Fidelity Bank's Profit Declined By 56.86 per cent in 2013

Fidelity Bank Plc has announced a 56.86 per cent drop in profit for the financial year ended December 31, 2013.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bank’s profit for the year stood at N7.73 billion, from the N17.924 billion achieved in the preceding period of 2012.
The report is contained in the company’s audited results released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday in Lagos.

The bank’s profit before tax dropped also to N9.03 billion, compared with the N21.35 billion achieved in 2012, a decrease of 57.70 per cent.

Africa’s Biggest Economy Tag: Nigerians Blast Okonjo-Iweala

Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Minister of Finannce, during her address

Angry reactions have continued to trail the announcement that Nigeria’s economy is now bigger than that of South Africa following the rebasing exercise carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, at the weekend.

The result of a long awaited rebasing of Africa’s most populous nation showed that Nigeria’s GDP of $453 billion in 2012 was higher than South Africa’s $384 billion.

With this development, South Africa’s economy now ranks second behind Nigeria. But this rating has not gone down well with Nigerians and some experts who have taken a swipe at Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Those upbraiding her say it amounts to vainglory for Nigeria to lay claim to having an economy that is bigger than South Africa’s when all indices point to the contrary. They argued that the reality on ground is that Nigeria cannot generate up 4,000 megawatts of electricity whereas South Africa generates close to 40,000 megawatts, there is high rate of unemployment in Nigeria, many factories have shut down, Nigeria’s refineries are not functioning at full capacity and the country has to rely on imported petroleum products, the nation’s roads are death traps, and Nigeria is ranked as one of the poorest nations by the World Bank and other global agencies.

On social network site, Twitter, more Nigerians lambasted Okonjo-Iweala. They reckon that the calculations were only theoretical. To some economists, the rebasing was a vainglorious exercise.

Economists shrug at Nigeria’s growth jump

The view abroad is that rebasing is an exercise in vainglory

Dr Yemi Kale, Statistician-General and CEO National Bureau of Statistics,
during his presentation

South Africa remains the most important economy in the continent despite being overtaken by Nigeria as Africa’s biggest, South African economists said.

The result of a long awaited rebasing of Africa’s most populous nation showed that Nigeria’s GDP of $453 billion in 2012 was higher than South Africa’s $384 billion.

“South Africa will remain one of the important economies of the continent, though this rebasing will be a significant step in establishing Nigeria as a true African powerhouse,” said Investec portfolio manager, Roelof Horne.

To some Nigerian economists, the rebasing was a vainglorious exercise

Nigeria, with 170 million people, is about three times the size of South Africa by population, but it’s economy is still battling challenges such as poor infrastructure that hampers business activity.

The new statistics included the contribution of the fast-developing sectors such as telecoms, music and film industry, known as Nollywood.

Economist Dennis Dykes, at South Africa’s Nedbank said Nigeria’s new position as Africa’s largest economy should be “viewed positively”.

African Markets - Factors to watch on April 7

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Monday.
    - - - - -

 EVENTS
 * Reuters Africa Investment Summit begins                
 * Mauritius inflation data for March    
 
 GLOBAL MARKETS
 Japanese shares were slugged on Monday by a one-two combination of a higher yen and a sell-off in the tech  sector, while the euro struggled with speculation of more  policy easing at home.                           
 
 WORLD OIL PRICES
 Brent crude prices fell below $106 a barrel on Monday, snapping a two-day winning streak, as worries about supply  disruption eased after Libyan rebels occupying four eastern oil ports agreed to gradually end their eight-month old blockade.                      
 

EMERGING MARKETS
            
 
 AFRICA STOCKS
 
 
 SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS
 * The rand hit a three-month high against the dollar on  Friday, gaining in a knee-jerk reaction to a U.S. jobs report that slightly missed market expectations, and taking bond yields lower.

 * South African stocks rebounded slightly on Friday, tracking global markets which were upbeat on steady U.S. jobs growth.                
 
 NIGERIA MARKETS
 * Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as Africa's largest economy after a rebasing calculation almost doubled its gross domestic product to more than $500 billion, data from the statistics office showed on Sunday.                

