entrepreneurship Challenge http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/mtn-partners-jumia-to-launch-entrepreneurship-challenge/232282/ 18/02/2016 MTN, in partnership with the MTN Solution Space and Jumia, Wednesday announced the launch of the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia. The Pan-African competition launching, according to a statement, will be the first of its kind in Africa, bringing together over 1000 entrepreneurs, students and investors, to collaborate on ways to amplify and consolidate the continent’s entrepreneurs. Targeting more than 60 universities in 13 countries across Africa, the competition will challenge students to develop a unique digital application or smart solution that will solve a tangible problem faced on the continent.  IBM restates commitment to Nigeria’s business development http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/2016/02/ibm-restates-commitment-to-nigerias-business-devt/ 24/02/2015 Technology giant, IBM has restated its commitment to business and skills development in   Nigeria and other African countries. According to IBM, increased collaboration and knowledge sharing among citizens, countries and companies will accelerate social and economic re-engineering, even as policy and development experts must be wary of reinventing the wheel. IBM said countries’ must begin to tap new insights from available data, connect to the global information infrastructure and join forces with established institutions with a proven track record of achievements and transformative results.