₦airaland Forum

all4naija: my comment.

Your comment is useless against the facts that you've been given. Until you address them, there's nothing to debate. I do happen to be in front of my desk working. My ability to tolerate rubbish is non-existant at this stage. Post facts and not rants.

all4naija: [i]Without South Africa Nigeria will be more developed and see better economic boom by now.

Or, so the reason why the "civilised bleks" are not developed in the presence of South Africa?

That's the new argument now?

Time waster.

morpheus24: I like the way you guys switch the arguement around.

It's a fact of life. You are growing from a low base. You are growing faster that the US! So?

Now, South Africans, Chinese, English all control parts of your economy. I understand your bitterness at being made to feel like an unwanted stranger in South Africa. But all the bitterness in the world won't change facts.

We are not settlers in South Africa, by the way. We are South African.

It's funny because you wouldn't hesitate to welcome us in Naai-geria. Are you sad that we prefer our homeland? You wish to have whities too?

What's your "non-settler" population doing? I know! Boko Haram wars and oil theft.

morpheus24: Well good morning.... I mean good afternoon... ah hell Good day.. Craig. Now your "white" is coming out more. I like that.


FDI and a few businessess running around does not equate to a "settler' population that controls the economy of a nation . Case in point ....3 trillion dollar chinese money seculating the US economy does not equate to the dominance of china in the US economy.

The illustration above however does not change the fact that a "white" settler population still controls the South African economy and are still the master-minds behind much of the economic activity in the country and any attempted FDI flow into "REAL" Africa, where the rest of the "real" bleks live. The strategy of economic subjugation in Blek South Africa is still alive and well but no longer a feasible strategy for the rest of "Real' Africa.

so lets here it loud n clear again.............THE POINT STIL REMAINS. WHERE WOULD SOUTH AFRICA BE WITHOUT WHITE PEOPLE, JUST ANOTHER AFRICAN COUNTRY!

Never mind the rant - the article lists a number of industries in Naai-geria that have been built or improved by South Africa, in particular. Therefore, the question is : where would Naai-geria be without South Africa?

The second one : where would Naai-geria be without the British?

The third one: where would Naai-geria be without the Chinese?

The fourth one: where would Naai-geria be without colonisation.

Answer: Given that Naai-geria is the worst of the worst, it would be in hell.

all4naija: Not until you explain how drug and prostitution are parts of informal economy I have nothing to tell you.

I explain nothing. I post facts and I move on. If you wish to leave the facts undisputed, be my guest. I won't spend the whole day debating unfounded rubbish with you when you've been given pure truths to deal with. That's what I do. I post facts and I move.

morpheus24: http://za.news.yahoo.com/sa-holding-africa-back-095106926.html


The World Bank has said that while Africa as a continent has shown good economic growth, South Africa is dragging the average down.

World Bank lead economist for Africa Punam Chuhan-Pole said that while the continent showed growth of 4.9 percent this year, with better than five percent predicted next year, it could be better if not for SA’s disappointing performance.

“If we exclude South Africa, where growth has been disappointingly low, the region is actually growing at closer to six percent,” said Chuhan-Pole.

According to a report on Eyewitness News, Chuhan-Pole said that it was SA’s links to faltering European economies and its poor labour relations that's costing the economy.


Hmmm,, trying to reduce trade ties with Europe to run into "REAL" Africa for investment opportunities.



Obviously an economic strategy orchestrated by the "white" settler population still in economic power supported by the "d.u.m.B" ANC elite who pretty much have standard two educations.

The remaining "native" population on their usual Toyi Toying mission.

Bring the RANDS to Naija, UNA never know us yet. You wan chop Awoof! HAHAHAHAHA!

Your rant is pointless.

GDP growth in the US - 2%

GDP growth in Naai-geria - 5 or 6%

So?

By the way, my 5-year old niece is the fastest growing thing in the house.

Try again.

And do remember South Africa's economic power in Naai-geria. ----> In case you missed the memo: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/business-news/125252-foreign-investments-south-africas-deep-footprints-in-nigerias-economy

How does it feel to be a "civilised blek" in a Naai-geria that your politicians have sold to the highest bidder, from the UK, to China, to South Africa?

all4naija: Did you add that highlighted statement just to make mockery of the Nigerian informal economy?

Thank you.

Tell us where the posted article is false. Don't waste our time with your usual rants.

Not interested in rants.

all4naija: You lack understanding of what you just linked to. That is meager investment that involves Nigerians and a foreigner company that is probably spending the money to invest. Nigerians are also investing and forming partnership with SA businesses. Doe that now mean SA is a puppet of Nigeria? Well, Nigerians are smart and could become the puppeteer!

Seriously, dude, you are missing investment for economic control. Bwahaha...

