Nigerian Tribune

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said the remarkable growth witnessed in the Nigerian banking industry over the past decade is partly attributable to the capital market and SEC’s comprehensive regulatory approach.

Director General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, said this at the 2023 Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) graduates induction and prize award recently.

He said, “The harmonious relationship between the capital market and the banking sector is further exemplified by our role in facilitating capital raising, mergers and acquisitions for banks.

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“By streamlining the listing process and ensuring adherence to high standards of transparency and corporate governance, we enable banks to tap into the securities market as a means to secure funds from a diverse range of investors.

“This synergy between the banking industry and the capital market is illuminated by the fact that only four out of the 25 banks that emerged from the Central Bank’s 2004 recapitalisation exercise did not access the capital market before compliance.”

Yuguda charged the graduates on professionalism and adapting to changes in the financial world.

“Distinguished graduates, as you embark on your banking careers, remember the importance of integrity, good moral conduct, and adaptability.

“The financial world is evolving rapidly due to technology and global changes. Embrace these shifts as unique and timely opportunities to contribute positively to the banking industry,” he said.

He said the theme, ‘Navigating the Pathways of Banking Excellence’, aptly encapsulates the journey that each of them embarks upon.

“I extend my sincere gratitude to the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria for its determined commitment to nurturing industry-ready professionals. Your dedication resonates with our shared vision of fostering a resilient, well-regulated financial ecosystem that can withstand challenges and foster sustainable growth.

“The most renowned professionals are celebrated today for building business empires and nurturing thoroughbred professionalism, achieving success through proper conduct, steadfast dedication, and a meticulous approach that allowed them to refine their long-term visions and goals’” Yuguda further stated.

He said the CIBN’s vision aligns with the Commission’s quest for transparent and fair conduct in securities business by ensuring that operators in the capital market play according to the rules.

“The Commission also recognizes individual and corporate players whose conducts not only ensure compliance but do more to make investment an interesting endeavour.

“As regulators and professional bodies, we must ensure that our onboarding processes for new entrants are robust enough so that only fit and proper persons find their way into the very exciting careers in the financial market.

“Similar to what obtains in the money market, the Commission’s engagement spans a spectrum of activities, including registration, surveillance, proactive regulation, and robust enforcement mechanisms, all aimed at nurturing a fair and transparent market environment.

“Even though the CBN is unrelenting in ensuring full compliance by banks and other financial institutions through relevant departments, the professional bodies, especially the CIBN must leverage continuous assessment to ensure that bankers demonstrate probity and ethical conduct at all times.

“As the financial market continues to evolve with the increasing need to embrace financial technology, we must keep fine-tuning the regulatory frameworks that guide our continued operation in the market,” he said.

Yuguda said the culture of transparency mandated by the Investments and Securities Act empowers investors to make informed decisions.

“This transparency, in turn, fosters trust within the banking industry and encourages broader participation in financial markets, thereby enhancing investment inflows.

“As you may be aware, retail investors played a pivotal role in the success of recapitalization exercises in the banking and insurance sectors, portraying the collective strength of individual contributions,” he noted.

The East African

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed a Ksh7.28 billion ($50 million) equity investment in a Denmark-backed fund referred to as the Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund II.

The funding will go towards transport infrastructure projects, and supply chains to help tackle food insecurity and climate-related issues in Africa and South Asia.

The fund was launched in July 2023, by A.

P. Moller Capital, a Danish fund manager, with a target size of $1 billion (Ksh145.8 billion).“The proposed project consists of an equity investment of up to Ksh7.28 billion ($50 million) in Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund II (EMIF II) … established by A.

P. Moller Capital … to invest in critical transport infrastructure and renewable energy assets,” said IFC.

Read: IFC to invest $17.5m in mega complex in Kigali“The Fund has a committed capital target cap of $1 billion and a hard cap [upper limit] of $1.5 billion. IFC’s proposed investment is for up to Ksh7.28 billion ($50 million) in EMIF II.”EMIF II targets a 50 percent capital allocation in Africa with the remaining in South and Southeast Asia.

A.

P. Moller Capital owns Thika Power, an 87 MW independent power producer running fuel generators and a steam turbine.

The global financier, part of the World Bank Group, has become the biggest lender in the continent using banks and organisations to boost their capital and expand lending including to specific areas such as climate-friendly projects and poverty alleviation projects.

Food insecurity, for instance, is a major problem in developing countries including many nations in Africa. In Southeast Asia, close to 17 percent of total food available is lost or wasted, according to a McKinsey report.

