The Federal Government has approved Ernst and Young to conduct a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In October 2019, President Buhari ordered a forensic audit of NDDC to ascertain the veracity of allegations of corruption at the commission.
The audit, which costs ₦2.5 billion, will examine projects conducted by the commission since 2001. NDDC was set up in 2000 by President Obasanjo to develop the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
Briefing reporters at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the State House, Abuja, the Minister of Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said the decision followed the approval of a memorandum he presented to the council for the appointment of field auditors to commence the forensic audit.
According to him, aside from the appointment of the lead auditor earlier approved in March, appointments of eight more auditors have been approved for the forensic investigation.
He described one of the audit firms, Ernst and Young, as an international company which will coordinate forensic activities at the headquarters.
Akpabio said the output of the audits would be beneficial to the Niger Delta region because it would reveal the number of monies released to NDDC in the last 19 years and determine whether such releases were commensurate with developments in the region.
“By the time I assumed office in August 2019, we discovered there was no budget for the NDDC for the year 2019 up to that September. So, we submitted two budgets in November to the National Assembly, and it took quite a while until in April.
“The budget details were given out to the NDDC in April, to the end of May, less than six weeks. So, there was a provision of N1.25 billion in the budget of 2019 for the forensic audit exercise. So, basically what delayed it was the absence of a budget, not the absence of the will.
“Unfortunately, the National Assembly is right now on leave and the budget of NDDC for 2020 has not been passed. So, to enable us to move forward with the exercise and complete it on time, Mr. President graciously directed and approved that the payment for the forensic exercise should be undertaken through the presidency,” he said.
Akpabio stated that the approval of N722.3 million by FEC for the audit was an addition to the N318 million earlier approved, adding that the field audit would be completed within the next two weeks after which another group of eight auditors would be hired to conclude the exercise.
“So, the first amount that was approved for the lead forensic auditors was about N318 million and then for this batch of eight field auditors, N722.3 million. We expect to complete the field audit in the next one or two weeks to conclude forensic audit procurement by bringing in further seven to eight of them because of the number of years – 19 years and that will conclude it.
“Earlier, Mr. President had last year approved an estimated amount of N2.5 billion. So, everything that we are spending now will come from that estimated sum. Initially, it should have come from the budget of the NDDC but because of the delay and the inability to pass the 2020 budget, the entirety of the amount that will be spent will come from the budget of the presidency,” he said.
Despite the significant increase in the number of cases and drug seizures, the 9,479 suspects arrested in 2019 was a number marginally lower than the 9,779 arrested in 2018 which represents a decrease of -3.07%.
Drug Seizure and Arrest Statistics 2019 published on Thursday, August 27, 2020, showed that 86% of drug cases in Nigeria in 2019 were recorded in the northern region.
Guinness Nigeria Plc, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, has announced its audited results for the period ended 30 June 2020 revealing a decline in profit after tax at N12.57bn resulting from the significant impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and ongoing economic challenges.
The audited results which were released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the financial year-end indicated that revenue decreased 21% to N104.376bn versus the prior period of 2019.
Key Highlights
Revenue decreased by 21%
Operating profit declined 243%
Cost of sales declined 22%
Net finance charges at N4.24bn
Profit was impacted by a number of one-off accounting adjustments totalling N17.2b, as well as volume declines due to the prevailing economic and COVID-19 impacted conditions. This led to a net loss after tax of N12.6b. Excluding the accounting adjustments, the underlying performance remains strong despite the impacted top-line performance.
Speaking on the announcement, Mr. Baker Magunda, Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc said:
“The last quarter performance of fiscal 2020 was significantly impacted by restrictions due to COVID-19, exacerbating the already challenging economic environment. Closures of on-trade premises (bars, lounges, clubs and dine-in restaurants) which represent the major part of the consumption occasion for our products; and bans on celebratory occasions impacted sales.”
“Demand was also impacted by reduced consumer income, unemployment concerns due to the shutdown of a large number of businesses, and increases of VAT and excise throughout the year,”Magunda explained.
