Guinness Nigeria plc said its revenue rose to NGN29.9 billion and gross profit of NGN10.4 billion for the period ended 30 September 2017 representing a 30% and 24% increase respectively over the same period last year.

The company’s marketing expenses increased by 12% indicating continued investment behind its brands while administrative expenses were reduced by 17% driven by the organisation’s productivity agenda.

Guinness Nigeria plc’s net Sales increased by 30% for the quarter.

The company said the result reflected continued growth within the spirits business as well as the benefit of an expanding portfolio, however this was against the backdrop of lapping the inventory reduction last year.
SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/27/guinness-nigeria-revenue/

Just to reiterate, India is hosting and participating in a FIFA World Cup for the first time in history itself is gratifying to the entire populace as they trooped out in their numbers to cheer their team.

A total of 6 cities witnessed the epic moments as the nation's U-17 football team hosted the rest of the world in the youth championship.

Despite their inability to progress from the group stage, the passionate home fans were undeterred in their support as they simply appreciated the team's effort and ENJOYED every bit of show.

The Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata had a resounding attendance of about 63,881 with just two days notice after FIFA moved the England vs Brazil semi-final match from Ghuwati to Kolkata; a step a Assam Youth Organization filed a police complaint against stating that the people of Ghuwati denied a high profile match. England put up a mesmerizing display winning 3-1 to book their maiden final against fellow Europeans Spain, which was also too good for the only African side Mali at the D.Y Patil Sports Stadium, Nerul Navi Mumbai.

The atmosphere at the D.Y Patil Stadium was electrifying as the "non-tilted", Indian fans passionately enjoyed the match with some moments of mobile phone craze. During the match, the fans displayed their flashlights, made cheering noise in support of the good football on display.

"I think people are beginning to allow other games asides from cricket which has taken more than 90% of the media, we are seeing a lot of changes, football fan Mr Debrato Sen told our man Amos Joseph who witnessed the event.

"With this and of international game coming to our country, I think it is good for India, the youngsters and very soon it will become a popular game.

"This is clearly a way to announce to the everyone that India can host an international football event like the world cup.

He further said that it is an inspiration to Indian youngsters who love and have started playing football. "Hopefully sometime n the nearest future, India will come tops in world football."

Another fan Shyam Sampat who spoke with PageOne.ng said he was enthused about good football on display which is why he has shown interest in the games regardless of the country playing. "Football is a new game for us, and our youngsters are absolutely excited about this new revolution coming. I'm here with my son who also plays football and supports FC Barcelona, while I support Arsenal."

As we build up to the all-European final between Spain and England which takes place on October 28th 2017 at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan Stadium in Kolkata, it is important to note that a 170 number of goals have been scored up until now at the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017which is the second highest-scoring U-17 World Cup in history, having overtaken the 167 strikes registered at Korea Republic 2007. With two games still to be played, there is every chance that the all-time record of 172 goals, set at the tournament in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, will be broken in India.

Without doubts, Indians are beginning to embrace the football culture which potentially poses a threat to the deepened Cricket tradition.
SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/27/fifa-world-cup-india/

Swedish top tech investor, Kinnevik AB said disclosed in its latest trading update for the first nine months of the year that its investment in Konga further deteriorated.

Kinnevik’s 34% in Konga was further impaired down to SEK128 compared to SEK133 disclosed last year. On a USD basis, the company did a further write down to USD15.3 million from USD15.9 million in the previous year.

On a local currency basis, total impairment on its investment for the period was NGN216 million on a year on year basis.

The company co-owns Konga alongside South Africa’s most valuable company, Naspers with about 41% of the eCommerce company on a fully diluted basis. Kinnevik disclosed that its total investment in Konga till date was SEK292 million. This is NGN12.5 billion in local currency.

Within the first nine months of the company said the fair value of this investment fell by about 40% on a year on year basis. However, impairments on Kinnevik’s investments seem to be slowing down as its net impairments for the third quarter of the year only increased by 10%. It is logical to deduce that the first and second quarter had the highest impairments.

As an understanding of how Kinnevik values its investment in the eCommerce company, the group said “The valuation is based on the average sales multiple of a group of comparable companies. Konga generates revenue from two business models, inventory and marketplace”.

The company did not, however, disclose the weight of the two business models to Konga’s revenue profile.

Konga competes with Rocket Internet’s Jumia Nigeria. In its latest trading update for the first six months of the year said its businesses across six countries in Africa suffered a total loss of USD61 million on a year on year basis. In local currency, Jumia has to its negative credit NGN21 billion in losses.

In fairness to two of Nigeria’s largest eCommerce companies, the business of eCommerce has been one of the worst hit after Nigeria’s economy relapsed into its worst recession in over 20 years. An unprecedented depreciation in the Naira against the USD, increase in basic commodity prices, and a subsequent drought in hard currency led to a spike in inflation on mostly imported goods sold by both Jumia and Konga.

Towards the end of last year’s third quarter, both companies changed their business models to majorly merchant system where they practically do not own most of the goods they display on their website. However, from the look of things, it is clear Konga has not done away with the inventory model. It is not known how this approach seems to be working for the company or otherwise.

In the last twelve months, the disposable income of the lower-middle-class population, the core target market of eCommerce companies have further deteriorated beyond precedence. Customers now seek cheaper alternative on essential items or totally cut-down on certain goods. This is a major problem for eCommerce companies as their lifestyle, gadget and electronic side of their business a heretofore market mover has seen the worst performance in the last two years.

The need to adapt to the changes has seen both Jumia and Konga delving into grocery and essential commodities business. While this brings them, new customers, it further exposes them to competitive risks as there are bigger players in the offline side of things such as Shoprite who can offer cheaper prices albeit lower margins, but a higher volume is an upside for the company.

In the last nine months of the year, Shoprite underwayred some of its highest revenue from Nigeria with further expansions under way across key cities of Nigeria.

The need to have a sustainable business model for both Jumia and Konga is therefore crucial as Nigeria transits out of recession. The two companies have been on their way to search for the ‘Holy Grail’ of business- profit. The need to reach this milestone quickly is more pressing than ever given the massive investment that has been staked into these companies.
SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/27/kinnevik-konga-six-months/

Trans-Nationwide Express plc (TRANEX PLC) is reporting 81% decrease in profit to NGN 6.4 million for the nine months ended in the year compared to NGN35.1 million profit reported in the financial year 2016.

The company ended the period with NGN534.6 million revenue in contrast to NGN602.6 million recorded in the previous year.Gross profit reduced to NGN291.2 million against NGN335.3 million posted in the year before.



The company’s financial cost dropped to NGN1.6 million in contrast to NGN3.0 million recorded in the fiscal year 2016.

Tranex plc said its total assets at the end of the period was NGN562.6 million compared to NGN571.9 million acquired in the year before while total liabilities stood at NGN142.2 million against NGN128.6 million in 2016.