The study added that food loss happens at harvest or after, while food waste happens after it reaches the retailer or consumer, and its hidden costs are often equal to or greater than retailers’ net profit, even the best-performing ones.

Reuters

SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) – Nigeria has sufficient natural gas reserves and can increase its production to more than 5 billion cubic feet per day by 2030, Ekperikpe Ekpo, Nigeria’s minister of state for gas, told the Gastech conference on Tuesday in Singapore.

“In Nigeria, it has been declared a decade of gas from 2020 to 2030. So by 2030, we’ll get to 5.5 billion cubic feet on daily production (57 billion cubic meters a year),” Ekpo said, adding that there were funds available to finance expansion, without elaborating.

Nigeria’s gas output declined by nearly 11% from the previous year to 40.4 bcm in 2022, down from over 49 bcm a year in 2019 and 2020, according to industry body the Energy Institute.

The decline in output resulted in lower exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which dropped by 16% to 19.6 bcm last year, the institute’s data shows, giving Nigeria less than a 4% share in global LNG exports.

Nigeria relies on fossil fuel exports for 90% of its foreign exchange and roughly half its budget.

 Bizcommunity.com

While the world urges businesses to stop using fossil fuels and reduce their carbon emissions for the sake of net zero, Africa remains a key destination for international oil companies (IOCs). Following the massive Namibian discoveries in 2022, 2023 has been another banner year for African exploration, with half a billion barrels of oil equivalent (bboe) in recoverable oil and gas reserves found around the continent to date.
Namibia’s Orange Basin continues to hold centre stage with Shell’s July announcement that drilling for the Lesedi-1X, the company’s fourth exploration well in the region, had reached completion and indicated the presence of hydrocarbons.

Through a partnership with Qatar Energy and Namcor — Namibia’s national oil company —Shell plans to drill two more exploratory wells in Namibia before the year is out and has also received permission from the government to drill ten more exploration and appraisal wells in the future.

Estimates set Shell’s other recent discoveries at the nearby Graff, La Rona, and Jonker-1X wells in Namibia’s Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 39 at a total of 1.7 bboe.

These findings come in addition to discoveries made by France’s Total Energies at its Venus well in PEL 56 that holds a total of 3 bboe, according to Barclays estimates.

A continent brimming with discovery

While the sizeable discovery at the Jonker site alone — with estimates placing its recoverable reserves at roughly 285 million barrels — accounts for 57% of overall volumes discovered in 2023 so far, it is one of many, as well as the only offshore discovery. The numerous other African discoveries were all found onshore.

Sonatrach of Algeria brought 20% of the overall volume to the table with its six smaller-sized discoveries that the state-owned energy company announced in the first quarter of this year. With two wells each between Amguid, Berkine, and Ohanet in the East-Central, South, and Southwest regions of the country respectively, Algeria is seeing new production of oil, gas, and condensates, strengthening its role as an alternative energy supplier for Europe.

In May 2023, the Australian upstream oil and gas company, Invictus Energy, announced that a mud gas analysis of its maiden Mukuyu-1 well in the Cabora Bassa Basin in Zimbabwe confirmed the presence of light oil, gas condensate, and helium. As a result of these findings, Invictus will follow through in the third quarter of this year on drilling operations for its Mukuyu-2 appraisal well located 6.8km to the northeast of Mukuyu-1 with a planned depth of 3,700m.

Mukuyu-1 is a wildcat – a well drilled in a previously unexplored area or where the petroleum potential is an unknown. Across Africa, of the 16 exploration wells IOCs drilled in 2023, ten are wildcats.

Three drilling operations are underway at the time of this writing, and while plans are in place for as many as 66 more, operations will likely commence for roughly 17 over the next 18 months.

As we have documented in our Q2 report, new discoveries from oil and gas exploration practically encircle the continent. From the small finds like Sasol’s Bonito-1 well in the PT5-C concession area of the Mozambique basin to Wintershall’s ED-2X in Egypt and Tatneft’s F1 discovery in Libya, Africa is proving itself as an emerging contender for the top supplier spot on the global petroleum market with a total discovered volume of oil and gas totaling nearly 500 MMboe in 2023 alone.

An opportunity to balance disparity

While it is encouraging to witness this revival of oil and gas exploration in Africa — and to have our assertions confirmed that this continent represents the next frontier for the international energy majors — the AEC sees these developments as merely the start of what will have to amount to a massive upgrade for our own domestic petroleum industry.

