Stanbic IBTC Bureau De Change discontinues its Bureau De Change Business.

Esan Bolaji
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Stanbic IBTC Bureau De Change discontinues its Bureau De Change Business.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC wishes to announce that its Bureau De Change Subsidiary, Stanbic IBTC Bureau De Change Limited has discontinued its Bureau de Change business with effect from 01 January 2021 by relinquishing its operating license.

The discontinuation of operations of the BDC business was primarily driven by changes in regulations, which now affords customers with the opportunity of purchasing foreign exchange (PTA and BTA) directly from Stanbic IBTC Bank at any of its branches nationwide.

The intention is to repurpose this subsidiary for other business venture in the near future, and stakeholders would be duly notified when all engagements have been concluded in this regard.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of Standard Bank Group, is a full-service financial services group with a clear focus on three main business pillars – Corporate and Investment Banking, Personal and Business Banking and Wealth Management.

The group’s largest shareholder is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank, with a 20.1% shareholding. Also, Standard Bank Group and ICBC share a strategic partnership that facilitates trade deals between Africa, China and select emerging markets.

Standard Bank Group is the largest African financial institution by assets. It is rooted in Africa with strategic representation in 21 countries on the African continent.

Standard Bank has been in operation for over 158 years and is focused on building first-class, on-the-ground financial services institutions in chosen countries in Africa; and connecting selected emerging markets to Africa by applying sector expertise, particularly in natural resources, power and infrastructure.

Ardova Plc Positions to Acquire Enyo Retail and Supply Limited

Esan Bolaji
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0
Ardova Plc Positions to Acquire Enyo Retail and Supply Limited

LAGOS, NIGERIA – 13 January 2021 – Ardova Plc, a leading Nigerian integrated energy company, and the shareholders of Enyo Retail and Supply Limited have entered discussions relating to AP acquiring Enyo.

Enyo Retail and Supply is one of the newest and fastest-growing retail and supply companies in the downstream sector.

Ardova Plc Positions to Acquire Enyo Retail and Supply Limited

Enyo is a technologically driven player and currently operates over 90 stations across Nigeria attending to over 100,000 retail customers daily across 15 states of the country.

This announcement is pursuant to the acceptance in principle of AP’s offer and acquisition framework by the shareholders of Enyo, it is subject to the successful completion of a due diligence exercise and the receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

Ardova to act as Main Distributor for Shell Branded Lubricants Products

CEO of AP, Mr Olumide Adeosun, explained that immediately following completion, AP will look to retain the Enyo branded stations which will operate side by side with the AP brand whilst leveraging the strengths of AP and its group companies.

He stressed further that parties are committed to concluding the deal by the end of Q1 2021.

Ardova Plc and Enyo Retail & Supply Limited will provide further information on progress made on the proposed acquisition.

Headline Inflation To Continue Its Runaway Trend In December 2020

FDC
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Headline Inflation To Continue Its Runaway Trend In December 2020

Headline inflation, a hydra-headed monster that has eroded the disposable and discretionary income of consumers, is estimated to increase by 0.51% to 15.4% in December 2020.

This will be the highest level in 37 months, driven mostly by forex rationing, output and productivity constraints, higher logistics and distribution costs.

The cheery news is that the rate of increase in the general price level is expected to decelerate.

World food prices rise for 7th month in a row in December

This could imply that the re-opening of the land borders and the harvest of commodities such as tomatoes and onions are beginning to taper pricing pressures. Our survey also reveals a decline in the month-on-month inflation to 1.2% (annualized 16.71%) from 1.6% (annualized 21.17%) in November.

Headline Inflation To Continue Its Runaway Trend In December 2020 Brandspurng1

2020 was a bleak Christmas

Our December survey shows a strong seasonality factor pushing demand especially for festivity-sensitive goods such as rice, turkey, vegetable oil and chicken. Traders and manufacturers took advantage of this to increase commodity prices but not as much as in the previous year.

This is largely because of weak aggregate demand in 2020 relative to 2019. Consumer disposable income has been negatively affected by the hike in electricity tariffs, general reductions in subsidies and improved tax mobilization.

