Welcome to a brand new week. The business momentum is continuing to build up for the 2023 financial year. How are your New Year plans shaping up?
It’s time to look back at the top business news stories that dominated the week that ended January 14, 2023.
This is brought to you courtesy of Quidax. Let’s begin.
Access Bank says no to Kenyan deal: In a fascinating turn of events, Access Holdings Plc said it would no longer proceed with its proposed acquisition of 83.4% in Kenya’s Sidian Bank Limited.
- A corporate disclosure seen by Nairametrics explained that both companies could not reach an agreement on some set conditions for the transaction.
- This was despite the best effort of Kenyan regulators who provided support through engagements throughout the transaction negotiations.
Fine for GTCO’s UK subsidiary: Guaranty Trust Bank UK, a subsidiary of GTCO, announced it reached an agreement with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to settle a £7.6 million fine following FCA’s findings GTBank UK’s anti-money laundering controls failures between October 2014 to July 2019.
- The bank said it cooperated fully with the FCA throughout the investigation and noted that steps have since been taken to remedy the situation.
NB Plc: Last week, Nairametrics reported that Nigerian Breweries Plc launched series 1, 2, and 3 commercial papers under its N100 billion commercial paper programme.
- The issued series 1, 2, and 3 commercial papers would consecutively last for 91 days, 120 days, and 154 days, respectively.
- The sum of N20 billion is expected to be realised and it will help support the company’s short-term funding needs.
Wema Bank Plc has been admitted to the NGX 30 Index. A statement released last week by the Nigerian Exchange said the admission followed the outcome of the 2022 market index review.
- The NGX 30 Index tracks the top 30 companies in terms of market capitalization and the total value of equities listed on the NGX.
Skyway Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) Plc believes the Nigerian government should grant duty waivers to ground handling companies operating in the country’s airports.
- Last week, SAHCO’s CEO, Mr Basil Agboarumi, argued that the waiver will go a long way to ameliorate the harsh economic conditions companies in the aviation industry are facing.
- According to him, what the company pays to clear imported operational equipment at the port is killing its business.
i-Fitness Gym surprised its customers last week with the announcement that it has introduced “annual club dues” payable once a year for subscribers.
- A press statement by the company seen by Nairametrics explained that the ‘flexible annual member’s due’ is N14,350. The new dues will help ensure that customers are provided with better fitness experiences.
Airtel Africa’s subsidiary, Airtel Networks Limited, acquired a new spectrum in the 3500MHz band and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The spectrum was acquired for a consideration price of $316.7 million.
- The newly acquired spectrum would facilitate the telco’s growth by enabling the launch of higher-speed internet for customers.
Nigerian agritech startup, Releaf, announced that it raised $3.3 million in a pre-Series A funding round.
The funding round was led by Samurai Incubate Africa with participation from Consonance Investment Managers, Stephen Pagliuca, and Jeff Ubben.
Ellah Lakes Plc signed a seed production and technical support agreement with the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The company said the agreement would see both companies collaborate on a soybean seed multiplication programme.
- It involves the production of high-yielding soybean seed varieties on five hectares of land located in IITA Ibadan, and subsequently, on 500 hectares of land located in Adani, Enugu State.
Husk Power Systems, a Nigerian mini-grid player, said it secured $750,000 in funding for solar mini-grid projects in Nasarawa State.
- The funding was made available by Germany’s development finance institution (DEG).
- With the funding, the company said it would develop eight new community solar microgrids in Nasarawa state. DEG allocated the funds from its Up-Scaling Program, which is co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