“Distribution was further impacted by the ban of inter-state, and in some cases intra-state travel. Although Management worked diligently with regulatory authorities to minimise the impact, this hampered our distributors’ ability to restock and have our brands available for purchase”.
The company, however, revealed that its reaction to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 lockdown in Q4 was centred around reducing risk to the business by focusing on cash delivery, reducing distributor inventories, and fast-tracking the ongoing distribution transformation project for efficient sales operations. This focus ensured a reduction of trade receivables by 88% over the same period last year.
“We also focused on cost management by reacting to the drop in demand by reducing operations for a month. Agile actions taken in the period impacted by COVID-19 complemented the work already undertaken throughout the year to reduce Cost of Sales by year-end.”,Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Baker Magunda said.
“Going into the new fiscal year, we are conscious of the continued challenging operating environment with double-digit inflation and pressured consumer income spending. However, we believe the focus we have put in optimising our route to consumer, reducing credit risk and managing cost control will position us to emerge even stronger from the current crisis. We remain confident about the execution and resilience of our Total Beverage Alcohol strategy as a key driver of sustainable growth in the market”,he added.
The Chairman of the Board of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Babatunde Savage assured that“the Board will continue to support the Management in its efforts to sustain global best practices aimed at consistently delivering business growth for stakeholders. We remain confident that the strategy is comprehensive and robust, and that we are making the right investments in the company to ensure our long-term competitiveness”.
Durbar festival MALTA GUINNESS
Guinness Nigeria, a subsidiary of Diageo Plc of the United Kingdom, was incorporated in 1962 with the building of a brewery in Ikeja, the heart of Lagos. The brewery was the first Guinness operation outside Ireland and Great Britain. Other breweries have been opened over time: Benin City brewery in 1973 and Ogba brewery in 1963.
Guinness Nigeria further packages and markets beverages such as Guinness Stout, Malta Guinness, Harp lager, Guinness Gold etc.
The COVID-19 pandemic found the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa generally ill-prepared to contain the virus or to deal with its economic fallout. First, the capacity of the health-care system to contain the spread of infection, handle emergencies and provide care for the sick was very weak, due, partly, to many years of underinvestment in the health-care system.
Second, there was a lack of fiscal space to adequately fund either containment interventions in the health sector or safety nets to ameliorate the effects of these interventions, particularly for low-income members of the population.
Third, for a majority of the poor, a combination of low personal precautionary savings and an inability to access the credit system in the absence of a formal welfare system meant that they had no means to finance their survival during lockdowns. A sharp decline of remittances exacerbated this difficulty.
These features shaped not only the type and effectiveness of responses to the pandemic but also their impacts on lives and livelihoods in the region.
At the 4th Annual Progress Review and Planning Meeting (ARPM) of the second phase of the Yam Improvement for Income and Food Security in West Africa (YIIFSWA-II) project, the honourable Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Alhaji Sabo Nanono represented by Mrs Karima Babangida, Director, Federal Department of Agricultural (FDA) in her keynote address to the project stated that “Nigeria so far has been unable to meet its seed yam demand with the prevailing production systems and practices. The current seed yam demand at the office of the FMARD is about 66,000 metric tons (MT) with an approximate value of N26.4 billion ($75.43 million). However, the current annual production of seed yam is approximately 13,200 (MT) valued at N5.2 billion ($15.1 million). This production effectively translates to a supply gap of about 52,800 MT valued at N21.12 billion ($60.33 million). This gap, therefore, requires a seed yam systems revolution in the industry!”
She commended IITA for developing through YIIFSWA, High Ratio Propagation Technologies (HRPTs), and diagnostic tools “that are capable of raising the productivity of yam within a short period.” She urged both National Research institutes and private seed companies to adopt the technologies to “reverse the unhealthy situation of the yam sector and increase the productivity and competitiveness of Nigerian yam globally.”
Although Nigeria is the largest producer of yam in the world due to the area dedicated to yam production, it has one of the lowest productivities per hectare. Based on FAO statistics, the Nigerian farmer produces only about 7.9 tons per hectare due to several constraint. The foremost is the unavailability of quality seed yam of both popular local and improved varieties.