The breakdown of the findings shows a mixed movement in commodity prices. While the price of tomatoes, onions and rice declined, items such as palm oil, noodles, chicken and turkey recorded price increases.

Hence, food inflation is expected to rise at a slower pace to 18.5% in December. The increase in the domestic food basket is in line with the FAO food price index, which rose by 2.2% to 107.5 points in December, mainly due to higher cost of dairy and vegetable oils.

The non-food component of the inflation basket also increased, reflecting the impact of exchange rate devaluation and higher logistics costs.

Low-interest rate environment: Impact on consumption

Typically, low-interest rates dis-incentivize savings and serve as an incentive to consume. This is because the proportion of income that is not saved is usually consumed.

However, it was observed that while the artificially low-interest rates significantly affected investors especially at a time of galloping inflation, its impact on consumption was muted as lending rate remained sticky downwards.

Recovery trajectory faster in countries with interest rates above the rate of inflation

Inflation across the SSA region is more to the upside in December 2020. This was largely due to an increase in the prices of food and alcoholic beverages.

However, a noticeable trend is that countries that maintain interest rates higher than the rate of inflation tend to have a faster pace of economic recovery and sustainable macroeconomic stability. South Africa for instance, recorded an improvement in its growth rate to -6.1% in Q3’20 from -17.1% in Q2’20.

Headline Inflation To Continue Its Runaway Trend In December 2020 Brandspurng1
Trading Economics, FDC Think Tank

Concluding thoughts

The CBN target rate for inflation is 6-9%. The projected rate of inflation (15.4%) will be 6.4% higher than the ceiling.

This inflation rate will be a major consideration in the determination of the stance and the level of the monetary policy rate (MPR) at a crucial meeting of the MPC in January. The CBN has maintained in its rhetoric that an inflation rate above 12% is growth retarding.

Can Jaiz Bank Dominate The Banking Industry?

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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Can Jaiz Bank Dominate The Banking Industry?

A few brands in the financial space seems to be working towards developing a different category for their brands to thrive in the financial sector and one of such banks seems to be Jaiz bank.

Jaiz Bank is Nigeria’s pioneer non-interest bank. A national bank and a quoted public company owned by over 26,000 shareholders spread over the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.

Can Jaiz Bank Dominate The Banking Industry Brandspurng

The Bank’s product offerings have grown substantially ranging from friendly retail to commercial and corporate products.

Non-Interest Banking is a profitable growing global phenomenon practised in many countries across the world including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirate, Malaysia, China, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya etc.

Global Banks such as HSBC, Citibank, Barclays Bank etc. are also offering non-interest banking products and service. It is an alternative financial service offering which is open to all irrespective of race or religion.

What this bank stands for makes them stand out from the other banking Nigeria due to their business model. It differentiates them and also places them in a spot where any other bank who tries to imitate an aspect of their would have no choice than to copy them exactly for that particular Product offering and that probably increase the other bank’s tendency to fail.

The tendency of this bank to be sustainable is centred around this non-interest banking model as this appeals to the Muslim religious segment at the core of its business but if done well this appeal can serve as the backbone to capture other markets or Target segments in the banking industry.

What might look like targeting a niche with the model of no interest can aid them in becoming the market leader in this newly created category by becoming people’s go-to bank when they want banking with no interest attached to whenever they want to conduct a transaction.

In order for them to improve, they need to focus on this non-interest offering as the core of their business and use it to work out different product manifestations. How can this non-interest manifest itself in various financial offerings that the bank can provide?

They also need to increase the quality of their communications and increase the money spent on Communications. The brand has to find ways to make it easy for people to adopt Jaiz as their Bank of choice by making their brand easy to remember and easy to locate. By being easy to locate both online and offline, it makes it easier for people to do transactions with them.

The Bank seems to be one with plenty of potentials. Will they be able to tap into this potentials? Can they determine where growth can come from? Who do they need to target in order to achieve that growth?

