₦airaland Forum

Good one

The Nigerian equity market sustained last week’s positive sentiment as the Covid-19 lockdown ease begin today (Monday), following the Federal government directive to open the economy partly, after 34 days of total lockdown in Lagos and Ogun state, including the FCT. However, the market breadth closed negatively, recording 15 gainers as against 19 losers.

In summary, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 68.85 absolute points, representing a growth of 0.30% to close at 23,089.86 points. Similarly, the overall Market Capitalization size increased by N35.88 billion, representing a growth of 0.30% to close at N12.03 trillion.

PRESTIGE emerged as the top gainer while NEM & NEIMETH emerged as the top losers.

The uptrend was impacted by gains recorded in large and medium capitalized stocks, amongst which are; ARDOVA (+9.96%), UACN (+4.39%), VITAFOAM (+3.83%), MTNN (+3.57%), TRANSCORP (+3.03%), DANGSUGAR (+2.81%), OANDO (+1.21%) and ZENITHBANK (+0.35%).

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

The Naira at the official window on Thursday closed unchanged at 361.00/$1, against last Thursday’s position.

The Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX window opened at N385.33, traded high at N390.00, and eventually closed at N384.00, representing a 0.85% appreciation against last Thursday’s closing position. A total of $83.41 million was transacted through the I&E window today.

MONEY MARKET

Overnight(O/N) rate closed at 4.67%, representing a 1.92% appreciation against last Thursday’s closing position, while Open Buy-Back (OBB) rate closed at 4.00%, representing a 1.75% appreciation against yesterday’s position.

NASD OTC MARKET

The NASD OTC market on Monday closed negatively as the Unlisted Securities Index (USI) closed at 700.35, representing a 0.05% decline as against last Thursday’s closing position. Similarly, Market Capitalization lost N280 million to closed at N514.46 billion. Also, the aggregate volume and value decreased by 97.82% and 99.03%, as investors traded a total of 2,750 shares, worth N322,000 in 3 deal.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/04/equity-market-surge-as-covid-19-lockdown-eases/

The Federal Government, as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic in Nigeria, has announced a gradual easing of the initial 28-day lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, and Ogun States, effective Monday, 4 May 2020. This directive will entail a limit on all non-essential interstate travel, opening of businesses, markets and malls within designated hours, and a nationwide curfew between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., except essential services.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will continue to support the Government’s directives and efforts in the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. In prioritizing the health and safety of our stakeholders, we will keep monitoring the evolving impact of this pandemic and make decisions in the best interest of our employees and stakeholders at large.
To this end, we will maintain restricted access to our office facilities, including our trading floors across the country, and continue remote trading and business activities. Our employees will keep on working from home except for essential staff who will continue to work out of the office as they have been doing since we commenced remote trading in order to ensure that our operations run smoothly and provide support. We expect that you will continue to utilize all of our digital platforms at your disposal to trade remotely and engage with us. Further updates on our business continuity plans will be shared with our stakeholders in due course.
These are indeed challenging times for all of us, but we encourage you to stay positive and continue to act responsibly in line with the guidelines of the appropriate authorities. Rest assured that The Exchange is open for business remotely and will remain so through this pandemic. Should you need to engage with us on any matter, please reach out to us via e-mail, X-Issuer, X-Boss, X-Whistle, telephone, our website, or any of our other digital and social platforms.
Through it, all, remember that NSE is always closer to you.​

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/04/nse-sustains-remote-trading-and-business-activities/

Lumos Nigeria, Africa’s leading provider of high-quality solar home systems has received an emergency relief fund from All On to provide solar power to public healthcare facilities on the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The solar-powered systems are being deployed to critical healthcare and emergency response centres across Nigeria to power basic necessities such as lighting, fans, vaccine fridge and laptops, ensuring that essential services can respond to the crisis and deliver urgent medical care.
This was made possible through the grant from All On- an organization established to increase access to commercial energy in under-served and unserved off-grid energy markets in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, less than 33% of households and 30% of businesses have reliable access to grid electricity. The partnership with Lagos State Government (LASG) through the Young Presidents Association (YPO) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) through African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) ensures that public health facilities across Nigeria have access to the basic power supply.
Lumos also partnered with the Oyo State Government through Monsurat Olajumoke Sunmonu World Empowerment Foundation (MOSWEF) to provide Solar powered systems to public health centres across Oyo State and with the Society for Family Health (SFH) for public and private health centres across Nigeria.
Speaking on the grant, Dr Wiebe Boer, All On CEO said ‘The investee Lumos Nigeria was selected to be part of the Covid-19 Solar Relief Fund based on their immediate preparedness to respond with products, inventory, technical capabilities and their efficient nationwide delivery track record.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/04/lumos-and-all-on-partner-ngos-to-provide-emergency-solar-power-to-covid-19-health-centers-in-nigeria/

More pictures...

* A successful gradual restart of production at the Mercedes-Benz plants in Untertürkheim, Berlin, Hamburg, Sindelfingen and Bremen after the suspension of production and short-time work

* An extensive package of anti-infection measures agreed and implemented with the Works Council


After a phase of suspension of production and short-time work caused by the Covid-19- pandemic, the Mercedes-Benz car plants in Untertürkheim, Berlin, Hamburg, Sindelfingen and Bremen have successfully restarted production. On 20 April the engine and component plants in Untertürkheim, Hamburg and Berlin gradually recommenced production first, followed by the Mercedes-Benz car plants in Bremen and Sindelfingen this week. On 4 May the Mercedes-Benz car plant in Rastatt will also gradually restart. The plants in Kölleda and Arnstadt (MDC Power and MDC Technology), as well as selected international Mercedes-Benz car plants, will likewise restart production on a step-by-step basis. These include e.g. the plants in Sebes/Cugir (Romania), Kecskemét (Hungary) and Tuscaloosa (USA). The restart will be on a flexible basis so that ongoing developments can be taken into account.
With this production ramp-up, Mercedes-Benz is continuing its product and electric initiative while among others servicing China as its largest sales market, where the company is seeing a significant increase in demand again. The Untertürkheim plant produces engines and components that are required for the production of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in China and for the gradually restarting Mercedes-Benz assembly plants. For the same reason, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin has recommenced production of e.g. Camtronic engine management units. The plant in Hamburg produces axles and axle components for Mercedes-Benz vehicle production around the world. The battery plants in Kamenz, where batteries for the EQ family, drive batteries for plug-in hybrid vehicles and 48 V batteries are produced, continued to operate during the suspension of production and short-time work phases as important strategic aspects of the electric initiative by Mercedes-Benz – on a 2-shift basis with strictly segregated shifts and extensive safety measures for the employees.

At the Mercedes-Benz car plant in Bremen the production capacities are gradually being increased for the entire product range, for example, the Mercedes-Benz GLC, the bestselling SUV last year. At the same time production of the EQC (combined electrical consumption: 20.8–19.7 kWh/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 0 g/km)[1] is being successively increased on the same line as part of the electric initiative. The Sindelfingen plant is responsible for e.g. production of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the S-Class Saloon, the world’s bestselling luxury saloon in 2019, for which China was the largest market last year. The electrified models of the E-Class and S-Class, and also the hybrid and plug-in variants, are also produced at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen.

To protect the employees, the company has taken precautions to prevent infection and has agreed on a comprehensive package of measures with the General Works Council and introduced these in the plants. These include hygiene and cleaning standards, regulations to maintain a minimum safety distance of 1.5 metres and the use of masks covering mouth and nose in production.

Daimler has decided to suspend most of its production as well as work in selected administrative areas in Europe for an initial period of two weeks (March 23 to April 5, 2020). This was followed by short-time work in Germany starting April 6. The situation continues to differ within the company. Short-time work will continue in some areas. The short-time work affects the Group’s car, van and commercial vehicle plants in Germany. Necessary basic functions, as well as future plans and strategic projects, are excluded from short-time work so that we can quickly get back to work after the crisis.

Country-specific arrangements apply for international locations. In this respect, the company is following the recommendations of international, national and local authorities. Daimler’s management is monitoring the situation constantly and will take further measures as required. Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG, Production and Supply Chain Management: “Together with the whole team, I am glad that we are gradually restarting our production in a coordinated manner. Flexibility is what counts here: the flexibility of our plants is one of our focal strategic topics in production and it helps us in this restarting phase now. Our first priority is to contain the spread of the COVID-19- pandemic and to provide a safe working environment for our employees, suppliers and service providers. We are producing in compliance with extensive safety measures and we are increasing our production step by step.”

Frank Deiß, Head of Powertrain Production Mercedes-Benz Cars and Location Manager for the Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim: “Our powertrain plants supply the Mercedes-Benz car plants all over the world. To safeguard the necessary production capacities there, we gradually restarted operations at the powertrain plants in Hamburg, Berlin and Untertürkheim last week. This affects e.g. Camtronic production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Berlin, where engine management components are produced for our products in China. I want to thank the highly motivated team that made the successful restart of our plants possible.”