Huge financial costs, scaring Nigeria’s Microfinance banks from adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

Huge financial cost, running into millions of naira is scaring most of Nigeria’s over 800 Microfinance banks from adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), BusinessDay investigations have shown.

The MFBs problems are compounded by the fact that many of them are yet to raise the funds to meet the capital requirements of N20 million, for those in the  Unit category, N100 million for states and N2 billion for National category, stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN).

Consequently, only about six out of the 800 operating unit banks have successfully converted from the conventional reporting standard to the new one, which allows the investing public and other stakeholders  access to records of operations of the banks. Some of the banks that have complied  and which represent about 0.75 percent of the total operating institutions, are FirstBank MFB, LAPO MFB, NPF MFB and three others.

Further investigations showed that one of the MFBs that has the backing of a foreign institution, spent about N11.5 million to complete the process of IFRS conversion.

Take Advantage of Africa's Growing Market, FG Tells Investors, Entrepreneurs

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has charged entrepreneurs and investors across the globe to take advantage of Africa's ever growing market noting that the continent's consumer spending had begun to increase steadily.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, explained that Africa's consumer spending has increased by $2.4 trillion dollars maintaining that the spending rate would increase in the coming years.

Aganga during the inaugural ceremony of Angel Fair West Africa (AWFA), organised by the Lagos Angel Network (LAN), an exclusive network of angel investors providingearly stage, seed funding and mentoring to start up entrepreneurs stressed that the continent has began to attract investments from different parts of the world and emerging as the most viable continent to do business.

“This fair is coming at a  better time when Africa is central for investment in the world. Investors are in the right place and we also have to start thinking as one. The world needs the African market,” he said.

South African Buyout Firm Targets Investments in Nigerian Food

Agri-Vie, a South African private-equity firm, is seeking opportunities in Nigerian food companies as the continent’s most populous country tries to reduce imports and diversify its economy away from oil.

The fund, which has investments in 12 African food businesses, plans to target companies involved in the processing of grains, dairy, fruits, poultry and fast food in Nigeria, Executive Director Avril Stassen said in an April 2 interview in Lagos. The Nigerian government is trying to reverse decades of farming neglect and promote the industry as its “new frontier for growth” to ease dependence on crude, President Goodluck Jonathan said in July.

Nigeria’s 170 million people provide a major market for processed food, according to Stassen.

“There are a lot of locally produced foods in Nigeria, with limited processing,” he said. “It is also an area our team has skill and experience in. The scope for growth is wide.”

Bonga Oil Spill: Rights Activist Wants Shell To Compensate Fishermen

A human rights activist, Mrs Elizabeth Egbe, has appealed to the Federal Government to prevail on Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to compensate fishermen affected by the Bonga oil spill.

Egbe, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday said that the company, being an international oil exploration giant, should comply with international best practice and do the right thing.

NAN recalls that the oil spill which occurred on Dec. 20, 2011, spilling 35,000 barrels of crude oil, affected Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo and Rivers states.

According to her, the fishermen are demanding that SPDC pays them N433 billon as compensation for depriving them of their livelihood.

Egbe, who is also the Chairman, Bayelsa State Chapter of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), said the company should also proceed to properly clean up the waters and the affected communities.

“Let SPDC pay us what is due so that justice will prevail and when justice prevails, everybody will be happy and the fish we bring on the table will be good and healthy.

Amangbo new CEO designate at Zenith Bank

Peter Olisamedua Amangbo

Peter Olisamedua Amangbo, a long serving staff, has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria’s Zenith Bank, effective from 1 June.

The electronics/electrical engineering graduate of the University of Benin will succeed Mr Godwin Emefiele, who has been confirmed by the Nigerian Senate as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Olisamedua Amangbo was, until this appointment, an Executive Director, a position to which he was appointed in 2005.

Sir Steve Omojafor broke the news of Olisamedua’s appointment in a letter sent to the Nigeria Stock Exchange on Monday, hours after the board of the bank approved the appointment.

The Central Bank of Nigeria will still need to endorse the appointment.

Amangbo attended University of Warwick for his MBA and he is also a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Does entrepreneurship really matter in SA or just a buzzword used to sound sophisticated?

