The search continues...

Where is the National carrier?

When will the long search for a national carrier end?

AMCON set to sell Air Nigeria assets

Reports say three Boeing and Embraer planes as well as other assets belonging to Air Nigeria will soon be sold by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

The process that will lead to the sale of the assets has been commenced by the bad debt manager, while the assets, which were acquired by AMCON several months ago, will be sold to recover the debts owed banks, but which were taken over by the corporation.

The Managing Director, AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, who confirmed that the corporation would sell the assets, was, however, silent on the transaction process and its stages.

Reports have it that Air Nigeria belonged to UBA Capital, an arm of the United Bank of Africa Group.
Chike-Obi added that AMCON has converted some of Aero-contractors Airlines’ debts to equity but the carrier still owed the corporation some money.

It would be recalled that On September 28, 2004, the Federal Government and the United Kingdom-based Virgin Group signed an agreement to establish a new national carrier for the country to be called Virgin Nigeria Airways. Local institutional investors owned 51 per cent of the company, while Virgin Atlantic Airways owned the balance.

On June 2, 2010, following the acquisition of a majority share in the airline, a businessman, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, announced that it had undergone a further name change to Air Nigeria Development Limited, but branded as Air Nigeria.

On September 6, 2012, Air Nigeria announced that the management had fired its workers for disloyalty and that it would suspend all its local, regional and international operations. Air Nigeria stopped operations on September 10, 2012.

Pipeline Vandalism Forces Drop in Power Generation to 3,000MW

 

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has disclosed that the maximum generated electricity available for it to transmit for distribution across the country has dropped to 3,000 megawatts (MW).

TCN said in a statement signed by its Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, Dave Ifabiyi, in Abuja that the unexpected drop in power generation was occasioned by a recent act of vandalism on the nation’s key gas pipeline, the Trans-Forcados gas pipeline.

The development means that the country’s electricity generation which averaged about 4,500MW in recent times has dropped by almost 1,500MW. It noted that the drop would necessitate regular supply rationing because gas supply to three key power generation companies,  Egbin, Olorunsogo, and Geregu had been affected by the act.

The drop which has necessitated power supply rationing, is due to gas supply shortages in several power generating stations following reported acts of vandalism on the Trans- Forcados Gas Pipeline, which occurred on January 6,” Ifabiyi said in the statement.

TCN therefore appealed to the public to bear with it on the attendant power rationing and promised that efforts were being mobilised for early restoration of normal services.

Naira seen on the ropes next week, as oil dollar sales dry up

Analysts have predicted that the naira is expected to lose more ground next week, hit by the slide in crude prices and a decline in dollar sales by oil companies operating there.

Wider risk aversion to emerging markets in general is seen keeping other currencies on the backfoot as well.

The Nigerian naira is seen trading lower next week, around the 183 level that it fell to on Friday, as sentiment in Africa’s top crude producer is soured by the sharp decline in oil prices.

The naira has been trading around the 178 – 182 range against the dollar in volatile trade the past week, with dollar sales from oil companies its only life line, as U.S. crude plumbed a 5-1/2-year low of $46.83 on Wednesday.

Now that those sales have dried up, it could test the lower end of that range, dealers say. It is trading well outside the central bank’s 160-176 target range since a November devaluation.

FG retains 54 coal titles, revokes 44

The federal government has retained 54 coal titles and revoked 44 others out of a total of 119 initially listed for revocation.

A notice from the Mining Cadaster Office in Abuja indicated that 13 coal titles have also been relinquished while four others are still under processing.

Western Goldfield Group Limited, Dome Minerals Nigeria Limited and Nifex Limited were among the top three on the list whose coal titles have been revoked.

Ashakacem Plc, NCC Okabo Mines Limited, Golden Horsefield Mining Company Limited and 51 others had their coal titles retained for submitting satisfactory report to the regulatory body.

The notice also indicated that the coal titles that were relinquished also submitted satisfactory reports.
However, the office stated that the revocation of some coal titles was as a result of unsatisfactory report submitted and inactiveness.

Some were also revoked for having defaulted and not submitting report to the regulatory body as required.
Meanwhile, the notice indicated that the four coal titles of Owkpa Consolidated Mines Limited are still under processing as a result of the unsatisfactory performance “in compliance.”

