Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited (SIAML), a wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has concluded arrangements to float the Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 (“the Fund”), which opens on Monday, September 15, 2014 and closes on Wednesday, October 15, 2014. At the signing ceremony held in Lagos yesterday, directors of SIAML and all other professional parties signed the deal to issue 10,000,000 units of the Fund of 100 each at par (the “Offer”). The minimum subscription is 10,000 units and multiples of 5,000 units thereafter.
Updated 5 Years ago

Many of you work at least 8 hours a day and see the same people every day. Therefore, it makes sense to become friends with your co-workers. However, have you ever thought whether your work friends are your real friends? There is a difference between your real friends, who will be there for you in your tough times or whom you enjoy inviting over to your house for dinner, and your work friends whom you hang out with for lunch or happy hour because you happen to be in the same building every day. It is harder for young professionals to make this distinction because many of us become friends in school. You go to the class, meet new people and make friends. Some of them may think it is similar in the office as well.
Updated 5 Years ago

Sure, it pays to focus on customer acquisition -- but what about customer retention first? According to the infographic below, 80% of businesses believe they provide "superior" customer service. But only 8% of customers would describe the service they've received in such glowing terms. When customers aren't happy, there's often significant damage done. In fact, U.S. businesses collectively lose an estimated $83 billion a year due to shoddy customer service.
Updated 5 Years ago

To encourage financial inclusion in Zimbabwe, Telcel has dropped charges on Telecash transfers for its subscribers, making it the most affordable mobile money transfer service in the Southern African country. According to Telcel, customers will not pay for receiving and depositing money via Telecash. Tariff levied on sending money to non-subscribers has also been reduced though the mandatory 5 cents placed by the regulator remains. Registered Telecash subscribers who receive money via mobile will now pay between 10 cents and $4.90 for cash between $1 and $500.
Updated 5 Years ago

Nigeria’s foremost cement company Lafarge Cement WAPCO has announced a profit before tax of 17.74 billion for its half year ended June 30, a 29 percent rise from its N13.80 billion ($85 million) in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company, which last month merged with South Africa’s Lafarge subsidiary, also enjoyed a 12 percent in revenue for the first six months of 2014. Revenue rose to N55.35 billion ($341 million) from N49.48 billion ($305 million) in the preceding year.
Updated 5 Years ago

Nigerian lender, Access Bank, is returning to its “growth trajectory,” helped by strong execution of its mid-term strategy, MD Herbert Wigwe, said late on Tuesday. “We are now making huge strides in gaining retail market share and becoming a key player as the bank deploys bespoke services for specific segments of the retail market including women, children and the youth,” Wigwe said on Tuesday.
Updated 5 Years ago

Dubai developer Damac Properties has announced the second release of units at its AKOYA Oxygen development following strong investor interest in the first phase of the project. AKOYA Oxygen, which is located in Dubailand, is a 55 million square foot community that will feature both residential and hospitality units surrounding a championship 18-hole golf course.
Updated 5 Years ago

Dubai-based school operator GEMS Education announced that it will open its first school in Qatar on September 7. GEMS American Academy-Qatar, an American curriculum school, will have up to 1,550 students from Kindergarten to Grade 5 during the first year. The school will expand to secondary education in subsequent years, the operator said in a statement.
Updated 5 Years ago

In 2012, the Hollywood movie starring John Cusack, the United States rescues people in a Chinese-made Noah's Ark-like ship, which settles on land once cataclysmic waters have receded. In real life too, China has an eye on building futuristic infrastructure. Leading science-fiction writer Liu Cixin, 51, envisions the country's streets full of electric cars. Simultaneously, Liu pins his hope on relatively cleaner fuels - solar, wind and even nuclear - to take over thermal and coal energy in the decades ahead.
Updated 5 Years ago

Amendment bills for the Advertising Law were submitted to the toplegislature at the People's National Congress on Aug 25. Celebrities endorsing under-qualified products and services havecaused troubles in the past in China. The amendments state thatan endorser's recommendation of products in advertisements mustbe based on facts and comply with the Advertising Law andrelevant regulations.
Updated 5 Years ago