PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Media OutReach – 17 August 2022 –Prince Holding Group’s Chairman, Chen Zhi, bagged a Gold Stevie® Award in the Entrepreneur of the Year – Conglomerates category for the second consecutive year at the prestigious 19th Annual International Business Awards®. The Group also secured Bronze Stevie® Awards for Company of the Year categories and COVID-19 Most Valuable Corporate Response. The Group has secured a record haul of ten awards this year.
NNPC LTD is a brainchild of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which was passed into law in August 2021 [1]. The NNPC was a state-owned and controlled corporation licensed to operate in the country’s petroleum industry which utilized the country’s fossil fuel and natural gas reserves by partnering with foreign oil companies.
The new NNPCL, while still wholly owned by the State, is intended to operate as a fully commercial venture without government funding (besides the initial capitalization) or control and is expected to be regulated by the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 [2]. In addition, NNPCL will now declare dividends to shareholders while retaining 20 percent of profits to grow its business [3].
NNPCL is expected to sometime in the future [4], invite the public to purchase shares to raise equity capital for the business of the company especially as it would no longer have access to state funds in line with the objective to commercialise the corporation.
It is also expected that NNPCL would eventually achieve trading status on global stock exchange markets like its counterparts, including Saudi Arabia’s Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) Brazil’s Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) to name a few. NNPCL will also no longer be concerned with issues of petrol pricing and subsidy, neither will it continue to remit funds into the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) such that the company funds can be used to further its business rather than issuing national payouts.
Yet, while the introduction of the NNPCL promises to be advantageous to the country’s energy industry, realistically speaking, there are certain challenges that need to be promptly and properly addressed for the new NNPCL to function effectively and achieve its objectives. To mention a few, continued government influence, NNPC’s transfer of liabilities to NNPCL, corporate governance issues are at the top of concerns.
Government influence concerns
Unlike its state-owned counter parts Saudi’s Aramco and Petrobras of Brazil, the former NNPC had a structure that largely depended on government funding thus making it less competitive and less attractive to global investors especially International Oil Companies (IOCs) who were uncomfortable doing business with the Corporation due to fears of undue government influence, grotesque policies and unnecessary bureaucratic delays. While the new NNPCL is promised to be fully independent of government control, it remains wholly owned by the government and its initial capital will be completely provided by the government per the provisions of the PIA [5]. Section 53(5) of the PIA also provides that all shares of the company held by the government will not be transferable or mortgaged unless approved by the government and the National Economic Council. To own is to control in any business enterprise so it is unclear how government influence would be avoided in NNPCL when it is wholly owned and capitalized by the government. A better approach would be to provide for a mechanism that splits the shares between the government and the public in a particular ratio such that while the government may understandably retain controlling shares to protect national interest [6] there are checks and balance measures in place to avoid arbitrariness.
Furthermore, the PIA incorporates an automatic transfer of all existing employees under the former NNPC into the new NNPCL with no vetting procedure for these employees in place. Section 57(1) under discuss states as follows:
Upon incorporation of NNPC Limited under section 53 of this Act, employees of NNPC and its subsidiaries shall be deemed to be employces of NNPC Limited on terms and conditions not less favourable than that enjoyed prior to the transfer of service and shall be deemed to be service for employment related entitlements as specified under any applicable law.
This means that NNPCL will have substantially the same employees as the former NNPC which is tantamount to pouring new wine into old wineskins. It is understandable that the law makers were wary of leaving the employees of the former NNPC redundant upon the transition. However, the automatic retention of former NNPC staff is counterproductive because NNPCL essentially inherits its all of its predecessor’s employees, some of whom are controversially unqualified and redundant thereby stunting its growth potential.
The PIA goes further to provide for the appointment of a Board of the NNPCL whose appointment shall be done by the President of the country [7]. Another interesting provision is Section 58(2)(r) which provides that the Board should among others consist of ‘six (6) non-executive members with at least 15 years post-qualification cognate experience in petroleum or any other relevant sector of the economy, one from each geopolitical zone’ effectively politicizing the appointment of these individuals to the board as opposed to appointments strictly based on merit. Perhaps realizing that the previous provisions on appointment to the new NNPCL Board may be inconsistent with the new NNPCLs ‘no government influence’ mandate, the law makers included a proviso in Section 58(5) stating that the provisions of the section would only apply where NNPCL remains wholly owned by the government after which the composition would then be determined by the new shareholders after sale of shares to the public. This may appear to resolve the evident problem, however the shares of the new NNPCL will not be made available to the public until an unknown time in the future which is not specifically stipulated under the Act.