A notice signed by the management of the Mining Cadaster Office then indicated that the revocation was based on the companies’ non-compliance with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007, dormancy, non-submission of statutory report and non-payment of annual service fees.

Shell to pay N15bn to affected Niger Delta residents

Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell is set to make a payout of $84 million (N15,493,809,854.06) to residents of the Bodo community in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria following two oil spills.

15,600 fishermen will receive $3,300 each for losses caused by the spills while the remaining $30 million will be donated to the community, Law Firm, Leigh Day, which represented the fishermen, said.

According to reports, lawyers have said that they are delighted at the massive payout which is the first of its kind and will serve to compensate the community which was “devastated by the two massive oil spills in 2008 and 2009”.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government has been urged to enact and enforce laws that will hold oil companies accountable for their roles in environmentally degrading the Niger delta.

The call was made by renowned environmental activist, Nnimmo Bassey who was reacting to the 55 billion pound settlement made by Royal Dutch Shell to Bono community in Ogoni, Rivers State.

According to Mr. Bassey, the settlement by Shell is a victory for the people of Bono and it sets a good precedence to pursue similar cases with other oil companies who are accused of causing similar harm to fishing communities in the oil rich Niger delta.

Gold producers lead South Africa stock market rally

Gold producers such as Harmony Gold zipped higher on Tuesday, leading a strong rally in South African shares after the previous session's sharp sell-off, with investors flocking to the precious metal as a safe haven amid global market storms.

Harmony added 11.4 percent to 25.57 rand, its highest level in more than three months and its biggest one-day gain since August 2013, while Africa's top bullion producer AngloGold Ashanti jumped 6.8 percent to 110 rand.

Spot gold hit a three-week high on Tuesday as sliding oil prices and wider euro zone jitters sent investors scurrying for cover.

Nigerian owned Taleveras to build giant oil storage hub in Equatorial Guinea

 Nigerian energy firm Taleveras Group said on Monday it had signed a deal with the government of Equatorial Guinea to build a giant oil storage hub in the central African country.

The Bioko Island facility will have a total capacity of 1.34 million tonnes of storage for crude oil and products such as gasoline, naphtha, jet fuel and fuel oil, the firm said. It will be the largest crude and products storage facility in Africa.

Taleveras, a growing trading firm with more than $2 billion in credit lines, did not give a value for the deal or a start date. It said it obtained the rights in December through an open negotiation process which involved several companies, without naming them.

Global trading houses are vying for access to Africa's booming gasoline and diesel markets where demand is expected to grow by nearly 60 percent by 2025, according to African energy consultancy CITAC.

Investors stake N5.31bn on 413.764m shares

Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday staked N5.31 billion on 413.764 million shares in 3,764 deals.

The volume of transactions represented 38.19 per cent increase over the 299.410 million shares worth N5.46 billion traded in 3,803 deals on Monday.

ETI emerged the most traded equity with a turnover of 96.94 million shares valued at N1.77 billion.

Transcorp came second on the activity with 64.88 million shares worth N206.83 million, while GTBank accounted for 33.19 million shares valued at N819.95 million.

FBN Holdings traded 29.67 million shares worth N247.51 million, while Sterling Bank exchanged a total of 26.23 million shares valued at N61.12 million.

However, the NSE All-Share Index lost 1420.98 points or 4.19 per cent to close at 32,522.31 from the 33,943.29 achieved on Monday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation declined by N471 billion or 4.19 per cent to close at N10.766 trillion from the N11.237 trillion posted on Monday.

Nestle led the losers’ chart by N49.78 to close at N945.82 per share.

Seplat trailed with a loss of N17.57 to close at N333.93, while Nigerian Breweries dropped N15.83 to close at N147.17 per share.

Dangote Cement depreciated by N9.5 to close at N180.5 and Guinness dipped N8.26 to close at N157.04 per share.

NSE opens on downward note as All-Share Index drops 2.06 per cent

Equity transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) reopened after the New Year holiday on a downward note as the All-Share Index depreciated by 713.86 points.

The Index dropped by 2.06 per cent to close at 33,943.29 in contrast to 34,657.15 achieved on December 31.

The market capitalisation, which opened at N11.477 trillion, declined by N240 billion to close at N11.237 trillion.

A volume of 299.410 million shares worth N5.46 billion were traded in 3,803 deals.

