BUSINESS

Aliko Dangote, world’s richest black man and President of Dangote Industries Limited; says it will commit $450million (about N165billion) into farming business in Niger State.

The planned investment according to Dangote is part of his contributions to help diversify Nigeria’s economy and boost the economy of Niger State,

He said on Monday at the ongoing 2017 Niger State Investment Summit in Minna that the Dangote Group would invest $450 million in agriculture in Niger State over the next three years.

The funds would be used to establish a large scale rice processing mill to process over 200, 000 metric tonnes of paddy rice.

Also,  a state-of-the-art fully integrated sugar refining industry would also be established.

“Our company is also establishing a state of the art fully integrated sugar industry involving the development of over 30,000 hectares of sugar cane plantation and the production of about 500, 000 metric tonnes of refined sugar.

“We are very excited about these investments and look forward to kick starting this mutually beneficial partnership with the government and good people of Niger State,” he said.

Dangote, who was represented by Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, disclosed that the company also planned to invest over $1 billion (about N367billion) in agricultural production and processing of selected commodities like sugar, rice and tomatoes across the country.

The Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, Mrs Ramatu Yardua said the aim of the summit was to market the state as an investment destination in agriculture considering its enormous potential which was largely untapped.

…to grow customer enrolment by over 2 million in 17 months

—offers customers seamless Omni-channel experience

It was a historic moment over the weekend for Nigeria’s financial services industry as Skye Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest retail banks, unveiled a new digital banking solution called Skyexperience.

The solution which is developed in collaboration with Oracle Corporation, the world’s leading computer technology company has been described by financial technology experts as a game-changing innovation that is poised to put industry competitors in the digital catch-up mode.

Skyexperience is a robust platform designed to deliver Omni-channel user experience across multiple devices as well as boost its digital competitiveness objective which is projected to grow Skye Bank’s e-payment enabled customer base to over 2 million by end of 2018.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman of Skye Bank, Mr. Mohammad Ahmad described the launch of Skyexperience as “a timely intervention in the banking industry and a modest contribution towards the economic development of Nigeria, especially in the area of financial technology and digital evolution”.

The Chairman also thanked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for leading the way to the future through its e-payment System Vision (PSV 2020).  The vision is expected to ensure that majority of Nigerians irrespective of their social status embrace e-channels as a primary and convenient means of their daily transactions.

In his keynote address, the Bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr Tokunbo Abiru said the development was a display of the bank’s commitment to its valued customers who have continued to not only do business with the bank, but also challenged it on how best to serve them. In the words of the GMD, “As a pledge of commitment to a new service charter with our customers, we have decided to render to you this digital banking solution, which we have called Skyexperience denoting such positive values as: experience, excellence, excitement and experiential.”

In a statement released by the Senior Vice President, Oracle Financial Services Chet Kamat heralding the launch of Skyexperiance, he states, “In a dynamic digital landscape, banks need to compete for customer attention by continuous innovation. Oracle and Skye Bank have been associated with each other for over a decade. Oracle’s solution, Oracle Banking Digital Experience, built on open standards architecture helps drive a digital-first proposition, accelerating Skye Bank’s digital journey and delivering greater flexibility, and mobility to their customers.”

The Chief Information Officer (CIO), Skye Bank Mr Richard Amafonye described Skyexperience as “a new and unique Omni-channel digital banking solution, which is a response to shifts in customer behaviour and preferences. It is one of the results of our long standing work with Oracle on our strategic technology re-platforming initiative”.

Jost Hoppermann, a UK based Technology Consultant and former Director of Architecture, DG Bank – the 3rd largest Bank in Germany, in one of his presentations on innovative banking software, listed among others, the differentiators of Omni-channel banking solutions to include: customer experience and business capabilities delivery, noting that solutions with multiple differentiators are best suited to help banks win, serve, and retain customers.

Payments through electronic channels are fast gaining traction in Nigeria. This is evident in the statistics of volume and value of transactions that have been done through the channels in recent times.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the total value of electronic payment transactions in the banking system stood at N65 trillion in 2016, whilst the total volume of electronic payment transactions was put at 910,186,115 transactions in the same period.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) notes that attaining the e-Payment System Vision 2020 (PSV 2020) would be the catalyst to revolutionize the payment system in Nigeria.