Although NNPCL’s Chief Executive Officer intimated that the company would be ready for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) mid 2023, this is not set in stone as factors such as governmental and bureaucratic delays in organization may extend this timeline. Afterall, it did take almost a year to fully effect the provision to incorporate the new NNPCL as opposed to the 6 months timeline stipulated in the PIA. In any case, even if there are no delays in the estimated timeline for the sale of shares to the public, the IPO process, appointment of new Board members and other corporate procedure could take months at the earliest to effect. This means that the NNPCL would still be run by old NNPC officials pending formalization of all corporate procedures thus making the new NNPCL ‘government’ run for at least the foreseeable future. Effectively, this results in NNPCL failing its first mandate as a fully commercialized company i.e to be free of government influence and control.
Transfer of liabilities
Another concern is the provision of the PIA which transfers liabilities from the old NNPC to the new NNPCL. This is provided for under Section 54(1):
the Minister of Petroleum and the Minister of Finance shall within 18 months of the effective date determine the assets, interests and liabilities of NNPC to be transferred to NNPC Limited or its subsidiaries and upon the identification, the Minister shall cause such assets, interests and liabilities to be transferred to NNPC Limited.
Further provisions of the section discuss issues of assets that would remain with NNPC or the government, actions that may be brought against NNPCL, NNPC or the government etc. However, the mechanism for the determination of which assets and liabilities would pass on to NNPCL and which would be dealt with by the old NNPC/Government are not stipulated in the PIA, leaving much to the discretion of the Minister for Petroleum and Finance with some assistance from the Attorney General of the Federation in peculiar circumstances. Section 54(2) states as follows:
Assets, interests and liabilities of NNPC not transferred lo NNPC Limited or its subsidiary under subsection (1), shall remain the assets, interests and liabilities of NNPC until they become extinguished or transferred to the Government and six months following the determination under section 54 (1) of this Act, the Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Attorney-General of the Federation shall develop a framework for the payment of the labilities not transferred to NNPC Limited and if such determination for which assets, interests and liabilities to be transferred has not been concluded within the stipulated period of 18 months, all the assets, interests, liabilities of NNPC is deemed to be transferred to NNPC Limited after 18 months from the effective date.
A spruce way to deal with the inherited assets and liabilities from NNPC would have been to make provision for the creation of an SPV to specifically deal with these issues, especially with respect to the liabilities rather than burden the NNPCL with the old NNPC’s mammoth liabilities in its formative years when it should be focused on its growth. It is hoped that the Ministers would devise suitable mechanisms to deal with these in the most efficient and least invasive way possible.
Corporate Governance considerations
As a corporate entity, NNPCL will be governed by Nigeria’s corporate laws as enshrined in the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). Of particular importance are some of the corporate governance principles contained in CAMA which are there to ensure international best practice in the day-to-day operations of Nigerian corporations including provisions on separations of the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, appointment of Independent Directors, limitation of multiple directorships, disqualification from appointment as a director, disclosure provisions among others. It is expected that upon the IPO of NNPCL, it would become a Public Limited Liability Company (Plc) and thereby subject to more stringent corporate governance and disclosure policies even beyond the statutory requirements under CAMA [8].
Some of the corporate governance sections under CAMA include provisions which state that every public company must have at least three (3) independent directors appointed in line with the required qualifications stipulated; [9] Directors may not serve on the board of more than five (5) public companies at a time; disqualified directors now include directors that were removed from the Board; [10] and attendance of Board meetings is now a factor for re-election [11]. On its disclosure obligations, NNPCL is expected to ensure that information on the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company is accessible to the public and potential investors. The shareholding structure [12], shareholders [13], authorized share capital, exact date of incorporation e.t.c all need to be fully disclosed to the public to ensure compliance with the provisions of the PIA and CAMA. Records of the minutes of the meeting where the first directors are appointed, board resolutions for the nomination of the Chairman e.t.c all need to be public knowledge to ensure complete transparency and fulfil all international best practice disclosure obligations.
Worthy of note is Section 60-63 of the PIA which attempts to cater for some corporate governance concerns of the new NNPCL. However, the provisions seem to be merely advisory and no liabilities are imposed for any failure to carry out such responsibilities. Thus, recourse is to be had to CAMA and its regulatory body, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for the enforcement of these provisions in addition to the provisions of CAMA.