Source: http://pageone.ng/2017/10/25/tranex-plc-posts-nine-months/

Heineken N.V., the parent company of Nigeria Breweries, the largest brewer in Nigeria said its volume for the country continued to decline in the third quarter.

In its latest trading update for the quarter, Heineken said its volume for the market fell for another quarter by mid-single-digit with underlying trading conditions still difficult and consumers continuing to trade down.

Heineken also complained that Sourcing hard currencies remain a challenge, despite an improvement versus last year.

However, on a positive note for the continent, the company said South Africa and Ethiopia continued to deliver strong growth with volume up double-digit.

Nigeria Breweries is the largest brewer in Nigeria by volume and the most profitable. A recent merger of Intafact, Pad and International Breweries has further heightened the competition in the market. Diageo’s Guinness Nigeria has also struggled to enter profitability with low margins.

Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO, commented: “Performance in the third quarter was solid, with an acceleration of organic volume growth in Asia Pacific and Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe. Growth in Asia Pacific continued to be driven by Vietnam and Cambodia whilst in Africa, Middle East & Eastern Europe, the main contributors were Russia, Ethiopia and South Africa. In the Americas, Mexico continued to deliver, and weaker volumes in the US were offset by growth coming from Brazil”.

He added that “Europe had to face tough comparatives, partly due to less favourable weather in some key markets. During the period we completed the acquisition of Punch Securitisation A. Our full year expectations remain unchanged.”


SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/25/heineken-nigeria-nigeria-breweries/

About 238 proposals were received from cities and regions in the United States, Canada and Mexico hoping to be the home Amazon’s second headquarters, the company confirmed.

The HQ2 will be Amazon’s second headquarters in North America, and the company said it expect to invest over USD5 billion in construction and grow this second headquarters to include as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs.



Although did not list which cities or metro areas applied, but said the proposals came from 43 U.S. states, as well as Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, three Mexican states and six Canadian provinces. In a tweet, the company said it was “excited to review each of them”, AFP reports.

Besides looking for financial incentives, Amazon had stipulated that it was seeking to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people; be able to attract top technical talent; be within 45 minutes of an international airport; have direct access to mass transit; and be able to expand that headquarters to as much as 8 million square feet in the next decade.

Generous tax breaks and other incentives can erode a city’s tax base. For the winner, it could be worth it, since an Amazon headquarters could draw other tech businesses and their well-educated, highly paid employees.

In New Jersey, Republican Gov. Chris Christie has endorsed Newark’s bid, saying the state and the city are planning nearly $7 billion in tax breaks. Detroit bid organizers have said its proposal offers Amazon the unique chance to set up shop in both the U.S. and Canada. Missouri officials proposed an innovation corridor between Kansas City and St. Louis rather than a single location.

The seven U.S. states that Amazon said did not apply were: Arkansas, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

Ahead of the deadline, some cities turned to stunts to try and stand out: Representatives from Tucson, Arizona, sent a 21-foot tall cactus to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters; New York lit the Empire State Building orange to match Amazon’s smile logo.

The company plans to remain in its sprawling Seattle headquarters, and the second one will be “a full equal” to it, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos said in September. Amazon has said that it will announce a decision sometime next year.
SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/23/amazon-238-proposals-2nd-headquarters/

The Nigerian Bottling Company, Coca-Cola HBC bottler in Nigeria has had its wastewater treatment license revoked by the Lagos state government.

The Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission, Ahmed Abdullahi said NBC alongside the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Marina;WEMA Bank Plc, Ikoyi; and Ocean Parade Tower, Banana Island all failed to meet the expected standard in wastewater management, adding that it would ensure full compliance with the laws on the regulation of the state’s water sector.

“The revocation is necessary because these companies discharged untreated wastewater into the drains and water bodies indiscriminately. It cannot continue; it must be brought under control.

“Also, indiscriminate digging of boreholes without relevant licences will not be tolerated any longer.”

NBC and other affected organisations were accused of discharging wastewater indiscriminately were damaging the environment, adding that several correspondences and meetings earlier held with all parties concerned for over a year failed to bring the situation under control.

Lagos is Nigeria’s commercial capital and most populous city with over 25 million people. NBC’s plants are located at two major hubs in the city.

Neither the NBC, NSE nor other parties involved have formally reacted to the allegations.


SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/20/nbc-wastewater-cocacola/

Manchester United and the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia have today agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding, which will see the 20-time English League champions help the GSA develop its football industry, as part of its 2030 Vision.

The new strategic partnership will involve United lending its business and sporting expertise to clubs, sporting authorities and individuals in Saudi Arabia.

The partnership forms part of Saudi Vision 2030; the plan to diversify the Saudi economy and to develop its public sectors, announced last year by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Group managing Director, Richard Arnold, said:

“The club has a long standing relationship with Saudi Arabia and has over 5 million passionate fans in the region. Our partnership with Saudi Telecom is the longest running of all our commercial partners. Having the chance to help shape the football industry in the Kingdom is a great honour and it is something where we believe we can make a big difference.

“I hope that this strategic alliance will benefit generations of Saudi footballers, supporters and young professionals looking to work in football well beyond Saudi Vision 2030.”

Turki Al-Shikh Chairman of the GSA said:

“This relationship is part of an exciting programme we are undertaking to transform sport in Saudi Arabia.

“Manchester United has a phenomenal reputation for delivery in these areas. We believe their knowledge and experience will be invaluable in making this project successful.”

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/19/manchester-united-saudi/

The 2017 edition of the NSE Essay Competition is now open for entries. The NSE Essay Competition, themed “Building a Sustainable Capital Market”, is one of the Exchange’s financial literacy and inclusion initiatives aimed at building a financially savvy generation.

Essay Topic: Investors education is critical to retail investors’ participation in the capital market. Discuss
Essay Deadline: October 20 , 201 7

Rules

◾The Competition is open to only students in Senior Secondary Schools
◾Entries must be written in English and be the original work of the writer
◾Entrants must submit essay on the entry form and complete all the mandatory fields
◾The maximum word-counts are 1000 words
◾Entries will be disqu alified if they fail to meet these requirements

Notes for Guidance
◾Entries must be the original work of the writer. This does not rule out input or assistance from others
◾Entrants are encouraged to be creative in their response to the topic
◾Award-winning entrants are expected to show originality, focus on topic and competent use of English as a written language. This includes correct spelling, a good standard of punctuation and neat presentation

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/18/2017-nse-essay-competition-opens-entries/ Also see prizes listed

Aiteo Group has entered a partnership with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to become the new sponsors of CAF Awards, replacing Globacom.

The indigenous oil company sponsoring Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles disclosed in a statement via social media said confirmed it had joined forces with the African football governing body in a bid to further its corporate responsibility and investment in football.

“We are now proud to take our corporate social investments in developing African football by sponsoring @CAF_Online award… More to follow.”

In 2005,under former President Issah Hayatou Globacom and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) signed a partnership agreement for the sponsorship of the annual CAF Player of the Year Awards.