As seismic and geological studies continuously corroborate our claims that Africa has enormous potential as a global energy supplier, local inefficiencies and a lack of infrastructure hinder this progress and stand in the way of international oil company (IOC) engagement.

To extract real prosperity from our fossil fuel resources, we must encourage the governments of every hydrocarbon-bearing African nation to create and maintain enabling business environments that attract foreign investment.

We must also implore the leaders of these countries to act quickly upon discovery of new oil fields and warn them against letting a proven find languish under a heap of unnecessary red tape.

There is no nuance about it — the oil industry represents income for Africans and advancement for Africa.

An increase in exploration equates to new African jobs and business opportunities, and successful exploratory ventures attract further investment, leading to a rise in employment across many industries and accelerated economic growth for each host country.

And the benefits are not only financial or limited to only those with skin in the game. By extracting and refining our resources on a grander scale, we’ll finally reach the kind of production levels that extend meaningful benefits to the African population.

Considering that more than 600 million Africans live without access to electricity, and 900 million make do without access to clean cooking fuel, expansion of our oil industry will inevitably slash our rates of energy poverty and lead to a widespread increase in quality of life.

The global transition to carbon-free energy, spurred on by human ingenuity, is inevitable. We acknowledge that one day humanity will have no need to engage with fossil fuels or tolerate their negative impacts. We believe that the planet will eventually get to such a state, but we also feel that we’re more realistic than some regarding how long that evolution will take to set in fully.

This transition will also require massive funding from every country undertaking it. The AEC’s stance is that if we can secure foreign investment in our oil industry today, Africa will develop the funding to back its own transition tomorrow, rather than waiting patiently for subsidies and handouts once the rest of the world deems them feasible.

As we wait for zero-emission and renewable energy technology to mature to its full potential, the developed world must afford the chance for Africa to reach its own.

Increased exploration, wise investments, welcoming dispositions, and attractive economic policies are but the first few steps of that journey.

ZAWYA

Africa’s biggest drug maker Aspen Pharmacare has struck a deal with US pharma major Eli Lilly to distribute the American company’s medications in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa.

The sales revenue of the Lilly portfolio in sub-Saharan Africa was around $23 million in 2022, the companies said in a statement. 

Aspen said it expects the sales revenue to rise significantly due to the launch of key Lilly pipeline products in the short to medium term.

The agreement will run for 10 years and is automatically renewable for two further periods of five years. The transaction – which is awaiting regulatory approvals – will start by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

“Lilly has an impressive portfolio coupled with a very strong pipeline,” Stephen Saad, Aspen Group Chief Executive, said in reference to Lilly’s new blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro.

The demand for the drug has surged, sending Lilly’s shares to record-levels and caused the company to raise its annual sales forecasts based on its performance. 

Lilly’s shares have also risen sharply due to the impact the drug is having in the market, putting it on course to become the world’s biggest healthcare company in terms of market capitalization. 

Cesar Buendia, General Manager for Lilly in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa said the agreement with Aspen offers it the potential to expand access to Lilly’s medicines across the continent. 

“Lilly remains committed to delivering our breakthrough innovations to patients in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa,” he said.

Aspen also said it had secured three sterile manufacturing agreements with multinational pharma companies for production at its French manufacturing facility, but did not give their names or any further details. It said more such deals were on the way.

The new deals – together with a similar one signed with the Serum Institute of India late last year – will see Aspen utilise idle manufacturing capacity in South Africa and France that it had built at a cost of $540 anticipating a high demand for COVID-19 vaccinations.

But with the pandemic over, the demand for sterile products – including intravenous injections – has reduced leaving Aspen facing huge idle capacity and losses. The new deals will ensure the facilities are in use, the company said. 

Africa Business

While cash and mobile money remain the dominant payment methods in Africa, they come with significant challenges. Cash is inefficient, insecure, and expensive, while mobile money services often lack the necessary regulatory support to operate independently. However, key emerging trends in the sector are helping to drive meaningful financial inclusion across the continent, notes Mark Dankworth, President of Business Development Africa at leading Banking as a Service and embedded finance enablement partner, Ukheshe.

One of the most significant trends in the African payments sector is the increasing collaboration between banks and fintech companies. Banks, as regulated entities, play a critical role in processing funds, which then flow into digital wallets where fintechs are best positioned to provide digital services. There is scope to offer even more functionality and convenience that answer specific market challenges and pain points, including bill payments, airtime top-ups, or public transport payments, among others. By providing incentives for users to keep their funds in these wallets and use them for digital payments, the adoption of digital payments can increase rapidly and reduce the reliance on cash on the continent.