To effectively reverse the current situation in Nigeria, farmers need access to at least 12.5 million MT of quality seed yam to cover the reported area (harvested) of about 6 million hectares (FAO, 2018). Mrs. Babangida stated that the intervention was timely because “the breakthrough would boost the production of seed yam, increase the yields per hectare, boost income for farmers and increase the GDP of the country since quality seed yam accounts for over 50% of the increase in yield.” She informed the project stakeholders that the government, For its part, has included yam as a priority crop in the 2020 fiscal year and assured the project of the government’s support.
IITA through YIIFSWA-II has scaled out the HRPTs (temporary immersion bioreactor system, aeroponics system, vine cuttings, and the adapted yam minisett technique) for commercial seed yam production and the diagnostic tools for yam quality assurance to four National Research Institutes, two regulatory agencies and eight private seed companies involved in seed production in Nigeria and Ghana.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe have both earned coveted spots on the U.S. News & World Report “Best New Cars for Teens” list and the 2017 Hyundai Tucson has been selected to be included on the “Best Used SUV for Teens” list. All three vehicles have a 5-Star Overall Safety Rating from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and are recipients of a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
You won’t find too many jokes about ‘digital transformation’. It’s a serious business. And if you ask who is doing it, every corporate will raise their hands – but there’s little agreement around exactly what it is, the implications for the organisation, how to go about it. RMB’s recent retail client webinar, featuring Wits’ Prof Brian Armstrong, provided strong direction.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by -6.10% year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, ending the 3-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the global automotive industry, causing supply chain disruptions and factory closures. All of this placed intense pressure on the market already coping with a downshift in global demand.
Hampshire, UK – 24th August 2020: A new study from Juniper Research has found that digital ticketing transaction volumes will exceed pre-COVID levels by 2022; rising from 12.7 billion in 2020 to 32 billion in 2022. It anticipates that continued easing of global travel restrictions will drive increased demand for mobile ticketing in the rail, metro and bus sectors, as commuters return to work.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Environment in partnership with IITA, under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), commissioned a cassava processing factory in Korokoro Community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The All Share Index (ASI) snapped a six-day gaining streak to ease by 10bps to 25,304.25 points on Thursday as investors took profit on DANGCEM (-0.59%), ACCESS(-2.34%), and ZENITH (-0.59%).
Consequently, YTD moderated to -5.73%, while WTD, MTD and QTD declined to +0.33%, +2.47%, and +3.37% respectively.
Investors lost N13.48 billion as market capitalization declined to N13.20 trillion. Volume traded rose 39.04% and a total of 251.3 million units of equities were traded in 2,954 deals worth N1.579 billion.
The top active stocks were UACN (111.87 million units), UBA (24.96 million units), FBNH (20.90 million units), ACCESS (13.93 million units) and TRANSCORP (7.91 million units).
By value, the top stocks were UACN (N643.19 million), UBA (N159.48 million), ZENITH (N125.73 million), FBNH (N104.54 million) and GUARANTY(N96.99 million).
Investors’ sentiment weakened on Thursday with market breadth declining to 0.58X compared to 3X in the previous day?s trading session on the back of the 11 stocks advancing against 19 laggards.
Top gainers in the day were MAYBAKER (+9.89%), UPL (+9.40%), MANSARD (+6.36%), JAIZBANK (+5.00%) and NB (+2.78%). On the other hand, the biggest decliners were CHIPLC (-8.11%), FIDSON (-7.25%), LASACO (-6.06%), LIVESTOCK (-4.76%) and CHAMS(-4.55%).
2 out of 5 sector indices under our coverage closed in the green. The Insurance Index gained 64bps and Consumer Goods Index advanced by 52bps. Oil and Gas Index remained flat, while Industrial Goods Index and Banking Index shed 37bps and 33bps respectively.
The Nigerian National Oil Organization (NNPC), on Sunday, said it made a sum of $4.60billion from raw petroleum and gas sent out between June 2019 and 2020.