The key value proposition of Skyexperience is that its Omni-channel capability helps to simplify service delivery and personalize customer experience. It enables enhanced security of transaction and empowers customer self-service. Using the Skyexperience, customers can now perform such transactions as: setting up standing transfer instructions to family members, transferring money to distant relations or business partners, opening of new accounts and requesting for and stopping of debit cards. They can also conveniently view and monitor all their accounts activities simultaneously.

Customers of the bank who attended the unveiling ceremony noted that Skyexperience will further support Skye Bank’s branch footprint across the country, as customers especially SMEs can now make hassle-free transactions across distant locations.

PayU Nigeria introduces PayU Subscription, a convenient payment method which allows merchants to safely and securely collect payments from consumers who have recurring bills or subscription payments in a seamless way.

Country Manager of PayU Nigeria, Ms Juliet Nwanguma said: “PayU Subscription is an innovative product for businesses who are looking to offer subscription and recurring bill payments to their customers.”

It provides customers with a simple, safe and secure alternative to regular direct debit payments. Using tokenisation as the underlying technology, PayU offers a card based recurring payment method for the payment of any recurring bills or subscriptions. Customers who want to setup recurring or subscription payment is inconvenienced as they are required to physically go to their bank and complete a direct debit order form. With PayU Subscription, all of this is avoided.  Merchants only need their customers to choose the recurring payment option as well as the period i.e. weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually.

Nwanguma said: “PayU Subscription allows merchants to improve customer satisfaction by offering a more convenient way for their customers to pay for their subscriptions and other recurring bills.

Ultimately, PayU Subscription helps merchants boost collections and revenue in a quick, convenient and simple way.”

Explaining further, she said: “PayU Subscription is highly beneficial to merchants and businesses in all sectors who want to boost and simplify their payment collections for subscription-related payments such as utility bills, monthly residential bills and various subscription services such as magazine subscriptions, insurance policies, membership dues, music distribution and digital downloads and more.”

Through the introduction of innovative products like PayU Subscription, PayU continues to be an innovative leader in the payments industry and helping to define the future of Fintech and digital payments in the Nigerian market.

With a presence in 16 markets globally and over 250 payment options, PayU is dedicated to providing safe, secure, online payments for your business.

Foremost African financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank plc, marks its listing on the London Stock Exchange whereby the Bank became the first Nigerian bank to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the first to dual list on an international exchange and the first Nigerian company to raise international capital using listed Global Depositary Receipts. To mark the 10th anniversary of this pioneering feat, the MD/ CEO of GTBank, Mr Segun Agbaje led the Market Open Ceremony at the LSE on Friday, July 28, 2017, accompanied by senior representatives of the Bank and other institutional partners including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Banwo and Ighodalo.

The London Stock Exchange is a diversified international exchange that offers international business, and investors, unrivalled access to Europe’s capital markets. In July 2007, GTBank embarked on a concurrent international and domestic equity offering by way of Global Depositary Receipts to raise funding for general corporate purposes.  At the completion of this unprecedented offering, the Bank raised approximately US$825 million and became the first Nigerian company to obtain a full listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Since its listing on the LSE, GTBank embarked on a decade of unparalleled growth, leading the financial industry in profitability and products and service delivery.

Commenting on the anniversary, Mr Agbaje, said, “Listing on the London Stock Exchange, one of the most illustrious exchanges in the world, was a pioneering feat which remains fresh in our minds. We are very grateful to all our investors and partners for the integral role they played and their confidence in the Brand. Ten years on, we remain committed to maximizing shareholders’ value and delivering superior and sustainable return; guided by our founding values of hard work, discipline and integrity.”

Guaranty Trust Bank plc [GTB] offers a wide range of financial services and products throughout Nigeria, with strong footprints in West and East Africa, as well as the United Kingdom. In recognition of its leading role in Africa’s banking industry, world class corporate governance standards and excellent service delivery, GTBank has been recognized as the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney (2016), the African Bank of the Year by the African Banker Magazine (2016) the Best Bank in Africa for Corporate Governance (2015) and the Most Innovative Bank in Africa by African Investor (2016).

