Dangote Named Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014

Billionaire Nigerian business man, Aliko Dangote, was weekend named as the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014.

Other finalists of the most coveted award were South Africa’s Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, Nigerian author,  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, (SEC), Arunma Oteh and  President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka.

In selecting Dangote, the panel of judges noted that

A million sign petition against EU-US trade talks

A campaign group website says over a million people in the European Union have signed a petition against trade negotiations with the United States.

The petition calls on the EU and its member states to stop the talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership or TTIP.

It also says they should not ratify a similar deal that has already been done between the EU and Canada.

It says some aspects pose a threat to

Prospective Marine Vessel Owners to Submit Nigerian Content Plan

Nigerian investors that wish to buy new marine vessels will be required to submit their Nigerian Content plan to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with effect from January 2015.

Speaking in Lagos at the weekend during the load-out ceremony of the Gas Gathering Compression Platform (GGCP) and Non-Associated Wellhead Platform (NWP) contracted to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) of Korea by Chevron Nigeria Limited, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr. Ernest Nwapa said the measure was part of the steps being taken to ensure that certain components of marine vessels that will operate in Nigeria are fabricated within the country.

Nwapa said the submission of the Nigerian Content plan by the prospective vessel owners would

Top 10 performing stocks

On the top 10 performing stocks last week were shares of P.Z Cusson Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Costain (West Africa) Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (DSR) and May & Baker Plc.

The rest were United Bank for Africa Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc and UBA Capital Plc.

PZ Cusson, a household name in personal care, beauty and home care products, led the pack with 28.38 percent or N6.30 increase, closing at N28.50 from N22.20 it started the week at. PZ Cusson, reputed for rewarding investors/shareholders handsomely for their investments in the company paid out approximately N2. 11kobo as dividends this year.

The company has been

Juncker reveals giant EU investment plan

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has given details of a €315bn (£250bn;$393bn) investment plan to kick-start Europe's economy.

At the heart of his five-year agenda is a new €21bn fund, which would be used as "seed money", to entice private backers to "pitch in" most of the rest.

Only €8bn of the original money would come from the EU budget itself.

The project would take the burden off national governments, already facing big debts after the financial crisis.

"Europe needs a kick-start and today the Commission is providing the jump leads," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Critics have already suggested that

Nigerians warned against purchasing recalled cars

Nigeria’s online car market place, Carmudi has warned Nigerians against purchasing recalled cars. Recalled cars are cars that automakers order for their return after releasing them to the market. This is always due to some technical problems resulting from parts omission in the factory during production.

Recall that recently, American automaker, Ford announced a major recall of 850,000 vehicles from model years 2013 and 2014 due to a problem with the “restraints control module.

Also, it was documented that Toyota Hiace YH3 buses were recalled in Australia as a result of fire in 1990 and recently in 2012. The 1990 safety recall closed August 26, 2010, the period Nigeria started recording high Toyota Hiace crashes involving fire incidents giving proof that most of these recalled cars made their way to Nigeria.

In a statement, Carmudi said

Marriott to Build 50 Hotels in Nigeria, S’Africa, Egypt

Marriott International Incorporated plans to build about 50 hotels in NIGERIA, South Africa and Egypt each before 2020, to benefit from a surge of travelers, the company’s president for the Middle East and Africa, Alex Kyriakidis has revealed.

 Bloomberg quoted Kyriakidis to have explained that the plan is to add 10,000 hotel rooms apiece in Africa’s THREE biggest economies, targeting “super growth” based on their economic potential and tourist attractions.

Speaking in an interview in Addis Ababa, Kyriakidis said: “We see tremendous growth opportunities in Egypt.”

“As NIGERIA’s economy powers on, the demand for hotel rooms is going to be substantially greater.”

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company sees the region as

Facebook to win EU approval for $19 billion WhatsApp bid: sources

Facebook (FB.O), the world's leading social network, will win unconditional EU approval for its $19 billion offer for mobile messaging startup WhatsApp in a deal pitting it against telecoms operators, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The landmark acquisition, the largest in Facebook's 10-year history, will give the company a firm foothold in the fast-growing mobile messaging market.

A plan by WhatsApp to add free voice-call services for its 450 million customers later this year, however, makes it a potentially powerful competitor to companies such as Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) and Telefonica (TEF.MC).