For now, I guess they have part of that answer with regards to targeting Muslims but they can look into other target segments they can sell to?. This brand has chosen its battlefield and where it wants to play but determining how it wants to play is what will change the game for them.

DHL Global Forwarding invests 126.5 million rand in new facility in South Africa

Esan Bolaji
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DHL Global Forwarding invests 126.5 million rand in new facility in South Africa

The new facility will boast 10,000 square meters of warehousing space, doubling the existing capacity to meet future demand

January 12, 2021 – Signs exclusive ten-year lease for approximately 13,000 square meters of office and warehousing space at the newly-developed Skyparks Business Estate near Oliver Reginald (O.R.) Tambo International Airport; the new facility will boast 10,000 square meters of warehousing space, doubling the existing capacity to meet future demand.

In a strategic move that reinforces its commitment to the country, DHL Global Forwarding is investing ZAR 126.5 million into a new facility in Johannesburg.

DHL Global Forwarding invests 126.5 million rand in new facility in South Africa Brandspurng

Aimed at cementing its market-leading position in South Africa, the new 13,000 sqm facility will be located within the bonded zone at Skyparks Business Estate – a hair’s breadth from the O.R. Tambo International Airport.

Clement Blanc, Managing Director, DHL Global Forwarding, South Africa said,

“While it’s too early to fully grasp the economic impact of the current pandemic, our confidence in investing ahead of the curve is abetted by our diverse service portfolio and long-established foothold in Africa.

As the world’s largest free trade area moves toward economic integration, our five-year strategy to sharpen our core business offerings and accelerate digitalization will further our growth in the region and specifically, in South Africa.”

Twice the size of its current set-up, this new facility will consist of a 10,000 sqm warehouse that enables the leading forwarder to consolidate all its customers’ warehousing requirements.

There will be an exclusive and specialized cold chain facility that consists of three adjustable temperature-controlled refrigerators geared to handle the life science and healthcare products in and out of South Africa.

The warehouse will also support other value-added services including cross-docking, storage for air, ocean and road freight services, and a platform for breakbulk cargo.

“Custom-built to our world-class specifications and located in proximity to the airport, arterial thoroughfares and upcoming industrial parks, this new facility will be the game-changer for DHL in the country.

We are well-poised to focus on delivering excellence to our customers as we surround ourselves with the critical infrastructure that is needed to enhance our productivity and efficiency,” added Blanc.

Even as the South African economy is expected to inch forward by about 1-2% in the next two years, industry observers are optimistic that the government’s commitment to improving investment and efforts to revitalize townships and industrial parks will reap much-needed benefits.

Equally, a flourishing e-commerce sector will drive greater demand for retail warehousing and distribution space, especially for perishables and fast-moving consumer goods.

The cultural significance of the names of the 36 States in Nigeria.

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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The cultural significance of the names of the 36 States in Nigeria.

Nigeria as a country is blessed with diverse culture and traditions due to the number of tribes and ethnic groups. This ethnic groups and tribes have been divided into six geo-political zones that consist of 36 states. Each state has a story of how its name came about.

Here is what you need to know about the origin of the names of the 36 states:

The cultural significance of the names of the 36 States in Nigeria Brandspurng

1. Abia State

Abia is an acronym from the four main groups of people in the state at that time it was formed namely: Aba Bende Isuikwuato Afikpo.

2. Adamawa

Adamawa is a state in the northeast part of Nigeria. Adamawa was named after a warrior, Modibbo Adama Bin Ardo Hassan, that conquered the region at the beginning of the 19th century.

3. Akwa Ibom

Akwa Ibom is a state in the south-south region of Nigeria. Akwa Ibom is named after the Qua Iboe (or Kwa Iboe) River.

4. Anambra

Anambra is a state in the southeast of Nigeria. The state got its name from the corrupted version of Oma Mbala (Ànyịm Ọma Mbala), a popular river in the area

5. Bauchi

Bauchi state is located in the northeast of Nigeria. There are three versions of how Bauchi got its name are:

  1. Bauchi’ is a Hausa word meaning the southern flanks of Hausaland. Tribes living in the southern parts of the Hausaland were referred to as “kasashen Bauchi” and the area they lived in later came to be known simply as Bauchi.
  2. The second version the state was named for Baushe, a famous hunter who settled there before the 19th century.
  3. The third states that ‘Bauchi’ is a Hausa word for slavery since it was a centre for slave raiders.