The current unemployment statistics from Statistics South Africa show that 24.1% of South Africans are unemployed. In addition, the 2013 IMF Report shows that South Africa faces low growth and widespread unemployment due to the weak global economic outlook and local labour tension especially in our mining sector.

Emerging countries like BRIC claimed to have high levels of entrepreneurial drive as the basis of their economic success rate over that of South Africa. With high levels of un-employment of our youth, perhaps entrepreneurship is a practical option that this country can critically investigate and prioritises.  The creation of business ventures might be an African solution.

Based on South Africa’s performance during the Global Entrepreneurship Week last year November 2013, it was evident that South Africans have failed to come together to promote entrepreneurship on a national scale. There is no collaboration among organisations; there is too much fragmentation and self-interestedness. In addition, many leaders and entrepreneurs like Taddy Blecher alluded to what is lacking in our country in terms of entrepreneurial initiatives - sustainability is the integration and ability to scale up some of the entrepreneurial initiatives.

Big economy, poor strategy

Nigeria, with its prodigious wealth of people and natural resources, may after all be recognised as the largest economy in Africa. However, this size does not reflect in the way she manages her economy, or her investment strategy. Notably, in the management of Nigeria’s huge and idle pension funds and that of her Sovereign Wealth Fund there are useful lessons to draw from South Africa.

Last year, Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the 103-year old pension fund that manages $137 billion for South African government workers acquired 1.5 percent of Dangote Cement for $289m, “the single biggest deal registered on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2013”, according to Financial Times.

For most of its history PIC, Africa’s largest fund manager, did not invest outside of South Africa, it could not have been otherwise. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is the largest bourse on the continent. In 2008, according to data compiled by Credit Suisse, an investment bank, 32 out of 143 companies with exposures to Africa were listed on JSE.

Though PIC is not a SWF, its investment strategy is instructive. SWFs are state-owned investment vehicles that invest surpluses generated from a natural resource e.g. oil. PIC manages the pension of South African civil servants.

Investors to pump $2.6bn into Nigeria’s sugar industry

Nigeria’s sugar industry is recording huge growth following the decision of four key players to pump $2.570 billion into the industry.

This development follows on sharp increases in demand to 2 million metric tonnes (MT) as at the end of 2013, from 1.5 million MT recorded by the end of 2012, information from the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) has shown.

Dangote Sugar is coming up with $2 billion investment in six states in the country through its recently acquired Savannah Sugar plc in Numan, Adamawa State, North-East Nigeria. Its target is 1.5 million MT and expansion from current 6,500 hectares (ha) to 21,000 ha to produce 100,000 tonnes of sugar annually by 2018.

HoneyGold Group, on the other hand, is to invest $300 million on two sites in Adamawa State, with the target of producing 200,000 tonnes of sugar annually; while Crystal Sugar Mills is currently investing $30 million to expand its operations to produce 60,000 tonnes of sugar per annum from its acquired 1,500 TCD sugar plant at Hadejia, Jigawa State.

Five things you can learn from Kenya’s top businesspeople

Over the past years How we made it in Africa has interviewed many of Kenya’s most successful businesspeople and entrepreneurs. They have all overcome numerous hurdles to get to where they are today. Below are some insights to help you get ahead in your own endeavours.

1. Be patient and don’t give up too quickly

Seven Seas Technologies CEO Mike Macharia
says businesspeople should consider the
opportunities across the continent.

Gina Din-Kariuki, founder of one of Kenya’s most successful PR companies Gina Din Corporate Communications, says entrepreneurs shouldn’t give up on their ideas too quickly.

“Every time I have wanted to quit – and there have been a few [times] – it’s at that point that [I was at] the very verge of greatness… that moment after is when it’s your next leap of success. It’s really interesting,” she says. “What I would say to people starting their businesses now is hang in there. The journey of an entrepreneur is never straight. There are… potholes on the way but we have to stay in there for the long haul.”

Bob Collymore, CEO of mobile telecommunications giant Safaricom, agrees, saying businesspeople and entrepreneurs need to be patient. “Success is a long journey whose path is wrought with missteps, wrong decisions, discouragement, skewed plans and sometimes, failure. Be flexible; if something doesn’t work out, learn from the situation and move on.”

2. Get involved in what you know