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Access Bank Plc is currently working on modalities to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in the next 12 months as it seeks to raise fresh capital.
ReplyDeleteShareholders of Access Bank had two months ago approved plans by the bank to raise $1 billion to enhance its operations.
The bank had explained that the fund would be raised in tranches and at a time to be determined by its directors, through the issuance of a Medium Term Note Programme. The fresh capital, according to Access Bank, would support its objective of being ranked as one of the top three banks in the industry.
In addition, following its designation as one of the Significantly Important Financial Institutions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Access Bank is expected to have an additional one per cent buffer of tier-1 capital.
Access Bank's market capitalisation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) stood at N231, 117,489,699.94 as at Friday.
The bank has 348 branches across Nigeria and in some other African countries. British-based newspaper, Sunday Express, also quoted a source to have said: "The bank hired a new chief executive last year and he is very qualified to lead Access through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) process in the United Kingdom."
In 2013, the bank appointed Herbert Wigwe, a former PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) accountant and seasoned banker, as its chief executive officer.
Speaking at the bank's 2013 annual general meeting held in Lagos recently, Wigwe had assured shareholders that the capital raising would not destroy the value of their investment. He however declined to comment on when the capital would be raised.
Wigwe had explained: "The most important thing is that should we need more money in the future, in a timely manner, it would be easier to access the market.
"The business of banking is fundamentally about managing risk and managing risk requires some form of capital. So we are raising this money so that we can basically leverage on it to lend customers."
The bank's chairman, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, had also said the board of directors had considered a variety of available capital raising options and came to the conclusion that having the option of raising additional financing of up to $1 billion or its equivalent in local currency would be the most cost-efficient option to meet its capital adequacy objectives.
Furthermore, Oyebode had pointed out that the injection of fresh capital into the bank's operations would accelerate the attainment of its aspiration of becoming the "World's Most Respected African Bank".
"Enhancement of the bank's capital base is a key imperative for the realisation of its developmental goals and commitment to society," he had said.
The bank's UK operations, headed by former RBS Executive, Jamie Simmonds, focuses on asset and wealth management and trade finance.
The bank's recently released unaudited results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2014 showed that its gross earnings for the period climbed by nine per cent to N57 billion, up from the corresponding period in 2013. Similarly, its operating income increased by 19 per cent to N42 billion.
This was supported by a 12 per cent increase in its non-interest income during the period. The bank's profit before tax also climbed by 20 per cent to N13.4 billion from N11.1 billion, in the first quarter of 2013.
Barclays Bank Zimbabwe says it will access up to US$100 million in offshore credit lines to support businesses in Zimbabwe.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking at an Imara Investment Conference in the capital last week, Barclays Bank managing director, George Guvamatanga said the funds should be availed by the end of June.
"Banks will lend to companies that have demonstrably strong cash flows. Some companies have been able to access loans at reasonable rates, so it's not always a matter of liquidity but of leadership," he told delegates.
The bank accessed the offshore credit lines in the range of 8% to 9%.
Zimbabwe continues to reel under an acute liquidity crunch which has led to many companies downscaling operations or winding up as the difficult economic terrain takes its toll.
The bank is presently involved in lending out to viable sectors such as tourism, manufacturing, mining and retail.
Last year, the bank brought in over US$40 million as lines of credit into the economy in a bid to boost its underwriting capacity and provide support for viable businesses in the country.
"The economic landscape requires decisive intervention to enhance investor confidence, promote local production and contain the imports bill," said Guvamatanga.
He explained that investment has gone into places which are sometimes ravaged by civil wars and many other challenges, but Zimbabwe, despite being peaceful, has not attracted investment.
"It's very simple, capital does not look for stability, capital looks for clarity and that's what we have been sharing with the relevant stakeholders here, that it's crucial for us to provide clarity," he said, adding that foreign lenders look at country risk premium.
Turning to indigenisation, Guvamatanga said during his tenure as the former Bankers Association president, various discussions had been held with the new indigenisation and finance ministers.
"We have a clear understanding on how this should progress for the financial sector. By the third quarter of this year, these issues should be resolved and finalised," he said.
Some 15,000 cassava farmers have so far benefited from the N375 million loan facility provided by the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to boost cassava production in Adamawa. Alhaji Lawal Umara, Chairman, Borno Cassava Farmers Cooperative Union (BCFCU), stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Maiduguri.