Read the whole thing and weep, right after that, scarecrow.

We even have a stake in your food economy.

You are hereby colonised and controlled by remote thingie-mabob - from JHB, GP, ZA.

______

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/business-news/125252-foreign-investments-south-africas-deep-footprints-in-nigerias-economy



Foreign Investments: South Africa’s Deep Footprints In Nigeria’s Economy
SATURDAY, 22 JUNE 2013 01:00 BY MARCEL MBAMALU AND GEOFF IYATSE BUSINESS SERVICES - BUSINESS NEWS
User Rating: / 0
PoorBest


ON June 10, 2013, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) hit the airwaves with an alert celebrating what it thought was the greatest achievement of the market since the beginning of the year. The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) of South Africa, a 100-per cent government-owned asset manager, had just acquired N45-billion worth of Dangote Cement Plc at the “bourse”.

Establsihed in 1911, the PIC has over $115 bilion funds under management.

Anything wrong with that transaction, which many say represents an insignificant percentage of the DANGCEM? Well, nothing really! It merely shows that the drive for foreign investment is yielding fruits after all.

The other day, President Goodluck Jonathan, with his full paraphernalia of ministerial and legislative entourage, stormed the country in a quest for foreign investment — Direct or Portfolio.

Indeed, the Team came back with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the result part of which could be what PIC is showing.

No doubt, South Africa’s completely-owned PIC is on the prowl buying up whatever is on offer for sale in Nigeria.

Although this DANGCEM purchase remains in the domain of portfolio investment, a much more aggressive buy-in will metamorphose into ownership in a matter of time.

The NSE’s recent outing signals a much deeper interest and commitment that South Africa has in the economy, even as Nigerians continue to find it much more difficult to either have access or play big over there.

Isn’t it significant that PIC chose to invest in Dangote Cement, one of the most beautiful brides in the economy? The impact of that move was so far-reaching: while the transaction (at N179 (30-day volume weighted average price)) was going on, the share price closed at N210 the same day. Few days after the deal, share price of DANGCEM negotiated an uncharacteristic trend, closing last week (Friday) at N192.

The stark reality is that PIC, Africa’s largest asset manager, may lead (and is, in fact, leading) the next phase of South Africa’s ‘invasion’ of the economy.

Two weeks ago, Bloomberg, reported that the company is eyeing 20 leading quoted companies in Africa with strong indications that Nigerian firms top its consideration. The information came just 24 hours after the company took ownership of 1.5 per cent of Dangote Cement Plc.

PIC’s decision to buy N45.75 billion on 255,607,605 units of shares of Dangote Cement etched its name on the building material sector.

With wads of Rand and Dollars in its hands, the asset manager is reportedly on the lookout for profitable equities across agribusiness, consumer, infrastructure and telecommunications sectors.

Of course, the moment the news filtered into the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), performance of quoted companies in the sub-sectors shot up.



Last year, Tiger Brands, a leading company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), acquired 63.35 per cent stake in another member of the Dangote Group, the Dangote Flour Mills Plc. The South African firm (whose strength lies in the sale of grains), by the deal, emerged the majority shareholder of the company. Meanwhile, Dangote Flour, controlling 31 per cent of the Nigerian flour market, is the second biggest player flowing Four Mills Nigeria Plc.

Tiger Brands started its strategic acquisition in Nigeria with Deli Foods and UAC Nigeria before it bought into Dangote subsidiary in a deal valued at N30 billion. It took over 100 per-cent ownership Deli, a biscuit manufacturer, after which it secured 49 per cent stake in UAC’s food and beverage businesses. The three acquisitions have made Tiger Brands, which operates in Cameroon, Kenya and Cameroon, a formidable player in the Nigeria’s food industry.

Since the South Africans took over ownership, its major products have increased by, at least, 10 per cent. [ thank us!]

Of course, Tiger Brands is no stranger to anti-competition litigations and price-fixing. In November, 2007, the company was fined R98.8 million (roughly equivalent to US$12,8 million) by the South African Competition Commission for colluding with other bread producers to raise the prices by between 30c and 35c per loaf.

According to the commission, the four companies involved, including Tiger Brands, controlled more than 90 per cent of the wheat flour market at the time. The commission also found that the price-fixing activities had a negative effect on both consumers as a whole as well as inhibiting smaller bakeries from being effective competitors.

The fine reflected 5.7 per cent of Tiger Brand’s bread sales, coming mostly from its Albany brand, for the 2006 financial year. Tiger Brands took full responsibility while its CEO, Nick Dennis, resigned.