You won’t find too many jokes about ‘digital transformation’. It’s a serious business. And if you ask who is doing it, every corporate will raise their hands – but there’s little agreement around exactly what it is, the implications for the organisation, how to go about it. RMB’s recent retail client webinar, featuring Wits’ Prof Brian Armstrong, provided strong direction.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by -6.10% year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, ending the 3-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the global automotive industry, causing supply chain disruptions and factory closures. All of this placed intense pressure on the market already coping with a downshift in global demand.
Hampshire, UK – 24th August 2020: A new study from Juniper Research has found that digital ticketing transaction volumes will exceed pre-COVID levels by 2022; rising from 12.7 billion in 2020 to 32 billion in 2022. It anticipates that continued easing of global travel restrictions will drive increased demand for mobile ticketing in the rail, metro and bus sectors, as commuters return to work.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Environment in partnership with IITA, under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), commissioned a cassava processing factory in Korokoro Community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe have both earned coveted spots on the U.S. News & World Report “Best New Cars for Teens” list and the 2017 Hyundai Tucson has been selected to be included on the “Best Used SUV for Teens” list. All three vehicles have a 5-Star Overall Safety Rating from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and are recipients of a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
Leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the introduction of its Unlimited Ultra Plans, a new value offering that is designed to ensure it’s Home Broadband customers do not run out of data while enjoying superior, uncapped speed and continuous broadband connectivity to the internet.
According to Airtel, the new offering, which is available only to Routers and Outdoor Unit (ODU) customers, will offer telecom consumers the freedom to do more and become more productive without worrying about data speed reduction and utilization, ensuring that customers ‘Never Run Out of Data.’
With the ‘New Unlimited Ultra Plans’, customers have four distinct packages to choose from which include ‘Unlimited Ultra Weekly’, ‘Unlimited Ultra Standard’, ‘Unlimited Ultra Diamond’ and ‘Unlimited Ultra Platinum’, each package comes with unlimited Data, Uncapped speed and applicable Fair Usage Policy (FUP).
Customers who purchase Unlimited Ultra weekly, which is pricedat N5,000 only will enjoy Unlimited Data for 7 days with a FUP of 30GB plus 1GB data daily after FUP, whilst Customers who purchase the Unlimited Ultra Standard for N20,000 will enjoy Unlimited Data for 30 days with a FUP of 130GB plus 3GB data daily after FUP.
For Unlimited Ultra Diamond, which can be purchased for N30,000 and Unlimited Ultra Platinum for N60,000 only, Customers will enjoy Unlimited Data for 30 Days with a FUP of 210 GB and 550 GB respectively plus 3GB data daily after FUP.
Commenting on the new offer, Godfrey Efeurhobo, Director, Home Broadband, Airtel Nigeria, said the Unlimited Ultra plans will further enrich Home Broadband customers experience. According to him, the Unlimited Ultra plans have been designed to meet the growing demand for quality Home Broadband experience with consideration for those working from home, schooling remotely and enjoying home entertainment.
“Airtel is committed to creating unique and innovative value propositions that will make life simpler, easier, better and more fun for all its customers. With this compelling Unlimited Ultra plans, we are confident that telecoms consumers in the Home Broadband segment will have an enriched experience and further empowered to realize their full potentials,” he said.
The Nigerian National Oil Organization (NNPC), on Sunday, said it made a sum of $4.60billion from raw petroleum and gas sent out between June 2019 and 2020.
You won’t find too many jokes about ‘digital transformation’. It’s a serious business. And if you ask who is doing it, every corporate will raise their hands – but there’s little agreement around exactly what it is, the implications for the organisation, how to go about it. RMB’s recent retail client webinar, featuring Wits’ Prof Brian Armstrong, provided strong direction.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by -6.10% year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, ending the 3-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the global automotive industry, causing supply chain disruptions and factory closures. All of this placed intense pressure on the market already coping with a downshift in global demand.