ReplyDeleteUmara said that the farmers who received N250,000 each were drawn from the 27 local government areas of the state. He said that the initiative was part of government's effort to enhance cassava production for local consumption and for export.
He said that the initiative would go a long way to ensure food security in the state and the country in general. Umara said that cassava farmers in the state also received about 10,000 bundles of cassava seedlings under the Federal Government's Agricultural Enhancement Programme to enable them improve on their yield.
He said that the association also secured 100 hectares of farm in each of the 27 local government areas for cassava farmers.
"Some of our members were also empowered to produce different varieties of cassava.
"Plans are also underway to train 2,700 women farmers who lost their farmlands due to the activities of insurgents in some local government areas.
"The women would be trained on how to make biscuits, bread, cakes, doughnuts, pies, rolls and chin-chin, among items," he said
No matter what, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi's tenure as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor officially ends today.
ReplyDeleteHe cannot go back to his position irrespective of the court actions currently on, his time having been used up by the Acting governor, Dr. Sarah Alade. Godwin Emefiele's five-year tenure takes effect from today.
Meanwhile, the National Industrial Court, yesterday fixed June 3, 2014 for hearing of applications to stay proceeding in the suit transferred to it by a Federal High Court, Abuja which had declined to hear the suit filed by suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi challenging his suspension from office by the President Goodluck Jonathan.
When the matter came up yesterday, counsel representing the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) told the court that the his client and the President had filed separately notices of appeal at the Court of Appeal against the judgement. He said that applications to stay proceedings at the Industrial court pending the outcome of the appeal had also been filed.
President of the National Industrial Court, Chief Babtunde Adejumo said the court would invoke section 47 of the National Industrial Court (NIC) Act to entertain the matter since it was transferred by a court of coordinate jurisdiction.
Sanusi had in the suit asked the court to restrain the AGF and the Inspector general of Police (IGP) from arresting and prosecuting him. But in his judgment delivered on May 20, Justice Gabriel Kolawole held that his court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the suit.
The judge, relying on the provisions of Order 56 Rule 3 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009 and Section 24(3) of the National Industrial Court (NIC) Act, 2006 transferred the case to the NIC for determination.
Jonathan and the AGF as well as Sanusi had disagreed with the judgment of the Federal High Court which declined to hear the suit filed by the suspended governor challenging his suspension.
In order to set aside the judgment, they have filed separate notices of appeal before the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
As Mr Godwin Emefiele, erstwhile group managing director (GMD) of Zenith Bank Plc, begins his tenure as the 11th governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) tomorrow, the organised private sector has bemoaned the state of the economy and drawn attention to key issues requiring urgent policy response.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking through the president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Remi Bello, the business community lamented that, after 15 years of civilian rule, the Nigerian economy "is still structurally defective as it is too dependent on the oil and gas sector for revenue, creating serious vulnerability risks".
The captains of commerce and industry acknowledged the transformation in the telecommunications sector as a notable success story in economic reform as well as the progress being made in the agricultural sector but observed that the sector could not be transformed in isolation of infrastructure development and industrialisation.
"There are concerns about the weak impact of the growth performance on private sector productivity and the welfare of the Nigerian people. The quality of the business environment continues to be a source of concern to investors, especially in the real sector. Weak infrastructures and institutions have adverse effects on efficiency, productivity and competiveness of enterprises in the economy. These conditions pose a major risk to inclusiveness and job creation."
The captains of industry noted that although Nigeria's rebased GDP ranked her 26th world largest economy in 2013; the country ranked 147th on Ease of Doing Business report of the World Bank out of the 189 countries profiled.
Furthermore, the industry operators said, the country's ranking in the UNDP Human Development Index of 153 out of 210 countries was a graphic illustration of the disconnect between growth and development; and between growth and quality of investment climate.
Agenda for New CBN Helmsman
Credit situation
The credit situation remains a major problem for investors in the economy. Many small and medium-scale enterprises still have serious challenge in accessing credit even at high interest rates. The tight credit situation is a major inhibiting factor to the capacity of domestic enterprises to take advantage of the robust Nigerian market. A framework for better synergy among the financial sector, the real sector and SMEs is desirable to facilitate the realisation of the development objectives of inclusiveness and job creation.
It didn't get a ton of attention Monday, but Apple's next mobile operating system means significant changes for how iPhone users send and receive messages.