Michael Häberle, Chairman of the Works Council, Mercedes-Benz plant in Untertürkheim: “We developed and implemented extensive safety measures at our facility within a very short time. These need to be constantly adapted now – and for this, we greatly value the feedback from our colleagues. Everything that is currently happening is part of a major learning process. Because the right protection already begins on the way to work, and the safety concepts apply just as much in the offices and during breaks as in production. These numerous measures are no doubt unfamiliar in some respects – but they are important to safeguard every individual. I am glad to see that we are all pulling in the same direction!”

Michael Bauer, Head of Production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen and Site Manager: “As of this week we have been gradually and flexibly restarting assembly of our E-Class and S-Class, so that we can respond promptly to ongoing developments. We will gradually increase our production volumes in the next days and weeks so that we are able to get to full speed as rapidly as possible. Our highly qualified, committed and motivated personnel are the key to successful management of a coordinated restart.”

Ergun Lümali, Chairman of the Works Council at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen: “Protecting the health of our employees is of the utmost priority when restarting production. To this end, we have put together an extensive package of protective and hygiene measures which have been well accepted by the workforce. These range from compliance with hygiene rules and safety distances to the wearing of masks covering mouth and nose. Our aim is to ensure that when returning to the plant, our employees feel safer at work than in public areas. This production restart is a positive signal for all of us.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/02/step-by-step-back-to-normality-mercedes-benz-car-plants-successfully-restart-production/

Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries, producers of a premium Nigerian Rice brand, Famous Rice has made a donation of 1000 bags of rice to the Kwara State Government in order to ameliorate the conditions of the lockdown in the State.

The Managing Director of the Organisation, Mr Ayodele Alade handed over the bags of the premium rice brand to the Deputy Governor of the State, Mr Kayode Alabi. He noted that the donation came as a palliative for citizens of Kwara State who could not access food easily.

According to Mr Alade, “we are excited to be giving back to Kwara State at this time in history. As an organization that has the interest of the people in mind, we are ready to support the Kwara State government, the people of Offa and Ajase-Ipo with a total of 1,400 bags.”

While appreciating the good works of the company, the Deputy Governor of Kwara State, Mr Kayode Alabi said, “we are glad to receive this palliative from Hillcrest Agro-Allied Industries. We urge other corporate organizations to imitate this noble cause in order to alleviate the pains of the populace at this time in history.”

Similarly, the brand also donated 300 bags of Famous Rice to the people of Offa at the Olofa of Offa’s palace, His Royal Majesty, Oba Mufutau Muhammed Oloyede Gbadamosi, Okikiola Ajagungbade I Esuwoye II while another 100 bags were donated to the people of Ajasse-Ipo at the Olupo of Ajasse-Ipo, HRM, Oba Sikiru Sanni Woleola II, all in Kwara State.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/02/famous-rice-donates-palliative-to-kwara-state-and-communities/

Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc (OKOMUOIL) has announced a 101.4% YoY surge in earnings to N2.0 billion in its Q1’20 unaudited results. The numbers suggest a significant improvement in margins and robust cash flow generation that may be closely linked to ongoing border closures.

Some positives:
OKOMUOIL reported a 65.5% YoY jump in turnover to N6.9 billion in the quarter, following an 81.6% YoY increase in local sales which masked the weakness in export revenue (-12.5% YoY). Growth in Q1’20 revenue likely reflects greater harvesting from matured areas of previous years’ planting. This may have been largely supported by a greater share of domestic demand occasioned by the ongoing border closures. We believe the bulk of OKOMUOIL’s export revenue is derived from rubber, which is completely shipped out of the country by the company
Cost of sales declined by c.70.0% YoY to N252.0 million. The cost improvement cuts across both oil palm and rubber segments. We, however, believe there could be some reclassification between the cost of sales and other operating expense in coming quarters
Cash generated from operations surged to N3.6 billion in Q1’20 from N7.2 million in Q1’19, aided by a significant surge in cash receipt from customers (+129.3% YoY)
Some concerns
OKOMUOIL’s operating cost rose by c.71.0% YoY to N3.5 billion, but we believe this may also be subject to reclassification in coming quarters
The effective tax rate was also 12.1ppts higher YoY at 33.0% in the quarter but in line with regulation
Finance cost rose by 153.6% YoY likely due to the new long term borrowing obtained last year for business expansion

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/01/okomu-oil-palm-company-plc-q120-results-earnings-surge-on-strong-domestic-sales/

Access Bank Plc announced its results for Q1-2020, gross earnings grew by 31.9% to NGN211.12 billion as profitability remained benign. Net interest income and non-interest income grew by 27.0% to NGN72.21 billion and 56.0% to NGN72.98 billion respectively as growth in operating expenses and interest expense coupled with FX revaluation losses impacted bottom-line profit. The bank recorded a profit before tax of NGN46.29 billion (+2.6% YoY) as profit after tax was down marginally by 0.5% to NGN40.93 billion due to a higher income tax expense of NGN5.36 billion from NGN3.95 billion in Q1-2019.

Key Highlights

Growth in interest expense was high at 10.6% to NGN59.66 billion but was dwarfed by an increase in interest income by 19.0% to NGN131.87 billion from NGN110.77 billion in the same period in 2019. This was supported by 46.4% (NGN83.84 billion) growth in income from loans and advances. Income from cash and balances with banks advanced by 67.7% to NGN2.63 billion as income from investment securities declined by 13.4% YoY to NGN44.01 billion.
Non-interest income was up by 56.0% to NGN72.98 billion to offset the significant FX revaluation loss of NGN53.26 billion. Impressive earning on fees and commission also supported the income, as it grew by 76.0% to NGN23.00 billion.
Operating expenses increased significantly during the period by 63.8% to NGN90.32 billion as a result of a merger with Diamond Bank in March 2019. Hence, all contributing lines recorded a spike YoY – AMCON levy rose by 54.6% to NGN17.52 billion, NDIC was up by 62.0% to NGN3.71 billion, personnel expenses advanced by 53.5% to NGN19.63 billion as other expenses grew by 77.8% to NGN42.31 billion.

Valuation and Analyst’s Comment

We place a BUY recommendation on Access Bank Plc. with a 12-month target price of NGN8.58 – translating to an estimated capital gain of 37.32% from its April 28, 2020 closing price of NGN6.25. We are of the opinion that the bank will continue to exploit the merger advantage with Diamond bank in the face of lower transaction charges. Efficiency is still a major concern as operating expenses were significantly higher for Q1-2020. We believe this will pare out as the lockdown reduces business operating expenses.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/05/01/access-bank-plc-q1-2020-fx-revaluation-loss-pressures-bottom-line-profit/

Nigerian based coalition of partners and support oriented digital initiative, Givefood.ng, on Monday, April 27, 2020, launched a program aimed at impoverished communities. The program seeks to provide one million meals every week amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking on the initiative, the Coalition founder Kola Masha, CEO of Babban Gona, said: “We have been inspired by the collective willingness we have seen amongst Nigerians to help their fellow citizens at a critical time. When we have millions of vulnerable people that need help, we cannot rely on the contributions or interventions of others, we must all come together to support them.”

“This is the vision for Givefood.ng; for ordinary Nigerians to have access to a platform that can safely and securely deliver assistance to those that need it. We believe that with the partners we have been able to bring together, the civic spirit we have seen and the support we have received from Nigeria’s private sector, we can quickly achieve a system that provides 1 million meals for Nigerians each week. Anyone who wants to give food can do so by simply visiting Givefood.ng today,” he added.

Collectively, the partners will provide a technology-enabled logistics solution to help those who want to direct their resources to the most vulnerable, while ensuring the availability of food packs at easily accessible points for those that need them.

Although the food packs may vary from location to location due to availability, a typical food pack is valued at N2000. Beneficiaries will receive A 2kg swallow pack, 1 kg pasta pack, a 500g sugar pack, 7–9 packets of 70g instant noodles, 4 packets of 70g tomato paste, and soap.

The Givefood.ng chain is made up of over 100 food collection points borne out of partnerships with various supermarket chains. The Givefood.ng partners include Babban Gona and Facebook, in technology; Shoprite, Spar, Addide, FoodCo, Grocery Bazaar, Justrite, Hubmart, Hartleys, Trimart and Prince Ebeano, in distribution; Dufil, Prima Foods (Indomie), Flour Mills of Nigeria and UAC in FMCG; and Lagos State Government, Africa Practice, Dalberg, FCMB, Trace TV and Whitten & Roy Partnership in outreach.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/30/givefood-ng-rolls-out-initiative-to-provide-1-million-meals-every-week-in-support-of-vulnerable-communities/

With Nigeria and the rest of the world still coming to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic which has hobbled global economies, the Akwa Ibom State Government is already looking ahead to repositioning its economy for a post-COVID-19 world.

To this effect, the governor, Udom Emmanuel has put together a crack and astute 20-member committee to advise the government on its task of economic reconstruction. Equally important, the committee, drawn from the public and private sector, is peopled by globally renowned entrepreneurs, eggheads from the corporate and academic circles as well as seasoned administrators.