Meanwhile, Aiteo Group is an integrated, global-focused Nigerian energy conglomerate founded in February 2008. The company is the successor entity to Sigmund Communnecci Limited.The company has significant business interests in oil and gas exploration and production; bulk petroleum storage; refining of petroleum products; trading, marketing and supply as well as power generation and distribution.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/15/aiteo-globacom-caf-awards-sponsor/

In a bid to expand its services and meet growing demands, the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) said it will soon commence agency banking service in addition to the re-introduction of money order to its clients.

NIPOST is a government-owned and operated corporation charged with postal administration, and responsible for providing postal services in the country.

In a recent interview with News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Godwill Magulike, the District Manager of NIPOST in Kwara state, said that the introduction of agency banking will enable Nigerians send money abroad beside its courier services.

He also noted that the agency had introduced series of products aimed at reviving the postal system and increasing patronage.

According to him, some of the products include reintroduction of money order, electronic stamps, address verification system and agency banking among others.

“We have come to an era in NIPOST where we have to re-examine the activities of postal service in line with modern technologies.

“We also try to showcase our new products in the market apart from our core posting responsibility.

“For instance, the introduction of agency banking, where people can easily send money to their loved ones, across the country.

“We target bringing out new potentials of the service to meet the present demands in the country.

“This effort requires strong collaboration with the private sector whose investment capital and expertise cannot be over emphasised.

“We are indeed getting back on track as we are reinventing, embracing digitisation and redefining our value proposition and developing new product services”, he said.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/13/nipost-agency-banking-service/

Despite the progress recorded in reducing hunger in the world, recent report shows that countries like Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia are at risk of severe hunger in certain areas.

According to 2017 Global Hunger Index scores, the level of hunger in the world has decreased by 27 percent from the 2000 level. Of the 119 countries assessed in this year’s report, one falls in the extremely alarming range on the GHI Severity Scale; 7 fall in the alarming range; 44 in the serious range; and 24 in the moderate range. Only 43 countries have scores in the low range.



In addition, 9 of the 13 countries that lack sufficient data for calculating 2017 GHI scores still raise significant concern, including Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria.

In northeast Nigeria, it is said that around 4.5 million people are experiencing or are at risk of famine while the rest of the country is relatively food secure.

To capture the multidimensional nature of hunger, GHI scores are based on four component indicators—undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality. The 27 percent improvement noted above reflects progress in each of these indicators according to the latest data from 2012–2016 for countries in the GHI:

•The share of the overall population that is undernourished is 13.0 percent, down from 18.2 percent in 2000.
•27.8 percent of children under five are stunted, down from 37.7 percent in 2000.
•9.5 percent of children under five are wasted, down from 9.9 percent in 2000.
•The under-five mortality rate is 4.7 percent, down from 8.2 percent in 2000.

Regional Scores

The regions of the world struggling most with hunger are South Asia and Africa south of the Sahara, with scores in the serious range (30.9 and 29.4, respectively). The scores of East and Southeast Asia, the Near East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States range from low to moderate (between 7.8 and 12.. These averages conceal some troubling results within each region, however, including scores in the serious range for Tajikistan, Guatemala, Haiti, and Iraq and in the alarming range for Yemen, as well as scores in the serious range for half of all countries in East and Southeast Asia, whose average benefits from China’s low score of 7.5.

National and Subnational Scores

Eight countries suffer from extremely alarming or alarming levels of hunger. Except for Yemen, all are in Africa south of the Sahara: Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Liberia, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Zambia. Many of these countries have experienced political crises or violent conflicts in the past several decades. CAR and Yemen, in particular, have been riven by war in recent years. From the 2000 GHI to the 2017 GHI, the scores of 14 countries improved by 50 percent or more; those of 72 countries dropped by between 25 and 49.9 percent; and those of 27 countries fell by less than 25 percent. Only CAR, the sole country in the extremely alarming range, showed no progress.

This year’s report provides a look at subnational-level data on stunting, which reveal great disparities within countries. Differences in hunger and nutrition profiles mean that, in most countries, a one-size-fits-all approach to tackling hunger and undernutrition is unlikely to yield the best results. Region- or state-level data, together with other information—for example, from focus group interviews—can serve as a solid foundation for good program and policy design. Within countries in all regions of the world are wide variations in subnational-level rates of childhood stunting. Even in some countries with a low national average, there are places where childhood stunting levels are high.

Inequality, Power, and Hunger

In this year’s essay, Naomi Hossain, research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, explores the nexus of inequality, power, and hunger. Most often, it is the people or groups with the least social, economic, or political power—those who are discriminated against or disadvantaged, including women, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples, rural dwellers, and the poor—who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. They are affected by food and agricultural policies, but have little voice in policy debates dominated by governments, corporations, and international organizations. Analyzing the role that power plays in creating such inequalities in the food system and allowing space for all citizens—especially the least advantaged—to participate in decision making will help address nutritional inequalities.

The 2017 Global Hunger Index therefore presents recommendations that aim to redress such power imbalances, as well as the laws, policies, attitudes, and practices that exacerbate and perpetuate them, in order to alleviate hunger among the most vulnerable. National governments, the private sector, civil society, and international organizations must all act now to reduce inequalities if Zero Hunger is to be reached by 2030.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/10/13/nigeria-risk-global-hunger-index/

Breaking news out of China might not be good for Apple as there are claims the iPhone 8 battery might have swelling problems when charged.

Read more https://pageone.ng/2017/10/06/iphone-8-battery-china/

Africa’s largest grocery retailer, Shoprite is swelling its payroll in South Africa, its home base, where the company has nor hired about 800 people within a week.

The Group is South Africa’s largest private sector employer and created 6 027 new jobs in the 2017 financial year.

Shoprite said its hiring programme will continue with a total of 82 new Shoprite, Checkers, Checkers Hyper, Usave and LiquorShop supermarkets scheduled to open in the 2018 financial year, compared to the 72 new supermarkets opened in 2017.

“Over the past year 2.4% more customers voted with their feet and wallets to buy at our stores and we processed over 1 billion transactions. This proves that we are giving our customers what they need at prices they can afford,” CEO Pieter Engelbrecht said.

New stores are positioned in areas not previously served by the Group’s supermarkets or in those showing strong population growth. The 14 new supermarkets opening this week include:
◾Shoprite (Delft, Western Cape and Phola Park, Mpumalanga)
◾Checkers (Cornubia, KwaZulu-Natal and Table Bay, Western Cape)
◾Usave (Aberdeen, Eastern Cape and Gandlanani, Limpopo)
◾Checkers LiquorShop (Cornubia, KwaZulu-Natal and Table Bay, Western Cape)
◾Shoprite LiquorShop (Delft, Western Cape; Shongoane, Limpopo; Hartswater, Northern Cape; Phola Park, Mpumalanga; Komatipoort, Mpumalanga and Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga)

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/29/shoprite-hiring/

If the latest fillers are through, then Nigeria might be joining the digital currency community but in a different way.

