
Joe Biden appoints Nigerian-born Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo as Counsel

Global Credit Rating reaffirms Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc ‘A-‘rating

Notore chemicals shuts down 500,000 MTPA fertiliser plant for turn around maintenance

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Football: Southampton announces £76.1m loss for 2019/20 financial results
Business News
AFC to ink $100 million investment deal in Nigeria’s mining sector
Africa Finance Corporation announces investment in Nigeria’s mining sector
Published
2 years agoon

The Senior Vice President of Africa Finance Corporation, Investments, Begna Gebreyes has announced that the financial agency is about to ink a $100 million (N36.5 billion) investment deal in Nigeria’s mining sector.
While making known that AFC is a very big supporter of the Nigerian mining sector from inception, Gebreyes said about half of the planned investment into the mining sector is coming by way of debt, equity, and off-take instruments.
Gebreyes said, “AFC is a very big supporter of the Nigerian mining sector from inception. We want to support the Nigerian mining sector from inception. In the last four and half years, we have started making investments throughout the continent, and we’re actively seeking to make investments in Nigeria.”
The AFC chief noted that the financial institution was wrapping up an investment deal in Nigeria, adding: “We’re very close. We are in a transaction which will be concluded before the end of the year.”
How investors can take advantage of Nigeria’s mining sector
Nigeria is no doubt blessed with multiple mineral resources aside crude. The solid minerals potential, if given its deserved attention, could bolster economic growth.
Mineral resources’ contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was abysmally low, hovering within the region of N103 billion in 2014 despite the country being blessed with over 44 types of solid minerals in varying quantities across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) of the country.
In view of this, it would not be erroneous to say Nigeria’s mining sector has been dormant and abandoned for illegal miners to profit from, while genuine investors have been made to look on.
The scenario endured in the sector until crude oil prices crashed. Consequently, the Federal Government decided to diversify the economy, making mining and agriculture the priority.
Nigeria’s solid minerals sector had no clear-cut structure for discerning investors to invest. In view of the pending challenge, it may be a good time for anyone intending to invest in the mining sector.
About AFC
The Africa Finance Corporation is a pan-African multilateral development finance institution established in 2007 to bridge Africa’s infrastructure investment gap through the provision of debt and equity finance, project development, technical and financial advisory services.
The financial institution finances infrastructure projects in Africa, focusing in particular on power, transportation, telecommunications, heavy industry and natural resources (oil, gas and mining
Famuyiwa Damilare is a trained journalist. He holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication at the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ).Damilare is an innovative and transformational leader with broad-based expertise in journalism and media practice at large. He has explored his proven ability in the areas of reporting, curating and generating contents, creatively establishing social media engagements, and mobile editing of videos. It is safe to say he’s a multimedia journalist.


Appointments
Joe Biden appoints Nigerian-born Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo as Counsel
Nigerian-American, Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo has been appointed as a member of the office of the White House Counsel.

Published
7 mins agoon
January 15, 2021
U.S President-elect, Joe Biden, announced the appointment of Nigerian-American Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo as a member of the office of the White House Counsel, to serve as an Associate Counsel.
He announced it this week in a statement seen on his transition website.
A part of the statement reads:
- “The Counsels are experienced and accomplished individuals, have a wide range of knowledge from various fields and will be ready to get to work on day one.”
What you should know about Funmi Badejo
- Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo, before the announcement, was General Counsel of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by House Majority Whip, James E. Clyburn.
- Other government roles she has served include serving as Counsel for Policy to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Ethics Counsel at the White House Counsel’s Office, and Attorney Advisor at the Administrative Conference of the United States during the Obama-Biden administration.
- She started her career as an associate with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and was also a Legal Counsel at Palantir Technologies Inc.
- She is a graduate of Political Science from the University of Florida, with a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard University and holds a Law Doctorate from the University of California School of Law.
- She becomes the 3rd Nigerian American to be appointed under the Biden Government.
Biden’s transition committee said the new Counsels would work under the direction of White House Counsel, Dana Remus, and “help restore faith in the rule of law and the accountability of government institutions.”
In case you missed it
Corporate Press Releases
Global Credit Rating reaffirms Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc ‘A-‘rating
Global Credit Rating Limited has reaffirmed an A-rating for Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc.

Published
10 mins agoon
January 15, 2021
Global Credit Rating Limited, an international rating agency, has reaffirmed an A-rating for Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc.
According to a press release signed by the firm’s Deputy General Manager, Olusegun Bankole, and seen by Nairametrics, the insurance firm has consistently maintained its rating for over a decade now.
The key drivers that helped in the reaffirmation of the A-rating by the firm are;
- Consistency in paying her claims obligations over the years, as captured in an earlier solvency and operational report for financial institutions in Nigeria and other allied businesses, released by the rating agency in December 2020.
- Listing of rights issue in 2019 which helped to increase the shareholders’ funds of the company to N8.2 billion as at Q3 2020, up by 31% Year-on-Year. This played a catalyst role in maintaining the A-rating status of the firm.
- The capital adequacy of the firm was also pivotal.
According to the information available on the website of the rating agency, the A-rating reflects high claims-paying ability, strong protection factors, modest risk which may vary over time due to economic and/or underwriting conditions.
This fact was buttressed by a section in the press release which reads:
- “Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc has great potentials for growth in the years ahead, considering some of the strategies that have been put in place to propel its operations. Global Credit Rating noted that the company has shown a great deal of consistency in her claims obligations to her numerous customers spread all over the country.”
About Global Credit Rating Limited
- Global Credit Rating Co (Pty) Ltd (GCR) operates as a credit rating services provider. The Company ratings for banks, financial institutions, insurance, corporate and public sector debt, and structured finance serves customers worldwide.
Manufacturing
Notore chemicals shuts down 500,000 MTPA fertiliser plant for turn around maintenance
Notore Chemicals has shut down its fertiliser plant for turn around maintenance, in expectation of significant improvement in the Plant’s reliability index.
Published
3 hours agoon
January 15, 2021
Notore Chemicals has shut down its fertiliser plant with a 500,000MTPA nameplate capacity for maintenance, in order to restore the plant’s productivity and facilitate a sustainable bounce back in operations.
This information became general knowledge after a notification issued by the Company Secretary, Mrs. Otivbo Saleh, was published on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
According to her, Notore Chemical Industries Plc had to shut down its fertiliser plant to pave way for the commencement of the Turn Around Maintenance, expected to return the Plant to its 500,000 MTPA nameplate capacity and improve the reliability index to 95%.
The TAM exercise was initially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the disruption to global businesses occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant restrictions by Governments all over the world affected the timely delivery of procured spares and the arrival to the site of Vendor Service Men (VSM).
Barring any unforeseen circumstance, the Turn Around Maintenance which has started should be completed on 8 March 2021.
- The company’s 2020 audited financial report tells a tale of effete operation, as the company made a Gross loss of N2.9 billion, due to the cost coming from the company’s operation completely eroding all the revenue generated from its operating segment.
- The company managed to post a positive operating profit of N9.5billion at the back of N18.8billion revenue from contracts with customers. However, this was not enough to set the company on the path of profitability, as the heavy loan book of the company impacted its profitability in 2020.
- Upon the completion of the TAM programme, the company expects a significant improvement in the Plant’s reliability index and sustained daily production output of 1,500MT.
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