The committee is chaired by Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, a former Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial & Economic Management (WAIFEM), with Prof. Emmanuel Onwioduokit, HOD of Economics at the University of Uyo as Secretary.

Among the notable names in the committee is a serial digital entrepreneur and Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh; Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lady Mary Uduk and Executive Vice Chairman, ExxonMobil, Mr Udom Inoyo.

Others include Executive Director, NNPC/NAPIMS, Mr. Hilary Akpan; President, Uyo Chambers of Commerce Industry, Mines & Agriculture (UYOCCIMA), Obong Nseyen Ebong; President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria – Akwa Ibom Chapter, Prince Bassey Sampson Inwang; Director-General, Institute for National Transformation, Prof. Vincent Anigbogu; Managing Consultant, NobleHouse Consulting, Sir Inyang Inyang; former Executive Director, NCDMB, Chairman/CEO of Rootcare Pharmacy, Sir Effiong Afiakurue; Executive Director, Agricultural Investments (AKICORP), Pastor Umo Eno; President, Akwa Ibom Business Community (AIBC), Mr Lordswill Umani and Pastor Samuel Archibong of the League of Akwa Ibom Business Association (LABUSA), among others.

Also in the committee are a number of serving commissioners in the current Akwa Ibom administration.

The foregoing was disclosed in a statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem.

‘‘The current economic challenges, occasioned by COVID-19, have thrown an inexorable necessity on us as a people and Akwa Ibom State has risen to this challenge. To this end, His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel has directed that a post-COVID-19 economic reconstruction committee be constituted of the… eminent persons,’’ the release had stated in part.

Equally important, the economic reconstruction committee will be inaugurated on Friday, May 1st by 12 pm.

Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom has made significant progress with its management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. Going by the statistics released by the country’s disease-fighting agency, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday, April 28, Akwa Ibom had so far recorded 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Nevertheless, it is currently nursing only two active cases after nine patients who previously tested positive made full recoveries and had been discharged. However, it has suffered one casualty as well.

Nigeria is currently battling to rein in the COVID-19 pandemic after an undisclosed Italian who arrived Lagos on March 24, 2020, became the country’s index case.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/30/zinox-boss-ekeh-19-others-appointed-in-akwa-iboms-post-covid-19-committee/

The Okumu Oil Palm Company Plc (the Company) wishes to notify The Nigeria Stock Exchange (The Exchange), the Company’s shareholders and the investing public of the appointment of the Law Firm of P.C Obi & Co., represented by Chibuike Odim Onwusoro, Esq., as its new Company Secretary with effect from 16th March 2020.

This follows the resignation of the erstwhile Company Secretary, Mr. Christian J. Mariere, om 31st January 2020.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/29/okomu-palm-oil-plc-appoints-new-company-secretary/

The global pandemic has made it clear to most business stakeholders that their company needs a mobile app. How would you go about ordering one? It feels intuitive and straightforward at first, but once you start formalizing and structuring your plan of actions, you may end up failing to tie all the pieces of the puzzle together effectively. We hope this article provides a roadmap and clear mobile application business plan that will guide you along the way.

Stakeholders

Once a decision-maker realizes the burning need or desire to develop a mobile app, they have to consider all parties potentially involved in the process and make sure everybody’s expectations are at least met, but preferable exceeded. Let’s look at the parties that play a pivotal role in the execution of a successful app:

Investors – if you cannot raise a sufficient amount of money yourself, you may find investors and get funding in exchange for a share in your company. Investors care about return on investment (ROI), as this is how they are getting their money back. An alternative to investors will be a bank giving you a loan. In this case, you will have to ensure timely payments, which means your company has to do well.
Customers – they are the desired target audience right so it is mission-critical to make them happy. Give them what they want in a more convenient way with higher quality on demand. The Requirements part of your plan ensures you have the right product for the right customer.
Your company – is the tip of the spear and the maestro. Make sure you have a designated team to manage the project. Yes, you are hiring app developers, but you still have to take care of marketing, sales, legal issues, infrastructure, etc. Please take mobile app development seriously as its success is due to the hard work of an enthusiastic team that makes an app rock.
Development team – most of the time, the development of a mobile app is a one-time occasion, which makes having a development team in-house inefficient. Be sure to hire a dedicated development team to avoid the risk of having your tasks postponed, or done negligently when overridden by higher priority clients. Be deliberate when selecting a team to build your app: pay attention to their process, communication process and accessibility, portfolio of completed projects and fit.

The requirement for mobile application development is one of the key stages that greatly determine the effectiveness and productivity of the entire development process. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Please ask stupid questions – you never know what is going on in the developer’s mind, so develop a habit of asking questions that leave no room for ambiguities or mistranslation
Answer stupid questions – same idea as the previous point but in the opposite direction. What’s clear for you may not make sense to the person in front of you. Being on the same page is crucial.
Ask potential customers – never think you know better. Double-check. Conduct surveys, analyze competitors and talk to visionaries.
Cover different aspects of your app – every little bit of the app matters, so discuss everything that you feel necessary: interface, functionality, design, languages, pricing, compatibility, etc.
Leave some wiggle room – make sure you talk through the process of requirements change in detail. You should be able to adapt your app to market trends, economic conditions, or legal restrictions.

Prototype

Once the development team has the requirements, it should come up with the prototype of your app – a responsive “draft” enabling you to check the flow, review concepts, and provide feedback before any serious coding is done. Having an interactive prototype is a cheap and quick way to pin-point shortcomings that ensures the requirements will turn into the right product.

Design

These days you can distinguish your app by its design alone. You will get the taste of how designers perceive the look of your app on the prototype stage, but it is definitely subject to changes. Once again, be sure real people give you some feedback about the level of excitement experienced during the use of your app. Polish until excited!

API

This section is a little techy but may save you from unnecessary worries and expenses. Even if you are aiming at the iOS market right now, but might consider expanding to Android, Windows, etc., you will benefit a lot from having our mobile app developed using the API-first approach. This allows the creation of an app on various platforms on top of the same basement. In addition, you will be able to build, deploy, and manage the entire app lifecycle from one source. And as mentioned above it saves time and money once the need for rapid scaling emerges.

Integration

Apps rarely operate in a vacuum so it is absolutely critical to ensure seamless interaction with all and any apps and services your app can be tied with, e.g. payment gateways, social media apps, etc.

The mobile app development process is successful when structured and sequenced properly. The above guidelines should help you to put together a comprehensive and detailed plan of your app creation.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/28/making-a-mobile-app-here-is-what-you-should-know/

E-commerce sales hit $25.6 trillion globally in 2018, up 8% from 2017, according to the latest available estimates released today by the UN’s trade and development body, UNCTAD, at the start of its UNCTAD eWeek event.

The online event will explore digital solutions and policies to help the world recover from the coronavirus crisis. It runs from 27 April to 1 May and features dialogues among ministers, heads of international organizations, business executives and civil society representatives.

According to the UNCTAD analysis, the estimated 2018 e-commerce sales value, which includes business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales, was equivalent to 30% of global gross domestic product (GDP) that year.

“The coronavirus crisis has accelerated the uptake of digital solutions, tools and services, but the overall impact on the value of e-commerce in 2020 is still hard to predict,” said Shamika Sirimanne, UNCTAD’s director of technology and logistics.

The 2017 value of global e-commerce was estimated at $23.8 trillion, based on a revised methodology.

Top countries in e-commerce sales

The value of global B2B e-commerce in 2018 was $21 trillion, representing 83% of all e-commerce, comprising both sales on online market platforms and electronic data interchange transactions.

B2C e-commerce was valued at $4.4 trillion, up by 16% from 2017. Cross-border B2C e-commerce sales amounted to $404 billion in 2018, representing an increase of 7% over 2017.

The United States continued to dominate the overall e-commerce market (Table 1). It remained among the top three countries by B2C e-commerce sales, alongside China and the United Kingdom.

The leading B2C e-commerce companies are based mostly in China and the United States. The world’s top 10 B2C companies in 2018 generated almost $2 trillion in gross merchandise value (GMV), according to the report.

Alibaba (China) was far ahead with a GMV of $866 billion in 2018, followed by Amazon (United States) with $277 billion. However, in terms of revenue, JD.com (China) and Amazon were ahead of Alibaba.

Developing and transition economies accounted for about half of the top 20 economies by B2C e-commerce sales. In relation to GDP, B2C e-commerce in these economies was the largest in Hong Kong (China), China and the United Kingdom, and the smallest in India, Brazil and Russia.

Among the top 20 economies, the extent to which Internet users engage in online purchases varies considerably. For example, in 2018, 87% of Internet users in the United Kingdom shopped online, compared with only 14% in Thailand and 11% in India.

More than 1.4 billion people shopped online and more bought from abroad

UNCTAD estimates that 1.45 billion people, or one-quarter of the world’s population aged 15 and older, made purchases online in 2018 (Figure 1). This is 9% higher than in 2017.