ReplyDeleteIf you're an Apple user, this is a big deal. Messages is the most frequently used app in iOS, and is how most users share texts, photos and videos with each other.
With iOS 8, coming this fall, Apple is borrowing features from popular messaging platforms like Snapchat and WhatsApp while unveiling some new tricks of its own.
Here's a quick look at the new messaging features announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. We'll find out in a few months whether they catch on with users.
Audio and video messages
Demo of new quicktype feature for iPhone
The text window in the next version of iMessage will contain a little microphone button. Users hold a finger down on the button, record a short audio or video message, and send it with the swipe of a finger -- all without leaving the app.
In this way, Apple is taking a page from WhatsApp, which also allows audio and video messages. Facebook bought that startup, which has a huge user base overseas, in February for $19 billion.
Audio files will appear in your Messages stream as jagged lines. Simply tap on them to listen to the message. Apple did not say Monday whether there will be a limit on the length of the messages.
Self-destructing messages
Photo and video messages that disappear after a few seconds have been popularized by Snapchat, the mobile messaging app that reportedly spurned multibillion takeover offers from Facebook and Google last year.
This ephemeral format has been especially popular with teens and young adults who like to exchange silly or racy messages without fear they'll be haunted by them later.
Now Apple is getting into the game. Audio and video messages within iOS 8 will automatically vanish within a few minutes (Apple didn't say how many) unless you adjust your settings.
"You don't want to have to clean these up. Audio and video messages can take up space," said Greg Joswiak, head of iOS product marketing. "So they're set to self-destruct unless you choose to keep them."
Do not disturb
Sure, group messaging threads among friends can be fun. But sometimes all the back-and-forth chatter gets out of hand.
This feature lets you mute a thread for a while while reserving the option to rejoin the conversation later.
"If you've ever been on one of those noisy threads that just keeps buzzing in your pocket ... you can choose when to leave," said Apple Senior Vice President Craig Federighi, to applause from the audience.
CNNMoney: Nice job, Apple. But I'm not coming back
Lock-screen functions
If you're in a hurry, responding to a message on an iPhone can be a little cumbersome: You have to punch in your passcode and then hit the Messages icon just to get started.
With iOS 8, users can listen and respond to audio messages without leaving the lock screen -- just by holding the phone to their ear. The phone detects when it's next to your face, plays the message and lets you record a brief response. Lower the phone, and the message is sent automatically.
"It's super easy," said Joswiak. "You can send a message ... just by raising it (the phone) to your ear."
This feature seems convenient but potentially glitchy if users send accidental messages just by speaking near their phone. There was no word from Apple on how to avoid this potential problem.
Other stuff
If your contacts choose to share them, their locations will pop up in group-messaging threads.
For the first time, users will be able to add or delete someone in the middle of a group-messaging thread.
And message attachments -- images and videos, mostly -- will be collected in one place so you don't have to scroll back through longstanding threads to find them.
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ReplyDeleteMicrosoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates has sold his entire stake in G4S Plc, the British security firm trying to bounce back from a series of scandals that have hurt its reputation and profits.
ReplyDeleteCascade Investment, a firm owned by Bill Gates that manages assets exclusively for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, had last June disclosed a stake in G4S, when its holding crossed the 3 percent threshold for the first time.
A filing on May 28 showed the holding was reduced below 3 percent, and a spokesman for the Gates Foundation told Reuters on Saturday it no longer held any interest in G4S.
G4S declined comment.
G4S, which runs services such as cash transportation and prison management in more than 125 countries, is in the middle of overhauling its sprawling business, shaking up management, cutting costs, improving customer service and restructuring weak divisions to help revive its fortunes.
Having failed to provide enough security guards for the London 2012 Olympics, G4S suffered another scandal last July when, alongside rival Serco Group Plc, it was banned from new UK government work after being found to have charged for monitoring criminals who were dead, in prison or not tagged at all.
On Thursday G4S's own security guards ejected protesters from its annual shareholders' meeting, after they criticised the company's work in Israel, where it provides security at prisons and occupied Palestinian territories.
Gates's investments range from stakes in the Canadian National Railway Co to drinks group Diageo Plc.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works to eradicate the world's most deadly diseases and poverty.