Conclusion
On the whole and having considered some salient issues with respect to the new NNPCL, there are some who believe that the transformation of the NNPC into NNPCL is merely a name change and that there would be no material difference from the old structure especially as the NNPC has operated as a highly institutionalized corporation for the last 45 years. Whether they are right or wrong, only time will tell.
However, it is important to remain optimistic that with the right corporate administration, NNPCL can create an environment that would not only grow the country’s economy but also attract both local and foreign investment thereby making it a major player in the global energy market.
[1] Section 53(1) of the PIA states that ‘The Minister shall within six months from the commencement of this Act, cause to be incorporated ender the Companies and Allied Matters Act, a limited liability company, which shall be called Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited)’
[2] Section 64 of the PIA lists the objectives of the NNPCL.
[3] Section 53(7) of the PIA
[4] NNPCL’s Chief Executive Officer at the official announcement of the new NNPCL intimated that the company would be ready for an Initial Public Offering by mid 2023. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/3c1Hk1V on August 1, 2022.
[5] Section 53(2-4) of the PIA states that ‘The Minister shall at the incorporation of NNPC Limited, consult with the Minister of Finance to determine the number and nominal value of the shares to be allotted, which shall form the initial paid-up share capital of NNPC Limited and the Government shall subscribe and pay cash for the shares (3) Ownership of all shares in NNPC Limited shall be vested in the Government at incorporation and held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated in equal portions on behalf of the Federation and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated is incorporated under the provisions of the Eighth Schedule to this Act (4) The Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated in consultation with the Government, may increase the equity capital of NNPCL.
[6] Section 1 of the PIA provides that the property and ownership of petroleum within Nigeria and its territorial water, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone is vested in the Government of the Federation of Nigeria.
[7] Section 58(2) of the PIA.
[8] That is, Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) issued in 2018 by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Securities Exchange Commission Guideline’s (SCCG) and revised reporting template issued in 2021.
[9] Section 275 of CAMA 2020.
[10] Section 283(c) of CAMA 2020.
[11] Section 284(2) of CAMA 2020.
[12] In compliance with section 53(2) which provides that The Minister shall at the incorporation of NNPCL consult with the Minister of Finance to determine the number and nominal value of the shares to be allotted, which shall form the initial paid-up share capital of NNPCL and the Government shall subscribe and pay cash for the shares.
[13] In compliance with Section 53(3) of the PIA which states that ownership of all shares in NNPCL shall be vested in the Government at incorporation and held by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated in equal portions on behalf of the Federation and the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated is incorporated under the provisions of the Eighth Schedule to this PIA.
It didn’t take long for Russia’s war in Ukraine to impact Africa. Already grappling with soaring inflation and still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa now faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tons of food—especially wheat, maize and soybean imported from Russia and Ukraine.
Fertilizer price hikes of over 300% make it increasingly difficult for African farmers to grow enough wheat, maize, rice and other crops. A growing number of people in Africa can no longer afford the price of bread.
Africa is struggling to mitigate a conflict-induced famine that could throw some 30 million Africans into catastrophic levels of food insecurity. It could deepen economic stress, and political unrest. With millions struggling to buy food, fuel and fertilizer, anti-government protests are a real possibility.
From the onset, the African Development Bank realized the strategic need to tackle the devastating impact of the war on Africa’s food security. It was important to prevent unrest and even more human suffering. In May, the Bank established a $1.5 billion African Emergency Food Production Facility. In less than 60 days, it put into action $1.13 billion-worth of programs under the facility, and across 25 African countries. Half a dozen more programs are expected to get underway by September as more governments apply to the facility.
The African Emergency Food Production Facility will deliver climate-adapted, certified wheat and other staple crop seeds—and increased access to agricultural fertilizers—to 20 million farmers. Over the next two years, the facility will allow farmers to produce 38 million additional tons of food—a 30% increase in local production—worth an estimated $12 billion. To facilitate even greater global investment in Africa’s agricultural sector, the facility will also support enhanced governance and policy reforms.
While this is a strong start, Africa needs the international community to fill a $200 million financing gap for the facility. President Joe Biden has endorsed the African Emergency Food Production Facility, and this is welcome support, as is his support for the African Development Bank’s Africa Disaster Risk Financing Program.