Japanese and Nigeria’s Central Bank are said to be looking at collaborating to development of digital currencies that will be legally accepted as a means of payment across both countries.

This is the first time Nigeria’s government will be showing key interest in cryptocurrencies given its earlier stance that all banks in Nigeria will be sanctioned should they process or get involved in any Bitcoin, OneCoin and any other digital currencies for that matter.

Japan had in contrast to Nigeria accepted Bitcoin as a means of payment ion its financial markets. The government is also looking at developing its alternative digital currency that will be politically sanction called the J-Coin developed by the Mizuho Financial Group and Japan Post Bank.

There is no timeline as to when the digital currency for Nigeria will be launched but there are indications that an initial coin offering, ICO might be possible in the next 12 months.

Should Nigeria go ahead with the plan there are far-reaching consequences for the local and regional financial services sector. An introduction of a digital currency would further disrupt their business model as many banks rely on transaction costs to boost their revenues which digital currency tend to lower.

However, Adegbenro Bello, a financial analyst with a tier two bank in Nigeria said banks will not lose out because they easily adapt and because of the huge customer base they have they will be able to tweak their business models to suit the change.

Security and governance have been one of the major banes of digital currencies, Adegbenro thinks banks will be better manage the situation:

“Banks can better handle the governance issue that has been the bane of cryptocurrency so far”.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy but with smaller financial markets compared to South Africa, the third largest economy in the continent that has allowed the use of digital currencies but with strict regulations.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/28/nigeria-japan-launch-digital-currencies/

Global aviation passengers are said to be experiencing delays at the airport due to a system downtime at booking software company Amadeus. This system failure left many travelers at the airport unable to check in and board flights to their destinations.

Passengers at Sydney, London Gatwick, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Reagan Airport in Washington DC, Changi Airport in Singapore, Johannesburg and Zurich airports have all reportedly had problems.

The software company said it had identified a “network issue” but that services were being restored. Several airlines use the Amadeus software to manage reservations and check-in desks.

Heathrow airport said: “A small number of airlines are experiencing problems across the world and we’re working closely with them to solve the issue.”

A spokesman for Amadeus said: “During the morning, we experienced a network issue that caused disruption to some of our systems.

“Amadeus technical teams took immediate action to identify the cause of the issue and restore services as quickly as possible. That action is ongoing with services gradually being restored.

“Amadeus regrets any inconvenience caused to customers.”

Amadeus travel technology helps businesses connect to the global travel ecosystem, manage operations more effectively and serve travellers better than ever.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/28/amadeus-system-airport-delays/

If there is anything Jumia is close to meeting, it is certainly not profit. Early this morning, Rocket Internet, the parent company of Jumia said the company suffered a net loss of USD61 million loss in six months.

To understand the extent of the number, a conversion using the real-time exchange rate to Naira (NGN) shows that Jumia made a net loss of NGN22 billion.

In context, it is more than the net revenue of three of Nigeria’s commercial banks with over NGN3 trillion in assets.

A review of the company’s performance in the first six months in comparison to its last year period shows that the company’s fortune dwindled despite the easing in Nigeria’s economic hardship. Last year within the first six months, Jumia reported a net loss of EUR38 million compared to EUR52 million reported this year.

While Rocket Internet has reclassified Jumia as Jumia from the general merchandise grouping it carried in its portfolio. The parent company is also trying to recapitalise the local unit by putting more cash into its operations. As at last year, Jumia only had EUR4 million left in cash and cash equivalents. This year, about EUR24 million was said to be left in its books as cash.

As a rationale for the dwindling fortunes of the company, Rocket Internet has finally taken the bull by the horn. For the first time in a long while, Rocket Internet is now facing reality. The group said it recorded net impairments of EUR10 million on its Jumia operations.


READ MORE HERE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/28/jumia-moves-farther-from-profit-posts-usd61-million-loss-in-six-months/

The Federal Government of Nigeria confirmed that the country has pulled out of 90 world organizations. Nigeria currently owes the organizations over USD100 million and its failure to meet the obligations has caused the country embarrassment, hence it has to pull out.

As part of plans for the country’s exit from the organisations, the Federal Executive Council presided over by the President, Muhammadu Buhari has mandated a committee to come up with and present recommendations to it for ratification, Channelstv reports.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/27/debt-forces-nigeria-90-world-organizations/

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has barred Promoworld, Afromedia from outdoor assets of FAAN, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria.

It would be recalled that both Promoworld and Afromedia PLC were taken to court by FAAN after the agency cancelled their outdoor concession contracts.

FAAN had filed an exparte motion on the 28th day of August 2017, and filed the same date and accompanying twenty-eight (28) paragraph affidavit in support deposed to Mrs. Oluwaseun Elegbe and a written address filed in compliance with the rules of court and after hearing E. Emakpor Esq. for the plaintiff/Applicant praying the Honourable court for the following order(s).

FAAN through the application sought an order of interim injunction restraining the defendant by themselves, servants, agents, thugs,privies or any other person or persons claiming authority through them from parading or representing themselves in any manner whatsoever as the persons having exclusive indoor or outdoor advertisement rights or laying claim whatsoever to the advertisement/communication platforms operated by the plaintiff at airports across Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The agency also sought an order of interim injunction restraining the defendant by themselves, servants, agents, thugs, privies or any other person or persons claiming authority through them from threatening to interfere,harass or disrupt and or interfering,harassing, disrupting or in any way stopping the plaintiff from leasing, operating, managing or in anyway dealing with the indoor and outdoor advertisement/communication platforms operated by the plaintiff at airports across Nigeria pending hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The Federal High Court granted the prayers of FAAN while adjourning the matter to the 6th day of September 2017 for hearing of the motion on notice at High Court of Justice(NO 33) Kubwa,FCT Abuja.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/27/court-promoworld-afromedia-outdoor-faan/

Switzerland has once again come tops as the most competitive economy on in the world for the ninth straight year. The latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index ranks 137 economies by their ability to sustain inclusive growth.

More so, growth that delivers positive change and benefits citizens and the environment is what is often weighed. The index looks at 12 pillars of competitiveness including innovation, infrastructure and the macroeconomic environment. It ranks countries on how they score in each category.

Switzerland tops the overall ranking for the sixth year in a row, scoring highly on nearly every pillar of competitiveness. Its economy is resilient, its labour markets are strong and its people and businesses are good at absorbing new technologies. Swiss citizens benefit from high levels of public health and education, while Swiss businesses demonstrate high levels of sophistication and innovation.

The US has recorded its best ever performance this year, landing second place. That’s up from third place last year and seventh when the rankings began. However, its position is far from secure. While the world’s largest economy scores highly for efficiency and innovation, it doesn’t score so well in the macro-economic pillar. The US also performs poorly on health and primary education.

Singapore has slipped one place this year to third. Despite a strong performance across the board – scoring in the top three in many pillars – rising government debt has dragged down its macro-economic score. That said, Singapore’s transport infrastructure, product and labour markets, and financial sector are all highly efficient.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of five European countries (Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Finland and the UK) along with Hong Kong SAR and Japan.