Closer collaboration between banks and fintech companies is a positive development and has the biggest potential to drive financial inclusion in Africa. In many African countries, regulators are paying closer attention to new players in the sector. While fintech companies often lack the necessary licenses to operate independently, banks can provide the necessary regulatory support with the end goal of offering a broader range of services to their customers. By working together, banks and fintechs can help to promote financial inclusion and make digital payments more accessible, and, crucially, more trusted.

Another trend that is driving the growth of digital payments in Africa is the explosion of cross-border remittances alongside the urgent need for these to improve. South Africa to Zimbabwe is one of the largest corridors of cross-border remittances globally, and a staggering 84% of these transactions are still cash-based. According to the World Bank, remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew to USD$626 billion in 2022. These remittances are also an essential source of foreign currency for many African countries, helping to support economic growth and development.

To facilitate cross-border remittances, many companies are developing pool accounts that allow for instant remittances of funds. Associations are also putting in place regulatory frameworks that promote innovation and protect consumers, and these developments will help sustain the growth of the industry and make it more accessible to all Africans.

QR payments are also gaining traction in African markets, offering merchants an affordable and convenient way to accept digital payments without expensive hardware. This payment method has been hugely successful in markets like China, where QR is widely used for everything from buying groceries to paying for public transport. In Africa, QR payments have been slower to take off, but their potential is significant. Visa and Mastercard are investing heavily in SME support to drive acceptance and create more opportunities for digital payments. Obviously, QR offers several advantages over traditional point-of-sale systems. For merchants, QR payments are affordable and easy to use, requiring only a smartphone and an internet connection. For customers, QR payments are convenient and secure, allowing them to make payments without the need for cash. Once again, acceptance is largely a function of the underlying trust and overall convenience of the payment method.

Ultimately, the prevailing dominance of cash in Africa will only be truly upended when payment models are instantly efficient and offer instantaneous value. In the unique African context, customers must have full control over their money with seamless, interoperable, and user-friendly solutions – this is where Ukheshe, and its strategic partnerships, can make the biggest impact.

Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 30 (Reuters) – South African retailer Woolworths (WHLJ.J) on Wednesday reported a nearly 15% rise in annual profit as promotional sales, online growth and lower debt offset the impact of power cuts in the country and a cost-of-living crisis in its operating regions.

The food and fashion retailer posted headline earnings per share – a profit measure – of 423.4 South African cents from continuing operations in the 12-month period ended June 25, from 368.7 cents seen a year earlier.

The company sold an Australian clothing division earlier this year, therefore profit from continuing operations are a more precise measure for the year.

Known for its high-end products, the company has seen increased food wastage as a result of South Africa’s worst rolling blackouts on record, it said in a statement in July.

Woolworths has had to increase its diesel spend on back-up generators to keep produce fresh and operations afloat across the South African supply chain.

Adding to the risks, sticky inflation across both its South African and Australian operations prompted consumers to tighten their purse strings.

“The trading environment is likely to remain challenging across both geographies for the foreseeable future, as elevated inflation and interest rates pose a headwind to the outlook for disposable income and discretionary spend,” the company said in a statement.

Woolworths announced a total dividend of 313 cents per share.

Africa Business

Leading event in Accra shines a spotlight on responsible change

The town of Obuasi in the Ashanti region of Ghana, West Africa, has a long and rich mining history. In 1897, large scale commercial and industrial mining began at the Obuasi Gold Mine and continued for over a century until its closure in 2014 for major restructuring.

In 2018, a $500 million investment from AngloGold Ashanti was approved for the redevelopment of the Obuasi mine, with first gold poured in 2019. Today, the project is in its third phase, with construction currently underway to develop the necessary supporting infrastructure to sustain a ramp-up in production by the end of 2023.

According to Eric Asubonteng, Managing Director of AngloGold Ashanti, the Obuasi redevelopment project is an excellent example of public and private collaboration within the mining sector that has sustainability at its core.

“The Ghanaian government has provided an enabling environment, by issuing the relevant approvals and permits to assist us in getting the mine ready for development and prioritise re-opening,” he says.

Not only this, but in its role as a development partner, the government has worked collaboratively with AngloGold Ashanti to ensure that the Obuasi project aligns with the interests of the wider Obuasi community.

“We have achieved this by putting in place a local employment procedure to create employment opportunities for the youth host communities that also ensures proactive, local SMME participation in the value chain.”

Of the total monies spent to date on redevelopment, over 80% has gone towards Ghana registered businesses – both local and foreign-owned businesses registered in Ghana, paying taxes in Ghana.