Hampshire, UK – 24th August 2020: A new study from Juniper Research has found that digital ticketing transaction volumes will exceed pre-COVID levels by 2022; rising from 12.7 billion in 2020 to 32 billion in 2022. It anticipates that continued easing of global travel restrictions will drive increased demand for mobile ticketing in the rail, metro and bus sectors, as commuters return to work.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Environment in partnership with IITA, under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), commissioned a cassava processing factory in Korokoro Community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata awarded “Best New Car for Teens $30K to $35K”
The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe awarded “Best New SUV for Teens $35K to $40K”
The 2017 Hyundai Tucson awarded “Best Used SUV for Teens, Small SUVs”
August 27, 2020 – The 2020 Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe have both earned coveted spots on the U.S. News & World Report “Best New Cars for Teens” list and the 2017 Hyundai Tucson has been selected to be included on the “Best Used SUV for Teens” list. All three vehicles have a 5-Star Overall Safety Rating from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and are recipients of a Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)*.
“Having three of our vehicles named among ’The Best Cars for Teens‘ signifies our dedication to creating a reassuring driving experience for teens and parents by having the latest safety technologies in our vehicles,” said Scott Margason, director, product planning, Hyundai Motor America. “We pride ourselves on offering the best combination of reliability, crash protection and accident avoidance features.”
Vehicles awarded “Best New Cars for Teens” are ranked based on having the best combination of predicted reliability ratings, crash test scores, available advanced driver assistance features and top critics’ recommendations in the U.S. News Best Cars rankings in its price category.
Winners named “Best Used Cars for Teens” must be from the 2015-2017 model years and have the best combination of dependability and safety ratings, ownership costs, positive reviews from critics when the vehicles were new and available technology that can help prevent crashes or lessen their severity.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata maximizes occupant safety with available active and passive safety technologies, such as Hyundai’s latest SmartSense advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These series of sensors and systems, often restricted to luxury cars, combine to potentially warn the driver and may take action in the event of a safety incident. The model’s third-generation vehicle platform delivers an improvement in collision safety for drivers.
The 2020 Santa Fe comes with newly added safety features and repackaged equipment for enhanced customer value. The newly developed Blind-View Monitor is standard on Limited models and complements the available Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, which provides easy-to-see body-side views on either side of the vehicle whenever the turn signal is activated. The 2020 model also offers a new Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) that can help drivers to be alerted if a person or pet is present in the rear seat when the driver leaves the vehicle.
The 2017 Tucson is an SUV in Hyundai’s lineup that from the get-go was engineered to provide its passengers with safety and security. This SUV has available AEB Advanced safety technologies such as AEB with pedestrian detection, Lane Departure Warning System, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross-traffic Alert, Lane Change Assist, Backup Warning Sensors and a standard rearview camera are offered.
Earlier the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) published the highly anticipated Q2-2020 GDP numbers. Unsurprisingly, economic activities contracted in Q2-2020. According to the report, real GDP declined by 6.1% y/y (significantly more than our estimate), representing the steepest economic decline in Nigeria in over three decades. Clearly, this is attributed to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global lockdown measures on the various sectors of the economy. Notably, of the 19 sectors in the NBS’s classification, 13 recorded contraction while 6 sectors recorded expansion. The bright spots included Financial Services, Telecoms, Coal Mining, Utilities, and Agric. Specifically, the Financial Institution and Telecommunication sectors were stand-out performers with 28.4% and 18.1% expansion, respectively. Clearly, credit growth amid CBN’s LDR policy, FX revaluation gains, increased digital adoption and strategic positioning of these sectors supported their performance. On the contrary, Oil Refining, Road, Air, Rail & Pipelines Transports, Accommodation & Food Services, as well as Construction were the worst hit with over 30.0% contraction each or -52.0% on average.
Oil GDP: Hit on all side in Q2-2020
As expected, the Nigerian Oil sector steeply contracted by -6.6% y/y in real terms in Q2- 2020 (vs. +7.2% and +5.1% in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020 respectively). Notably, the y/y contraction was fueled by a 12.6% y/y decline in oil production to 1.81mbpd in Q2-2020 (the lowest level since Q1-2017) amid the country’s compliance to OPEC+ output quota during the period. In terms of contribution to overall GDP, the oil sector contribution slid to 8.9%, (vs 9.0% and 9,5% in Q2-2019and Q1-2020 respectively).
Non-Oil GDP: A broad-based contraction
The non-oil real GDP contracted for the first time since Q3-2017 by -6.1% in Q2-2020 (vs.