6. Bayelsa

Bayelsa is a state in the southern part of Nigeria known as Niger Delta. Bayelsa is a combination of the acronyms of three local government areas which were pulled out of old Rivers state — Brass LGA is known as BALGA, Yenegoa LGA known as YELGA and Sagbama LGA known as SALGA. The mathematics involved in the formation of their names is BA + YEL + SA = BAYELSA

7. Benue

Benue State is one of the Northcentral states located in Nigeria. The state was named after the “Europeanised” corruption of ‘Binuwe’, the Batta word for ‘Mother of Waters’.

8. Borno

Borno State is a state located in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. The alternative name of the Kanuris, the predominant ethnic group in the state, is ‘Borno’ which gave inspiration for the naming of the state.

9. Cross River

Cross River is a state in Southern Nigeria. The state took its name from a River called Oyono or Cross River.

10. Delta

Delta State is situated in the region known as the South-South geo-political zone. The state is where the River Niger forms a delta as it enters the Atlantic Ocean. That is where the name originated from.

11. Ebonyi

Ebonyi State is in southeastern Nigeria. Ebonyi is the anglicised version of ‘Aboine’, a river that cuts through Abakaliki, the state capital.

12. Edo

Edo State is in South-South geo-political zone. The Bini people who dwell in the area had always referred to themselves as Edo or Iduu. This inspired the name of the state

13. Ekiti

Ekiti State is located in the Southwest region of Nigeria. It was declared a state on 1 October 1996 by the then military government under head of state, General Sani Abacha.
‘Okiti’ is a term that is said to denote a settlement of many hills. It later became ‘Ekiti’.

14. Enugu

It is located in southeastern Nigeria. Due to the many hills and rocky terrain in the area, the people named it in Igbo, “Enu Ugwu” meaning “top of the hill”. The state is named after the anglicised version, Enugu.

15. Gombe

It is located in the northeastern part of Nigeria. Gombe is the dialect of Fulani language (Fulfulde) spoken in the area.

16. Imo

Imo state is located in the south-east region of Nigeria. Imo got its name from the popular river, Imo Mmiri.

17. Jigawa

Jigawa is a state in northwestern Nigeria. Jigawa takes inspiration from its distinctively golden-coloured soil.

18. Kaduna

Kaduna is a state in Northwest Nigeria. Its capital is Kaduna. The name can be said to have originated from Kadunas’ which is the plural form of the crocodile in Hausa. The state, therefore, got its name from the many crocodiles in Kaduna River.

19. Kano

Kano State is a state located in Northern Nigeria. Kano was the name of a blacksmith from the Gaya tribe who settled in the area while sourcing for ironstone. The state was named after him.

20. Katsina

The state was named after the wife of a popular local ruler known as Janzama. Her name was Katsina.

21. Kebbi

Kebbi is a state in north-western Nigeria. The state was created out of a part of Sokoto State in 1991. It is said that Kebbi was named after the Ka’abba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

22. Kogi

Kogi is a state in the central region of Nigeria. It is popularly called the Confluence State because of the confluence of River Niger and River Benue. Since the popular confluence in Nigeria is located in the state, Kogi is said to have been derived from ‘kogin’, the Hausa word for river

23. Kwara

Kwara is located within the North Central geopolitical zone, commonly referred to as the Middle Belt. River Niger used to be called River Kwara by the Nupes at the Northern border of the state. The state was named after this.

24. Lagos

Lagos is a state in the southwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The first set of Europeans to set foot in Lagos were the Portuguese. Due to the many lagoons and rivers in the town, they named it Lagos, which is the Portuguese word for ‘lakes’.

25. Nasarawa

Nasarawa is a state in north-central zone of Nigeria. Nassarawa is a native word for ‘victorious’. The state was named by the founder of Nasarawa kingdom, Makama Dogo.