China had the largest number of online shoppers at 610 million, according to the report. While the bulk of online shoppers mainly bought from domestic suppliers, some 330 million online shoppers made cross-border purchases in 2018 — a little more than one in five of all online shoppers.

The interest in buying from foreign suppliers continued to expand. The share of cross-border online shoppers to all online shoppers rose from 17% in 2016 to 23% in 2018.

“Still the number of online shoppers, while huge, is an indication of the scale of the digital divide and the future market potential of e-commerce, both of which need to be addressed,” Ms Sirimanne added.

Today only half of the world’s 7.7 billion people are connected to the internet and its benefits. This limits the ability of many developing countries to use digital solutions to cope with the current health and economic crisis.

New methodology

Measuring the value of e-commerce remains a challenge, as most countries still do not publish official statistics on it, even though more governments are collecting information.

Also, countries that publish data on the value of e-commerce sometimes do not follow international guidelines and often revise their statistics.

To take account of recent developments, UNCTAD has adapted its methodology for estimating global e-commerce.

Due to the changes to the methodology as well as country revisions to their 2017 data, the latest e-commerce estimates are not directly comparable to those published by UNCTAD in previous years.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/27/global-e-commerce-hits-25-6-trillion-latest-unctad-estimates/

The latest estimates from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) indicate a worsening of the country impact from the COVID-19 crisis in the Asia Pacific region.

On 14 April 2020, IATA released an updated analysis showing that the COVID-19 crisis will see global airline passenger revenues drop by US$314 billion in 2020, a 55% decline compared to 2019. Airlines in the Asia Pacific will see the largest revenue drop of US$113 billion in 2020 compared to 2019 (-US$88 billion in 24 March estimate), and a 50% fall in passenger demand in 2020 compared to 2019 (-37% in 24 March estimate). These estimates are based on a scenario of severe travel restrictions lasting for three months, with a gradual lifting of restrictions in domestic markets, followed by regional and intercontinental.

“The situation is deteriorating. Airlines are in survival mode. They face a liquidity crisis with a US$61 billion cash burn in the second quarter. We have seen the first airline casualty in the region. There will be more casualties if governments do not step in urgently to ensure airlines have sufficient cash flow to tide them over this period,” said Conrad Clifford, IATA’s Regional Vice President, Asia-Pacific. He identified India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand as priority countries that need to take action. IATA is calling for a combination of:

Direct financial support
Loans, loan guarantees and support for the corporate bond market
Tax relief
“Providing support for airlines has a broader economic implication. Jobs across many sectors will be impacted if airlines do not survive the COVID-19 crisis. Every airline job supports another 24 in the travel and tourism value chain. In Asia-Pacific, 11.2 million jobs are at risk, including those that are dependent on the aviation industry, such as travel and tourism,” said Clifford.

Airlines continue to perform an important role currently with the transport of essential goods, including medical supplies, and the repatriation of thousands of people stranded around the world by travel restrictions. And after the COVID-19 pandemic is contained, governments will need airlines to support the economic recovery, connect manufacturing hubs and support tourism. That’s why they need to act now – and urgently – before it is too late,” said Clifford.

Details of the latest country impact are given in the image attached.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/27/covid-19-impact-on-asia-pacific-aviation-worsens/

The Kebbi State Government and an Agricultural Firm, Machine and Equipment Corporation Africa (MECA), on Wednesday, in Birnin Kebbi signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU), for the management of one hundred Tractors under a Tractor Hiring Scheme.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Barrister Attahiru Maccido, signed on behalf of Kebbi State Government, while the Company”s Group Country Director, Iliya Gashinbaki signed on behalf of the firm.

Maccido said that Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has approved the submission of the Ministry of Agriculture, recommending the adoption of the scheme by MECA, for management of one hundred tractors bought by the state government.

A statement signed by Yahaya Sarki, Special Adviser (SA) Media to Kebbi State Governor which was made available to Chamber Telegraph explained that the State Government had selected a reputable and competent company in order to ensure the success of the scheme.

It is aimed at avoiding the costly mistakes of the previous administration which resulted in the collapse of the scheme, due to negligent poor management.

” That is why the state government took time in ensuring that it selects a competent and able management company.

” MECA has a solid background because it is a combination of the private sector, CBN and NIRSAL, so, we have no doubt of their capacity and that is why the state government decided to have the agreement with them”, he said.

According to the Commissioner, fifty of the tractors shall be deployed to the four (4) agricultural zones under the Kebbi Agricultural and Rural Development Agency ( KARDA), in Argungu, Bunza, Zuru and Yauri in the state by the company and shall be available for hire to small scale farmers.

In the same vein, the remaining fifty tractors will be given to large scale farmers upon payment of a deposit, which are also going to be managed by the company.

Maccido further described the event as historic and thanked the Kebbi State Governor for his foresight and an undying zeal to continue to support the agricultural sector in the state.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Agricultural and Natural Resources, Mr Joel Aiki, also described the signing of the agreement as a welcome development.

He said that the MOU underscored the zeal and commitment of the state government in moving the state forward in respect of agricultural mechanisation.

He said, ” part of the agreement include the security, maintenance and the servicing of 100 units of tractors procured by the state government, in addition to the number of agro-processing equipment to support agricultural mechanisation which had already been distributed.”

He assured that the Kebbi State Government was committed to lifting agriculture forward in the state, for the betterment of the entire country.

Aiki also pointed out that, agricultural mechanisation will improve production, reduce drudgery and hard labour.

The Permanent Secretary reassured that the service provider, MECA, was selected from among many bidders because they have met all the required qualifications, both technically and financially, to emerge worth for the contract.

Responding, the Group Country Director of MECA, Iliya Gashinbaki, expressed his happiness over the development, describing it as a milestone achievement.

“This is a milestone achievement by his Excellency, in his quest to keep Kebbi, the leading agricultural hub in Nigeria, especially in rice farming.”

He averred that the use of the 100 tractors will contribute to the cultivation of a minimum of 200,000 hectares annually.

He explained, ” if that is translated to the 4 agricultural zones in the state, it will produce a tremendous output of food in the state.”

Gashinbaki also added that the youths in the state stood the chance to be trained as Mechanics, Assistant Tractor Operators and as Technicians.

He described the efforts of Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, in approving the agreement as not only a timely response to COVID- 19 pandemics, in his capacity as the Vice Chairman of the National Food Security but a robust attempt to tackle the menace of unemployment in Kebbi State.

“I want to assure the governor and people of Kebbi State that MECA has done it in several states, we have implemented similar schemes on Fadamas across 14 states in Nigeria, we are in Kano and Niger states also and now in Kebbi State.

“What is more interesting is that, since the COVID -19 pandemic started, this is the first most articulate response to tackle food security in Nigeria, this year, by the foresight of Kebbi Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu,” he said.

He also commended Governor Bagudu for leading by example and called on other governors to emulate him

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/25/kebbi-govt-agric-firm-meca-sign-mou-for-management-of-100-tractors/

Access Bank Plc recorded a profit after tax of N40.9 billion in the first quarter period ended March 31st, 2020. This is according to the company’s financial statement for Q1 2020, which was released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange website.

Access Bank recorded an increase in its profit before tax to N46.2 billion in the period under review from N45.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

The Bank’s net interest income for the period under review stood at N72.2 billion. This indicates a 27% increase compared to N56.8 billion that was recorded in Q1 2019.

In Q1 2020, the bank said it had a net impairment charge of N8.6 billion, higher than N3.4 billion in the same period of 2019. Also, its net interest income after impairment charges increased to N63.6 billion from N53.5 billion.

Access Bank’s profit before tax for Q1 2020 stood at N46.2 billion. This is 2.6% more than N45.1 billion reported in Q1 2019. On the other hand, profit after tax decreased slightly by 0.53% to N40.9, down from N41.1 billion.

The earnings per share (EPS) dropped to N1.21 from N1.39.

Fee and commission expense of the Bank increased to N4.9 billion from N2.6 billion in the corresponding period of last year and this was due to the 88 per cent increase in e-banking expense and 149 per cent rise in the bank and electronic transfer charges.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/23/access-bank-reports-profit-of-n40-9-billion-in-q1-2020-unaudited-results/

The brewer announced a 31.4% YoY plunge in earnings to N5.5 billion in its Q1’20 unaudited results. The numbers suggest weaker cost efficiency and pressured operating cash flow.

The company in Q1 2020 recorded a decrease of 27.8% and 31.4% in Profit Before Tax (PBT) and Profit After Tax (PAT) respectively, with PBT declining from ₦11.46 billion to ₦8.28 billion and PAT declining from ₦8.03 billion to ₦5.05 billion.

NBPlc reported a 22.4% YoY plunge in core operating earnings to N10.9 billion in Q1’20, following significant increases in marketing & distribution expense (+13.5% YoY) and administrative spend (+16.1% YoY). We believe the high marketing expense reflects increasing promotional intensity in the breweries market.

The effective tax rate was also 3.5ppts higher YoY in the quarter.

