Nigerian capital market is showing resilience as current stability in the nation’s currency, ongoing tight monetary stance and the reign of single-digit inflation are aiding real return on investments, helping to overshadow global and domestic policy concerns. Inflation has moderated to a five-year low of 8 percent in September, its ninth successive month in single digits. The naira also gained in the official spot market by N1.08 (in October) on the back of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) hike in cash reserve requirements (CRR) for banks, which drained liquidity from the system.
Updated 6 Years ago

Major importers of cars into the country are at one another’s throats over allegations made by a group comprising Elizade, Toyota Nigeria Limited, Globe Motors, Coscharis, SCOA and CFAO that one of their competitors, Stallion Group of Companies, was privy to insider information on the new automotive policy, thereby giving it unfair advantage over them. In a petition written by the group to President Goodluck Jonathan, the auto dealers have warned that the federal government stands to lose about N134 billion in revenue due to a leak of the new automotive policy before it was announced.
Updated 6 Years ago

Tesla Motor Inc's (TSLA.O) Model S electric car has suffered its third fire in six weeks, sending its shares down nearly 9 percent in Thursday midday trading. The Tesla Motors Club website contains pictures and a story about another fire involving a Model S that a company spokeswoman confirmed. The accident occurred on Wednesday in Smyrna, Tennessee, where Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) makes the Leaf electric car. While none of the drivers in any of the accidents were injured, the glaring headlines about fires was not welcome for Tesla.
Updated 6 Years ago

Twitter Inc shares rose 73 percent in a frenzied trading debut that drove the seven-year-old company's value to $25 billion and evoked the heady days of the dot-com bubble. The stock closed its first trading day at $44.90 a share from the initial public offering price of $26 set late on Wednesday, falling back from a near-doubling in price at a session high of $50.
Updated 6 Years ago

Etisalat has launched a new high value proposition tagged “Etisalat GEM” as it celebrated its fifth anniversary in Nigeria with a cocktail party attended by over 200 of its high value customers last weekend at the pool side of Radisson Blu Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Acting CEO and Chief Commercial Officer at Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher informed guests at the event that though Etisalat was the last entrant in the telecommunications market in Nigeria, the company came with the obligation of providing affordable and reliable telecommunication services to Nigerians.
Updated 6 Years ago

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's cut France's sovereign credit rating to AA from AA+ on Friday, citing lack of progress in government reforms of the country's economy. The agency revised the country's sovereign credit outlook up to stable from negative, however. In a statement, S&P said that it had lowered France's rating because it believed the government's reforms to taxation, as well as to product, services, and labor markets, "will not substantially raise France's medium-term growth prospects, and that ongoing high unemployment is weakening support for further significant fiscal and structural policy measures."
Updated 6 Years ago

Following the successful handing over of the physical successor companies of the defunct PHCN, the bidding rounds of the 10 National Independent Power Plants (NIPPs) ends today . The 10 NIPPs were built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) with the intention of selling 80 per cent stake to private investors who are believed to be better managers of such business. The remaining 20 per cent would be retained by the three tiers of government who are the original shareholders of the company. Speaking yesterday in Lagos during the commissioning of 75MVA injection sub-station at Magodo, Ogba and Abule Egba, respectively, the Managing Director of NDPHC, Mr. James Olootu, said he would close the bids at exactly 5pm today.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) said it will invest over $4 billion in China and build new plants between 2015 and 2017, to counter competition which is chipping away at its share of the country's 421 billion yuan ($69.12 billion) soft drinks market. The investment will add to the $4 billion that the world's largest drinks maker has earmarked for China in 2012-2014, said Asia-based spokeswoman Sharolyn Choy, confirming a Bloomberg report earlier on Friday.
Updated 6 Years ago

In spite of Nigeria’s large population, size and fast-paced urbanisation, which ordinarily would have created huge market for real estate, land and capital are slowing investment in the sector. Empirical evidence and sector analysis have shown that investor-interest and confidence are neither little nor lacking in Nigerian property market, but a number of hurdles on the way of investors have almost killed this interest, impacting negatively on the sector’s development. Chu’di Ejekam, director, Real Estate in Actis, confirmed to BusinessDay that investors in this important sector of the nation’s economy are challenged by a number of hurdles, listing them as land, frivolous litigations, capital, cost of construction, among others.
Updated 6 Years ago

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s ISO 27001 – 2005 has put its information security management systems at par with world class organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), CBN governor Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has disclosed. This is as banks across the country are also expected to fully adopt the same certification by the end of 2015. Speaking during the formal certificate award ceremony, which held in Abuja, Wednesday night, Sanusi noted that the ISO27001, which was conferred by the British Standards Institute (BSI), is acclaimed as the world’s highest standard on information security management systems capable of ensuring that information is managed in the most secure manner that will prevent information loss, unauthorised disclosure or compromise.
Updated 6 Years ago