While the uptick in the world economy is cause for celebration, the latest Competitiveness Report has spotted some problems on the horizon.

It notes that, a decade after the financial crisis, the financial sector remains vulnerable. The increasing levels of private debt in emerging economies, and the growth of unregulated capital markets, are just two of the elements that worry the authors of the report.

While this year’s index has seen some economies score highly for innovation, the benefits of this are not spread widely. Economies would do well to put more effort into increasing the readiness populations and businesses to adopt new technology, says the report.

Many economies also score well on their labour market flexibility, something which helps to drive economic growth. However, unless this is balanced with worker protection, not everyone will prosper.

The report also notes that the global economic recovery is built on unsteady foundations. That’s because it is being driven more by low interest rates than by fundamental drivers of growth.

“Economic growth is important for human development and well-being. Growth creates the resources needed for better education, health, and security, and for higher incomes,” concludes the report.

“Yet economic growth should not be an end in itself. It should contribute to human welfare, be rooted in political legitimacy, and be defined and measured based on a multidimensional notion of economic progress that includes values such as a broad-based distribution of economic gains, environmental sustainability, and intergenerational equity for young people and future generations.”

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/27/switzerland-competitive-economy-report/

Nigerian leaders meet to consider plans on ease of doing business
INATION
Nigerian leaders meet to consider plans on ease of doing business

Written by PageOne on September 26, 2017 Edit
In furtherance of the Buhari administration’s ease of doing business reforms, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which is chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will today consider new and specific initiatives to be implemented over a 60-day period in the National Action Plan 2.0.

It will be recalled that a previous 60-day National Action Plan on Ease of Doing Business was approved on February 21, 2017. The National Action Plan contained initiatives and actions implemented by responsible Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the National Assembly, the Governments of Lagos and Kano states, as well as some private sector stakeholders.



The expanded PEBEC meeting will be attended by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

Also expected at the meeting are Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Kano State Governor, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as well as the Acting Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control, who was invited to the session, based on stakeholder's feedback.

Read more https://pageone.ng/2017/09/26/nigerian-leaders-plans-ease-business/

Can you beat that? The yet to be launched TSTv has raised scam alert on a certain twitter accounts impersonating the business. TSTv, in a tweet warned members of the public to ignore messages from the said twitter accounts.

TSTv via its official handle said: ‘Please disregard any tweets from @tstv_nigeria and @tstvcentre. They are both impersonators’


Since it started its proposed launch campaign that it will operate a pay as you go payTV services, TStv has generated a lot of interests, admiration and excitement in Nigeria.

Read more http://pageone.ng/2017/09/25/already-tstv-fake-twitter-account/

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated German Chancellor Angela Merkel on winning a fourth term. Buhari expressed on Twitter that she has shown a strong leadership character.

“I congratulate Chancellor Merkel on her electoral victory, and wish her a successful tenure ahead,- Buhari said.

“She has won a well-deserved opportunity to continue the strong leadership she has shown in domestic and International matters.”

Sunday’s election saw Angela Merkel comes first in Germany’s election. The vote also showed the rise of a nationalist, anti-migrant party. According to reports, more than 60 million Germans were eligible to vote in Sunday’s federal election.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/25/muhammadu-buhari-congratulates-merkel/

Since it started its proposed launch campaign that it will operate a pay as you go payTV services, TStv has generated a lot of interests, admiration and excitement in Nigeria.

The pay as you go as the real deal

While many would-be subscribers have expressed various reasons they might try out TStv on its October launch, the pay as you go proposition of the company has come out to be the most significant of all its promises.

TStv is promising its prospective subscribers that it will be offering a pay as you go model where subscribers will only pay for what they choose to watch. This is a big deal to average payTV subscribers in Nigeria due to Nigeria’s epileptic power supply and busy/stressful lifestyle of many people in cities such as Lagos where an average person spends close to five hours of their 24 hours in traffic every working day.

The company’s decoder (set-top box) will also offer data with WiFi capabilities for subscribers to make video calls and Internet access at home. With a maximum of NGN3,000 per month.

READ MORE here: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/23/tstv-pay-as-you-go-subscription/

Perhaps you have received emails or phone calls notifying you about a Mobil contract you just won at one of the world’s biggest oil companies, the earlier you verified the authenticity, the better.

Many Mobil contract scams are perpetrated by fraudsters who device many phoney schemes to lure people to believe that they have huge deals to offerer.

Just as Mobil has recruitment processes in place for job applicants, so does the company also have specified process for Mobil contract matters are also carried out under stringent corporate procedures.

Based on our research, the company (Mobil) is also aware that some unscrupulous individuals may pretend to be its executives or directors thereby possessing materials in Logo, websites and emails to conduct scams.

In this light, Mobil advises that individuals seeking contracts from the company should take note and be aware of the following information below:

ExxonMobil does not use social media and unsolicited email or written correspondence to request that individuals or businesses pay an advance fee of any kind in order to conduct business with ExxonMobil.

It has come to our attention that unauthorized individuals have attempted to use the ExxonMobil name and logo, as well as the names of ExxonMobil directors, executives and employees, in emails and on web sites to solicit up-front fees from interested individuals and businesses. If you are contacted by an individual or business seeking up-front fees, be aware that offers or proposals communicated through social media, email or written correspondence and purporting to be on behalf of ExxonMobil may be fraudulent.

Unauthorized individuals have also used third party websites to conduct business solicitation scams. ExxonMobil does not control any third party websites, and makes no warranty or representation regarding, and is not responsible for, any third party websites or the content of such websites. Inclusion of links or sharing tools to third party sites is not an endorsement of the content of such sites.

Should you suspect that you have received a business solicitation scam, you are advised to report the suspected behavior to the third party website.

Source: http://pageone.ng/2017/09/22/mobil-contract-scam/

Naspers, the South African Internet company owns DSTV, but the name ABS is about to become a competitor to the latter in the same business in Nigeria.

As TSTv, a payTV company coming with the proposition of pay-per-view subscription model prepares to launch, we are getting a flurry of queries as to who owns the company.

According to available information, TSTv is a joint venture owned by ABS and Telcom Satellites TV. The company’s signals will be distributed on the ABS 3A Africa beam, located at 3 degrees west.

In its mission statement, ABS was established to meet the growing demands of broadcast and telecommunications operators in Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East.

In September 2006, ABS successfully concluded the acquisition of the Lockheed Martin Intersputnik-1 (LMI-1) satellite which was renamed ABS-1 satellite.

In November 2010, the Permira funds and the ABS management team announced the successful acquisition of ABS from Citi Venture Capital International and Asia Debt Management.

ABS is majority owned by the Permira funds which are advised by European Private Equity firm Permira. Historically the Permira funds have been a leading investor in the satellite industry with substantial ownership stakes in Intelsat and Inmarsat.