(Reporting by Neil Maidment in London and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by David Holmes and Sonya Hepinstall)
The European Commission has asked the Bulgarian government to suspend work on Gazprom's South Stream gas pipeline pending a decision on whether it conforms with EU law, a Commission spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThe Commission, the EU's executive arm, says South Stream does not comply with its rules that prohibit gas suppliers from also controlling pipeline access, and it put the approval process on hold following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.
Bulgaria, however, has decided to start construction of South Stream as a national priority. The country is heavily dependent on Russian gas and wants to shore up its gas supplies, while Russia wants South Stream as a route that would bypass Ukraine for shipping gas to western Europe.
"Whilst discussions with the Bulgarian authorities are taking place and until there is full compliance with EU law, we have also asked the Bulgarian authorities to suspend the project," Commission spokeswoman Chantal Hughes said.
She also said the Commission had sent the Bulgarian authorities a letter of formal notice asking for information, a preliminary step that could eventually lead to full infringement proceedings and possible fines.
The Bulgarian government has a month to reply.
While Russia seeks alternative routes for its gas exports, which provide roughly one third of EU gas needs, the European Union is looking for other ways to improve its security of supply.
The Commission published a strategy paper last week, which member states will debate later this month.
The paper underlined that any new infrastructure must comply with EU rules on a single energy market, including the so-called Third Energy Package, which prevents the companies, such as Gazprom, which supply gas, from also owning the infrastructure through which it is distributed.
(Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jane Baird)
Uber Inc has raised $1.2 billion from mutual funds and other investors in a funding round valuing the fast-growing rides-on-demand service at $18.2 billion, one of the highest valuations ever for a Silicon Valley startup.
ReplyDeleteUber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick announced the funding round on Uber's blog Friday.
The funding, eclipsed only by the likes of Facebook Inc before it went public, is a vote of confidence by investors in four-year-old Uber's growth potential.
"Uber is one of the most rapidly growing companies ever, and we believe there are opportunities for continued tremendous growth," Joan Miller, a spokeswoman for Summit Partners, an investor in the funding round, said by telephone.
Investors hope the company, which allows users to summon a ride on their smartphones, can expand globally and diversify into logistics.
The investors in the round valued Uber "pre-money" at $17 billion, the blog post said. The $1.2 billion infusion took the startup's valuation to $18.2 billion.
Fidelity Investments put in about $425 million, Wellington Management added $209 million and BlackRock Inc contributed $175 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Venture firms Summit Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures and Menlo Ventures also participated in the round, a person familiar with the matter said.
Kleiner's investment came from its Digital Growth Fund, run by former stock analyst Mary Meeker, known for her bullish recommendations during the first dot-com boom. Her fund has had recent hits, including traffic app Waze, acquired last year for $1.1 billion by Google.
Uber, which did not give details about its latest investors, operates in 128 cities across 37 countries.
Kalanick said he expected to close a second round of funding from strategic investors of about $200 million.
Uber originally started with a luxury town-car service, but in many cities has since added UberX, a low-frills service with nonprofessional drivers using personal cars.
Competitors to Uber include Flywheel and Hailo, which connect passengers and taxis; and Lyft and Sidecar, which link passengers and drivers who use their personal vehicles.
While Uber has grown rapidly since its 2010 launch in San Francisco, it has run into serious regulatory issues. Ordinances keep it out of cities such as Las Vegas, Miami and Vancouver, British Canada.
In some places, including Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., Uber and similar companies face lawsuits from taxi companies hoping to keep the new competition out.
In Colorado, Governor John Hickenlooper signed a bill on Thursday that legalized drive-for-hire services in consumers' own vehicles, including UberX.
In California, ridesharing is currently regulated through the state's Public Utilities Commission, although taxi drivers and Uber itself are challenging that authority.
Uber sometimes offers promotional deliveries, such as roses around Valentine's Day or Christmas trees. Earlier this year, it launched a regular courier delivery service for small packages in Manhattan.
(Editing by David Gregorio, Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis)
UK equity income funds tend to invest in large, blue chip companies that are making regular profits and paying consistent dividends, and can form a core component of investors’ equity exposure, especially in the current volatile environment.
ReplyDeleteHowever, around 87% of all dividend income in the UK is produced by 15 companies and 58% is produced by only five companies.
“This means that there is often a high crossover of stocks between one UK equity income fund and another, so those who invest in a number of different funds might not be achieving the level of diversification they expect,” says Connolly at AWD Chase de Vere. “It is, therefore, sensible for many income investors to hold global or international equity income funds alongside UK equity income.”