+1.6% in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020, respectively. This was on the back of slow growth in the Agriculture sector which grew 1.58% (vs 1.79% in Q2-2019 and 2.20% in Q1-2020), coupled with contraction in Services sector, -6.78% in Q2-2020 (vs 1.94% in Q2-2019 and 1.57% in Q1- 2020) and the Industrial sector, down 12.05% (vs 2.84% in Q2-2019 and 2.26% in Q1-2020). However, there were a few bright spots within the non-oil sector. Notably, the Financial Services and the ICT sector which contributed a total of 22.0% to real GDP jumped by
Sources: National Bureau of Statistics, United Capital Research
28.4% and 18.1% respectively in Q2-2020. Overall, 13 sub-sectors within the non-oil GDP classification grew while 32 contracted.
Agric GDP: Inter-state restrictions and planting season left an underwhelming imprint
Agriculture sector GDP slowed to 1.58% in Q2-2020 y/y as restriction in movements coupled with extension of planting season into Q2-2020 left an underwhelming imprint on the sector. This is a slowdown relative to the 1.8% and 2.2% recorded in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020, respectively. Specifically, Crop Production which accounts for above 85.0% of the sector’s GDP was marginally up by 1.4% (vs. 1.9% and 2.4% in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020, respectively). Similarly, growth in the Forestry sub-sector slowed to 1.1% y/y in Q2-2020 (vs 3.2% and 1.7% y/y in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020, respectively). Meanwhile, the Livestock sub-sector – the second largest contributor to Agric. GDP (at c. 7-8%) saw a faster growth of +2.26% (vs – 0.1% and +0.6% in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020, respectively). Also, Fishery sub-sector recorded a faster growth of 5.68% (vs 1.1% and 1.5% in Q2-2019 and Q1-2020, respectively).
Manufacturing Sector: 11 of 13 sub-sectors contracts in Q2-2020
The manufacturing sector was one of the worst hit sectors in Q2-2020, declining 8.78%y/y. Analysing the component of the subsector showed that only 2 out of the 13 sub sectors recorded growth. Specifically, the Chemical and Pharmaceutical sub-sector (+3.8% y/y) posted its fastest growth in more than three years in Q2-2020. This is unsurprising considering the intervention fund channeled towards the pharmaceutical companies as well as the increased demand for pharmaceutical products in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, the Motor Vehicles and Assembly sub-sector was up 6.95% y/y (vs 1.04% y/y in Q1- 2020). Meanwhile, the Oil Refining (-67.66% y/y), Electrical and Electronics (-28.41% y/y),
Pulp Paper and Paper Products (-28.16%) as well as Non-metallic Products ( -22.78% y/y) recorded the sharpest decline within the sector. Overall, the manufacturing sector contributed 8.82% to aggregate GDP in Q2-2020, down 83bps compared to Q1-2020.
Outlook: Q2-2020 is as worst as it gets for 2020
For the rest of the year, we believe the sharp contraction recorded in Q2-2020 is as worst as it can get for the year as the government continues to phase-out lockdown measures implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 within the country. However, we expect economic performance to remain contractionary through H2-2020 as business activities continue to struggle to return to their pre-COVID-19 levels. This signals that recession will kick in fully by Q3-2020E, as key sectors such as Oil & Gas, Trade, Agric, Aviation, other Manufacturing & Services, accounting for over 50% of real GDP, may not rebound fully by end of September 2020.
Specifically, we expect Nigeria’s compliance to OPEC+ production cut agreement (capped at 1.50mbpd from August-2020 to Dec-2020) and compensation for prior months overproduction with deeper cut to limit production to below pre-COVID-19 levels of above 2.0mbpd. Hence, oil sector GDP is expected to remain pressured. Also, contrary to our initial optimistic position for the non-oil sector to recover by Q4-2020, we now assume the sector will remain contractionary through Q3 and Q4-2020E. This assumption is predicated on the negative impact of the current FX scarcity, pressure on consumer spending amid rising inflation and unemployment rates, would continue to have on volumes growth. Thus, offsetting the anticipated gains from easing economic restrictions and liquidity injections from both the monetary and fiscal sides. However, we believe sectors such as the ICT, Agriculture, and Financial Services, which contribute c. 45.0% to real GDP, will continue to stay resilient during the dark times in Q3 and Q4-2020.