26. Niger

Niger State is a state in North Central Nigeria known as Middle belt. This was named after the River Niger.

27. Ogun

Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. This state was also named after a river named Ogun River.

28 Ondo

Ondo State is a state in Nigeria created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. It originally included what is now Ekiti State, which was split off in 1996.
Ondo is a word used for settlers. The state was named after the settlers of the old Ondo Kingdom.

29. Osun

Osun state is located in the south-western part of Nigeria. This state was also named after a river called River Osun.

30. Oyo

Oyo State is located in the south-western part of Nigeria. The state was named after the great Old Oyo empire.

31. Plateau

The state was named after the picturesque Jos plateau. Jos got its name from the mispronunciation of the town ‘Gwosh’.

32. Rivers

Rivers State is located in the south-south geopolitical zone. Rivers State was named after the many water bodies present in the area.

33. Sokoto

Sokoto is located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria. Sokoto is the anglicized version of the Arabic word ‘suk’ meaning ‘market’ or ‘place of commerce’. The state itself was named after the defunct Sokoto Caliphate.

34. Taraba

Taraba is a state in North-Eastern Nigeria. Taraba state got its name from the Taraba River.

35. Yobe

Yobe is a state located in Northeast Nigeria. Komadugu Yobe (Waube or Ouobe) or River Yobe (or River of Yo) inspired the name of the state.

36. Zamfara

Zamfara is a state in northwestern Nigeria. This state was named after Zamfarawa, one of the subdialects of the Eastern Hausa group.

As can be seen above, most states in Nigeria were created out of cultural context, many named after rivers and lakes, some named after languages and people. The Nigerian states names can therefore be said to be of cultural significance to its people.

LVMH completes the acquisition of Tiffany & Co.

Esan Bolaji
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LVMH completes the acquisition of Tiffany & Co.

The luxury group announced that it has completed the acquisition of Tiffany & Co., the global luxury jeweller. The acquisition of this iconic US jeweller will transform LVMH’s Watches & Jewellery division and complement LVMH’s 75 distinguished Maisons.

Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH commented:

“I am pleased to welcome Tiffany and all their talented employees in our Group. Tiffany is an iconic brand and a quintessential emblem of the global jewellery sector.

LVMH completes the acquisition of Tiffany & Co.

We are committed to supporting Tiffany, a brand that is synonymous with love and whose Blue Box is revered around the world, with the same dedication and passion that we have applied to each of our prestigious Maisons over the years.

LVMH completes the acquisition of Tiffany & Co.

We are optimistic about Tiffany’s ability to accelerate its growth, innovate and remain at the forefront of our discerning customers’ most cherished life achievements and memories. I would like to thank Alessandro Bogliolo and his team for their dedication to Tiffany and their work over the past three years, especially during this challenging period”.

Tiffany Executive Leadership

In conjunction with the closing of the transaction, LVMH has announced several leadership appointments at Tiffany:
  • Anthony Ledru, previously Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Activities at Louis Vuitton and formerly Senior Vice President of North America at Tiffany, becomes Chief Executive Officer of Tiffany, effective immediately;
  • Alexandre Arnault, previously Chief Executive Officer of high-quality luggage company RIMOWA, becomes Executive Vice President, Product and Communications of Tiffany, effective immediately;
  • Michael Burke, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Louis Vuitton, will become Chairman of Tiffany Board of Directors;

Leadership Transitions

  • Alessandro Bogliolo, the current Chief Executive Officer of Tiffany, has agreed to remain with the company to facilitate the transition through the 22nd of January 2021, after which time he will depart the company;
  • Reed Krakoff, Chief Artistic Director, and Daniella Vitale, Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer of Tiffany, will depart Tiffany after a short transition of responsibilities.

Anthony Ledru, Chief Executive Officer of Tiffany, commented:

“I am delighted to re-join Tiffany, the most iconic American luxury brand which I have long admired. The inclusiveness and optimism upon which Tiffany was founded resonate now more than ever. I also come back to a Maison that is at the forefront of the environmental and sourcing standards in its industry.

