Summary of the top business, economic and political news in Nigeria today.
- Custodian and Allied Plc., quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with investments in life and non-life insurance, pension fund administration, trusteeship and property holding businesses, has announced a profit before tax (PBT) of N4.7 billion in half year ended 30th June 2017. Link
- The United States Trade Development Agency (USTDA) has provided $797,343 initial funding for the take-off of Eko Petrochemical and Refining Company Limited. Link
- AG Leventis (Nigeria) Plc. posted a loss after tax of N590.416 million for the half year quarter ended June 30, 2017 as against a loss after tax of N335.930 million reported in 2016. Link
- AXA Mansard Insurance Plc., one of the leading insurance companies in Nigeria and a member of the AXA Group, a global leader in insurance and asset management, has recommenced the sale of annuities nationwide in line with the joint guidelines released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the National Pension Commission (PenCom). Link
- Global payments processing company, PayPal, announced at the weekend that it had agreed to acquire Swift Financial, which provides small business owners with working capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the acquisition will give PayPal better tools to expand its own Working Capital product. Link
- Conoil Plc. has assured its shareholders of its commitment to deliver a healthy performance that is consistent with its vision by delivering exceptional service to its customers and adding value to its shareholders’ investment. Link
- Payment for recurring bills and subscription has been made seamless by PayU Nigeria with the introduction of Pay U Subscription. Country Manager of PayU Nigeria Ms Juliet Nwanguma, said in a statement: “PayU Subscription is an innovative product for businesses who are looking to offer subscription and recurring bill payments to their customers.” Link
- The National Insurance Commission has approved the 2016 audited financial report of Universal Insurance Plc. The financial summary revealed that Universal Insurance’ assets grew to N11.89bn; its shareholders’ funds stood at N8.85bn as of December 2016; while the firm’s solvency margin increased to N4.740bn as net operating result grew to N121.68m. Link
- Niger Insurance Plc. said that the group’s assets increased by seven per cent from N20.99bn in 2015 to N22.511bn in the 2016 financial period. Link
- Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc. said the total asset of the group rose by 12 per cent from N46bn in 2015 to N51bn in the 2016 financial period. Link
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the Bank of Industry (BOI), is poised to enhance in bio-diesel refining in the continent with the establishment of the first bio-diesel refinery in Kogi, which will gulp $500,000. Link
- AXA Mansard Insurance Plc., a member of the AXA Group, has reported 36 per cent increase in its Gross Written Premium in the first half of 2017 (H1‘17). The company said its gross premium rose to N17.95 billion in H1‘17 from N13.22 billion in 2016. Link
- Skye bank Plc. has expanded its digital financial offerings by launching SkyeXperience, a unique banking solution to simplify service delivery and personalize the customer experience. Link
- No fewer than 44,000 companies have been delisted from the database of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The commission has also registered over 1.5 million companies. Link
- Authorities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have renewed their commitments to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to protect investors from market abuses and forestall the use of the Nigerian stock market as conduit for illicit wealth. Link
- Regulatory agency, the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), is partnering an investor to roll out embedded power at lower cost at Onne Free Zone within the next eight months, it was learnt yesterday. Link
- The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has said about 45,312 pensioners from the six states of the Southwest are expected to undergo verification from today in four centres. Link
- Insurance practitioners on Friday said that they would soon partner the Federal Government to create a common portal to check issuance of fake insurance documents in Nigeria. The President of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), Mrs Oyinkan Olasanoye, disclosed this in Lagos. Link
- Nigeria has suffered about $2.33 billion oil royalty underpayment from international oil companies (IOCs) in 10 years just as the country begins efforts to plug losses in its oil and gas industry. Link
- As part of efforts to take the welfare of its retiring members to a higher level, the Nigeria Police Force Pensions Limited has created an endowment fund aimed at supporting the immediate resettlement of retiring police officers. Link
- TIER 2 banks suffered N233 billion decline in deposit in the first half of the year (H1 2017) owing to demand for higher deposit rate by customers. Link
- The volume of completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the global insurance industry continued dropping during the first six months of 2017 to 170 deals, compared to 186 deals reported for the second half of 2016. Link
- The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has approved a grant of $1 million (N360 million) for the detailed engineering design of 20,000 barrel per day (bpd) modular refinery in Lagos. Link
- Chinese banks have made commitments to bring in as much money needed to finance oil and gas investments in Nigeria, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, has said. Link
- The Malaysian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Lim Juay Jin has stated that companies in Malaysia will be glad to partner with their Nigerian counterparts to revitalize the nation’s oil palm sector. Link
- The Federal Government has mapped out plans to expand the scope of N401 billion Festival of Arts and Culture (Festac) Phase II developments to generate four million direct and indirect jobs. Link
- Kano State government, Dangote Group of Companies and Black Rhino Group, at the weekend in Kano, signed a $150 million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on solar power project. Link