Originally known as Tiger Oats, Tiger Brands, in May 2008, also agreed to pay a R53.5 million fine for alleged anti-competition practices in its health care subsidiary, Adcock Ingram Critical Care (AICC). AICC executive, Arthur Barnett, was suspended until the investigation was concluded.

In late 1990s Tiger Oats went through a period of rapid expansion. It engaged in massive buying out of other large companies and competitors such as food packaging Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company. That was when it also acquired Adcock Ingram, pharmaceutical company, through which it was fined for anti-competition practices. It was after these buyouts that Tiger Oats was renamed Tiger Brands.

Shoprite is the leading retailer across Africa and is the brand of choice for many consumers across the African continent.

In places like Lekki, Surulere, Ikeja and Enugu, shopping has assumed a new synonym: Shoprite. A significant percentage of Lagosians mistake Shoprite for the sole owner of the shopping centre it operates in Victoria Island, whereas the departmental store is just one among hundreds of tenants that occupy the property owned and managed by The Palms. That shows how popular the South African retailer has become in “far-away” Nigeria.

Since December 2005 when it opened in The Palms, the departmental store has grown in leaps and bounds. It has since then opened at Ikeja and Surulere (Lagos State), Enugu and Kwara States.

Its one-stop shopping experience and competitive price offering has distinguished it from other retail marketers.



MTN, a South African telecommunications giant, bestrides the country’s socio-economic landscape like a colossus, controlling about 44 per cent of the market share. The company along with Econet (now Airtel Nigeria) ducked all attempt to compel them switch to per-second billing as it was done in other parts of the world. The resistance continued until the Nigeria-owned Globacom was launched. Yet, MTN continued as the most expensive service provider in terms of tariff, and boasted that competitive prices offered by other operators would not force it to crash call rates.

And its cutthroat services in Nigeria paid off in terms of profit. MTN Nigeria’s operations in Nigeria have continued to compensate for its not-too-impressive performance at home. By the end of 2010 financial year, the total revenue realised by the MTN Group was N2.57 trillion.

Out of the figure, the Nigerian subsidiary made N794 billion (representing 29 per cent) of the group’s total revenue for the financial year. MTN Nigeria alone contributed 66 per cent of the revenue pooled from Central and West Africa. Still, the company has been sanctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among others for poor service delivery just as subscribers expect the regulator to do more to cut the operators to size.

Vadacom, another South African telecommunications firm, also made an attempt to compete with MTN for the Nigerian telecom market when it bought into Econet in 2004. Interestingly, the deal, which was mired by shareholder dispute with claim that Vodacom had induced “a breach of contract”, was short-lived as its partner, Vee Network Limited, regained the company. Vodacom pulled out of the company and Nigeria in circumstance that remained unclear till date.

But six months after its exit, there were reports that the multinational was holding talks with its estranged partner for a possible comeback. When it left Nigeria, it terminated its plan to inject about $230 million equity investment into Vmobile, which was then branded as Vodacom. It also severed all links by terminating the management agreement it had signed with Vee Networks. But for the timely deal with Sudanese Celtel, Nigerian telecommunications market would have been trudging under the mercy of two-equally smart South African investment groups today.

South African names pop up each time there is acquisition opportunity in the banking sector. At least, three Nigerian banks were linked to the investors in the former Apartheid country during the recent stabilisation exercise.

In the days of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s governor, South African groups, as usual, showed strong interest in the sector. Its interest in Nigeria is as old as the history of Nigeria’s nationhood.

In 1965, the Standard Bank of South Africa merged with the Bank of West Africa acquiring businesses including a banking operation in Nigeria. The name was then changed to Standard Bank of West Africa. Four years after the merger, Standard Bank Nigeria was incorporated locally to take over the business in Nigeria.

It was not until 1971 that 13 per cent of its shares were ceded to Nigerian investors. The end of the civil war saw a major economic upturn the consequence of which forced the military government to increase local control in retail banking.

Hence, the bank’s investment in Standard Bank Nigeria (renamed First Bank of Nigeria in 1979) was reduced to 38 per cent. Standard Chartered remained shareholder of First Bank until 1996.

Standard Chartered re-entered Nigeria in 1999 and opened to customers as a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank Plc. The bank, which has its name etched deep in wholesale banking, has about 28 branches located in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Ota, Aba, Onitsha and Onne.

Stanbic IBTC Plc, another member of Standard Bank Group, used to be a second-tier player. But the bank by financial performance and market size is gradually emerging a leader in the sector with soaring presence in the retail market.

Operating as a holding company following the new banking rule, Stanbic IBTC has robust operations across finance and auxiliary services such as pensions, capital and investment. Operating under Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, it owns Stanbic IBTC Bank, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Pensions Ltd and Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited. Other subsidiaries are Stanbic IBTC Investments Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Ventures Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Trustees Ltd and Stanbic Nominees Nigeria Ltd. Today, the South Africa’s bank is one of the most diversified banks among its peers.