Global equity income is becoming an increasingly popular as a growing band of companies throughout the world pay larger dividends to shareholders – a trend that is expected to continue.
“Although overseas companies are less entrenched in paying dividends than their UK counterparts, it’s becoming far more common, especially amongst cash-rich Asian companies,” says Modray.
Fund management houses are responding with a growing range of global equity income funds, as well as regional funds, investing in good quality companies around the globe that have a higher-than-average dividend yield. Investments could include Philip Morris, the US cigarette manufacturer, Roche, the Swiss global health-care company, and Deutsche Telekom, the German telecoms business.
McDermott says: “You can get some good global equity income funds, as well as good regional funds covering everything from Europe to emerging markets these days.”Yields do differ, but global fund yields are pretty close to UK fund yields at the moment – typically between 3.7% and 5%.
Globally-invested investment trusts aimed at income-seeking investors have been performing well and most are now trading at premiums.
“Securities Trust of Scotland, for example, is a solid trust which yields 3.4% and is well diversified regionally whilst quite focused at the stock level,” said Cockerill at Rowan Dartington. “It’s trading at a
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small premium of 3% presently, reflecting demand for the asset class and for the manager. Whilst ideally I would want to buy trusts on a discount, paying for quality rarely lets you down.”
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recently signed into law the
ReplyDeletePension Reform Act of 2014 which repeals the Pension Reform Act of 2004.
Here are some things you should know:
CONTRIBUTION RATE
The new Act provides for an upward review of the rate of pension contributions. The prescribed rate for the employee is 8% whilst that of the employer is captured as 10%, bringing the total rate of contributions to a minimum of 18%.
The repealed Act had captured the rate of contributions as 7.5% for both employer and employee.
An employer who elects to bear the full responsibility of contribution shall not contribute less that 18% of the monthly emolument of its employee.
AREAS OF COVERAGE
The 2014 Act mandates employers of labour including ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government of Nigeria, FCT, state and local government councils, and any organizations in the private sector which employs 3 persons or more to participate in the scheme.
25% BENEFIT APPLICATION CRITERIA
In identifying with the yearning of contributors, the new Act has reduced the waiting period within which a contributor can apply for up to 25% of his balance in the event of loss of employment, to 4 months!!
The previous Act stipulated a 6 month waiting period before employees who had lost their jobs could access benefits.
In addition, the restriction placed by the former Act strictly on the requirement of disengagement from employment has been relaxed to also cover cases of voluntary resignation. This is surely a welcome development for the Nigerian workforce.
REQUIREMENT FOR GROUP LIFE
An employer is also mandated to maintain a group life insurance policy in favour of each employee for a minimum of 3 times the total annual emolument. The new Act provides for life insurance payments to now be paid directly by the insurance companies to named beneficiaries contrary to the previous process of being paid into the deceased’s RSA.
CLOSED PENSION FUND ADMINISTRATORS
The Act provides for the continued existence of the closed PFAs but instructs that all new employees of the sponsor companies must open Retirement Savings Accounts under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
PENSION PROTECTION FUND
The Act establishes the maintenance of a fund to be known as the Pension Protection Fund. This fund will be for the benefit of all eligible pensioners covered by any pension scheme established and shall be towards the funding of a minimum guaranteed pension for all RSA holders that have contributed for a number of years to the scheme. It shall also serve for the payment of compensation to eligible pensioners for shortfall or financial losses that may arise from investment activities. Specific directives as concerns the minimum guaranteed pension and qualification criteria will be communicated by PENCOM.
SANCTIONS FOR NON-COMPLIANCE BY EMPLOYERS
The National Pension Commission is empowered by the Act to institute criminal proceedings against employers who do not deduct or who deduct and do not remit pension contributions for their staff within the stipulated time-frame. The pension scheme is totally committed to securing the future of the Nigerian workforce.
SANCTIONS FOR MISMANAGEMENT
The PRA 2014 further protects your contributions by including a jail term to previous sanctions provided in the old law for anyone who mismanages or diverts pension fund assets under any guise. The scope of possible offences has also been increased to further serve as deterrent against such activities.
Kindly download the full version of the Act for more details at http://www.leadway-pensure.com/guidelines/LegalPensionReformAct2014.pdf