Going forward, I have deep confidence in LVMH’s commitment to protect the brand, drive its growth strategy and apply the highest standards of retail excellence to Tiffany. The potential ahead is limitless, and I look forward to writing this next deeply promising chapter, along with the 14 000 Tiffany employees around the world.”

“I am honoured to have led Tiffany as a public company and contributed with such a talented team to further strengthening Tiffany’s iconic standing. Thanks to the hard work and commitment of all our team members, Tiffany is ideally positioned to continue its growth.

I would also like to take this moment to thank Reed and Daniella for having led the creative vision, digital and marketing direction for the company. We can all be proud of what we achieved together over the past three years and, I am convinced that Tiffany will thrive under LVMH leadership.

I look forward to ensuring a smooth transition to Anthony and his team and wish him and all the Tiffany community continued success in the years to come”, concluded Alessandro Bogliolo, former Chief Executive Officer of Tiffany.

Equities Sustain Rising Profile As NSE ASI Appreciates Further By 0.36%

Brand Spur
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Equities Sustain Rising Profile As NSE ASI Appreciates Further By 0.36%

Equities market closed the day’s trading session in the green zone as the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation appreciated by 0.36% to close at 40,295.95 and ₦21.07 trillion respectively.

The Year-to-Date (YtD) and the Quarter-to-Date (QtD) returns stand at 0.06% and 0.06%, while the Month-to-Date (MTD) and Week-to-Date returns stand at 0.06%and 0.44% respectively.

NSE Sector Indices:

Of all the Industries on the NSE within our coverage, 3 sectors advanced in points, while 2 sectors declined. The NSE sector indices that advanced in points were NSE INSURANCE (+3.61%), NSE CONSUMER GOODS (+0.36%), and NSE 30 (+0.29%), while the sectors that declined in points were NSE OIL &GAS (-0.05%) and NSE BANKING (-0.62%).

The market breadth (gainers/losers) of 1.35x for the day indicates that the number of buyers outpaced the number of sellers in the market today. At the end of the day’s trading, 27 stocks advanced as 20 stocks declined; MBENEFIT (+10.00%), NASCON (+10.00%) and NIGERINS (+10.00%) led the gainers’ chart while OANDO (-5.41%), UAC-PROP (-4.76%) and DEAPCAP (-4.76%) led the losers’ chart for the day.

The day’s trading activities by volume was led by UPDCREIT (755.01million), MANSARD (49.51million) and TRANS CORP (44.27million) while the activity by value was led by UPDCREIT (₦4.15billion), MTNN (₦0.68billion) and ZENITH BANK (₦0.43billion).

Outlook:

Equities sustained rising profile as NSE ASI appreciated further by 0.36%.

Optimisms persist that the bulls will recover the market in the coming days. We, therefore, advise our clients not to engage in panic selling as we expect the equity market to maintain positive growth due to the expectation of dividend payment in early 2021 and lower yields in fixed income market.

FIXED INCOME REPORT AS AT JANUARY 11, 2020

Treasury Bills Market:

In the treasury bills markets, the average yield increased by 9bps as it closed at 0.52% today (vs. 0.43% average market yield of last trading session). At the end of the trading
session today, the 01-Apr-21, 01-Jul-21 and 25-Nov-21 bills closed at 0.17% (-0.06%), 0.46% (0.08%), and 0.93% (0.25%) respectively.

FGN Bond Market:

In the bond market, the average market yield increased by an average of 128bps as it closed at 5.11% as against 4.95% of the previous session.

The result for the 14-Nov-2021, 27-Apr-2023, 23-Mar-2025, 17-Mar-2027, 20-Nov-2029, 18-Mar-2036 and 26-Apr-2049 bonds traded are 1.53% (0.15%), 3.50% (-0.04%), 5.42% (-0.02%), 6.42% (-0.08%), 7.12% (0.00%), 7.80% (0.00%) and 8.65% (1.27%) respectively.

