◾Nigerian Deposit Money Banks on Monday continued with the policy of naming and shaming their delinquent debtors with further publication of the names of firms and their directors whose loans have become non-performing for more than one year.
◾While nine banks published the names of the loans defaulters on Monday, four banks released the lists of their chronic debtors, owing a total of N143.81bn, on Tuesday.
◾The four banks are First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc.
◾The banks, which had published the list of their delinquent debtors on Monday were Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Heritage Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited.
◾First Bank, which has its total amount of non-performing loans as N43.72bn, published 92 names of delinquent debtors.
◾The first five companies on the lender’s list owe a combined sum of N23bn. These are Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, Starcomm Plc; BGL Securities Limited, where a former Minister of Finance and National Planning, Kalu Idika Kalu, is a director; Shield Petroleum Limited and Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited.
◾Shield Petroleum, the number one on the list, owes N6.883bn; while Zurich International Service, the last on the list, owes N26.69m.
◾Unity Bank also released 260 names of delinquent debtors with a combined NPL figure of N45.52bn.The list has the companies of some prominent Nigerians. These include Umar Mutallab’s DeanShanger Project Limited, N3.6bn; Senator Ayodele Arise and a former Minister of State for Works, Mr. Dayo Adeyeye’s International Payment Devices Limited, N81.9m; and Prince Adeyanju Olateru-Olagbegi’s Cupid Investment BDC, N90.1m.
◾Other prominent companies on the list are Ekiti Kete Mass Transit, which owes N991m; Fargo Petroleum and Gas Limited, N2.5bn; Ava Cement Limited, N.8bn; and Plywood Chemical and Accessories, N1.1bn.
◾Ava Cement topped Unity Bank’s debtors’ list with N9.8bn, while Malcolm Akpokodje owes the least with N20m.
◾Access Bank Plc published a list of 11 delinquent debtors, with a combined NPL figure of approximately N3.4bn.
◾Top on the list are Bioka Ventures Limited, which owes N1.15bn, while Derukas International Limited was last on the list with a debt of N56.3m.
◾Diamond Bank Plc has N47.17bn as its total NPLs, with companies belonging to prominent Nigerians owing sizeable amounts.
◾These include Sir Emeka Offor’s Global ScanSystem Limited, which the bank says owes N181m; a former Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa’s Thriller Eneavours, which owes N122m; and a former Delta State Commissioner for Sports Solomon Ogba’s Delta Mega Trend Limited, which owes N89m.

more on...http://nairametrics.com/are-you-listed-in-the-bank-debtors-register-find-out-more/

Law Union & Rock Insurance reported its 2015 H1 results showing pre-tax profits rose 302% to N510,378 million.

The Profit after tax also rose 301% from N108m to N433million. See Summary of result below…


Law Union & Rock Insurance N’m N’m
Insurance 2015 2014
Net Premium 1,336 1,168 14%
Underwriting Profits 783 478 64%
Other Income & Investment Income 186 164 13%
Operating Expenses -498 -532 -6%
Pre-tax profits 510 127 302%
Profit After Tax 433 108 301%
Current Share Price 0.50
more on...http://nairametrics.com/corporate-action-law-union-insurance-profits-rise-300-in-2015-h1/

Diamond Bank has informed the Nigerian Stock Exchange that its Chief Financial Officer Abdulrahman Yinusa has resigned.

According to the press release the resignation becomes effective after his garden leave which commenced on Monday, August 3, 2015.

According to the Bank, Mr. Yinusa had indicated his intention to pursue other interests and opportunities, and the board has accepted his resignation and wishes him success in his future endeavours.

Diamond Bank share price has lost 38% in value in the last one year and lost 30% this year alone.
The company has been reporting weaker earnings quarter after quarters with loan impairments taking its toll.





.http://nairametrics.com/b-r-e-a-k-i-n-g-diamond-bank-cfo-resigns/

◾Microsoft on Thursday sacked 34 (85 per cent) of the 40 employees in the Nigerian office of its phone division.
◾The sacking came 24 hours after the company’s latest Windows 10 was made available in Nigeria and 189 other countries.
◾Employees at the Nigerian office were silent on the matter, but a source said that the downsizing was part of the global decision of Microsoft to streamline its phone division.
◾The source said the sacking was in line with the massive layoff of workers “sweeping through the global offices of Microsoft’s phone division.”
◾The Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft, Satya Nadella, had said in a memo to all Nigerian employees in late June that “the company needed to make some “tough choices” in areas that were not working”.
◾The memo had stated that 7,800 jobs would be cut from the mobile division working on Windows Phone hardware.
◾The e-mail from Nadella to all employees, which was made available to our correspondent, read, “We are moving from a strategy to grow a standalone phone business to a strategy to grow and create a vibrant Windows ecosystem, including our first-party device family.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/microsoft-sacks-34-out-of-its-40-nigerian-employees/