A closer look at the result by Brand Spur revealed that the cash generated from operations plunged by 61.9% YoY to N4.4 billion in Q1’20, largely reflecting weak working capital management.

Notably, the company experienced significant expansions in changes in trade & other receivables and prepayment in the review period Pressure on net operating cash flow was further compounded by a 24.0% YoY increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) in the quarter.

NBPlc was able to keep revenue and cost of goods sold largely steady despite COVID-19 induced crisis in the latter part of the quarter. Specifically, Gross profit margin only contracted by 19bps YoY in Q1’20.

Despite the over four-fold YoY jump in non-current borrowing, finance cost remained largely subdued (+1.5% YoY) in the review period. The overall moderation in yield environment and a cutback in short term borrowings may have reduced finance cost pressures for the business.

Consequent to the above, Investors earning’s an indicator (Earnings per Share) decreased to 69 kobo from N1 in Q1 2019.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/22/nigerian-breweries-reports-reduced-profits-for-first-three-months-of-2020/

National Bureau of Statistics, in line with our expectations, reported a 12.26% rise in annual inflation rate for the month of March; higher than 12.20% recorded in February. The increase in inflation rate was due to the depreciation of the Naira against the USD. At the Bureau de Change and the parallel markets, two months moving average foreign exchange rate rose (Naira depreciated) y-o-y by 2.31% and 2.54% to N365.57/USD and N369.39/USD respectively in March 2020. Hence, the imported food index rose by 16.20% (higher than 16.14% in February). Similarly, food inflation rate rose to 14.98% (higher than 14.90% in February); while the core inflation rate also increased to 9.73% (from 9.43% in February).

The rise in food inflation was caused by increases in prices of meat, fish and vegetables among other things. On the other hand, core inflation was driven by a rise in prices of pharmaceutical products, hospital services, clothing and footwear as well as transportation.
On a monthly basis, the annual inflation rate climbed to 0.84% in March (from 0.79% in February), as imported food inflation index rose by 1.27%. Also, food and core inflation rose to 0.94% and 0.80% (from 0.87% and 0.73% in February) respectively. Meanwhile, rural and urban inflation rates rose by 11.64% and 12.93% (higher than 11.61% and 12.85%) respectively.

Outlook:

“We opine that the dwindling external reserves amid low crude oil price, despite the resolution of the OPEC+ to cut crude production by 9.7 mbpd, will continue to exert pressure on the exchange rate. This, in addition to rising demand for pharmaceutical products and onset of the planting season, could increase inflation rate in April.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/22/annual-inflation-rate-rises-further-to-12-26-in-march-on-imported-food-inflation/

The TY Danjuma COVID-19 task force on victims support funds today donated items worth 100million naira to the Taraba State Government.

This was disclosed during a visit by the team to Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku at the Government House Chambers, Jalingo.

The team leader, Dr Toyosi Agunsoji in her statement during the notification visit said Governor Darius is not just a leader who speaks but a leader who cares for his people practically.

She explained that Gen. TY Danjuma (Rtd) would have loved to be in the state himself but could not due to schedules beyond his control. She said they are in the state to provide support for the already done jobs with respect to COVID-19 by the Government of Taraba State.

Dr Toyosi said the program was flagged in Abuja and their next point was Taraba after reaching Maiduguri and providing over 6000 households with foods and medical equipment, Damaturu with over 2000 households and now they are in Taraba to provide over 3,828 households with items which include, rice, maize, oils, drugs, personal medical equipment such as face mask, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, hand washing soaps in thousands, details, etc.

She said they will be giving out food and non-food items worth over 100million naira capturing the IDPs camp in high percentage.

Dr Toyosi acknowledged the fact that they have seen the performance of Taraba State Government in tackling the spread of COVID-19 and are obligated to support the state and that they are ready to step in for a bigger partnership with the State Government soon as COVID-19 is over.

The Governor in his response welcomed the TY Danjuma COVID-19 task force victims support fund team on behalf of Taraba State Government.

He said TY Danjuma is a household name, a man who is highly respected in Taraba and a proud son of the nation.

Gov. Ishaku said he was indeed glad that the General is once again in the state to stretch his arm of help to the state not only on COVID-19 but also on their internal crisis.

The Governor said it is on records that Taraba was the first state to announce a lockdown even when a lot of people criticised him but time has indeed proved him right

He said whatever measures he will put in place to see that this Pandemic doesn’t get into this state he will.

The Governor assured the team that everything is given to the state for the citizens will surely reach the entire people down to the remote area and that he will make sure that proven people are assigned to undertake the assignment of distribution.

Governor Ishaku appreciated them for coming and assured them of his support in making sure that the aim is fully achieved.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/22/vsf-task-force-on-covid-19-donates-food-and-non-food-items-to-taraba-state-government/

Hyundai Motor Company today unveiled the newly enhanced Veloster N. Equipped with the all-new N 8-speed wet dual-clutch transmission (NDCT), the 2020 Veloster N is designed and engineered to deliver exhilarating driving fun.

Hyundai developed the N DCT to provide the engaging experience of a manual transmission with the convenience of an automatic transmission. With the N DCT, the new Veloster N can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 5.6 seconds.

N DCT is equipped with electronic actuators that operate the double-clutch, providing ride comfort, fuel efficiency and most importantly, driving fun. Unlike a dry double-clutch transmission, the wet N DCT uses oil to significantly improve lubrication and cooling performance, which is typical of higher torque applications.

The N DCT comes with video game-like features that enhance driving fun. N Grin Shift (NGS) increases torque by 7 percent from 36.0 to 38.5kgf-m by allowing turbocharger overboost and maximizes transmission response for 20 seconds – a performance that is certain to induce “driver grin”.

Additionally, N Power Shift (NPS) engages when the car accelerates with more than 90 percent of the throttle, thereby mitigating any reduction in torque by using upshifts to deliver maximum power to the wheels. This gives the driver a responsive feeling of dynamic acceleration when shifting.

The N DCT also comes with N Track Sense Shift (NTS) that discerns when road conditions are optimal for dynamic driving and activates automatically, selecting the right gear and shift timing just like a professional race car driver to provide optimal performance.

All of these features can be configured in Veloster N’s improved infotainment system, using the latest operating system shown on a larger high-definition 8-inch display. The infotainment system is paired with a JBL premium sound system that provides audiophile listening enjoyment.

Along with other updated features, such as Rev Matching, Launch Control and Overboost, Veloster N is optimized to automatically sense the customer’s driving style as well as the road conditions to optimize shift points. For example, if the car is going downhill, the car will use engine brake to reduce the risk of overheating the disc brakes. If the driver is pushing the car on a racetrack, the car will use the full spectrum of available engine revolutions to maximize performance.

Veloster N comes with Hyundai SmartSense safety technologies, including Front Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW), and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW).

Customers also can opt to equip the new Veloster N with N Light Sports Bucket Seats. The unibody bucket seats are wrapped in soft, suede-like Alacantara® upholstery to firmly hold the driver in position when the car is taking corners at high speeds. The track-ready seats are thinner and weigh approximately 2kg less than standard seats. As its name suggests, the N Light Sports Bucket Seats have an illuminated N logo on the upper side of the backrest, adding to the interior aesthetic. The N logo light operates in conjunction with other interior lights to create a unique, fun-to-drive ambiance.

N DCT and other new features allowed Hyundai to expand on the N brand’s “Fun to Drive” philosophy. Veloster N is now a true “Corner Rascal” that brings racetrack capabilities to an everyday sports car.

“Veloster N demonstrates Hyundai’s approach to high-performance cars. By equipping Veloster N with N DCT, drivers get performance and convenience at the same time,” said Thomas Schemera, Head of Product Division at Hyundai Motor. “Anyone who wants a fun driving experience will jump at the chance to pilot the new Veloster N – an everyday sports car with racetrack capabilities.”

Hyundai developed its high-performance N brand to make the driver’s heart beat faster whenever they’re behind the wheel. With fun-to-drive character its top priority, Hyundai developed Veloster N to deliver thrilling cornering capability, coupled with everyday sports car drivability and racetrack performance. Hyundai developed Veloster N at its global R& center in Korea and validated its performance at its Nürburgring-based testing center in Germany.

Veloster N will first go on sale in South Korea this month followed by other markets.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/21/hyundai-unveils-the-new-veloster-n-with-8-speed-dct/

Reservoir Capital Corp. (CSE: REO) (“REO” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kainji Power Holding Limited (“KPHL“), it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Olocorp Nigeria Ltd. (“OLOCORP”) pursuant to a share sale and purchase agreement and amending agreement (the “Agreements”) among the Company, OLOCORP, Clara Olo and OLOCORP’s major shareholder Eric Olo (“EOLO”).

Pursuant to the Agreements, REO acquired the remaining 40% equity stake in OLOCORP in exchange for REO issuing, among other things, a total of 38 million new REO common shares (“REO Shares”), as more particularly described below (the “Transaction”).