To help African governments pay drought and flooding insurance premiums and respond better to food insecurity caused by climate change, the Disaster Risk Financing Program, is a much-needed futures element of the Facility.
To boost agricultural production in Nigeria, Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire, the Japan International Cooperation Agency has recently partnered with the African Development Bank to co-finance African Emergency Food Production Facility programs. International development agencies and a growing coalition of nations are also supporting the Africa Emergency Food Production Facility.
Launched in 2018, the African Development Bank’s successful flagship Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program is delivering technologies in the form of climate-resilient crop varieties—seeds that are resistant to drought, high temperatures or pests, for example.
In Ethiopia, thanks to TAAT-funded, heat-tolerant wheat seeds, the country boosted cultivated farmland from 50,000 hectares to 675,000 additional hectares in just four years. TAAT’s climate-smart seeds allow the wheat crop to thrive in Ethiopia’s arid, lowlands where ordinary wheat varieties do not generally do well.
More locally grown wheat has reduced Ethiopia’s dependence on wheat imports. By embracing TAAT, the country did not need to import wheat, for the first time, this year. With the Bank’s continued support, Ethiopia will become a wheat exporter in 2023. It will export more than a million metric tons of wheat to Kenya and Djibouti. That is enough food to feed 10 million people for 12 months.
The African Development Bank knows what works.
TAAT has already reached 12 million farmers. We are calling on our international partners and governments to join us as we scale up TAAT through the new African Emergency Food Production Facility.
Our commitment to helping Africa grow more food by adapting to climate change has earned the support of UN Secretary General António Guterres, who recently said the Bank’s allocation of half of its climate finance to adaptation is the standard for international development partners to follow. The US Department of the Treasury has endorsed the African Emergency Food Production Facility as part of the International Financial Institution Action Plan to Address Food Insecurity—a shortlisted guide of programs for donor nation consideration.
Africa does not need food aid to feed itself. Africa needs right investments and seeds in the ground.
The Africa Emergency Food Production Facility will provide an immediate solution to twin global challenges of conflict and climate change, and play immediate, medium and long-term roles in growing Africa’s agriculture sector as a foundation for resilient African economies.
Policy reforms will help trigger structural reforms needed for market-based input distribution and to produce crops more competitively.
Today and well into the future, the African Development Bank is delivering a proven plan to unlock Africa’s food production potential and see Africa become a breadbasket to the world.
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina is President of the African Development Bank Group
Headlined by Spackman Media Group artist Kim Sang-kyung, POONG, THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST surpassed its own highest viewership records, securing the top spot for its time slot across all TV channels in Korea
The tvN K-drama recorded an average viewership rating of 5.0% to 5.9% for households nationwide for its latest episode aired on August 16, as compared to the broadcaster’s average viewership rating of 2.2% to 2.6%
Previously, Kim Sang-kyung starred in AIR MURDER, which was co-produced by the Group’s indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary Platform Media Group and was the #1 Korean film at its opening weekend box office in Korea
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 17 August 2022 –Spackman Entertainment Group Limited (the “Group“), one of Korea’s leading entertainment production groups founded in 2011 by media & technology investor Charles Spackman, wishes to announce that the tvN K-drama, POONG, THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST, headlined by veteran actor Kim Sang-kyung of Spackman Media Group Limited (“Spackman Media Group“), broke its own highest viewership records, taking the top spot for its time slot across all TV channels in Korea.
The latest episode of Kim Sang-kyung’s latest K-drama, POONG, THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST, posted an average viewership rating of 5.0% to 5.9% for households nationwide on August 16, as compared to the broadcaster’s average viewership rating of 2.2% to 2.6%, based on Nielson Korea, an audience rating research company.
The solid performance of POONG, THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST underscores the star power of Kim Sang-kyung, who previously starred in Korean film AIR MURDER, which was co-produced by the Group’s indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Platform Media Group Co., Ltd. and was ranked as the top Korean film at its first weekend box office in Korea.
POONG, THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST is based on the novel of the same name that won the Excellence Award in the 2016 Korea Story Contest. Directed by Park Won-gook, written by Park Seul-gi, Choi Min-ho & Lee Bom, and produced by Studio Dragon, the Joseon era drama depicts the redemption of a disgraced royal physician who becomes a well-respected psychiatrist in a small village. Along with Kim Sang-kyung, POONG, THE JOSEON PSYCHIATRIST features Kim Min-jae of DALI AND COCKY PRINCE (2021) and Kim Hyang-gi of ALONG WITH THE GODS (2017-2018).