And for every ounce of gold produced, AngloGold Ashanti contributes US$2 into the AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Community Trust Fund, governed by an independent board who possess full decision-making responsibilities as to how and where the funds are spent for the development of the host communities

Other Corporate Social Investment (CSI) projects to have blossomed from the Obuasi mine redevelopment include a growing 1,500-strong university in the Obuasi town that provides education and skills to youth in areas of engineering and technology.

Driving Responsible Change within Mining

According to Asubonteng, sustainable and responsible mining lies at the heart of all AngloGold Ashanti’s efforts, and as such, the company has committed to many similar CSI projects which will be showcased at the 2022 West African Mining & Power Expo (WAMPEX), taking place from 1-3 June at the Accra International Conference Centre in Ghana.

As the leading exhibition for the mining and power value chain, WAMPEX attracts thousands of senior mining professionals from both public and private sectors across Africa and globally, making it one of the most important industry meeting places in the mining calendar.

In addition to extended networking opportunities, the event will host a series of interactive technical workshops, providing the latest insights into sustainability, automation and operational excellence, while suppliers showcase latest technologies, innovations and products.

Looking forward to the in-person interaction of the event, Asubonteng admits to having missed networking with like-minded industry professionals from around the world, due to Covid.

“An event like WAMPEX gives more credibility to the increasingly prominent West-African mining jurisdiction, drawing the right attention to West Africa,” he concludes.

Africa Business

The new event facilitates strategic African trade opportunities

With the number of African e-commerce users expected to exceed half a billion over the next three years, there is an increasingly urgent need for sophisticated logistics systems to strengthen and support the continent’s expanding transport infrastructure.

The pandemic served as a catalyst for the advancement of the global e-commerce market and has given rise to a number of trends that impact the logistics industry. Not only are consumers demanding quicker delivery times, but the costs of servicing the last mile are increasing, which has retailers and logistics operators working hard to improve and develop their distribution models so that they can cut inefficiencies and keep stock nearer to consumers.

It is with the primary goal to connect corporate logistics teams and service providers from across the African logistics supply chain, that global event company dmg events announce the launch of its newest trade event, Logistics Evolution Africa. As a leading organizer of face-to-face industry events, dmg events has a long track record of success with over 80 trade shows held across 25 countries, attracting in excess of 425,000 visitors.

“Boosting intra-African trade begins by enhancing African transport and connectivity. At Logistics Evolution Africa, we will connect the dots between policy and operations, to help traders and economic operators reduce the time and cost of moving people, goods, and information around the African continent,” says Ziad M. Hamoui, National President – of Ghana at Borderless Alliance, a multilateral partnership of private and public sector stakeholders working to increase trade in Africa.

Logistics Evolution Africa is a unique platform that brings together public and private stakeholders, decision-makers and innovators from key industries such as mining, retail, automotive, logistics, health, and retail. It takes place from 20-23 September 2023 at the Inkosi Albert Luthli ICC Complex in Durban, South Africa, and is co-located with Transport Evolution Africa Forum & Expo, the only event in Africa to connect the region’s port, road and rail authorities under one roof.

Le-Ann Hare, Portfolio Director at dmg events, says: “We are extremely excited and proud to launch our newest trade show under the Evolution Africa portfolio. Logistics Evolution Africa is the international meeting place for Africa’s logistics supply chain, and the only platform on the continent to enable the logistics sector to drive efficient logistic chains and trade corridors.”

As well as an extensive range of innovative products and services on display from local and international exhibitors, the three-day in-person event will offer visitors and exhibitors the opportunity to explore long-term strategies to address some of the ongoing logistics challenges faced by the industry at its dedicated conference, The Forum. Here, industry experts will also share their insights on best practices and new technology solutions needed to enhance efficiency for the handling, moving, and transportation of goods throughout Africa.

“With partnership development, networking, knowledge sharing, and project expansion at the heart of the Forum, Africa’s entire value chain will actively participate to strengthen collaboration, initiate new projects and partnerships, and implement visionary objectives,” says Le-Ann Hare.

Furthermore, through a series of technical workshops on the exhibition floor, visitors will be able to increase their knowledge, skills and expertise and earn their annual CPD points.

Le-Ann Hare concludes: “With global demand for e-commerce continuing on the up, Logistics Evolution Africa is a significant and timely addition to our international trade event portfolio, and we believe it will play an extremely beneficial role in boosting strategic trade competition and productivity across Africa and beyond.”