Headquarters in Bermuda, ABS has offices in the United States, UAE, South Africa, Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

ABS is majority owned by the Permira funds which are advised by European Private Equity firm Permira. The Permira funds acquired ABS in 2010.

Led by a management team of talented and experienced professionals, ABS offers a complete range of End-to-End solutions including Direct to Home (DTH), Cable TV distribution (CATV), Cellular Backhaul, VSAT and Internet Backbone services with diverse IP transit through its European, Middle East and Asian internet gateways.

ABS operates a fleet of satellites serving 93% of the world.
◾ABS-2 (75°E, prime orbital location)
◾ABS-2A (75°E) – entered service 21st January, 2017
◾ABS-3 (85.3°E)
◾ABS-3A (3°W)
◾Mobisat-1 / ABS-4 (61°E)
◾ABS-6 (159°E)
◾ABS-7 (116.1°E)

In Nigeria, ABS is trading with the name TSTv but operating under the company name TELCOM SATELLITES LIMITED. TELCOM SATELLITES is registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Laws of Nigeria. The company‘s current and planned activities extend throughout Nigeria and would be expanding to other African countries.

TSTV currently owns a DTH License in Nigeria and in the medium term intends to expand its innovative DTH services into new territories across Africa.

In a press statement in July, TSTv said the service will air over 100 TV channels, and the number is expected to grow to 150 soon after. Audiences will be able to enjoy unbeatable innovations, local and foreign content and the best of entertainment programmes.

“TSTV is providing a ground breaking option from a dominated marketplace.” said Bright Echefu, the Managing Director/CEO of TSTV. “We are excited to partner with ABS in delivering an array of high quality programming. Our vision is to provide premium video experience to Nigerians at affordable prices. Our services will enable the viewers to experience HD and SD video and internet surfing at the same time. We are the first indigenous local operator in the region to launch such a premium platform with a variety of services to Nigerians, who have been so far paying exorbitant prices to foreign operators.”

“The addition of the Nigeria DTH platform from TSTV has undoubtedly strengthened ABS’ presence in Africa,” said Tom Choi, CEO of ABS. “TSTV has the right content and premium product to satisfy the growing demand of Nigeria. We hope ABS-3A can assist them to take Nollywood to great heights. ABS has strategically located its newly launched satellites at prime video neighborhoods at 3°W, 75°E and 159°E.

He added that “We have successfully developed DTH platforms across Africa, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, South Asia and Russia/CIS. Our goal is to bring quality and affordable entertainment to a wider population.”

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/21/abs-telcom-satellites-tstv-nigeria/

Several websites, blogs and forums are often quick to spread information about Shell recruitment programmes and job opportunities.

While few might be genuine, a majority of them are false and outright scams that are targeted at unsuspecting job seekers who are very keen on putting in for Shell recruitment programmes and many other oil majors for that matter.

Well, it is advised that you are not only careful but make sure you confirm every information about Shell recruitment programmes.

So how do you know if a certain job advertisement about Shell is a scam? Shell itself has issued a statement on its website to warn the general public on how to know confirm such information.

The company said recent incidents have occurred involving organisations falsely claiming to recruit on behalf of Shell. These organisations, claiming to either work for or be affiliated with Shell, notify individuals that their qualifications were found suitable to work as an employee (local or expatriate) for Shell and solicit the transfer of significant sums of money to pay for work permits, insurance policies, etc.

Please note that Shell does not (nor do any of the organisations that recruit on our behalf) ever ask for money or payments from applicants at any point in the recruitment process. All individuals who are successful in gaining an offer of employment from Shell, whether directly or indirectly, are always required to go through a formal recruitment process.

Please note that these communications are fraudulent. They do not originate from Shell nor are they associated with Shell’s recruitment process.

Salient points of such communications are that they come from non-Shell email addresses (e.g. from a yahoo.com address); the use of English is poor, and at some stage money is requested.

We recommend that you do not respond to unsolicited business propositions and/or offers from people with whom you are unfamiliar.

Shell warned that you should not disclose your personal or financial details to anyone you do not know. If you receive such proposals, we would advise you to contact your local police station and provide them with all information you may have from the senders (email addresses, phone/fax details, etc.).

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/21/shell-recruitment-scam/

In the latest report by PwC, Nigeria has been identified as one of the fastest-growing countries for entertainment and media.

The report projected that between 2016 and 2021, Nigeria will be adding about USD2.8 billion from entertainment and media industry.

The report also showed a mix-bag of complexities. PwC warned that the figure must be treated with caution, as a huge proportion of that growth comes from Internet access revenue alone–specifically mobile Internet access revenue.

This is because all but USD452 million will come from Internet access revenue. The combined elements of TV and video will add nearly US$200 million in revenue growth to 2021.

Other African countries were also covered in the report as South Africa’s E&M industry was rated as the largest in the continent.

According to PwC, by 2021 total E&M revenue in South Africa is expected to reach R177.9 billion, up from R132.7 billion in 2016. Internet access remains the key growth driver and will account for R27 billion of this increase. The fastest growing sectors will be virtual reality (VR) and e-sports compounded annually at 72.6% and 39.6%, although these segments are still new revenue lines and remain the smallest in terms of absolute revenue numbers. Although overall growth in revenue will hold up, it is expected to slow down by the end of 2021.

The Outlook is a comprehensive source of analyses and five-year forecasts of consumer and advertising spending across five countries (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania) and 14 segments: Internet, data consumption, television, cinema, video games, e-sports, virtual reality, newspaper publishing, magazine publishing, book publishing, business-to-business publishing, music, out-of-home, and radio.

“Companies that wish to capture value amid shifting consumer preferences and business model disruptions must focus on an increasingly prominent source of competitive advantage: the user experience. They must harness technology and data to attract, retain and engage users–and convert them into devoted fans,” says Vicki Myburgh, Entertainment and Media Industry Leader for PwC Southern Africa. These imperatives assume a larger importance because, as we document in the Outlook, the entertainment and media industry is confronting several challenges to continued top-line growth.

Digital spend will continue to drive the overall growth. Nearly 40% of total spend will be derived from Internet access in revenue. South Africa’s mobile Internet penetration is forecast to rise to 77.8% by the end of 2021 from 52.3% in 2016. This increased Internet penetration will drive mobile Internet access revenues, which are projected to grow by a CAGR of 10.7% to nearly R62 billion.

South Africa can expect a CAGR of 7.2% for consumer revenue over the forecast period, rising from R87.4 billion in 2016 to R123.7 billion in 2021. The largest contributor will be Internet access, with a 48% share in 2016 rising to 56% in 2021.

South Africa continues to remain the largest TV market on the African continent, with total revenues of R40.9 billion in 2016. The total TV market is estimated to be worth R51.2 billion by 2021. At this time, end-user spending (Pay-TV subscriptions, physical and Internet home video and license fees) will account for 56.7% of the total TV market.