Last year, PIC, a public asset management company wholly owned by South African Government, invested $250 million in Togolese Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. The investment, drawn from the Government Employees Pension Fund, represented the first major direct investment by the company outside South Africa. The decision was taken after managers of PIC, which has taken to aggressive regional investment approach thereafter, “identified” other African countries, including Nigeria, as the next frontier of investment growth.

The share purchase deal was effected with issuance of 3,125,000,000 shares in ETI, representing 19.58 per cent of its total outstanding number of shares, to PIC expected to take a board seat in the company. ETI’s subsidiary, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, sure, has emerged one of biggest bank in terms of branch network after acquiring defunct Oceanic Bank Nigeria Plc. The deal, in a way, gives South Africa yet another footage in the country’s burgeoning financial sector.



Recently, another South Africa’s FirstRand Group, parent company of the First National Bank (FNB) renewed its interest in Nigerian sector. FirstRand Group Head of Investor Relations, Sam Moss, who was perhaps responding to offer to sell the three bride banks owned by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), said the group is looking for an opportunity to acquire a platform in Nigeria to boost its business in Africa.

“Nigeria and Ghana are priority countries for expansion by FNB. Currently FNB’s parent company FirstRand Limited is awaiting regulatory approval for its offer to acquire MBG in Ghana and we see this as an excellent platform to launch FNB products and services into the market. FirstRand has also said it is looking for an opportunity to acquire a platform in Nigeria and its investment banking business, RMB, was recently granted an investment banking license,” Moss said.

Investors from the leading Africa’s economy are interest in insurance as much as banking. LeapFrog Investments, a firm with strong link with South Africa, recently launched acquisition campaign in life assurance sub-sector that promised to be massive. The company has entered into a strategic partnership with Asset & Resource Management Company (ARM) Limited, in a $7.5 million deal, to grow the latter’s recently acquired CrystaLife Assurance Plc into industry leader the market.

LeapFrog, which had previously invested in insurance providers across Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, is expected to help CrystaLife to offer life insurance to millions of uninsured Nigerians.

Earlier before the deal, LeapFrog partner, Dominic Liber, told The Guardian that his group was ready to invest a minimum of $10 million in Nigeria’s insurance sector. “Nigeria is one of the continent’s jewels. We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with ARM, a reputed and fast-growing leader in financial services in the country,” he said.

LeapFrog founder, Dr. Andrew Kuper, was born and raised in South Africa.

Nigerians feel the presence of South Africans in the hospitality than in any other sector. A contact with an average middle-sized Hotel in Lagos, Port Harcourt or Abuja is like a trip to Johannesburg or Cape Town.

The redefinition of the hospitality sector by Protea Hotels is a classical example of what nationals of South Africa are doing in the country’s hotel business. In Lagos alone, there are over 10 hotels managed under Protea franchise. The same management style adopted by Protea by the same South Africa spreads across the length and breadth of the country.



The Nigerian pay-TV industry is virtually taken over by M-net. If Nigerians have not protested the monopolistic nature in the industry and the extortionist approach adopted by M-net and Multi-choice, it is because they do not have an option. The Digital Satellite Television (DSTv) has taken over the airwaves with its stations such as Channel O, Super Sport, Movie Magic and many others reshaping social lives of Nigerians, especially the youths.

Regular hike in subscription charges and other business approaches, which users consider unfair, have not, in any way, affected the control exercised by DSTv in the Pay-TV sub-sector. The “cable TV”, thanks to its European league rights, controls the incredibly huge and growing football space100 per cent, while the Startimes, DANSAT and other indigenous brands, struggle to keep insignificant portion of those who are more interested in movies than sports.

The CNN’s right also puts DSTv ahead in terms of new channels. When Startimes introduced a smarter technology that does not require dish, M-net followed up with Gotv, and that is redeeming the advantage enjoyed by the Nigerian firm.

[size=15pt]South Africans exercise reasonable control in other sectors of Nigerian economy such as construction, information technology, oil and gas and maritime. For instance, Grinater-LTA, a South African private firm delisted from JSE in 1990s, is a major player in the country’s construction sector. It also operates in oil and gas servicing sub-sector.
[/size]

On the other hand, apart from the informal sector [ read :"drugs and prostitution"] , not many Nigerian companies have operations in South Africa.

First City Monument Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Zenith Bank Plc operate in the country as foreign bank representatives.

Apart from these, not much is known about Nigeria’s inroad in South Africa’s formal economy.

Many Nigerian businesses thrive in the tight economies of Jo-burg and Cape Town but life for them is not as good as it is in Nigeria for South Africans. This is the worry.