Previously, Kim Sang-kyung of Spackman Media Group starred in SBS drama RACKET BOY BAND (2021), which was released on Netflix & SBS. He also starred in tvN’s and Netflix’s THE CROWNED CLOWN (2019). Kim Sang-kyung won the Jury Special Award for his role in THE DISCLOSER (2017) at the 38th Golden Cinematography Awards. He is widely known for his leading roles in MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003), directed by Bong Joon-ho of PARASITE (2019) and the Group’s 2013 US production SNOWPIERCER. Kim Sang-kyung won the Jury Special Award at the 38th Golden Cinematography Awards in 2018 and the Excellence Award & Netizen Award at the 2014 KBS Drama Awards.
Hashtag: #SpackmanEntertainmentGroup
About Spackman Entertainment Group Limited
Spackman Entertainment Group Limited (“SEGL” or the “Company“), and together with its subsidiaries, (the “Group“), is one of Korea’s leading entertainment production groups. SEGL is primarily engaged in the independent development, production, presentation, and financing of theatrical motion pictures in Korea.
The Company was founded in 2011 by renowned media and technology investor Charles Spackman who served as the Company’s Executive Chairman until 2017. For the past two decades, Mr. Charles Spackman has been a powerhouse in the Korean entertainment industry starting in the early 2000’s with the pioneering success of Sidus Pictures, the largest movie production company at the time and the first to be listed in Korea. Mr. Spackman is also the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the global investment firm, Spackman Group. For more information, please visit http://www.charlesspackman.com and https://spackman-group.com/charles-spackman.
Since its founding, SEGL had produced more than 30 major motion pictures including a number of the highest grossing and award-winning films in Korea, namely #ALIVE (2020), CRAZY ROMANCE (2019), DEFAULT (2018), MASTER (2016), THE PRIESTS (2015), SNOWPIERCER (2013), COLD EYES (2013) and ALL ABOUT MY WIFE (2012).
Our films are theatrically distributed and released in Korea and overseas markets, as well as for subsequent post-theatrical worldwide release in other forms of media, including online streaming, cable TV, broadcast TV, IPTV, video-on-demand, and home video/DVD, etc. Generally, we release our motion pictures into wide-theatrical exhibition initially in Korea, and then in overseas and ancillary markets.
The Group also invests into and produces Korean television dramas. In addition to our content business, we also own equity stakes in entertainment-related companies and film funds that can financially and strategically complement our existing core operations. SEGL is listed on the Catalist of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited under the ticker 40E.
Production Labels
SEGL owns Novus Mediacorp Co., Ltd. (“Novus Mediacorp“), an investor, presenter, and/or post-theatrical distributor for a total of 79 films (58 Korean and 21 foreign) including ROSE OF BETRAYAL, THE OUTLAWS and SECRETLY, GREATLY, which was one of the biggest box office hits of 2013 starring Kim Soo-hyun of MY LOVE FROM THE STARS, as well as FRIEND 2: THE GREAT LEGACY. In 2012, Novus Mediacorp was also the post-theatrical rights distributor of ALL ABOUT MY WIFE, a top-grossing romantic comedy produced by Zip Cinema. In 2018, THE OUTLAWS, co-presented by Novus Mediacorp broke the all-time highest Video On Demand (“VOD“) sales records in Korea. For more information, please visit http://novusmediacorp.com
The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Simplex Films Limited (“Simplex Films“) which is an early stage film production firm. The maiden film of Simplex Films, JESTERS: THE GAME CHANGERS (2019), was released in Korea on 21 August 2019. Simplex Films has several line-up of films including HURRICANE BROTHERS (working title).
The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Take Pictures Pte. Ltd. (“Take Pictures“) which produced STONE SKIPPING (2020) and THE BOX (2021), and shall release THE GUEST in the second half of 2022 and A MAN OF REASON, with the previous working title GUARDIAN in 2022 tentatively.
The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Greenlight Content Limited (“Greenlight Content“) which is mainly involved in the business of investing into dramas and movies, as well as providing consulting services for the production of Korean content. Through the acquisition of Greenlight Content, the Group’s first co-produced drama, MY SECRET TERRIUS, starring top Korean star, So Ji Sub, achieved #1 in drama viewership ratings for its time slot and recorded double digits for its highest viewership ratings. Greenlight Content was one of the main investors of MY SECRET TERRIUS.