The video game market is also performing well and revenue is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 15.4% to reach R5.4 billion in 2021, up from R2.6 billion in 2016. The primary growth driver in the video games market is social/casual gaming revenue, which will be worth R3.7 billion by 2021. Furthermore, the console and PC markets are experiencing a significant shift towards digital and online/micro transaction revenue, which will exceed physical sales for the first time in 2020.

The growing interest in gaming is helping to fuel the rapid growth in the related segment of VR and e-sports. As a segment that only reached consumers in 2016, almost the entire VR market is new. According to the Outlook, the consumer VR content market will be worth R455 million by 2021. Of this, R282 million will be spending on VR video.

Alongside video, the B2B market is showing continued growth. In 2016 revenues grew by 3.8% to R9.7 billion and by 2021 this is forecast to rise to R11 billion, a CAGR of 2.6%. The slowdown in growth is largely attributable to ongoing macroeconomic challenges which are likely to weigh on B2B revenues.

The South African cinema sector currently presents a mixed picture. Overall revenue, including box office and cinema advertising, is expected to reach R2.2 billion in 2021, up from R1.9 billion in 2016. South Africa continues to be an attractive destination for international filmmakers. Although some short-term economic and political issues are impacting the film sector, it is expected in the long term to continue to expand.

South Africa’s music industry is on a growth curve with live music being a key driver. Live music revenue is expected to rise from R1.2 billion in 2016 to R1.7 billion in 2021, a CAGR of 7.4% over the forecast period.

It is notable that only one digital subcomponent is seeing a significant decline in the entire Outlook – digital music downloading revenue, which is forecast to see a -15.7% CAGR, as consumers shift from ownership to access. Digital music streaming revenue is forecast to rise at a CACR of 34.5% to 2021, reaching R518 million in that year. This growth rate is only beaten by new revenue lines from VR and e-sports.

Among the largely non-digital segments, magazines and newspaper revenue are set to continue their decline. Total newspaper revenue in the South African newspaper market has been unpredictable. The market showed growth in 2013, declined in 2014 and bounced back marginally in 2015, contracting at a slower rate. In 2016, total newspaper revenue was worth R8.9 billion, but this figure is forecast to drop to R7.4 billion in 2021. Marginal growth is expected for the book publishing industry over the next five years. The educational book market will contract by a -0.1% CAGR. On the contrary, professional titles and consumer books will exhibit some growth as e-book revenues continue to grow.

The report shows that South Africa’s total entertainment and media advertising revenue is expected to rise to R54.2 billion by 2021 from R45.3 billion in 2016, representing a 3.7% CAGR. TV advertising remains dominant, but in terms of absolute growth it is Internet advertising that is almost an equal contributor, helped by a sizeable 12.9% CAGR.

Myburgh says: “It is clear that something fundamental has changed in the entertainment and media industry. E&M companies that have become accustomed to competing and creating differentiation, based primarily on content and distribution, need to focus more intensely on the user experience. The marketplace has increasingly become more competitive, slower-growing and dependent on personal recommendations.

“Thriving in this new world of intense competition and continual disruption will be challenging. The opportunities are, however, immense. Across the industry, the resulting quest to create the most compelling, engaging and intuitive user experiences is now the primary objective for growth and investment strategies, with technology and data at the centre.

“Accordingly, companies will need to develop strategies to engage, grow and monetise their most valuable customers: their fans.”

The Kenya E&M industry was worth US$2.1 billion in 2016, up 13.6% on 2015. Revenue is forecast to grow at an 8.5% CAGR over the next five years, hitting the US$3 billion mark in 2020, and totaling US$3.2 billion in 2021. Internet access is the most established industry within the Kenyan market, boasting the largest revenues and one of the highest growth rates to 2021.

Ghana’s E&M industry is beginning to gear up. In 2012, total revenue was just at US$214 million, but four consecutive years of year-on-year growth above 25% have led it to revenues of US$685 million in 2016. This is forecast to more than double over the next five years, with revenues of U$1 billion being surpassed in 2019 and a total of US$1.5 billion forecast for 2021, thanks to a 16.5% CAGR.

Tanzania’s total E&M revenue stood at US$504 million in 2016, but is set to more than double to US$1.1 billion in 2021, a 17.2% CAGR over the coming five years. The symbolic crossing of the US$1 billion mark is set to occur in 2021. This is significant growth from 2012 where the industry stood at just US$175 million.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/21/nigeria-entertainment-media-2021/

Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote told investors “Agriculture, agriculture, agriculture. Africa will become the food basket of the world.”

In a packed room at the headquarters of global law firm Shearman and Sterling LLC high level business leaders and international diplomats invited by the Corporate Council for Africa to hear Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, and Rwandan president Paul Kagame openly converse on Africa’s opportunities and challenges.

Both leaders underscored the ongoing movement to diversify African economies. In the case of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, Dangote stated “we should pray that oil prices remain low. This helps wean us off the dependency on revenues from petroleum. We must take oil to be the icing on the cake. We already have the cake,” he added.

In addition to agriculture Dangote cited Nigeria’s vast mineral resources and gas as well and the need to manufacture more goods locally for domestic consumption. Both he and President Kagame cited continued need for heavy investments in education and connected the need for young people to be well trained for the jobs of tomorrow.

Dangote predicted that “five of the twelve million jobs needed in Africa soon must be created in Nigeria.”

Dangote’s fortune which stems from cement, sugar, and other household commodities has expanded into fertilizer and other processed high-value goods. “Technology of course helps us a lot and our factories are state of the art with the use of robotics but we shouldn’t be overly tech oriented to create wealth,” he told investors.

Mr. Dangote who is often cited as one of the most inspiring business leaders in the world today and a model for young entrepreneurs offered advice to Americans who tend to rely on outdated news and wrong perceptions of Africa, “Don’t be lazy. Go there and find the real story for yourself. Things have changed.”

Dangote noted the Rwanda success story where he has business interests as an example of positive change, good governance and leadership, and where corruption has been cured. He cited a personal experience of offering a $100 US tip for services at the Kigali Airport to staff who refused to take money for work they were paid to do. President Kagame was praised for delivering the environment for growth he promised. “There is nothing African about corruption,” the Rwandan president added.

The session was moderated by Rosa Whitaker, former US Trade Representative and author of the AGOA (African Growth Opportunity Act), whose business consultancy is credited for helping both African governments and US companies develop commerce.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/20/dangote-africa-become-food-basket-world/

Novartis said the European Commission has approved Rydapt for two indications in rare, hard-to-treat cancers.

The company said Rydapt is approved for use in combination with standard daunorubicin and cytarabine induction and high-dose cytarabine consolidation chemotherapy, and for patients in complete response followed by Rydapt single agent maintenance therapy, for adults with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are FLT3 mutation-positive.

It was also cleared for use as monotherapy for the treatment of adults with aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM), systemic mastocytosis with associated hematological neoplasm (SM-AHN) or mast cell leukemia[1].

