Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc has reacted to media reports about the supposed takeover of its assets by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON.

In a statement that was signed by the Company Secretary, Yetunde Fashesin-Sousa, Deap Capital admitted that it is indebted to AMCON to the tune of N1.6 billion. It was also confirmed that AMCON owns a 20% equity stake in the fund management firm.

Note that the indebtedness arose after AMCON took over ownership of certain banks. Apparently, these are banks that Deap Capital originally owed. However, following the transfer of the unnamed banks’ assets to AMCON, the debts were also transferred alongside.

Meanwhile, AMCON had dragged the company before the Federal High Court in Lagos in a bid to recover the debt. A ruling on the case, which was delivered on January 28 by the Hon Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, was in AMCON’s favour.

Following the ruling, AMCON began the process of recovering the debt from Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc. The company said it has been cooperating in this regard by working towards repaying the debt.

The company also clarified that the assets that were taken over by AMCON belonged to its former directors whose names were not mentioned. Nairametrics could not verify if these directors are among those who were recently reinstated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. But we do know that AMCON had obtained a court order to attach the ‘former directors’ assets’ in its attempt to recover the N1.6 billion debt.

In the meantime, Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc said it is committed to resolving its operational challenges, including the recovery of its operational license and profitability issues.  The company’s latest earnings report (for its Q1 period ended December 31st, 2019) showed a total income of N1 billion. There was also a N6.3 million loss for the period under review.

Deap Capital’s stock opened today’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange with a share price of N0.30. Year to date, the stock has declined by some -18%.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, has outlined how to get the creative sector loans.

Both parties developed a Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) as part of efforts to boost job creation in Nigeria, particularly among youths in the country. The initiative has four pillars which include Fashion, Information Technology, Movie and Music.

It would be recalled that last year, the CBN in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee unveiled the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which was to enable businesses to obtain loans up to the tune of N500 million.

Interested applicants in the creative industry are advised to submit their applications to their banks for approval and subsequent disbursement.

READ MORE: CBN to boost creative industry with N22 billion 

How to benefit from the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI): The categories of businesses to benefit from this include Fashion, Information Technology, Movie Production, Movie Distribution, Music and Software Engineering Student Loan.

Part of the steps in applying for the loan is to prepare your business plan or statement on how much you want for your business.

You can get a loan of up to:

• N3 million for a Software Engineering Student
• N30 million for a Movie Production business
• N500 million for a Movie Distribution business
• Cover your rental/service fees for Fashion and Information Technology businesses
• Cover your training fees, equipment fees and rental/service fees for Music business

After preparation of the business plan stating how much is needed for the business, applicants are advised to go to any bank of their choice to apply for the loan.

The bank will then discuss, analyze your request and if successful will disburse the funds. It must be noted that the maximum interest rate of 9% per annum (all charges inclusive) is applicable to all loans.

The period for the repayment of the loan in the different categories are:

• For Software Engineering Student Loan, it is a maximum of 3 years
• For Movie Production and Distribution, it is a maximum of 10 years
• For Fashion, Information Technology (IT) and Music, it is a maximum of 10 years.

For more information, you can visit www.cbn.gov.ng

The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to record significant increase as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 32,558 confirmed cases.

On the 12th of July 2020, 571 new confirmed cases and 16 deaths were recorded in Nigeria, having carried out a total daily test of 2,973 samples across the country.

To date, 32,558 cases have been confirmed, 13,447 cases have been discharged and 740 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 181,248 tests have been carried out as of July 12th, 2020 compared to 178,265 tests a day earlier.

COVID-19 Case Updates- 12th July 2020,

• Total Number of Cases – 32,558
• Total Number Discharged – 13,447
• Total Deaths – 740
• Total Tests Carried out – 1781,248

According to the NCDC, the 571 new cases were reported from 20 states- Lagos (152), Ebonyi (108), Edo (53), Ondo (46), FCT (38), Oyo (20), Kwara (19), Plateau (17), Osun (14), Bayelsa (14), Ekiti (14), Katsina (14), Akwa Ibom (11), Kaduna (11), Rivers (11), Niger (10), Ogun (7), Kano (6), Cross River (4), Bauchi (2).

Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 12,427, followed by Abuja (2,576), Edo (1,731). Oyo (1,726), RIvers (1,368),  Delta (1,359), Kano (1,309), Ogun (1,087),  Kaduna (989), Ondo (716), Katsina (669), Ebonyi (616), Borno (586), Plateau (533), Gombe (530), Bauchi (521), Enugu (476), Abia (405),  Imo (386), Kwara (330).

Jigawa state has recorded 321 cases, Bayelsa (313), Osun (245), Nasarawa (244), Sokoto (153), Akwa Ibom and Niger (135),  Benue (121), Adamawa (110), Anambra (93), Kebbi (86), Zamfara (76), Ekiti (63), Yobe (62), Taraba (27), Cross River (9) while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Western diplomats warn of disease explosion, poor handling by government

Lock Down and Curfew

In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.

The movement restriction, which was extended by another two-weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.

On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020.

READ ALSO: Bill Gates says Trump’s WHO funding suspension is dangerous