The Company owns a 20% equity interest in The Makers Studio Co. Ltd., which plans to produce and release four upcoming films, the first of which will be THE ISLAND OF THE GHOST’S WAIL, a comedy horror film.
Talent Representation
The Company holds an effective shareholding interest of 43.88% in Spackman Media Group Limited (“SMGL“). SMGL, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, together with its subsidiaries, is collectively one of the largest entertainment talent agencies in Korea in terms of the number of artists under management, including some of the top names in the Korean entertainment industry. SMGL operates its talent management business through renowned agencies such as MSteam Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Son Ye-jin, Wi Ha-jun, Lee Min-jung, Ko Sung-hee), SBD Entertainment Inc. (Son Suk-ku, Han Ji-hyun, Lee Cho-hee, Park Keun-rok), UAA&CO Inc. (Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Hye-ri, Kim Ji-young, Wang Ji-won), Play Content Co., Ltd. (Kang Min-ji, Hwang-hwi) and Kook Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Baek Si-won, Shin Ji-woong). Through these full-service talent agencies in Korea, SMGL represents and guides the professional careers of a leading roster of award-winning actors/actresses in the practice areas of motion pictures, television, commercial endorsements, and branded entertainment. SMGL leverages its unparalleled portfolio of artists as a platform to develop, produce, finance and own the highest quality of entertainment content projects, including theatrical motion pictures, variety shows and TV dramas. This platform also creates and derives opportunities for SMGL to make strategic investments in development stage businesses that can collaborate with SMGL artists. SMGL is an associated company of the Company. For more information, please visit http://www.spackmanmediagroup.com
The Company owns a 100% equity interest in Constellation Agency Pte. Ltd. (“Constellation Agency“). Constellation Agency, which owns The P Factory Co., Ltd. (“The P Factory“) and Platform Media Group Co., Ltd. (“PMG“), is primarily involved in the business of overseas agency for Korean artists venturing into the overseas market. The P Factory is an innovative marketing solutions provider specializing in event and branded content production. PMG is a talent management agency which represents and manages the careers of major artists in film, television, commercial endorsements and branded entertainment.
Strategic Businesses
The Company also operates a café-restaurant, Upper West, in the Gangnam district of Seoul and own a professional photography studio, noon pictures Co., Ltd.
Donors pledge their support for a more sustainable nation, with 61% donating for the first time
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 17 August 2022 – #ShopeeGivesBack, Shopee’s long-term community initiative, has raised over RM48,000 from 1 May 2020 to 31 July 2022 for two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) championing environmentally-conscious efforts in Malaysia. Over two years, WWF-Malaysia and Zero Waste Malaysia received donations from over 9,000 donors, including over 5,500 first time donors.
Impactful edtech company empowers educators, parents, and students around the world
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – EQS Newswire – 17 August 2022 – Global edtech company Snapplify ( (Jean Vermeulen (Head of Teacha!), Mark Seabrook (Operations Director) and Wesley Lynch (CEO) from Snapplify)
As part of its recognition and appreciation for service excellence, Bolt has brought back its Driver’s League competition for new and existing drivers on the platform across Nigeria.
The Bolt Driver’s League competition in its third edition is a driver support initiative aimed at celebrating top performing drivers on the platform by rewarding winners with brand-new cars and other prizes.
Similar to the 2021 edition, the competition will be held for an 8-week period with drivers grouped into different leagues. Overall winners will be selected from the leagues and rewarded with prizes of an overall value of N 20 million including brand-new cars as well as home appliances. The Driver’s League contest showcases Bolt’s commitment to advancing and easing mobility in Nigeria while also supporting the economy with extra earning opportunities.
Commenting on the initiative, Regional Manager for Bolt in West Africa, Ireoluwa Obatoki, said, “We launched this driver support initiative in 2020 and have continued it because we have seen an impressive level of dedication from our community of drivers… The Driver’s League initiative is just one of the ways we appreciate and reward drivers on the Bolt platform for staying with us throughout the year. We have other initiatives focused on driver welfare, including health insurance for top drivers, on-trip accident insurance amongst others, but the Driver’s League initiative is the big scheme we like to have towards the end of the year. The team at Bolt remain committed to the welfare of drivers and and wish to use this as a channel to demonstrate our appreciation to drivers who are central to our operations.”