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday, explained that its delay in moving against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, was because it is trying to establish the magnitude of fraud and inefficiencies the corporation, and the nation’s oil and gas industry had been involved with over the last couple of years.
He was speaking in an interview on the Nigerian Television Authority’s, NTA, ‘Good Morning Nigeria,’ programme, President Muhammadu Buhari moted that the government is already working with some individuals that are helping it to track the destination of stolen crude oil and the accounts the proceeds are paid into.
He said, “Frankly, I read the stories too that I intend to break up the NNPC. I think the best way to go about it is to establish the fact of the magnitude of the inefficient ways the NNPC conducted itself. When we do that we will be on a higher moral ground to carry out whatever recommendations that have been made to us.”
read more on.....http://nairametrics.com/pmb-says-nigeria-is-loosing-millions-of-dollars-on-daily-basis/

About a month to the 2015 United Kingdom general elections, I happened to be in the UK visiting friends and ex-colleagues from my alma mater. Every time I turned on the news, the media and political pollsters/ pundits were predicting a tight election a.k.a “hung parliament”.

I asked my “Oyinbo” friends who they were going to vote for. They told me flat out- David Cameron. “Why?” I would ask them but most of them would be reluctant to state their reasons. I do not belong to David Cameron’s fan club but the reason the “Oyinbos” wanted him back was that he tackled head-on issues like immigration which the British people care about so much but don’t voice in public. Cameron won- with a wide margin and the media/pollsters were flat out wrong- oops!

With Donald Trump, it’s the same story all over again. The Political has written him off as a joker. The media has done the same too. In fact, Liberal leaning website- The Huffington Post stated that they would cover Trump under their entertainment section.

However, the only people who matter with respect to USA elections- the American voters seem to like him. Even on Hudffington Post poll, Trump is leading by almost double digits! Why The People love him!

He says what’s on the people’s mind (hate him or love him, he tells it as it is). Immigration is a big issue in the USA and just like Cameron did in the UK, he is ready to talk about it and act rather than sidestep like other politicians do.

Another major point is that he is not a career politician – He is rich so he does not need to “sugar-coat” his words or actions to attract financial support for his election campaign (check out Trump making fun of one of his rivals who previously asked him for campaign contributions).


When I started as a Trader/Portfolio manager, one of my mentors told me a simple but true statement-“most times what is regarded as consensus ends up being wrong”. I advise the media and USA/Global Political and Economic elite not to ignore this Tsunami called Donald Trump.

Finally, my predictions-T rump wins republican nomination, Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders wins Democratic Nomination and Trump wins at the 2016 USA general election.

Crazy right…..Let’s see in a year’s time!
more on....http://nairametrics.com/donald-trump-is-a-looser-or-is-he-3/

◾Are members of the organised private sector (OPS) part of those indebted to banks? Offcourse yes, which is why they are up in arms against the Central Bank of Nigeria’s moves to publish bank debtors’ names by August 1.
◾According to CBN, making the debtors’ identities public would force them to pay, thus reducing the huge non-performing loans in banks estimated at N13 trillion. But some OPS members think otherwise.
◾Noting the need for CBN to tackle the problem of mounting bad debts, they, however, argue that there are factors responsible for loan default, which must be taken into account in matters of this nature.
◾Others think that the move is high handed and may portray the debtors, some of who may have been forced into the situation, due to no fault of theirs, in bad light.
◾Members of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) were among those critical of CBN’s move. Its President, Remi Bello, articulated the positions of members when he pointed out that there is need for CBN to avoid sweeping generalisation and examine the context of defaults in its intention to penalise loan defaulting companies and their subsidiaries.


“The LCCI recognises two broad categories of debtors. There are defaults that have arisen as a result of genuine business failure (some of which are irreversible), which affected the capacity to repay; there are defaults that have arisen as a consequence of deliberate intent not to repay. The latter borders on character quality, which is what the ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ concept is meant to address,” he said.