About Olocorp Nigeria Limited

OLOCORP is a limited liability company registered in Nigeria in 2013 for the main purpose of holding shares in North-South Power Company Ltd (“NSP”), and currently owns 7,297,297 NSP shares. The consummation of the Transaction makes OLOCORP a wholly-owned subsidiary and will add 3.7MW of net operating hydropower capacity to the Company.

Details of the Transaction

Pursuant to the Agreements, REO acquired the remaining 40% equity stake in OLOCORP through KPHL in exchange for consideration of $2.66 million in the form of (i) 37,000,000 REO Shares issued to certain designated beneficiaries of OLOCORP (the “Designated Beneficiaries”) at a deemed price of $0.07 per REO Share; and (ii) an aggregate of 1,000,000 bonus REO Shares to the Designated Beneficiaries at a deemed price of $0.07 per REO Share for the timely consummation of this Transaction giving 100% ownership and control of OLOCORP to REO & KPHL and for holding 1 OLOCORP share in trust for REO.

Also pursuant to the Agreements, in partial satisfaction of an outstanding debt of the Company in the amount of $530,000 (the “Debt”), as evidenced by a convertible loan note issued to EOLO, the Company entered into a debt settlement agreement with EOLO to settle the Debt, pursuant to which the Company issued 8,000,000 REO Shares to EOLO at a deemed price of $0.06625 per REO Share (the “Debt Settlement”). The remainder of the Debt was satisfied through the issuance of a promissory note by KPHL to EOLO in the amount of $200,000.

Immediately prior to the Transaction, REO had 529,347,377 REO Shares outstanding. Following the completion of the Transaction and Debt Settlement, REO has 575,347,377 REO Shares outstanding. The REO Shares issued to the Designated Beneficiaries and EOLO under the Transaction and Debt Settlement are subject to a minimum four-month hold period and restrictions on transfer under Canadian securities law.

In addition to the Transaction, EOLO’s last remaining conditional cash payment of approximately $245,000 (US$180,000) from an earlier agreement (see News Release December 31, 2019) has been replaced by a promissory note of $100,000.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/20/reservoir-capital-corp-completes-transaction-securing-100-ownership-in-olocorp-nigeria-ltd/

Until recently, you couldn’t just plug a USB drive into an iPad or an iPhone and over the years, I have gotten used to a rigorous process of either transferring files from my Apple devices to PC either via iTunes or a cloud service. So you could imagine my excitement when I read about the iXpand Flash Drive from SanDisk.

An extremely portable memory flash drive for the iPhone, iPad, and computer. It can be used to free up space on your devices, and automatically back up your precious photo, video and file collections. For someone that always runs out of space on my iPhone, I was quite excited!

Although I have the 128GB version, the iXpand Flash drive is also available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 256GB. The basic instructions said to plug the iXpand Flash Drive into your device, and when prompted, download the iXpand Drive App from the Apple App Store. I was skeptical, surely it couldn’t be that easy. Permit me to say, I was entirely wrong.

The iXpand Drive App was a quick download and ran instantly after. I was guided through a refreshingly brief and simple setup process. My iPhone recognized the flash drive immediately and led me through the transfer process.

Once the iXpand Drive App opens, you are faced with three options. Copy Files, View Files, Backup and Restore.

It comes with the following features:

Can be set to automatically back up your photos every time you connect
Watch movies/media on the go as it supports popular video formats (.MP4, .MOV) so you can store and watch videos straight from the drive3, making it a terrific travel companion
Designed with a flexible connector to plug directly into your iPhone or iPad without having to remove your case
USB 3 High-Speed Transfers

Using this SanDisk device is the most convenient method I have ever used to transfer files to and from an iPad.

The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive is a highly useful device; straightforward, and intuitive to use and can be gotten at all Western Digital approved retailers. Depending on the capacity, price ranges from N18,000-N35,000.



SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/20/the-perfect-companion-for-your-apple-devices-sandisk-ixpand-flash-drive/

Friday, April 17th, 2020: WTI fell below $18 per barrel in early trading on Friday, as a deepening gloom swept over the market. China reported a contraction in GDP of 6.8 percent for the first quarter. OPEC affirmed in its Oil Market Report that demand would fall by 6.9 mb/d this year. Storage fears are now beginning to dominate market sentiment.

U.S. DOE considers paying drillers not to drill. In the latest scheme to prop up indebted shale drillers, the U.S. Department of Energy is reportedly considering paying oil and gas companies to keep their reserves undrilled. The idea seems farfetched, and is based on the notion that undeveloped projects would act as “storage.” The reserves could be drilled later and sold later, with proceeds going to the government. The proposal would require appropriations from Congress.

Hundreds of layoffs hit the oil field this week. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) laid off 200 workers in Oklahoma on Wednesday, half in the Oklahoma City headquarters and a half in the oil field. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) laid off 234 employees and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) laid off 33. Baker Hughes said it would take a $15 billion non-cash impairment in the first quarter.

Brazil shuts down shallow-water rigs, also battles coronavirus offshore. There have been 126 cases of coronavirus among offshore oil workers in Brazil, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) halted operations at 62 platforms in shallow water offshore because of low prices, curtailing 23,000 bpd.

Friday, April 17th, 2020: WTI fell below $18 per barrel in early trading on Friday, as a deepening gloom swept over the market. China reported a contraction in GDP of 6.8 percent for the first quarter. OPEC affirmed in its Oil Market Report that demand would fall by 6.9 mb/d this year. Storage fears are now beginning to dominate market sentiment.

U.S. DOE considers paying drillers not to drill. In the latest scheme to prop up indebted shale drillers, the U.S. Department of Energy is reportedly considering paying oil and gas companies to keep their reserves undrilled. The idea seems farfetched, and is based on the notion that undeveloped projects would act as “storage.” The reserves could be drilled later and sold later, with proceeds going to the government. The proposal would require appropriations from Congress.

Hundreds of layoffs hit the oil field this week. Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) laid off 200 workers in Oklahoma on Wednesday, half in the Oklahoma City headquarters and a half in the oil field. Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) laid off 234 employees and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) laid off 33. Baker Hughes said it would take a $15 billion non-cash impairment in the first quarter.

Brazil shuts down shallow-water rigs, also battles coronavirus offshore. There have been 126 cases of coronavirus among offshore oil workers in Brazil, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) halted operations at 62 platforms in shallow water offshore because of low prices, curtailing 23,000 bpd.

Megadrought in the U.S. West. A climate change-induced megadrought has swept across much of the Western United States.

Jet fuel demand could take years to rebound. Jet fuel demand could fall by 2.1 mb/d in 2020, a 26 percent decline. “Jet fuel consumption will be impacted for a longer time and maybe not recover fully even next year, as travelers remain concerned about long-haul vacations, and businesses get used to online meetings,” said Per Magnus Nysveen, head of analysis at Rystad Energy.

European car sales suffer a record decline. European car sales fell 52 percent year-on-year in March, falling to the lowest level since at least 1990.

Saudi Arabia issues new debt. Saudi Arabia sold $7 billion in bonds on Wednesday in order to raise cash.

Real oil prices lower than benchmarks. North Sea oil is trading at $6 per barrel below Brent, the largest discount in a decade. Bakken oil is trading below $10 per barrel. Prices for physical cargoes have dropped below headline benchmark prices as regional grades overwhelm local conditions.

Occidental to pay Warren Buffet in stock, not cash. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) chose to pay a quarterly $200 million payment to Berkshire Hathaway in stock rather than cash, fresh evidence of the financial strain facing Occidental.

IEA: Oil demand to fall by 29 mb/d in April. The IEA said that oil demand would fall by 29 mb/d in April and by nearly 10 mb/d for the entire year.

U.S. crude storage 65 percent full. At over 503 million barrels, U.S. commercial stocks are 65 percent full.

Clean energy shed 106,000 jobs. The U.S. clean energy sector lost 106,000 jobs last month as economies shut down.

Thousands of Bakken wells idled. An estimated 4,600 wells in North Dakota have been idled, shutting in roughly 260,000 bpd, according to state data.

Goldman Sachs: Own EV stocks. Goldman Sachs recommended owning Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and other companies exposed to electric vehicles. EVs are cheaper than gasoline vehicles on a total cost of ownership basis, even with gasoline selling for less than $2 per gallon. However, EV sales could contract by 43 percent this year.

Twitter traders make money shorting oil. A bunch of petroleum engineers and traders, banded under the Energy FinTwit (#EFT) hashtag have made money shorting oil and energy stocks this year.

Judge blocked Keystone XL permit. In the latest setback to TC Energy’s (NYSE: TRP) Keystone XL pipeline, a Montana judge blocked a key permit, ordering the Army Corps of Engineers to revisit the project’s impact on endangered species.

Refiners want ethanol waiver. Governors of five U.S. states have asked the Trump administration for a nationwide waiver for refiners to get out of ethanol mandates. The proposal would reignite a war between refining and ethanol industries.

