The nation was yesterday saved from another disaster of huge magnitude with the timely and decisive control of a fire that gutted a section of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) in Delta State. LEADERSHIP gathered that the fire started at about 11am from one of the refining plants and was on the verge of spreading but for the timely intervention of fire fighters. It was learnt that fire fighters from Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), (Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), the state’s fire fighters as well as the standby fire fighters from the WRPC and that of PPMC battled for about two hours before the raging inferno was brought under control.
Updated 6 Years ago

Apple Inc. isn’t acting worried about competition for the iPad. Even as rivals such as Amazon.com Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Google Inc. introduce tablets at cheaper prices, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook went in the opposite direction yesterday. He unveiled a new iPad mini with a high-definition screen that starts at $399, $70 more expensive than last year’s model. Apple also introduced a lighter and thinner design for its larger tablet, renamed iPad Air, starting at the same price of $499.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Board of Directors of Fidelity Bank Plc, last Monday, met to approve a successor to the incumbent Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi who will serve out his 10-year maximum term by February 2014. He is Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, who is currently an Executive Director in charge of the South Directorate of the bank.
Updated 6 Years ago

Tiger Brands Limited, a leading South African fast moving consumer goods company, is seeking to increase its stake in Dangote Flour Mills (DFM) to 70 per cent. Tiger Brands currently holds 63.35 per cent, following Dangote Industries Limited (DIL)’s divestment of 3.67 billion ordinary shares to the South African firm last year for $181.9 million. However, a regulatory filing at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by Tiger Brands indicated that the company wants to buy additional 332.5 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a N9.50 per share from minority shareholders of DFM. The deal has already received the provisional approval of the exchange, although details remained sketchy.
Updated 6 Years ago

28 companies were adjudged as the best places to work in Nigeria because of their strong ethical standards and work-friendly environment. The companies include Guinness Nigeria Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, GlaxoSmith Beecham Nigeria, Akintola Williams & Delloitte, and Microsoft. Others are Johnson Wax Nigeria Limited, Mansard Insurance Limited, United African Company Plc, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM).
Updated 6 Years ago

Despite huge investments in information technology (IT) infrastructure, incessant downtime has become a norm in the Nigerian banking industry, BusinessDay investigations have shown. Hardly any week passes without banks experiencing downtime and connectivity problems either between the head offices and branches or between banks and the clearing house, leaving customers with bitter experiences as average of two to three hours are spent anytime they want to access cash or transfer funds.
Updated 6 Years ago

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, yesterday commissioned a World Bank funded N970 million 2x60MVA, 132/33kv transmission substation in Karu, Abuja with a charge to residence to protect the facility. Nebo noted that while government was making effort to ensure that Nigerians have access to quality and sufficient electricity supply for both commercial and domestic uses, acts of vandalism were derailing progress.
Updated 6 Years ago

Following the necessary approval obtained from the Federal Government, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL), a leading indigenous offshore logistics service provider has said it is investing $350million for the integration of the Floating Production Storage Offshore (FPSO) vessel for the Egina deep-water oil field being developed by the French oil major, Total Upstream Nigeria Limited. The project, which is being handled by LADOL in a joint venture with South Korean giant, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) would ensure in-country integration of FPSO for the first time in Nigeria.
Updated 6 Years ago

Zenith Bank plc, Nigeria’s third-largest lender, rose to the highest level in four months as its valuation made it more attractive to investors, according to Renaissance Capital. The lender gained 2 percent to N22.06 in Lagos, on Friday, the highest since June 12. About 110 million shares traded, or 5.7 times the three-month daily average.
Updated 6 Years ago

Google Inc will begin to shield news organizations and human rights groups from cyberattacks as part of a new package of services designed to support "free expression" on the Web, the internet giant said Monday. At a presentation in New York, the company also unveiled a new technology called uProxy that allows citizens under some regimes to bypass government censorship or surveillance software to surf the Web. The software will be available for Google's Chrome browser and Firefox but not for rival Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer, at least initially.
Updated 6 Years ago