Lagos, Nigeria; July 27, 2017: Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), Nigeria’s foremost conglomerate, has announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2017, showing significant growth in key financial indicators.

The company recorded N4.2bn as profit after tax (PAT) for the half-year ended 30th of June 2017, translating into 134 per cent growth compared to the loss of N12.19bn recorded in the corresponding period in 2016. The conglomerate achieved the impressive growth in profit from a total comprehensive income of N6.22bn, a 285 percent growth from the loss of N11.50bn recorded in the second quarter of 2016.

While the company’s total assets capped at N264bn for the period under review from N232bn attained as at December 31st,2016, the shareholders fund grew to N93bn, up from N86bn as at December 2016.

The company attributed the improved earnings and profits to increased production in its power business, improvement of the economic climate, which has impacted positively on the operations of its hotel business, among other positive indicators.

Commenting on the result, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Transcorp Plc., Mr. Adim Jibunoh, said the company’s performance highlights a significant recovery from the financial year 2016.

“Our results show continued growth and a substantial step-up in profitability despite the volatile economic environment. It was achieved largely through increased power output following improved gas supply. Our power plant, Ughelli Transcorp Power Company, has consistently ranked as the number one power producer, contributing an average of between 13% -15% of total power exported to the national grid during the 2nd Quarter of 2017,” Jibunoh said.

He noted that Transcorp Plc is on track for strong performance in the third quarter of 2017, as it has already initiated the process of enhancing the available capacity of the power generating plant from 620MW to over 720MW to take advantage of improving gas supply.

“In addition, improvements in general economic activity in Abuja and return to operations of the newly upgraded rooms at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels Abuja will boost occupancy and top line performance for Transcorp Hotels in the 2nd half of 2017. These changes are keeping us responsive to fast changing consumer trends and accelerating our drive to a stronger financial performance in the second half of the year. We see this as a proven way of delivering long-term shareholder value,” he concluded.

A N3.6 billion business and leisure development park, known as ‘The Arena’ would soon be built in Abuja to host about 10,000 vendor international trade fair, originally designed to be executed in Calabar, Cross River State.

Chief Executive Officer of CLIQIT and the arrow head of the promoters, Mr. Gerald Konwea told Economic Confidential in Abuja that “The Arena”, a replica of TINAPA in Calabar, was moved to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) into the waiting hands of both local and international investors after the promoters could not find a common ground with the Cross River State government in terms of executing the trade event due every December after signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016.

Mr. Konwea noted that the business and leisure park, which will seat on a 15- hectare land will be kept busy all year round due to the carefully designed range of activities by the promoters, adding that they will key in to the Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MMSEs) initiatives of the federal government in order to tackle the high rate of unemployment.

“Besides the international trade fair that is expected to last 10 days while hosting thousands of attendees from around the world, the Arena will feature a startup campus and hi-tech research facilities designed to play host to thousands of interns yearly, a golf course, a race track for actual racing, a hotel and a helipad.

The Arena is strategically designed to host truly amazing events for at least 30 out of the 52 weekends in a year while the campus and research laboratories will run 24/7”, he said.

He also emphasized that the entire project development which is already backed by a host of local and foreign partners and financiers is phased over four years but the Arena will start operations hopefully by end of this year with most of its planned events taking place concurrently.

He said that the 10,000 vendor international trade fair, is designed to focus on four strategic developmental areas such as ICT, Renewable Energy, Manufacturing and Agriculture, which would create 15,000 jobs yearly, generate N7 billion in Internally Generated Revenue(IGR), attract direct forex inflow and catalyze over $520m in exports, stressing that over 8,500 international vendors have been secured for the maiden edition of the event.

“But now that we are going ahead to build our own Arena for our own events, the colossal economic activity that we anticipate will be unprecedented – it’s nothing Nigeria has seen before or expect to see in the near future and this is true following the already approved designs for the project and the readiness of the partners involved”, he said.

According to him, the initiative is to deliver the biggest single-phase trade fair in the world which will boost trade in the West African sub-region, intra African trade and open up borders within the continent.