The Bolt Driver’s League is divided into a Rookie League, Premier League and Championship. The Championship and Premier League are both for existing drivers and will be rewarded with brand-new cars, while the Rookie League is created for new drivers on the Bolt platform. Drivers will be evaluated based on different criteria unique to the different leagues including trips taken, online hours, quality of service , and so on. The contest which is scheduled to run till the 2nd of October 2022 will also award other prizes including refrigerators, washing machines, and other home appliances.
Since it began the yearly driver reward campaign in 2020, Bolt has rewarded drivers with brand-new cars worth over N50,000,000, over N1,000,000 worth of fuel vouchers, household appliances, gift hampers and other gifts worth millions of naira to participating drivers.
Around 1.3 million people die globally each year as a result of road traffic accidents. According to new findings by the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users: pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
Shockingly, road traffic injuries are also the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years.
As a continent, Africa has the highest road accident death rates in the world, with Nigeria topping the list of African countries with the most traffic accident-related fatalities. Speeding is the leading cause of accidents in Nigeria, followed by traffic sign and light violations, wrongful overtaking, and dangerous driving. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 1834 people died out of 3,345 road accidents that occurred in the country between January and March 2022.
These are bleak statistics, made even more grim when the death toll rises among injured drivers, passengers, and pedestrians, following prolonged hospitalisation.
How can being taken care of in a hospital have negative outcomes?
“When a patient injured in a traffic accident is in the hospital undergoing treatment, they’re often immobile for lengthy bouts of time during recovery. Being immobile for prolonged periods of time increases the risk of a person developing thrombosis, or blood clots,” says thrombosis specialist and leading Nigerian haematologist, Dr Helen Okoye. Additionally, patients who have blood vessel trauma due to surgery or because of injuries from a traffic accident are even more likely to develop blood clots,
According to World Thrombosis Day (WTD), a global movement which aims to increase global awareness of thrombosis, more people die from life-threatening conditions caused by thrombosis than the total number of people who lose their lives to AIDS, breast cancer, and car crashes combined.
Blood clotting is a natural occurrence in our bodies as it stops the blood flow from a cut or injury, but when clots develop unnecessarily, they can become life-threatening. A clot can slow or block normal blood flow and even break loose and travel to an organ, which can cause a heart attack, stroke, or venous thromboembolism (VTE) — the top three cardiovascular killers.
Being in hospital is a major risk factor for the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE), explains Dr Okoye. VTE is a potentially fatal medical condition in which a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the leg, groin, or arm (known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and travels through the circulatory system, eventually lodging in the lungs (known as pulmonary embolism (PE).
According to data from WTD, up to 60% of all VTE cases occur during or within 90 days of hospitalisation, making it a leading cause of preventable hospital death.
Understanding your risk and preventing VTE
Because VTE can occur without any warning signs or symptoms and can go unrecognised and undiagnosed by healthcare professionals, it is important that hospitals conduct a VTE risk assessment on patients who are being treated following traffic accidents. This is a simple questionnaire that collects information such as age, medical history, medications, and specific lifestyle factors of a patient to gauge their risk of developing blood clots.
Based on the assessment, the doctor will then send the patient for further tests to verify if they do have a blood clot. Some of these tests are a blood test called a D-Dimer, an ultrasound of the arm or leg to look for the DVT, or a CTPA scan of the chest with intravenous dye to look for a PE.
It’s crucial for all patients who have been involved in a road accident and who are admitted to hospital to receive a risk assessment, advises Dr Okoye. “If a doctor doesn’t do a risk assessment, the patient or their family should ask the doctor for one. Don’t be scared to be proactive and ask the doctor,” she says. This is because scientific evidence suggests that VTEs are often preventable, and evidence-based prevention strategies can stop the development of clots in ‘at-risk’ individuals.
Treatment of ‘at-risk’ patients
Any individual found to be at increased risk for developing blood clots should be given treatment either in the form of anticoagulants, which thin the blood and stop blood from further clotting (but do not break up the blood clots), or thrombolytic therapy (clot busters), or through mechanical devices such as compression stockings. Hospital patients may also be instructed to move around and do foot or leg exercises as soon and as often as possible.
Ensuring that those who make it through the other side of such horrible incidents do not succumb to this often overlooked and easily preventable side-effect of road accidents is vital to reducing the death and disability caused by VTE.