◾Will the stability of the financial system and opposition by some OPS members force down the hand of the apex bank from making good its threat of publishing the list of debtors on August 1, 2015? The coming week will tell.
more on....http://nairametrics.com/august-1st-is-near-debtors-fret-at-being-exposed/

◾Three banks are being probed by the presidency for short-changing the Federal Government in the management of the N50 billion escrow accounts interest yield for seven Electric Power Generation Companies (EPGC).
◾The row over the escrow accounts was referred to President Muhammadu Buhari following the loss of over N10 billion interest yielded in the last two years.
◾The companies are: Afam Power Plc; Egbin Power Plc; Geregu Power Plc; Kainji Hydro-Electric Plc; Sapele Power Plc; Shiroro Hydro-Electric Plc; and Ughelli Power Plc.
◾Each of the generation companies (sellers), pursuant to the provisions of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act No. 6 of 2005, were mandated to take over generation and related businesses of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
◾Safety escrow accounts were established to protect the stake of private investors in the seven generation firms.
◾The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) in 2013 entered into an agreement with three banks to manage the N50 billion.
◾The said N50 billion was sourced from the proceeds of the privatisation of Egbin Power Plc. But, contrary to the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the banks have not been paying “the required interest on the escrow accounts”.
◾It was gathered that instead of paying 10 per cent interest on the N50billion as applicable to other funds being managed by NBET, the banks had been remitting only 0.02 per cent interest per annum.
◾It was also gathered that Clause 7.1 (Compensation) of the agreement that the interest on the escrow accounts be compounded monthly together with the balances in the Escrow Accounts”
MORE ON...http://nairametrics.com/find-out-why-pmb-has-three-banks-under-his-microscopic-watch/

◾Crude oil prices struggled to stay around $50 yesterday, amid persistent concerns over global oil glut as against the $53.79 it recorded the previous day.
◾Specifically, Nigeria’s light, sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at $50.10 a barrel, down four cents, or 0.1 per cent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
◾This is far below the approved $53 per barrel benchmark for crude oil in Nigeria’s 2015 budget. It lost 1.5 per cent in the previous session, falling to a near four-month low of $50.15 a barrel.
◾Brent, the global benchmark, fell 45 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $56.65 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. WTI futures were off around 1.5 per cent to trade near $50.50 a barrel.
◾Last week, Iran struck a nuclear deal with several world powers that, among other things, will end an oil embargo and allow the country to increase production for export.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-sweet-is-nigerias-light-sweet-crude-as-it-falls-to-50-10-a-barrel/

Nigeria is famous for oil and gas, and I’m sure many are tired of hearing or talking about it.

There are so many other goods exported by Nigeria that generate a considerable amount of money and if properly harnessed will generate more.

It is my believe that if a quarter measure of the attention given to the oil and gas industry is channeled to these listed items, there will be far less tension and fear towards the direction of our economy.

Some of these goods are:

1) Frozen shrimps and prawns.

2) Superior quality raw cocoa beans.

3) Leather further prepared after tanning/crushing without wool.

4) Cocoa shells, husks, skins, and other cocoa waste.

5) Cigarettes containing tobacco.

more on....http://nairametrics.com/10-nigerian-exportable-goods-that-will-amaze-you/

Value Investors in the Nigerian Stock Exchange have seen the value of their shareholdings Plummet in recent weeks as stocks lost over N600billion since the start of July. For most value investors who take a long term view at investing, this can be a very disheartening experience. Your heart feels a cringe and you sometimes wished you never bought that stock or that you made a poor decision.

Worry not as you are not alone in this debacle. The worlds most popular investor, Warren Buffet also just recorded a whopping $712.9 million loss today alone. His loss in value was from his shareholding in IBM.

According to CNBC, the company’s shares fell $8.96 at Tuesday’s open after a mixed earnings report, costing the Oracle of Omaha some $712.9 million.

His conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway owned 79.57 million shares of IBM as of March 31, according to the most recently available filings, making it one of his largest investments.

He is also IBM’s largest shareholder, with almost 20 million more shares than the next-biggest investor.


Last October, IBM’s sharp drop after earnings wiped just over $1 billion off Berkshire’s books.

Rather than worry, Warren Buffet is actually bullish that the stock will pay off in the future. He in fact was said to have more shares in IBM earlier in the year. Warren Buffet is a value investor true and true and only sells when he is sure the company no longer meets his investment metrics and expectations. He doesn’t bother at all with the daily fluctuation of share prices and so this so called loss may just be lost on him.

Can you be like him for once?
more on....http://nairametrics.com/lost-money-on-nigerian-stocks-youre-not-alone-because-warren-buffet-just-lost-700m/

Nigeria is famous for oil and gas, and I’m sure many are tired of hearing or talking about it.

There are so many other goods exported by Nigeria that generate a considerable amount of money and if properly harnessed will generate more.

It is my believe that if a quarter measure of the attention given to the oil and gas industry is channeled to these listed items, there will be far less tension and fear towards the direction of our economy.

Some of these goods are:

1) Frozen shrimps and prawns.

2) Superior quality raw cocoa beans.

3) Leather further prepared after tanning/crushing without wool.

4) Cocoa shells, husks, skins, and other cocoa waste.