41 ships laden with foods, petroleum products expected in Lagos

Forty one ships laden with containers, foods, petroleum products and other goods would arrive Lagos ports from Jan. 5 to Jan. 20.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said in its daily publication – `Shipping Position’ – made available to newsmen on Monday in Lagos, that 22 of the expected ships would arrive with containers of different goods.

It stated that five other ships were expected to arrive with petroleum products like petrol and diesel, while four different ships would bring in fresh fish.

The document stated that the remaining 10 ships would arrive with vehicles, buckwheat, bulk charcoal, bulk salt, bulk ethanol, bulk rice and general cargo.

It further indicated that 10 other ships had already arrived the ports, waiting to berth with food items such as; bulk rice, fresh fish and bulk fertiliser.

It explained that nine other ships containing various petroleum products were also waiting to berth at the various oil terminals in the ports.

The document stated that seven of the nine ships contain petrol, while the remaining two would berth with base oil and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO).

It noted that 22 other ships were discharging buckwheat, general cargo, fresh fish, bulk fertiliser, containers, bulk sugar, bulk gypsum and petroleum products.

Cameroon to issue $582 million in debt in 2015

Cameroon plans to raise some 320 billion CFA francs ($582 million) through treasury bills and medium-term bonds in 2015 to finance infrastructure projects in the Central African state, the finance ministry said on Monday.

The total issuance is 14 percent higher than the 280 billion CFA francs issued in 2014.

The government said in November that it plans to increase spending by 13 percent this year to boost growth in an economy which produces cocoa, oil and timber.

Gross domestic product is expected to accelerate to 6.3 percent in 2015 from 5.8 percent last year according to budgetary projections.

Euro slides to 9-year low; Asia shares and oil wobble

The euro hit a nearly nine-year low versus the dollar on Monday as investors bet on quantitative easing by the European Central Bank while soft manufacturing surveys pushed down shares and sent oil prices to 5 1/2-year lows.

European shares are expected to dip, with Britain's FTSE seen falling by up to 0.4 percent. Germany's DAX and France's CAC are both seen falling as much as 0.2 percent.

The euro fell to as low as $1.18605, its weakest level since March 2006, having fallen below an important support at $1.20. The common currency last traded at $1.1926, down 0.6 percent from late U.S. trade on Friday.

Economists forecast that Wednesday's euro zone inflation data will show that in December prices fell 0.1 percent, the first decline since 2009.

That should fan expectations the ECB could ease its policy as soon as Jan. 22, when it holds its first policy meeting this year.

Ivorian cocoa arrivals seen at 820,000 T Jan. 4: Exporters

Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached around 820,000 tonnes by January 4 since the start of the season on October 1, exporters estimated on Monday, down from 954,000 tonnes in the same period of the previous season.

Exporters estimated around 16,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports of Abidjan and San Pedro between January 1 to 4, down from 28,000 tonnes during the same period last year.

Nigerian naira, shares start year down around 2 pct each

 

The Nigerian naira opened 1.9 percent down on its 2014 close at 185 to the dollar on Monday, Thomson Reuters data showed.

The all-share index opened down 2 percent at 33961.42 on the first day of trading this year. (Reporting by Tim Cocks)

FG to commence work on three coal power plants

There are indications that the Federal Government may commence work at three coal-fired power plants located across the country in 2015.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo who disclosed this did not give specific details, but it is believed that the coal power plants could include the 3000 megawatts (MW) plant that is being developed by Zuma Pow­er in Kogi state and the 1000MW plant expected to be built by At­las Petroleum Corporation in Enugu state.

The federal government hint­ed that about 2.8 billion metric tonnes of coal deposits have been left untapped for years now in Nigeria.

It has been canvassed that the use of these coal deposits, amongst other renewable en­ergy sources such as biomass, solar, wind and small hydro to generate electricity for Nigeria can reduce instances of van­dalism of petroleum pipelines which supply gas to thermal power plants.

The Power Minister clari­fied that balancing Nigeria’s reliance on thermal generated electricity with other sources of electricity like solar, biomass, wind and other sustainable al­ternative sources has been a daunting challenge confronting the country.

According to him, selling the potentials in other alternative sources of energy to Nigerians was becoming a difficult task to accomplish and urged that such messages be taken to rural parts of Nigeria.