The approval follows a positive opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on July 20, 2017 and applies to all 28 EU member states, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Rydapt represents the first and only targeted therapy for FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3)-mutated AML and the only treatment for three subtypes of SM, collectively known as advanced SM, in the EU, all of which have limited life expectancy and few treatment options. Rydapt represents the first major advancement for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated AML in more than 25 years[2],[3].

“Novartis is proud that we can deliver Rydapt, a breakthrough medicine, to patients with serious and hard-to-treat diseases where there are few treatment options,” said Bruno Strigini, CEO, Novartis Oncology. “For patients with FLT3-mutated AML, there have been no meaningful advancements in more than 25 years and with Rydapt they now have a targeted medicine that could significantly extend their lives.”

For newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated AML, the approval is based on data from the RATIFY (CALGB 10603 [Alliance]) trial, which was conducted in collaboration with the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and 13 international cooperative groups. RATIFY is the largest trial to date among people with this specific type of AML and results of the trial were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)[4]. The study showed a 23% reduction in the risk of death with Rydapt plus standard chemotherapy compared with placebo plus standard chemotherapy. Median overall survival of 74.7 months and 25.6 months, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.77, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63, 0.95; one-sided p=0.0078)[1].

In the RATIFY trial, the most frequent adverse reactions (incidence greater than or equal to 30%) in the Rydapt plus standard chemotherapy arm were febrile neutropenia, nausea, exfoliative dermatitis, vomiting, headache, petechiae (small red skin spots) and pyrexia. The most frequent Grade 3/4 adverse reaction (greater than or equal to 5%) was febrile neutropenia, lymphopenia, device-related infection, exfoliative dermatitis, hyperglycemia and nausea[1].

For advanced SM, the approval is based on two single-arm open-label multicenter trials, including the Phase II study (CPKC412D2201), the largest prospective trial ever conducted in this rare disorder, the results of which were also published in NEJM[5]. The efficacy of Rydapt was established using modified Valent criteria, with patients demonstrating an overall response rate, defined as a major or partial response, of 59.6% (95% [CI], 48.6, 69.8%). Efficacy was also assessed in a post-hoc analysis using the 2013 International Working Group-Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Research and Treatment-European Competence Network on Mastocytosis (IWG-MRT-ECNM) consensus criteria (n=113). This assessment estimated an overall response rate of 28.3% (95% CI, 20.2, 37.6)[1].

In advanced SM, the most frequent adverse reactions were nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, peripheral edema and fatigue. The most frequent Grade 3/4 adverse reactions were fatigue, sepsis, pneumonia, febrile neutropenia and diarrhea[1].

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/20/37895/

Tax, audit and accounting company, KPMG might see more turbulence for its local unit in South Africa as more client plan to terminate audit contracts with the firm.

KPMG came under fierce criticism for its role in working on the accounts of the Guptas. Clients in South Africa are questing the firm’s integrity and professionalism after KPMG was found to have leaked details of its audit reports to non-authorised parties.

South African Revenue Service, SARS had earlier in the week called for the investigation and prosecution of KPMG after the firm acknowledged “flaws” in a report that it compiled for SARS which implied that former finance minister Pravin Gordhan had helped set up a “rogue spy unit” when he was head of the service.

Clients and blue-chips who are reportedly looking for new consultants are Investec, Barclays, Sibanye, Old Mutual and many others not yet known.

Yesterday, Hulisani and Sasfin have since announced that they will be terminating their contract with KPMG while calling for fresh tenders for the job.

The CEO of Sibanye Stillwater, Neal Froneman said his company will also hold board meetings to decide on whether to keep the firm. They declined to give exact dates for the meetings.

“The report came out on Friday so it would be premature to say we will fire them. The board will meet in due course to make a decision,” spokesman James Wellsted told Reuters.

According to Reuters, other companies considering whether to drop KPMG include Anglo-South African insurer Old Mutual and its banking unit Nedbank.

Old Mutual, one of the largest financial services group in the region might also join the league of companies that would fire KPMG

“Old Mutual is committed to doing business ethically and maintaining the highest standards of governance,” spokesperson Ursula Westhuizen said. “We understand that the conclusions of KPMG’s review will be available at the end of this month and we look forward to its publication.”

The ripple effect of the Guptas scandal could be far-reaching for KPMG bearing in mind that Bell Pottinger, a UK public relations company had to shut down after it lost all its key clients for its role in running a divisive media campaign for Oakbay Capital, one of the Guptas’ firms under investigation for fraud.

As a response, KPMG’s Global Chairman John Veihmeyer has apologised its South African unit saying:

“This is not who we are.”

It is left to be seen if this might be little too late for KPMG, a respected company that has now fallen out of favour with the same community that revers it.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/20/kpmg-south-africa-clients/

Following recent report that the Sponsorship deal between Aiteo Group and the Nigeria Football Federation might be having a crack, the Oil company has come out to refute the claims.

According to an earlier report, an unidentified official of the company who spoke to the media, Aiteo was unsatisfied with the leverage it is earning from the NGN5 billion sponsorship.

The company was said to be concerned with the visibility it has received with regards to the on-going Aiteo cup formerly know as federation cup, and the national team engagements at all levels.

Aiteo Group however reaffirmed its commitment to the football house in an official statement that the agreement will be renewed annually to further deliver more value for both parties.

The communique signed by Ndiana-Abasi Matthew a Senior Manager, Corporate Communication, which was made available on the federation’s website reads:

Aiteo wishes to inform the general public that it remains committed to its sponsorship deal with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) effective, May 1, 2017.

We wish to state emphatically that contrary to media reports, there is no ongoing review of this agreement. The multi-billion sponsorship deal, was a management decision meticulously taken upon due consideration of its benefits to the development of football in Nigeria, tremendous social capital and unifying effect on every stratum of Nigeria endeavour.

The deal is effective for five years and we have no plans to renege on our decision. We hereby assure our valued stakeholders and Nigerian public that all aspects of the NFF pact, which includes paying Nigeria national team coaches will continue to run without hitches for the agreed five-year term. In line with best practice, we will review annually, to bring even more value for both parties and our stakeholders.

As the Official Naming Rights Sponsor of the NFF Federations Cup, now christened Aiteo Cup, Aiteo will continue its funding of the tournament – Nigeria’s longest running football tourney. Executive Vice Chairman of the group, Mr. Benedict Peters was quoted as saying, “We will continue to underwrite the costs of organising the competition from the round of 64 for the men and women’s finals, provide solidarity support for the State Football Associations, expenses and indemnities of match officials, support for clubs, media, branding/activation as well as prize money to winners. This is at the heart of our group’s social capital investment vision of bequeathing a virile and excellent soccer culture and administration to Nigerians, which besides being Africa’s best, creates economic opportunities and wealth for generations of Nigerians”

The NFF has recorded significant improvements in its management and execution of its national team objectives within the short term of our relationship. We look forward to an Aiteo powered football administration that would make positive history with its national teams.

SOURCE: https://pageone.ng/2017/09/19/aiteo-commitment-nff-sponsorship-review/