5) Cigarettes containing tobacco
more on.... http://nairametrics.com/10-nigerian-exportable-goods-that-will-amaze-you/

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari never came across as being reformed minded (as a matter of fact he didn’t come across as having much of an economic policy), during the campaign period, however most analysts and investors had hoped that the ACN wing of the party (APC) fielding reformists such as Kayode Fayemi (Ex Governor of Ekiti state) and Babatunde Fashola (Ex Governor of Lagos) would take charge of economic policy formulation.

Good luck with that!!

Buhari just dashed all hopes of enacting what would have been a simple reform policy- ending Nigeria’s corrupt and structurally inefficient fuel subsidy payments.

He was quoted by Garba Shehu, the president’s Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, as saying,

“I have received much literature on the need to remove subsidies, but much of it has no depth.”

This was after Buhari received a briefing from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and other agencies in the oil sector.

Since the President has not yet heard any forceful or convincing reasons for removing subsidies on fossil fuels (like Petrol and Kerosene), i will try to make new arguments here.

Remove subsidies, eliminate corruption

Removing the vexing fuel subsidies imposed on Nigeria by the military would help to eliminate corruption in that sphere and ensure fiscal transparency.

The Subsidies are regressive by nature

The current fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria is regressive by nature as those who consume most fuel benefit the most, and so it disproportionately benefits the rich.

This means if i have 3 SUVs that are gas guzzlers i am paying just the same as some poor villager (probably less since you can’t find petrol or kerosene at subsidised prices outside major cities).

Ending subsidies frees up capital for Infrastructure, Health and Education

One of the reasons why Nigeria appears poorly in most global indices (infant mortality, poverty, literacy etc), is that the government has abandoned what should be its traditional role of social services and entered into all kinds of illogical operations like paying fuel subsidies that disproportionally benefit the rich.

Ending the subsidies right now can free up billions of dollars for government to spend on infrastructure, healthcare and Education that is badly needed all over Nigeria , but most especially in the North.

The Federal Government owes about N204 billion ($1 billion) in subsidy arrears according to documents seen Naira metrics.

Oil prices are lower, now is the right time

When oil prices were hovering around $100 per barrel the subsidies could be termed as expensive, however with current realities of the oil market, keeping them amounts to economic Hari – Kari (suicide).

They (subsidies) accounted for an average of 2.5 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year between 2006 and 2012 according to the IMF.


The government set aside N914 billion ($4.6 billion) for it in 2014.

Buhari would be following in the footsteps of Indonesia’s new President who took advantage of low oil prices to end subsidies.

Attract investments to your midstream oil sector

South Africa and Singapore are not known to be major oil producers, but they have managed to attract billions of dollars into oil refining by foreign and domestic investors.

In fact South Africa has Sub Saharan Africa’s largest refining hub with major refineries owned by Chevron, Shell, BP and Petronas of Malaysia.

It should be noted that most investors would not pump billions of dollars into building a refinery after which they are unable to sell at prices above their cost of production.

It should be noted that there are no price caps on petroleum prices in South Africa.

Price caps frankly don’t work

I would suggest the President’s advisers point out one area in Nigeria’s national life where price caps or subsidies based on price control have worked.

Whether it is Fertilizer subsidies, attempted price controls on essential commodities, or even trying to subsidise the naira/dollar exchange rates.

All these mechanisms eventually collapse because they are based off faulty economic premise.

If President Buhari wants to help the poor, he should build schools, healthcare facilities and rural roads for them. He can also identify the most vulnerable among them and pay a one time or time capped (2 years), in form of welfare.

Our demand for oil will make subsidies eat up our entire budget

Nigeria’s huge appetite for energy and growing economy will lead to a time soon when refined products and crude used domestically will outstrip what we send overseas.

When that happens, it will be impossible to fund the fuel subsidies as the cost will be astronomic for the FG and states to bear.
more on....http://nairametrics.com/analysis-buhari-fails-first-reform-test-by-keeping-fuel-subsidies-in-place/

◾Sunday Oliseh has been officially unveiled by the Nigerian Football Federation as the new Super Eagles Gaffer. Oliseh was a defensive midfielder who played 54 games and scored 2 goals, he will forever be remembered for his boomerang goal against Andoni Zubizarreta of Spain in the France 98 world cup to earn Nigeria a 3-2 victory.
◾Before now, Sunday Oliseh ran a consultancy firm that trains and assesses coaches worldwide, he is a football blogger and a TV analyst. After the dismissal of Stephen Keshi as the Super Eagles manager, rumours broke that the NFF will appoint Oliseh as the new manager, millions of Nigerians have begun to analyse if Oliseh will succeed or not. Here are the reasons…