Foreign Exchange Market:

At the FX Market (CBN Official Window), Naira remains unchanged, closing at ₦379.00/$ today compared to the ₦379.00/$ it traded in the previous trading session. On Investors
and Exporters Window, Naira appreciated by 17 kobo against the dollar as it closed at ₦393.33/$ today (vs. ₦393.50/$ it closed in the previous trading session).

Money Market:

In the Money Market today, the REPO rate decreased by an average of 325bps to ease liquidity. At the end of the trading session, the call, 1M, 2M, 3M rate closed at 1.00% (-5.00%), 1.00% (-3.00%), 3.00% (-3.00%) and 6.00% (-2.00%) respectively.

However, Open-Buy-Back (OBB) and Overnight (O/N) rate decreased by an average of 579 bps, closing at 2.50% and 3.25% respectively.

Amotekun Takes Off In Ogun State

Brand Spur
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Amotekun Takes Off In Ogun State

The Ogun State Government has said that the security of lives and property, particularly in remote areas, will now become a unified effort with the full operation of the South West Security Outfit, code-named ‘Amotekun’.

The Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Alhaji Shuaib Salisu disclosed this while featuring on a live television programme in Abeokuta, adding that the commencement of the outfit in the State was expected to fortify the existing security architecture, towards addressing the challenges headlong.

Amotekun Takes Off In Ogun State Brandspurng
Image is for illustration purpose only

Alhaji Salisu maintained that the State Government would not fold its arms and allow criminals to have free rein, saying

“the days of criminals are numbered with the appointment of former Commissioner of Police, David Ajibola Akinremi, as the Commandant of the security outfit.”

Speaking further, the Chief of Staff said Government had procured 100 Patrol vehicles, 200 motorcycles and communication gadgets, to enhance its operations, adding that Amotekun would have formations in all the 20 Local Government Areas of the State.

He said part of strategies of the State Government to curb criminality was to devise means, noting that over 20,000 youths have been employed through Ogun Jobs Portal, while disclosing that companies in the State were also mandated to source for qualified applicants on it for recruitment.

The Chief of Staff added that many infrastructural projects inherited from past administrations would be completed by the end of Q1 2021, while the newly initiated projects would not be neglected, saying that the Owode-Ilaro, and Odo-Afa roads in Yewa axis; the Epe-Ijebu Ode, and Molusi College roads in Ijebu division; and the Sagamu Interchange-Siun-Abeokuta, and Lafenwa-Rounda roads are all receiving robust attention of the government.

BMW Group Concludes Year With Strong Q4 And Leads Premium Segment Worldwide For 17th Consecutive Year

Esan Bolaji
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0
BMW Group Concludes Year With Strong Q4 And Leads Premium Segment Worldwide For 17th Consecutive Year

The BMW Group once again confirmed its position as the world’s leading premium automotive manufacturer last year, with a total of 2,324,809 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles (-8.4%) delivered to customers worldwide. 686,069 vehicles were sold at Group level in the fourth quarter, an increase of three percent (+3.2%) year-on-year.

Sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles climbed almost 40 percent (38.9%) compared to the previous year, reflecting strong customer interest in this drive train variant.

BMW Group concludes year marked by corona pandemic with strong fourth quarter and leads premium segment worldwide for 17th consecutive year
BMW iX3

“We responded to the effects of the corona pandemic with great agility in sales management and production. As a result, we succeeded in concluding the year with a strong fourth quarter and once again we lead the premium segment worldwide,” underlined Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands and Sales.

“Thanks to our Efficient Dynamics technologies and the more than 135,000 electrified vehicles we delivered in Europe, we overfulfilled our CO2 fleet targets in the EU and were even able to go below the mandatory limit by a few grams,” Nota continued.

Consistent and rapid adaptation of sales channels

Due to the corona pandemic and the desire of customers for the sales process to be as contactless as possible, the BMW Group systematically pushed ahead with digitalization last year: Sales representatives in more than 60 markets are now able to advise customers and sell vehicles regardless of their location.

They can configure vehicles together using a shared screen, for instance, or give customers a live demonstration of the cars they have in stock.