Nigeria struggles to find buyers of oil cargoes. 50 million barrels of Nigerian oil for late-April and May have still not been sold, according to S&P Global Platts. Some are being held in floating storage.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/18/oil-prices-fall-towards-15-as-storage-nears-capacity/

Circular to Issuers on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Extension of Time to File all Financial Statements and Waiver on Enforcement of the Provisions of Rules 20.8 of the Rules Governing Transactions with Related Parties or Interested Persons.

Extension of Time to File all Financial Statements
We refer to The Nigerian Stock Exchange‘s (The Exchange) Circular of 23 March 2020, with reference number NSE/RD/LRD/CIR5/20/03/23 wherein Listed Companies were granted a sixty (60) day grace period for the submission of their Audited Financial Statement for the year ended 31 December 2019. Please be reminded that the revised due date for Listed Companies in this category is 29 May 2020.

Following on the said circular, The Exchange has also decided to extend the due date for the submission of the Audited Financial Statements for Listed Companies with 31 March year-end by sixty (60) days from 29 June 2020 to 28 August 2020.

Further to the provisions of Rule 17:20 (g): Financial Reporting and Periodic Disclosure, Rulebook of The Exchange, 2015 (Issuers’ Rules) which states that “an Issuer shall not announce its Interim Accounts without having first filed its last Audited Financial Statements and any contravention of this provision shall be deemed to be an unauthorized publication under the Rules”, a sixty (60) day extension is also hereby granted for the submission of quarterly returns as set forth in Table 1 below. Consequently, the due date for the submission of the Quarterly Financial Statement for all Listed Companies with reporting timelines during this period will be as follows:

A waiver on Enforcement of the provisions of Rule 20.8 of the Rules Governing Transactions with Related Parties or Interested Persons
The Exchange hereby waives the enforcement of the above-mentioned provision of the Rules Governing Transactions with Related Parties or Interested Persons, which is delineated below, until further notice. This waiver is necessary in order to ensure that the operations of Listed Companies are not inadvertently constrained at this time.

Rule 20.8: General Mandate

a) An Issuer may seek a general mandate from securities holders for recurrent transactions of a revenue or trading nature or those necessary for its day-to-day operations such as the purchase and sale of supplies and materials, but not in respect of the purchase or sale of assets, undertakings or businesses. A general mandate is subject to annual renewal.

Consequently, all Listed Companies that choose to enter into related party transactions that are within the purview of Rule 20.8 during this period of waiver of enforcement, are required to:

Include every resolution proposal setting forth specific details on related party transactions in the Notice of Board Meetings, and obtain the approval of the Board before entering into any related party transactions within the purview of Rule 20.8. Provided that no transaction’s term shall exceed a term of longer than one financial year;
Publish an announcement via The Exchange’s Issuers’ Portal within twenty-four (24) hours of the Board’s approval of each transaction, and the announcement shall describe each transaction with specific relevant details as may be required by The Exchange; and
Disclose all such approved related party transactions as notes in its quarterly financial statements for the period in which they occur, and in the final accounts.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/18/nigerian-stock-exchange-extends-time-to-file-financial-statements/

Over the past three days, there has been an increasing trend of complaints about insecurity in neighbourhoods within Lagos, Ogun and environs. Despite the lockdown, armed robbers have been reported to break into homes to dispossess innocent people of their valuables.

Putting this into consideration, staying safe has gone beyond social distancing by being indoors to taking measures to ensure that we do not fall prey to hoodlums. Here are some tips for you to keep in mind and act on during this period.

Avoid going out if not on essential duty. Should going out be inevitable, try to keep your movements restricted to daytime.
Keep vehicle doors locked at all times and avoid parking on the street if possible.
Be extra vigilant and immediately report unusual happenings around you to security agents.
Be mindful of social media posts and avoid including clues as to your location.
Check personally to ensure that all doors/gates are properly locked at night.
If you live in an estate, don’t sit on the sidelines. Be involved in community efforts to safeguard your neighbourhood and be aware of emergency situation protocols put in place.
Should there be an emergency, here are key police phone numbers to call:

i. Lagos State Police Command Control Numbers
08127155132
08065154338
07055462708

ii. Ogun State Police Command Control Numbers:
08081770416
08081770419

Stay home, stay vigilant and stay safe. We will all get through this.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/17/6-useful-security-tips-during-this-lockdown/

TAIPAI,
TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 16 April 2020 – The
COVID-19 pandemic has spread out through the world quickly. It has hit Italy
hardly. Many medical personnel died due to the lack of medical equipments. The
death toll has reached 16,000 at the end of March. The Camillian priests who
have been on ministry services at Taiwan Loudong St. Mary’s Hospital since
1952, pleaded with the Taiwanese people, on April 1st, to help their homeland
in fighting the pandemic crisis. Taiwanese people responded with US$5 million
donation in 6 days and displayed an astonishing compassion. An overwhelmed Fr.
Giuseppe Didone , who has been a missionary in Taiwan since 1968 and is the
leader of the priests, called off the fundraising campaign and stated that the
original goal was to raise US$4000 in 15 days.



Camillian St. Mary’s Hospital has issued a
statement titled ” Thank you Taiwan! God bless Italy!”

“Taiwanese have been known for their kindness, yet it’s nothing close
to what we have experienced. We were so overwhelmed by the enormous amount of
donation that poured in. It has exceeded our expectation. Therefore, we would
like to offer our sincere gratitude and apologies to people in Taiwan. Please
stop sending in donations. We will use the donation to ship PPE to medical
personnel in Italy. We will also put the extra funds in good use in terms of
helping other areas in Europe to fight COVID-19.”



Lee Li-Chiu, the director of the hospital’s
fundraising center also said “At the fundraising, we saw many people like
terminal cancer patients struggling to come to the center, a grandma vegetable vendor waiting in line
with a handful of masks and some hard-earned cash, and an elderly man who has
received medical care 51 years ago when he was severely injured. They all
wanted to show their appreciation as well as paying back to the priests who
have devoted their lives to the health care services at rural Taiwan for
decades.” Meanwhile, Fr. Didone stated “In
retrospect upon the past sixty years, ultimately, I am so grateful that God has
brought me here! Thanks again! Taiwanese people! At this moment, my heart can’t
be more assured that this is the reason why I want to stay in Taiwan for my
entire life!”

In 1952, 6 ministers from Italian Camillian came to Taiwan. They have established St. Mary’s Hospital at Loudong where the health care service was needed the most. Since then they have devoted in the practice of works of mercy towards the sick for more than half a century in Taiwan. They were known to treat the sick as their own and never force the bills upon the poor. Thus they have been highly trusted and respected by Taiwanese people.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/16/taiwanese-donates-us5-million-to-support-italy-in-fighting-against-covid-19/

Committed to providing uninterrupted services to all stakeholders in light of the activation of remote working for employees of FMDQ Holdings PLC (FMDQ Group or the Group) as part of steps taken by the Group to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited (FMDQ Exchange or the Exchange), has, as with other FMDQ entities, continued to validate this commitment and is pleased to announce the admission of the Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC Series 3 ₦12.49 billion Tranche A and ₦7.50 billion Tranche B Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bonds(the Flour Mills of Nigeria Bonds), under the ₦70.00 billion Bond Issuance Programme, for listing on the Exchange, as approved by Board Listings and Markets Committee of the Exchange.

Notably, the Exchange had in December 2018 admitted the Flour Mills of Nigeria Series 1 & 2 ₦20.11 billion bonds. Proceeds from these bonds will be used to refinance the food giant’s short-term debt obligation as well as support its working capital.

The Exchange also admitted for listing on its platform, the Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund Series 6 162.72 million Units of ₦100.00 each at ₦109.72 (the Chapel Hill NIDF or the Fund) under the ₦200.00 billion Issuance Programme. The Chapel Hill NIDF, which is the pioneer Infrastructure Debt Fund in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa, has its investment focus on the traditional
infrastructure sectors, primarily transport, power, renewable energy, utilities, energy infrastructure, logistics, and other public-private-partnership type investments. The Fund aims to enable investors to access infrastructure as an asset class while providing returns available from long-dated infrastructure debt investments.

In the same vein, the Coronation Merchant Bank Limited ₦0.32 billion Series 7 and ₦6.64 billion Series 8 Commercial Papers (CP) under the ₦100.00 billion CP Issuance Programme was also admitted for a quotation on the platform of FMDQ Exchange.

These listings and quotations by these corporates continue to validate FMDQ Exchange as the choice platform for the registration, listing, quotation, trading, and recording of financial securities in the Nigerian financial market. In turn, FMDQ Exchange strives to remain innovative even as it continues to provide timely and cost-efficient services, as may be necessary, to support its stakeholders,
particularly issuers and investors, towards accessing capital, managing risks and invariably, improving their corporate profile. As has become a tradition for FMDQ Exchange, these securities shall be availed benefits of FMDQ Exchange’s prestigious listings and quotations service including global visibility through the FMDQ Exchange website and systems, governance, credible price formation, and
continuous information disclosure to protect investor interest, amongst others.