Adjusting our model estimates for all the above, we have further lowered our real GDP growth forecast for FY-2020E from -2.69% to between -2.95% and -3.14%. The biggest downside risk to this projection remains the coronavirus related worries, especially if the virus continues to spread rapidly in the rest of the world as this may continue to hurt oil prices. Thus, this might delay the possibility of an early recovery or a V-shape recovery to a more strenuous U-shape or W-shape recovery.
Lagos and London – August 27, 2020: The Board of Directors of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plcis pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Arunma Oteh, OON and Mr. Xavier Rolet KBE as Independent Non-Executive Directors of the Company, joining the Seplat Board with effect from October 1, 2020.
Ms. Arunma Oteh, OON is a seasoned C-suite executive with several years of experience operating at the highest levels at major multilateral agencies, global financial institutions and in Government. She has been an academic scholar at University of Oxford since January 2019 and a member of the London Stock Exchange Africa Advisory Group since January 2020.
Ms. Oteh served as Treasurer and Vice President of the World Bank from 2015 to 2018. As Treasurer, she led a global team that managed the World Bank’s $200 billion debt portfolio as well as an asset portfolio of $200 billion for the World Bank Group and several public sector clients including 65 central banks.
She was responsible for a $600 billion derivatives portfolio used for hedging and risk management purposes. She had oversight over a treasury operation with an annual cash flow of $7 trillion and led an extensive public sector financial advisory business, pioneering a number of innovative solutions such as the world’s first-ever pandemic bond in 2017 and blockchain public bond in 2018.
Ms. Oteh was the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. As Director-General of Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, she was responsible for the regulation of Nigeria’s capital markets, including the Nigerian Stock Exchange and led the rebuilding of the capital markets after the global financial crisis.
She also served on Nigeria’s Economic Management team, chaired by the Nigerian President. Previous to SEC Nigeria, she worked at the Africa Development Bank for 17 years in a variety of roles including Group Vice President, Corporate Services (2006 to 2009) and Group Treasurer (2001 to 2006).
Her career started in 1985 at Centre Point Investments Limited, a Nigerian investment bank. Ms. Oteh has also served on several Boards, notably, the International Organization of Securities Commissions(2010 to 2015) which regulates 95% of the world’s securities markets. She obtained a first-class honours degree in Computer Science, from the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1984 and a Master’s degree in Business Administration, from Harvard Business School in 1990.
She has received several recognitions, notably, the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) National Honour for her contribution to the economic development of Nigeria and role in transforming the Nigerian capital markets. She was also named the 2014 Ai Capital Market Personality of the Year and among New African’s “100 Most Influential Africans of 2015”.
In 2018, she was honoured as the Ai Global Institutional Investment Personality of the Year, and in 2020, was named both the top 100 people in the UK of African heritage, by Power list and Africa top 50 women by Forbes.
Mr. Xavier Rolet, KBE. is an experienced CEO, Co-Founder, and Entrepreneur. Named as one of the 100 Best CEOs in the World in the 2017 Harvard Business Review, Mr. Rolet has demonstrated a history of successful turnarounds in the global financial services industry.
In his decade at the helm of the London Stock Exchange, the LSE’s market valuation rose from £800m to more than £15bn, transforming it into one of the world’s largest exchanges by market capitalization. He is currently the Chairman, Board of Directors at Phosagro PJSC, a member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Stock Exchange Tadawul as an appointee of the Public Investment Fund, and an Expert Adviser to the Shanghai Institute of Finance for the Real Economy.
He has held various senior positions in the financial services industry throughout his career: CEO of CQS, a global hedge fund; CEO of Banque Lehman Brothers in Paris; co-head of Global Equity & Derivatives Trading at Lehman Brothers New York; Global Head of Risk and Trading at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein; Vice-President, International Equity Risk Arbitrage at Goldman Sachs New York; and co-Head of European Equities Sales and Trading at Goldman Sachs International Ltd in London.