◾Midfield Position he played: Sunday Oliseh was not only a very efficient midfielder, he was also the captain of the super eagles making him a natural born leader. Coaches who were midfielders and have ended up as successful include Pep Guardiola (Bayern munich), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) to name a few.
◾The midfield is arguably the most important position on a football pitch. The Central or Defensive midfielder is responsible for organizing the team, acts as a shield for the defence and goalkeeper, and help start the attack with good passes between the lines to the forwards.
◾UEFA Pro License: It should be noted that only 3 Nigerians have this license namely: Sunday Oliseh, Mutiu Adepoju and Emmanuel Amunike. Sunday Oliseh is a very brilliant and articulate individual, he also has a business management diploma in Business Management.
◾He started his journey to acquire his license in 2007, and finished the program in 2011. Amongst his classmates include Gianfranco Zola, Roberto di Matteo.
◾Managers who he also shared ideas with include Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello. Such a license is required to manage in the UEFA champions league, it also consists of a minimum of 240 hours of which 90 hours real practical. Modules involve handling top-class players, using latest technology, analyzing opponents’ strength and weaknesses, and dealing with players on and off the pitch problems.
◾Club Experience
◾ Sunday Oliseh has played for various clubs in Europe and has experienced different cultures and ideologies to help shape his footballing philosophy. He has played for top class football clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Ajax Amsterdam, KRC Genk, Bochum, and Standard Liege.
◾He once said “I am passionate about how the Dutch(Ajax) build up players” indicating his willingness to bring back grassroot developmental factor and the offensive side of football Nigerian soccer lovers have longed craved for.

Factors That Might Work Against Oliseh

◾The Nigerian Football Federation
◾Does Oliseh have the maturity or the required understanding to play the local politics required to survive the murky waters of Nigerian Football? The NFF as they are called have a history in interfering in matters with the managers. This might create a situation of ego clash amongst the men in the ‘Glass House’. Oliseh has always been known to be a difficult and strong minded character who isn’t a pushover. He will fight for a cause he believes in, will he be able to swim in the murky waters of the NFF? His honest and blunt character might spell trouble for him.
◾Limited Experience
◾Oliseh has limited experience in coaching, in 2007 he was appointed as Sporting Director for Belgian club, Eupen. But quit a year after. In 2008 he was appointed as the manager of Belgian lower league side Vervietois but was relieved of his job after a year. There has been a time lag of about 5-6 years as a coach or manager which is a long time in football, the question here is what has he been doing with his time all this while? The thing about consistent coaching at an early stage is that it helps shape ideology and playing pattern. Also his assistant, Jean Francois Loscuito has only coached Rwandan club Ragon Sport and Burkina faso champions ASFA Yennenga, these are just club-sides in countries with a lower pedigree in football than Nigeria.
◾His Temper
◾ In March 2004, Oliseh was sacked by Borussia Dortmund after punching a teammate Vahid Hashemian while on loan at VFL Bochum. He retired from the squad to the 2002 World Cup for disciplinary issues with many in the Federation vowing never to work with him again as he is said to be a difficult character. Will Mr. Oliseh be able to handle players and colleagues without loosing his temper on the field of play or even with members of the NFF?
◾Looking at the above analysis, do you think Oliseh is worth $25,000 or he deserves a pay-cut?
more on....http://nairametrics.com/opinion-is-sunday-oliseh-worth-n5m-or-he-deserves-a-pay-cut/

Iran coming to the market could be the “mother of all bears” for Nigeria.

Starting from Dec. 15, the U.S. and the EU will allow any nation to buy Iranian oil, and curbs on trading its refined products, chemicals and natural gas will be eased if the UN inspectors are able to verify its compliance with laid out terms.

Then, the oil-rich nation will be allowed to ramp up energy exports, re-enter the global financial system and access as much as $150 billion in frozen assets.

Why and how does this affect Nigeria?

One: prices will plummet if the current global growth and demand dynamics persist.

Two: more importantly, Nigeria’s share of the market will shrink even further.



Iran’s massive output capability will tilt the balance of global oil supply:

Here is a refresher on Iran and world oil:

The first crude deposits found in the Middle East were discovered in Iran in 1908.

Proven oil reserves in Iran was ranked 3rd largest in the world as of 2007, accounting for roughly 10% of the world’s total proven petroleum reserves and 13% of OPEC reserves.

Iran is the second-largest proven natural gas reserve holder in the world, behind only Russia. It holds 17% of the world’s proved natural gas reserves and more than one-third of OPEC’s gas reserves

Despite the paucity of investment in new exploration during the sanction years, it still occupies the position of 4th largest crude reserve holder in the world.

Iran’s oil reserves are estimated at 157.8 billion barrels, enough to supply China’s insatiable demand for more than 40 years.

To understand the scale of this size, even if no new oil was found, Iran’s current reserves could last for 98 years!