FMDQ Group is Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure (FMI) group which provides a one-stop platform for the seamless and cost-efficient execution, risk management, clearing, settlement and depository services for the Nigerian financial market. With a vision to be “the leading African builder of ecosystems of financial infrastructure and services for markets”; and a
mission to “collaborate to empower markets for economic progress towards delivering prosperity”, FMDQ Group is committed to continuous innovation and stakeholder engagement, towards making the Nigerian financial markets globally competitive, operationally excellent, liquid and diverse.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/15/fmdq-exchange-admits-flour-mills-of-nigeria-bonds-the-nigeria-infrastructure-debt-fund-others-to-its-platform/

In a watershed moment for the oil and gas industry, OPEC and its allies in the OPEC+ group finalized a deal on Easter Sunday that, in conjunction with efforts from the G20 and International Energy Agency, could see up to 20 million barrels of oil per day removed from a severely oversupplied oil market. The deal is set to boost the oil price and provide some much-needed stability for an industry in crisis.

Initially announced Thursday, the agreement was delayed as Mexico refused their share of production cuts. The original OPEC+ deal would have seen a cut of 10 million barrels of crude per day from an October 2018 baseline, for an initial two-month period. With OPEC+ letting Mexico off the hook, the official OPEC+ cut now stands at 9.7 million barrels, as Mexico agrees to cut 100,000 barrels per day instead of 400,000 barrels per day.

In reality, however, the OPEC+ deal will cut more than the quoted 9.7 million barrels, since current production levels are much higher than the October 2018 baselines used to calculate the production cuts. The deal sees Russia and Saudi Arabia absorbing the brunt of the cuts, each agreeing to cut their production down to 8.5 million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia’s production stood at 12.3 million barrels per day, and Russia was producing 11.29 million barrels of oil per day in March. Both countries, however, used 11 million barrels per day as their baseline in the deal.

“These production adjustments are historic. They are largest in volume and the longest in duration, as they are planned to last for two years. We are witnessing today the triumph of international cooperation and multilateralism which are the core of OPEC values,” said Secretary-General of OPEC H.E. Mohammed Barkindo. Barkindo also noted that the OPEC+ deal paves the way for further collaboration with the G20.

In a meeting on Friday, the G20 nations also agreed to take action to stabilize the market. The United States, for example, is set to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to store vast quantities of oil. Additionally, the US will see production cuts of at least 2 million barrels as the market responds to a lack of demand. The US has also reportedly offered to take on an additional cut of 300,000 barrels per day on Mexico’s behalf, although the details of how such a deal would play out have not been released.

The OPEC+ group is expected to request the G20 to cut over 3 million barrels per day of production. The G20 energy ministers agreed Friday to create a task force to monitor the situation and formulate strategies. The Texas Railroad Commission, the agency that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, is also scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss regulating formal cuts, though the US has largely maintained that the free market will determine oil production cuts.

US President Donald Trump tweeted his support for the OPEC+ deal on Sunday.

“This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States. I would like to thank and congratulate President Putin of Russia and King Salman of Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Finally, in a reported, but not confirmed, side deal, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates could agree to reduce production by an additional 2 million barrels of oil per day.

OPEC has “Breathed Life” into Africa

The historic production cuts provide a much-needed financial boost to Africa’s oil and gas producers, including Nigeria, Angola, South Sudan, Sudan, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville

and Equatorial Guinea, as the sudden drop in oil and gas prices coincided with the COVID-19 health crisis and the economic repercussions of closing businesses and restricting movement to deal with the pandemic.

In a statement, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Hon. Chief Timipre Marlin Sylva, said he expects the oil price to rebound by $15 per barrel in a short-term outlook.

“This also promises an appropriate balancing of Nigeria’s 2020 budget that has been rebased at $30 per barrel,” he said in a statement.

NJ Ayuk, Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, lauded the efforts of the OPEC+ deal, as a stable oil market will provide economic relief and save jobs throughout the continent.

“OPEC has hit a home run,” Ayuk said. “OPEC has breathed life and given hope to African nations, oil workers, investors and the African business community. We need to focus on exploration soon again. Now we have the ball; we need to run with it and start the process of bouncing back. We need to defend the African oil industry like a junkyard dog in the face of a hurricane.”

South Sudan, a member of the OPEC+ alliance, also welcomed the deal, said the country’s Minister of Petroleum Hon. Puot Kang Chol.

“South Sudan is East Africa’s only producing country. Our production was over 350,000 barrels per day before the civil war. At the present moment, we are producing about 185,000 barrels per day with a target on attracting more investment into the oilfields to get our nation to 300,000 barrels per day. The current price war and coronavirus has affected our economy,” he said.

“We welcome all efforts to stabilize the oil market and South Sudan will continue to play its role. Our government will continue doing its utmost best in making the oil production and fighting the Coronavirus a priority and we will continue collaborating with all our partners,” he added.

OPEC+ Cuts Respond to Slashes in Demand

Each nation, aside from Saudi Arabia and Russia, which are both cutting substantially more, is expected to cut 23 percent of production from May to June. Iran, Libya and Venezuela are exempted from the production cuts, and Mexico is only cutting 100,000 barrels per day.

After this initial two-month period, overall production cuts will lower to 8 million barrels per day from July to December and then lower to 6 million barrels per day from January 2021 to April 2022. The OPEC+ group will meet in July to discuss further action, if needed.

With about 40 percent of the world’s population ordered to stay home to stem the spread of COVID-19, demand for oil and gas has decreased by about 30 percent, from over 100 million barrels per day to under 85 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Agency.

The International Energy Agency, which called for the G20 meeting of energy ministers on Friday, argued the market conditions were too much for OPEC+ alone to handle.

“The extreme volatility we are seeing in oil markets is detrimental to the global economy at a time when we can least afford it,” said Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA.

“Today’s oil crisis is a systematic shock that threatens global economic and financial stability. It requires a global answer. That is why the G20 can be an indispensable forum for decisive leadership when it is urgently required,” he added.

Brent crude was averaging $55.70 per barrel in February, but, with an oil price war and the impacts of COVID-19, both Brent and WTI have reached their lowest level in years, with Brent hitting $22.76 per barrel in March, its lowest price since November 2002.

As demand for oil and the price of oil has declined, storage capacity is also reaching its limits. In just a few weeks, analysts predict oil production may be shut in due to a lack of global storage capacity.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/13/opec-slashes-production-saves-oil-industry-from-collapse/

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, companies around the world are adjusting to remote work and many are facing logistic and operational challenges as they convert their traditional models to fully – or majorly – remote models. However, companies that invest in the most accessible and adaptable tools are having less difficulty moving their entire teams to remote work. Having the right tools can make all the difference for your business.

To ensure transitioning to remote work runs smoothly, assess what your business can do to streamline logistics and operations. Here are a few four main pillars to make the transition as painless as possible:

Security Comes First
Security is a common challenge many companies are facing during this time of mass-remote work. Employees are working from different places through different internet connections with varying levels of security, making it difficult to manage from afar. Having a clear security policy in place before you transition will keep your employees from avoidable security issues. If possible, providing your employees with access to VPNs, ensure that the security policy is being followed strictly and only rely on secure applications that do not compromise your business.

Communications Software
Communication is essential to any workplace, but when working remotely, proactive communication is crucial. During the transition to remote work, it’s important to keep teams on the same page and on top of projects. If you aren’t able to collaborate and connect, you won’t be able to move forward. To keep things running smoothly, it helps to have a communication collaboration platform for your team to connect with each other throughout the workday. If your business does not already have communication tools outside of email, it’s worth looking into. Communication platforms allow for shared documents, project management tools, and even email to be streamlined, providing an easy platform to let everyone know what you’re working on – and accomplishing – every day.

Audit your Hardware and Software
Audit available IT hardware and software and close any gaps your business. It is likely that you have not anticipated that the large portion of your employees will be working from home. This poses a challenge to secure enough laptops for your workforce for example. If your business is not already running on a cloud-based solution, invest in one to ensure your team’s transition is still productive. If new products are adopted, make sure the employees who need to use them are properly trained. A successful IT department should constantly be updated with information about which cloud-based solutions are reliable in order for you to make a swift decision.

Measure performance
Once you’ve established efficient communication channels, closed the gaps in software and hardware, and secured your business, it’s time to determine how departments and managers will measure performance from afar. Various strategies can help this, such as daily check-ins, time tracking applications, or measuring results. Setting firm expectations for employee’s new roles and responsibilities while working remotely will let them know how to meet productivity goals and what they should do if they find themselves struggling. While having a productive team right off the bat is ideal, it’s important to give your team – and yourself – some flexibility as the world adapts in these unprecedented times.

As your company eases into the new normal of remote work, you can periodically reassess and determine what isn’t working and why. As your business gathers data and changes policies or procedures to better align with remote work, you will slowly find your business functioning efficiently – possibly more than it was before. At a minimum, with remote work measures in place, your company will have an organized, flexible structure to ensure operational continuity at anytime, anywhere.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2020/04/13/four-pillars-to-maintain-business-productivity-while-working-remotely/