Analysts said the move is likely to hit

German business confidence falls further, Ifo survey finds

Europe's largest economy has shown further signs of fragility, as a key indicator of German business confidence fell for a fifth successive month.

The Ifo think tank's Business Climate Index dropped to 104.7, slightly below analysts' expectations, and the lowest reading since April last year.

"The German economy is no longer running smoothly," Ifo said, but added that it still expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow in 2014.

GDP shrank by 0.2% in the last quarter.

On Monday, Germany's central bank insisted that the country's economy remained robust, adding that "the general economic trend should stay positive despite the slowdown in the speed of expansion in the first half of 2014".

However, monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) figures, released on Tuesday, indicated that

Nigeria stocks, bonds fall on naira, oil price worries

Nigerian stocks fell to a four-month closing low of 40,537 points on Tuesday, as a weaker naira hurt by falling global oil prices dampened appetite for equities, dealers said.

The index shed 1.1 percent on the day to its lowest closing level since May 28, dragged down by heavyweight banking and cement stocks.

Shares in Dangote Cement, Nigeria’s most capitalised stock, shed 1.73 percent to 221 naira, while Zenith Bank fell 3.64 percent to 23.80 naira.

Bond yields also rose as offshore funds sold naira assets, dealers said.

“It was a red day for the Nigerian bourse. We think the current negative market sentiment will persist into tomorrow’s session,” Vetiva Capital wrote in a note.

Dangote places order for refinery equipment as FG grants licence

The quest by Africa’s richest man , Aliko Dangote to make an intervention in Nigeria’s long standing fuel supply hiccups is being pursued vigorously with advance orders believed to have been made for equipment  that will be used to build his proposed $8 billion refinery and petrochemical plant in Lekki, Lagos.

It was learnt yesterday that the orders for these equipment were made ahead of government granting a Licence-To-Establish (LTE) a refinery which Dangote received only a few days ago.

The equipment ordered include ‘Long Lead Items’ and a power plant, which ordinarily would take  between 18 and 21 months from time of order to time of delivery.

It is anticipated that these advance orders may cut short the take-off time of the project.

The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Plant is scheduled to become

Dutch electronics giant Philips plans to split business

Dutch electronics giant Philips has said it is planning to split the company in two, separating its lighting business from its healthcare division.

Both companies will continue to be based in the Netherlands and use the Philips name, it said in a statement.

Philips has been streamlining its business by selling off underperforming parts of the business in recent years.

Chief executive Frans van Houten said the move was meant to prepare the company for "the next century".

"I do appreciate the magnitude of the decision we are taking, but the time is right to take the next strategic step for Philips, as we continue on our transformation," he said.

"Both companies will be able to make the appropriate investments to boost growth and drive profitability, ultimately generating significantly more value for our customers, employees and shareholders".

Philips, which began as a lighting company back in 1891, said the separation would make it easier for the lighting business to enter new markets.

It also said it would

Nigeria’s economic reform agenda loses steam as elections loom

As Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan moves to seek re-election in five months, his reform agenda pursued for the past four years is gradually losing steam.

While Jonathan who was recently named as sole candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s presidential election has already attained some goals since launching the transformation agenda in 2010, achievements have fallen short of expectation in most other areas.

There has been some movement on infrastructure (roads, rail), and investments have poured in, as multinationals expand operations in the country.

The major cities of Lagos and Abuja are booming and agriculture output is up, on new government policies that discourage imports.

However, the country ranks poorly on

Grenada eyes mutual trade ties with Nigeria

Special Advisor to Ambassador Peter De Savary of Inward Investment, Grenada, Richard Hallam has disclosed his country’s readiness to establish a mutual trade ties with Nigeria noting that the relationship would give both countries the opportunity to share and benefit from trade and commerce agreement.

Richard Hallam who was in Nigeria, spoke at the Grenada Citizenship by Investment summit organised by Monarch & Co recently in Lagos. He said: “The whole idea of a chamber of commerce is to share business interest between Grenada and Nigeria.

I don’t know what they are right now, they could be many, it’s something we’re exploring, it’s something that is currently being set up and I’m hoping it’s something very productive.”

Hallam further disclosed that,

Alibaba shares surge in their NY stock market debut

Alibaba's shares opened significantly above their initial price on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, a sign of the excitement surrounding the Chinese internet giant.