Mr. Rolet received his post-graduate degree in Defense Studies and Economic Intelligence from Institut des Hautes études de défense Nationale (“IHEDN”), an MBA in International Finance from Columbia Business School, and an MSc in Management from Kedge Business School.
Mr. Rolet is an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France, an Officer of the Royal Sharifian Order of Al-Alawi, and a Member of the Order of Friendship of the Russian Federation.
Commenting on the appointments, Dr. Bryant Orjiako, Chairman of SEPLAT said:
“The Board of SEPLAT is delighted to be joined by two such distinguished international business leaders.
Both Arunma Oteh and Xavier Rolet bring extensive expertise in the fields of regulation, capital markets and business governance and their knowledge and wisdom will be a great addition to our Board. SEPLAT has a great future ahead and I look forward to the immense contribution they will make towards the continuing success of the Company .”
This announcement is being made in accordance with Rule 4 of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Amended Listing Rules and Rule 9.6.11 of the UK Listing Rules.
Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc is Nigeria’s leading indigenous energy company. It is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE: SEPLAT) and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE: SEPL).
Seplat is pursuing a Nigeria-focused growth strategy and is well-positioned to participate in future asset divestments by international oil companies, farm-in opportunities, and future licensing rounds. The Company is a leading supplier of gas to the domestic power generation market.
Every single one of our local government areas will be obliged to organise their farmers into cooperative units.
Farmers will be encouraged to sell their produce, buy seedlings, pesticides and fertilisers, as well as farming equipment through their co-operatives to maximise efficiency and overhead costs.
Every local government area must build at least one food storage facility within its domain.
An agricultural tax will be paid to the local government to help provide and maintain the necessary services to support farming programmes.
Agricultural cooperatives will be encouraged to move into value-added activities and will be provided with loans to facilitate this
A National bank of Agriculture will be established to offer loans to farming cooperatives at competitive rates.
Farmers will be encouraged to venture into organic agriculture because of the high premiums that these commands.
Cooperatives will be encouraged to buy their members high-yielding hybrid seedlings to enhance the unit-per-head output.
Seed companies will be offered tax holidays to come and set up plants and facilities within Nigeria.
Processing companies and food manufacturers like Cadbury, Nestle, Mars, Kelloggs, Tate & Lyle, Unilever etc, will be encouraged to establish plants in Nigeria to facilitate vertically integrated production. Our ultimate goal is to export finished, packaged and shelf-ready products to international markets.
The Nigerian National Oil Organization (NNPC), on Sunday, said it made a sum of $4.60billion from raw petroleum and gas sent out between June 2019 and 2020.
You won’t find too many jokes about ‘digital transformation’. It’s a serious business. And if you ask who is doing it, every corporate will raise their hands – but there’s little agreement around exactly what it is, the implications for the organisation, how to go about it. RMB’s recent retail client webinar, featuring Wits’ Prof Brian Armstrong, provided strong direction.
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by -6.10% year-on-year) in real terms in the second quarter of 2020, ending the 3-year trend of low but positive real growth rates recorded since the 2016/17 recession.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the global automotive industry, causing supply chain disruptions and factory closures. All of this placed intense pressure on the market already coping with a downshift in global demand.
Hampshire, UK – 24th August 2020: A new study from Juniper Research has found that digital ticketing transaction volumes will exceed pre-COVID levels by 2022; rising from 12.7 billion in 2020 to 32 billion in 2022. It anticipates that continued easing of global travel restrictions will drive increased demand for mobile ticketing in the rail, metro and bus sectors, as commuters return to work.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Environment in partnership with IITA, under the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), commissioned a cassava processing factory in Korokoro Community, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.
This week, FBNQuest is sharing the findings of the third round of COVID-19 Impact Monitoring, a telephone survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) with support from the World Bank. The bureau contacted the same 1,950 Nigerian households in April/May, between 02 and 16 June, and now between 02 and 16 July. The first survey was held during the selective lockdown, the second once some restrictions had been eased and the third when the country was making further steps towards what passes for normality. At this stage, a total of twelve rounds are planned with the World Bank.
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