It’s a sobering fact that not only in Nigeria, but globally, traffic accidents are a serious matter – this in-real-time look at daily accidents paints a stark picture. And, although Africa only has four percent of the world’s motor vehicles, African roads witness more than 10% of the world’s total collision fatalities – an alarming figure that is only set to grow as urbanisation, motorisation, and population growth increases.
At the end of yesterday’s trading session, the Nigerian All Share Index closed in green, rising by 0.16% to close at 49,709.46 points.
The performance was due to buying pressures in large-cap stocks such as BUACEMENT (+2.63%) and ZENITHBANK (+0.46%). Consequently, the YTD return increased to 16.37% as market capitalisation improved by ₦43.15 billion to close at ₦26.81 trillion.
The sectoral performance marginally weakened as three of the five indices under coverage declined. The Insurance index, the biggest loser, declined by 0.97% on WAPIC (-6.82%). The Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices followed suit, falling by 0.12% and 0.11% on ETERNA (-4.76%) and PZ (-9.27%). On the flip side, the Industrial and Banking indices, the gainers, improved by 0.96% and 0.31% on BUACEMENT (+2.63%) and ZENITHBANK (+0.46%) respectively.
Investors’ sentiment weakened as the market breadth decreased to 0.45x from 0.71x. This was illustrated by the advance of 10 stocks, led by CUTIX (+7.50%) and LASACO (+5.88%) and the decline of 22 stocks, led by UPDCREIT (-9.86%) and PZ (-9.27%). Activity level weakened as the total volume and value declined by 3.17% and 25.02%, as investors exchanged about 204.16mn units of shares worth over ₦1.64bn.
We expect positive sentiment to persist in the next trading session as the equities market still presents decent opportunities for investors chasing positive real returns on investments.
Fixed Income
There was relatively quiet activity across the bond yield curve as three of the four bond yields under coverage closed flat while the yield on the FGN-JUL-2030 increased by 9bps. The yields on the FGN-APR-2023, FGN-MAR-2024 and FGN-JAN-2026 bonds closed flat at 9.30%, 10.97% and 12.76% respectively.
The Treasury bill yields for the 91, 182 and 364-day papers closed flat at 3.94%, 10.51% and 6.81% respectively.
We expect market activity to be influenced by the liquidity levels in the financial system.
Retail lender, Unity Bank Plc has deployed a new marketing campaign targeted at reaching millions of women entrepreneurs, especially the underbanked across Nigeria with its new retail product, the Yanga account.
Starting this August, the lender shall deploy strategic marketing campaigns leveraging several channels including the traditional and digital media to drive value proposition and increased adoption of the Yanga product.
The Yanga account, which was launched by the lender in November 2021 in line with Unity bank’s strategic vision of being “Nigeria’s retail bank of choice” debuted in four geographical locations: Mararaba/Nassarawa state, Ibadan/Oyo state, Uyo/Akwa Ibom state and Gombe/Gombe state.
Commenting on the new Yanga Market Penetration Campaign, the Divisional Head, Retail and SME, Mr Olufunwa Akinmade stated that “having launched the Yanga Account, unveiled Veteran Actress, Sola Sobowale as “Mama Yanga’’, the new campaign is intended to further provide the engagement platform to empower core target of the product existing in our communities and found amongst millions of underbanked women”.
The product targets women entrepreneurs in the Micro, small and medium enterprises, MSME space, especially the underbanked, offering savings and investment, capacity building, agency banking, dedicated agents, medical insurance and microloans to the women, thereby deepening financial inclusion.
The marketing drive includes a well-targeted television commercial featuring the Bank’s brand ambassador, the award-winning Nollywood actress, Sola Sobowale who was crowned “Mama Yanga” at the launch of the product in November last year because of her strong appeal to the target market. Across the multiple channels deployed for the campaign, “Mama Yanga” will be sharing the stories of how Yanga is empowering women and changing lives across Nigeria.
Yanga is available to all women entrepreneurs nationwide, even as the Bank continues to drive strategic activations of the product across various locations in the country. So far, the activation train has been to Lagos, Nasarawa, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt and Ibadan.
Seeking to promote financial inclusion and cater to the unbanked women entrepreneurs, the new retail product is designed to deepen its beneficial impact on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs operated by women in the mass-market retail space.
The product comes on the heels of Nigeria’s growing imperative to boost access to financial services by women as a recent EFInA report, suggests, “There are 51 million Nigerian women above 18 years of age, with over 41% of them unbanked.”
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