Shares in the company made their debut in the US at $92.70 (£57), after being priced at $68 late on Thursday.

More than 100 million shares were traded in the minutes after the stock was launched - more than Twitter.

The NYSE was festooned with the orange and white logos of the company to herald its arrival on public markets.

The company raised nearly $21.8bn in its share sale, indicating strong investor appetite for China's e-commerce giant.

In opening at $92.70 per share, Alibaba is now valued at $227bn - making it significantly larger than Amazon and Facebook.

Investors are eager to get a piece of

Bill to Enable Production of Nigerian Cars, Tyres Passes Second Reading

A bill seeking to enable the production and assembly of cars and tyres in Nigeria as well as the provision of tariff incentives and income tax reliefs on all automobile and automotive components passed through second reading on the floor of the Senate yesterday.

Tagged: ‘Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (Fiscal Incentives, Assurances and Guarantees) Bill’, the bill which is meant to strengthen the Nigerian automotive industry development plan, will among others, promote a sustainable and competitive automotive industry.

It is also meant to provide an enabling environment for the survival of existing assembly plants, revive the tyre industry, herald Nigeria's industrial revolution plan using the automotive sector as a key component to diversify the economy and also generate

FG Renews Plan to Establish National Carrier

The federal government has initiated fresh plan to establish a national carrier, which it believes would be the pivot of the Aviation Master Plan that hopes to transmute the sector into a key contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Just yesterday, federal government started the assessment of the defunct Nigerian Airways Limited (NALS) assets that have not been sold out or privatised as part of the plan towards the establishment of another national carrier, which would be largely privately owned.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Mr Yemi Adelakun, who  was at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos to carry out the assessment on behalf of the federal government, said the purpose of his visit was to see what could be salvaged and to move the sector forward to actualise the set goals, guided by the Aviation Master Plan.

Adelakun said part of the Aviation Master Plan was to

Why we are investing N2.2b in rice production — Wems Agro

Following Dangote’s $1billion investment in rice production in Nigeria, another company has pledged to invest about N2.2 billion in cultivating about 25,000 hectares of land at Akotogbo in Ondo state with a promise to create 2500 jobs.

Speaking on the project, the Chairman of Wems Agro Companies, Rotimi Wemi-Akinsola, said Nigeria has a vast arable land and lots of water to plant rice.

But, he regretted that the country does not produce up to 15% of the 22.5 million bags of rice consumed in the country monthly.

“Rice growing and consumption historically has been based in south East Asia, where most of the world’s rice is still grown.

The fast growing market is sub – Saharan Africa (SSA) where rice production falls far below consumption and where the FAO forecasts that rice will be the largest staple food by 2030.”

He added “Nigeria’s per capital consumption is estimated to be

FG partners private sector on infrastructure master plan to promote investments

The Federal Government has entered into a strategic partnership arrangement with the private sector, represented by the African Infrastructure Summit Group (AISG) and the Initiative for Infrastructure and Modern City Development (IIMCD), on the Nigerian Integrated Infrastructure Mater Plan (NIIMP) in order to promote investment opportunities.

The partnership would enable the private sector market the plan to investors from across the globe, beginning with infrastructure summits planned for the year, planning minister, Abubakar Sulaiman, said on Thursday.

The minister said the summit would be unique, dynamic and an interactive platform for global infrastructure decision-makers, including representatives of national and sub-national governments, infrastructure developers, development banks, private industry leaders and investment and trade agencies.

At a press conference on the policy which was recently endorsed by the Federal Executive Council and earlier by the National Economic Council, Sulaiman said government is considering a legislative backing to ensure sustainability of the project.

According to him,

Foreign portfolio investors pull N426.37bn out of stock market

In the seven months to July 2014, offshore portfolio investors pulled out N426.37billion from the stock market through sales transactions or outright liquidation of their portfolio investments, BusinessDay investigations reveal.

This amount represents 55.98% of foreign portfolio transactions, valued at N761.57billion made within same period. Inflows, which include purchase transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (equities only), accounted for the balance at N335.2 billion.

Foreign investors are major buyers of Nigerian equities but recent trends, including the country’s rising socio-political risks, as well as low returns, are among reasons for the ceding of the greater percentage of their equities holdings to domestic equity buyers.

Some analysts said yesterday that the action was capable of