The country is also capable of producing 6 million barrels per day, three times larger than Nigeria’s historic peak production of about 2 million barrels a day. Even now, during the sanctions era, it manages to produce about 2.8 million barrels a day, well above Nigeria’s peak production.

Due to the sheer size of its market share and capacity in the past, Iran was considered as one of the 6 ‘energy super powers’, able to influence world markets and global politics to its advantage by manipulating supply.



Iran is seen as the Last frontier for investment – will take the shine as the leading destination for IOC cash.

Iran is the most important market still closed to major investors, according to Renaissance Capital.

Western oil multinationals have mostly been absent from the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

With the lifting of sanctions, Iran will become one of the biggest global prospects for foreign investment, most especially its oil and gas sector. Iran, for its part, sorely needs the foreign money to catch up to the rest of the world. With its current technology, it is only able to extract between 20 – 25 percent of its oil-in-place (the total oil content in its reservoirs).




Implications

Iran already has a huge stockpile of oil, which had to be stored away following the seizure of its exports to trade partners.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, It already has 30 million barrels of oil in tankers.

A lifting of the sanctions (following its compliance with agreement terms) could lead to an instant uptick of 500,000 barrels per day of oil (additional to the preceding amount) in the world supply, to be increased to 1 million barrels 2 in the coming months. About 35 million barrels could be finding its way into the market, which means prices will go south in the process.




Market impact

Iran is on a revenge mission. It is making it resoundingly clear that it aims to regain its lost customers.

According to Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, in a statement in May, Iran’s priorities are regaining customers in Asia and then Europe.

Iran’s Asian trade was mostly overtaken by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

In Europe, Iranian oil was displaced by Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Unfortunately, those 2 same destinations are Nigeria’s most prominent and important markets.

According to NNPC FY 2014 figures, Europe accounted for 45.8 percent of Nigerian crude oil exports, while Asia accounted for 25 percent.

As a side effect to this, Saudi Arabia could be prompted to become more fervent in its strategy of boosting market share, to avoid Iran eroding its share of the market.

Also, the competition among OPEC members for Asian customers will become more intense.

As a marginal player, this outlook is “super-bearish” for Nigeria.

Nigerian sales and market share will shrink further.

Though, one thing that Nigeria has is bit more time.

There’s the high chance that the US congress will oppose the Iran deal, giving Nigeria some time to put house in order.

If Buhari is still talking about reforming the NNPC and plugging oil sector leakages by December, it might already be too late for the country.

By then, the attention should have moved away from oil, into buffering up other different industries, because “oil is dead”.
more on..... http://nairametrics.com/tick-tock-how-iran-deal-is-set-to-blow-nigerian-economy-apart/

◾Sunday Oliseh has been officially unveiled by the Nigerian Football Federation as the new Super Eagles Gaffer. Oliseh was a defensive midfielder who played 54 games and scored 2 goals, he will forever be remembered for his boomerang goal against Andoni Zubizarreta of Spain in the France 98 world cup to earn Nigeria a 3-2 victory.
◾Before now, Sunday Oliseh ran a consultancy firm that trains and assesses coaches worldwide, he is a football blogger and a TV analyst. After the dismissal of Stephen Keshi as the Super Eagles manager, rumours broke that the NFF will appoint Oliseh as the new manager, millions of Nigerians have begun to analyse if Oliseh will succeed or not. Here are the reasons…


◾Midfield Position he played: Sunday Oliseh was not only a very efficient midfielder, he was also the captain of the super eagles making him a natural born leader. Coaches who were midfielders and have ended up as successful include Pep Guardiola (Bayern munich), Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) to name a few.
◾The midfield is arguably the most important position on a football pitch. The Central or Defensive midfielder is responsible for organizing the team, acts as a shield for the defence and goalkeeper, and help start the attack with good passes between the lines to the forwards.
◾UEFA Pro License: It should be noted that only 3 Nigerians have this license namely: Sunday Oliseh, Mutiu Adepoju and Emmanuel Amunike. Sunday Oliseh is a very brilliant and articulate individual, he also has a business management diploma in Business Management.
◾He started his journey to acquire his license in 2007, and finished the program in 2011. Amongst his classmates include Gianfranco Zola, Roberto di Matteo.
◾Managers who he also shared ideas with include Sir Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello. Such a license is required to manage in the UEFA champions league, it also consists of a minimum of 240 hours of which 90 hours real practical. Modules involve handling top-class players, using latest technology, analyzing opponents’ strength and weaknesses, and dealing with players on and off the pitch problems.
◾Club Experience
◾ Sunday Oliseh has played for various clubs in Europe and has experienced different cultures and ideologies to help shape his footballing philosophy. He has played for top class football clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Ajax Amsterdam, KRC Genk, Bochum, and Standard Liege.
◾He once said “I am passionate about how the Dutch(Ajax) build up players” indicating his willingness to bring back grassroot developmental factor and the offensive side of football Nigerian soccer lovers have longed craved for.

