With more than 127 million active mobile subscriptions in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy by GDP significantly lags behind fast growing economies of Brazil and South Africa in terms of telecommunications investment per capita, industry analysts have said. According to World Bank, Nigeria invested an estimated $6.6 billion in telecoms infrastructure from 2010 through 2012, which works out to a total of about $40 per person. Brazil, on the other hand, has a telecoms investment per capita of $167. Between 2010 and 2012, Brazil and South Africa spent about $127 and $62 more per person, respectively, on telecoms infrastructure. As at March 2014, Brazil has a mobile subscription base of 273 million.
Updated 6 Years ago

If there’s one thing I know about people who smoke cigars from my conversation with them, it’s that they don’t think they are going to die as quickly as the Federal Ministry of Health says they will. Which makes me wonder why I haven’t started puffing soot through my nostrils just yet. Especially since I have no idea how many sticks I’m to inhale before being classified as a socially acceptable man [P.S: I’m a woman], couldn’t tell you if the demographic besotted with lung disease is above or below 80 and despite intensive studies, I still feel the need to do more online research on ‘The Flick’, a skillful way of chocking the char off the butt of the cigar.
Updated 6 Years ago

Just as you have different styles of clothing for different occasions and seasons, you should also have a wardrobe of scents to match your moods and the season. Deciding which perfume to wear has a lot to do with personal preference and mood. Some women prefer sticking with one signature scent, while others like to change things up, depending on the occasion or the season. However, perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant scent. The truth is that perfumes enhance your sartorial elegance and add a touch of class to your brand as a person.
Updated 6 Years ago

However the recurring complaint among major stakeholders in the public and private sector about the inadequate skill set possessed by both employed graduates as well as job seekers is a reflection of the quality of education they are exposed to in their developmental stages. Adigo Karibo, a Port Harcourt based microbiologist who graduated with a second class upper degree is saddled with the responsibility of finding a good job.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Thursday cautioned the Council of Ministers and Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone against a hasty launch of the monetary union for the sub-region. The warning is coming 24 hours after it emerged that the January 1, 2015 take-off date for the use of a single currency in the sub-region was no longer realisable.
Updated 6 Years ago

Ahead of today’s 239th Meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), there is a groundswell of optimism that despite the marginal rise in inflation figure for the month of June, the committee is not likely to tamper with the existing monetary policy rate. At its May meeting, the MPC held monetary policy rate (MPR) at 12 per cent; kept cash reserve ratio (CRR) on public sector deposits at 7.5 per cent and CRR on private sector deposits left at 15 per cent and retained the MPR at +/-200 basis points. However, economic watchers said the temptations to tinker with the MPR was reinforced by a little rise in the inflation figures for the month of June, which was put at 8.2 per cent as against 8 per cent in May, according to the report released by the National Bureau of Statistics last week. However, they said in actual sense, there was no serious basis for a major shift when members of the committee converge on Abuja tomorrow.
Updated 6 Years ago

The rates at which banks borrow from each other are expected to fall this week, while naira faces more pressure following the release of N755.95 billion by Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). The implication is when this fund flows through the financial system there will be too much naira chasing dollar, which leads to a fall in the value of the local currency while the Nigerian Inter-Bank Offered Rates (NIBOR) will decline as the banking system becomes more liquid as a result.
Updated 6 Years ago

Livestock feeds Plc, a Nigeria company that manufactures and markets animal feeds posted a 32 percent increase in half year profits as sales climbed. For the first six months of the year, the company’s revenue rose by 24 percent to N3.35 billion from N2.70 billion in the same period of the corresponding year (HY) 2013. The impressive top line performance was translated to bottom growth as profit before tax surged by 32 percent to N125.60 million in HY 2014 compared to N95.21 million as at HY 2013.
Updated 6 Years ago

Though Golden Sugar Company, a division of Flour Mills of Nigeria plc, commenced operations barely 16 months ago, it has demonstrated resolve to rival other competitors in the industry. Currently, analysts rate its refinery as one of the most advanced in the world, while its Golden Penny Sugar cubes remain among the best in Africa, in terms of adherence to the stipulations of both local and international health institutions such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Updated 6 Years ago

Nigeria’s rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which currently stands at $509.9 billion will significantly rise in the future when operators in the retail, insurance and health industry leverage on the full potentials available in their sectors, analysts have said. Speaking at the TBWA Magna Carta symposium recently held in Lagos, the analysts say while opportunities abound in the economy, brands should desist from seeing the opportunities from the huge population’s perspective insisting that consumers are not just about numbers but about the ability of brands to offer products and services that create values to consumers.
Updated 6 Years ago