Nigeria’s Access Bank said on Wednesday it had booked a 4 billion naira ($13 million) impairment on its loan to troubled telecoms firm 9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria. Access Chief Executive Herbert Wigwe said the bank had a direct exposure of 11 billion naira to 9mobile, as well as an exposure of 35-39 billion naira to the telecoms firm’s suppliers. Wigwe told an analysts’ call that Access hoped to recover the debt once 9mobile was sold to new investors. – Rueters
Author: Orientalnews Staff
The management of United Bank for Africa Plc, has said that it had applied to the Financial Services Authority of the United Kingdom for a banking license in its bid to further connect Africa to the world through global financial centres, complementing its existing presence in New York and Paris. Reuters quoted the group’s Chief Executive, Kennedy Uzoka, as saying during a conference call on Tuesday following the release of its audited half-year financials that UBA made provision for its N38bn exposure to 9mobile, the mobile operator formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, but failed to give details of the provision. He…
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGAM) has said that the entry of Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO) into the cooking gas market had broken the monopoly of International Oil Companies (IOCs) through their affiliates in Nigeria. Mr Nosa Ogieva-Okunbo, the association’s President, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to NIPCO management in Lagos. Ogieva-Okunbo said major marketers hitherto had almost total control of the LPG business prior to the entry of the company in 2009. NIPCO is a private company operating in the downstream sector of the oil and gas business in Apapa. He said that…
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has stated that an effective application of the $200 million Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) will contribute positively to Nigeria’s plan to reduce the cost of producing oil from $32 per barrel to $15 per barrel. Kachikwu has also explained that at a single-digit lending interest, the fund, which is domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BoI), would address the funding challenges which he said has hampered the growth and success of indigenous manufacturers, service providers and other key players in the country’s oil sector. Speaking at the signing of…
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State will deliver the News Express 5th Anniversary Lecture on Thursday, September 28, 2017, its management has said. A statement issued by the Publisher of News Express, Isaac Umunna said that Governor Bello would speak on “National Unity and the Demand for Restructuring — A Governor’s Perspective.” “We are delighted to have His Excellency, Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, deliver the News Express 5th Anniversary Lecture. Perhaps no issue is engaging the attention of Nigerians at the moment more than national unity and restructuring. “We have chosen the right man to speak on this crucial issue…
The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh has visited the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited, SAHCOL, as part of the bureau post privatization monitoring programme. After the physical inspection of SAHCOL facilities, Alex Okoh could not hide his admiration for SAHCOL, when he revealed that the initial briefing he had was that the SAHCOL facilities were ‘world class’, and that he was not expecting much as the term was usually used loosely, but what he saw after the inspection truly matches the description of “world class”, hence, quite pleased. Alex Okoh, who was accompanied…
As part of efforts to improve tax compliance levels, the Federal Government has commenced reviewing the tax compliance records of all contractors who received payments from the Federal Government and its various agencies in the last 7 years. This follows the results of a sampling exercise conducted by the Ministry of Finance which found that less than 20% of contractors reviewed accurately stated the income received from the Federal Government in their tax returns, whilst many made no declaration at all. A prominent result of the sampling exercise showed that some Tax Clearance certificates which were presented at the…
Managing customers’ needs and gaining their respect are the biggest challenge for insurers across Africa, according to the results of a new survey from Munich Re. Insurers across six markets were asked what they believe to be the biggest challenge facing the industry, and meeting customer needs was among the key challenges. Other challenges on the list included lowering costs and keeping up with technological changes. Speaking at the Organisation of Eastern and Southern Africa Insurers (OESAI) annual conference in Cape Town, Greg Becker, of Munich Re, who ran the survey, said the respondents also admitted their organisations faced tough…
… Police Pilots Unlicensed, Violates Regulations Yemisi Izuora The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) has released three accident reports involving Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Bell 427 helicopter with registration 5N-POL at Kabong, Jos South LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria on March 14, 2012. Others are serious incident to Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Tampico TB9 aircraft with registration 5N-CBC which occurred at Zaria Aerodrome, Kaduna, Nigeria on October 6, 2008; and ground Collision incident involving two aircraft belonging to Air Peace Airlines Limited: Boeing 737-500 with registration 5N-BQR and Boeing 737-300 with registration 5N-BQP, which occurred close to Bay 4 of…
Yemisi Izuora Heritage Bank Plc says it is supporting NatnudO Foods, a food processing company in its determination to make poultry affordable and accessible for the people. Speaking at the media briefing organized on food security in Nigeria, Team Member, Agric Finance, Specialised Banking of the bank, Adelana Ogunjirin, representing the Bank, explained that the partnership is to ease the burden of poultry production in the country. He pointed out that the interest of Heritage Bank in agriculture and food production in the country is second to none as it is impossible to increase productivity on empty stomach. According…