Factors That Might Work Against Oliseh

◾The Nigerian Football Federation
◾Does Oliseh have the maturity or the required understanding to play the local politics required to survive the murky waters of Nigerian Football? The NFF as they are called have a history in interfering in matters with the managers. This might create a situation of ego clash amongst the men in the ‘Glass House’. Oliseh has always been known to be a difficult and strong minded character who isn’t a pushover. He will fight for a cause he believes in, will he be able to swim in the murky waters of the NFF? His honest and blunt character might spell trouble for him.
◾Limited Experience
◾Oliseh has limited experience in coaching, in 2007 he was appointed as Sporting Director for Belgian club, Eupen. But quit a year after. In 2008 he was appointed as the manager of Belgian lower league side Vervietois but was relieved of his job after a year. There has been a time lag of about 5-6 years as a coach or manager which is a long time in football, the question here is what has he been doing with his time all this while? The thing about consistent coaching at an early stage is that it helps shape ideology and playing pattern. Also his assistant, Jean Francois Loscuito has only coached Rwandan club Ragon Sport and Burkina faso champions ASFA Yennenga, these are just club-sides in countries with a lower pedigree in football than Nigeria.
◾His Temper
◾ In March 2004, Oliseh was sacked by Borussia Dortmund after punching a teammate Vahid Hashemian while on loan at VFL Bochum. He retired from the squad to the 2002 World Cup for disciplinary issues with many in the Federation vowing never to work with him again as he is said to be a difficult character. Will Mr. Oliseh be able to handle players and colleagues without loosing his temper on the field of play or even with members of the NFF?
◾Looking at the above analysis, do you think Oliseh is worth $25,000 or he deserves a pay-cut?
more on ...http://nairametrics.com/opinion-is-sunday-oliseh-worth-n5m-or-he-deserves-a-pay-cut/

In Mark Twain’s words “History doesnt repeat itself, but it does rhyme”.

The Chinese stock market is crashing, and again one can say the Chinese have failed to learn from history. The main Shanghai composite index has lost 30% of its value in the past 3 weeks and the even more speculative index ChiNext Index has lost 42% of its value in 21 days. The turmoil is now spreading to other Asian markets and global commodities market.

What caused the crash?

The Chinese government, over the past one year encouraged lots of Chinese to invest in the stock market and this increased the number of retail investors to over 90 million people. Millions of ‘speculators’ poured borrowed cash into shares, which inflated prices to unsustainable levels. When prices began to dip, these ‘speculators’ were forced to sell shares to pay back the borrowed funds and cover their losses. This vicious circle of selling has created a panic and has caused stock prices to crash further.

It should be noted that the companies whose shares were rising weren’t actually getting any better due to their fundamentals – the prices were actually rising simple because there was an increase in demand for shares and people were bidding prices up.

Deadly Margin Loans Strike Again

Most of the retail investors who put money into stocks weren’t using their own cash, but using their money to borrow way more money than they had to invest. Swiss Bank Credit Suisse estimated that the figure for borrowed funds invested in the stock market reached between 4.4 trillion yuan ($708.3billion) before the bubble, and this amount is about 9% of the exchange’s entire worth.

This fall in the stock exchange looks like it will continue, and efforts by the Chinese government to stem the losses have failed.


Should Nigeria be worried?

Yes, I will explain in 2 ways:
1.Brent Crude oil prices fell below $49 a barrel after the global economic outlook darkened. The world’s biggest energy consumer, china, faces a significant downward pressure on its economy, and china is expected to report growth slowing to 7.2% from a year ago. Oil prices have dropped by more than half since June as output (supply) around the world soared while demand growth slowed.If the Chinese stock market continues with its free fall, demand for oil will most likely reduce further crashing the price of oil which will be unbearable for a country like Nigeria.
2.Stock markets do not operate in a vacuum. If the Chinese stock market keeps crashing, confidence in the Chinese economy will shrink and this will see the portfolio of investors shrink, and people will start selling their stocks or over-inflated houses. The Chinese will resort to selling Gold, and if gold prices fall significantly (say by 15%), there is a chance panic will come to India as well because the government of India are holding onto a lot of Gold. The spillover from the Chinese markets will affect the Indian market and possibly slow down their economy also. It is worth noting that India is now the 3rd highest importer of oil in the world and Nigeria’s No 1 buyer. This will reduce the demand for Nigeria crude further worsening the situation of a mono-product economy like Nigeria.