In a second step, the company has extensively implemented the sales process online for its retail partners in key markets via its high-traffic websites and will roll out this offering in additional markets in 2021. 

Strong performance by models in the high-end luxury segment

The BMW brand finished the year with a total of 2,028,659 (-7.2%) vehicles delivered to customers worldwide. A significant contribution was made by the strong performance of the models in the upper luxury segment, which increased by 12.4 percent year-on-year to a total of 115,420 units thanks to the 7 Series, 8 Series and BMW X7. Sales of these highly profitable models have increased by more than 70 percent overall since 2018. 

Sales of electrified vehicles up more than 30 percent, demonstrating growth in electromobility

As an e-mobility pioneer, the BMW Group sold a total of 192,646 electrified BMW and MINI vehicles worldwide last year – an increase of a third (+31.8%) over 2019. This means that electromobility is also a significant growth driver for the company in absolute terms.

Sales of fully electric vehicles rose by 13 percent, while plug-in hybrid sales climbed by almost 40 percent. In Europe, electrified vehicles already accounted for 15 percent of total sales.

The BMW Group has now increased the number of electrified vehicles (pure electric and plug-in hybrid) in its line-up to 13 models, which are available in 74 markets around the globe. By 2023, the BMW Group plans to almost double its line-up to 25 electrified vehicles, of which more than half will be fully electric.

The introduction of the pure-electric MINI* and BMW iX3* last year will be followed in 2021 by the start of production for the fully-electric BMW iX in Dingolfing and the BMW i4 in Munich. 

BMW M GmbH defies current challenges to report the most successful year in its almost 50-year history

With sales growth of six percent (144,218 vehicles delivered), BMW M GmbH once again closes the past year as the most successful in its history. Especially the high-performance models in the X series including the new X6 M50i* contributed to BMW M’s sales success.

Last year, both the new BMW M3 and the BMW M4 celebrated their world premieres and both models will be launched in the first quarter of this year. 

MINI ELECTRIC and John Cooper Works models especially in high demand

In a challenging year and an extremely competitive segment, MINI brand sales reached 292,394 units (-15.8%) in 2020. The fully electric MINI ELECTRIC*, with 17,580 vehicles sold, and the John Cooper Works models, with a total of 20,565 units (+20.8%) sold, were particularly popular with customers. 

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars: remarkable performance in an extraordinary year

In 2020, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars sold a total of 3,756 motor cars (-26.4%). This result was achieved despite the absence of the marque’s best-selling model, Ghost, from the market, in anticipation of the introduction of a new model which arrived at the end of the year.

Customer demand remained strong across all models, with Bespoke commissions at record levels. The highlight of the year was the launch of new Ghost, to universal acclaim from customers, the media and the wider public alike.

Orders for the new model have resulted in a strong order book, filled well into the second half of 2021. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars continue to strive for long-term sustainable growth. 

BMW Motorrad posts second-best sales figures in its history

Despite the challenges resulting from the pandemic, BMW Motorrad was able to deliver 169,272 motorcycles and scooters to customers in 2020 and achieved the second-best sales figures in its history.

This achievement underpins BMW Motorrad’s successful growth strategy. Guarantor for the positive result was the market launch of thirteen new models as well as the strong BMW Motorrad product portfolio.

BMW & MINI sales in the regions/markets

BMW Group sales in China were seven percent (7.4%) higher than the previous year, with a total of 777,379 BMW and MINI vehicles delivered to customers. This is the BMW Group’s best-ever annual sales result in China since entering the market in 1994.

The company’s fifth-largest market, South Korea, reported a significant sales increase of a third (+30.5%), compared to the previous year, with 69,872 units sold.

The BMW Group sold a total of 306,870 units (-18.0%) in the US last year. In a challenging environment dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, the recovery in consumer demand, combined with close and efficient cooperation with dealers, delivered a strong fourth quarter.

In Europe, in an extraordinary year marked by retail restrictions, total BMW and MINI sales were nearly sixteen per cent (912,621 units) below the previous year. In its home market of Germany, the BMW Group recorded a decline of 13.3% (287,143 units).

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