Hopefully, the Nigerian Government goes beyond tightening its purse to aggressively pursuing other sources of generating revenue beyond ‘oyel’.
more on http://nairametrics.com/the-chinese-stock-market-is-crashing-why-nigeria-should-worry/

The CBN has released a new circular (Tuesday) updating banks on their earlier instruction to restrict daily usage of FX usage by individuals abroad. Earlier in the year, the CBN had asked that Banks restrict individuals to a daily withdrawal limit of $300 and annual of $50,000 whenever they use their ATM card to transact abroad.

Last week the CBN postponed the BVN registration exercise following a large turnout on the day of the earlier expiry date of June 30th, 2015. The CBN obviously sees the large turnout as an acceptance of its grand plan to perhaps track everything that you do. How? An example is what was contained in the circular it just issued..... more on......http://nairametrics.com/this-latest-cbn-circular-shows-how-they-will-use-bvn-to-track-your-every-move/

Here are the top trending business news for the first week of July

PMB inaugurate National Economic Council (NEC).
◾President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated his administration’s National Economic Council (NEC).
◾The council is expected to draw up a roadmap that will actualise the economic policies of the new administration.
◾As is the tradition, the council will be chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and will be composed of all the 36 state governors.

Did Window Dressing”Help Stocks Hit Highest One Day Gain In 60 Days?
◾The Nigerian President, Buhari has been in power for the past 31 days and we are yet to get any official word from him with regards to the economy.
◾Considering how critical the economy is to the success of his Government it is quite surprising that he still remains numb.
◾Nigerian stocks have been in a bearish mode for weeks as investors continue to wait on the sidelines before they invest.


CBN Tells Importers To Go To The “Sharks” If They Want Forex
◾The CBN has clarified that in addition to the Interbank Market, importers cannot access forex from export proceeds or the BDC.
◾This essentially means small businesses who import items included in that list have essentially been thrown to the sharks of the parallel market essentially putting products which many Nigerians depend on at risk of being expensive or scarce.

Who Is Dumping Access Bank’s Shares?
◾Access Bank shares closed trading Wednesday at N5.42 representing a 4% loss. Whilst most stocks lost today, Access Bank’s losses was quite different.
◾With the share price shedding further value despite this large volume it suggest a major investor is exiting. We opine these volumes are perhaps a result of a foreign portfolio investor exiting positions with either a market maker or a proxy mopping up the shares.



What I Will Do If I Were Buhari’s Finance Minister
◾Since our increasingly hapless looking President Buhari or “Baba go slow” as amiable named by Bloomberg has refused to appoint ministers or special advisers, I have decided to step into such shoes and suggest a fiscal and job creating economic direction for Nigeria.
◾So you invest you also open up opportunity for the Private sector by co-investing with them. That way you can even leverage our initial $60 billion to become $120 billion if the private sector can be made to put money via PPPs to become 50 – 60 percent equity partners in some projects like Airports, Seaports and some toll roads and even railways.



Oshiomole and Okonjo – Iweala Trade Words Over ECA Account:

◾ Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomole said the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala must explain how the Excess Crude Account crashed to $2billion.
◾Dr. Ngozi has however replied to the allegation by Oshiomole saying “No Unauthorised expenditure from the ECA was made under Okonjo Iweala’s watch in the Finance Ministry”.

Popular Ladipo Market Demolished:
◾Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market in Lagos has been demolished.
◾Some Armed men and officials suspected to be working for Mushin Local Government supported by a team of policemen invaded the market and demolished shops in the market.

FIRS Raises Taxes for First Class Tickets:
◾The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has introduced new taxes in order to improve on the country’s lean purse.
◾A N15,000 levy on first class and business class travellers has been introduced.
◾This levy comes as a result of the bad fortune of oil and gas industry which is the major income earner for the country.



[B-O-O-M] Naira depreciates to N230 to $1
◾The Naira fell to N230 on Wednesday in the parallel market as importers scrambled to source for forex lifeline to save their business.
◾The Naira was N228 on Tuesday and N220 just a week ago thus depreciating by 4.5% in just one week.
◾The depreciation is likely to continue as more importers scramble to secure enough forex for their next imports to avoid being run out of business.

Why CBN Extended BVN Registration Deadline
◾The CBN has extended its BVN registration exercise from June 30th to October 31, 2015.
◾The CBN in a circular claimed it extended the deadline because it has elicited tremendous interest from the Nigerian bank customers who crowded the banking halls in order to beat the deadline.
◾The CBN however failed to admit the pains and inconvenience it had subjected a lot of Nigerians to and giving the impression that the exercise will end June 30, even though it perhaps new it was going to extend it.
more on.... http://nairametrics.com/top-trending-business-news-in-nigeria-now/

◾Gov. Adams Oshiomhole of Edo on Friday advised public officers and politicians to get rid of their private jets as President Muhammadu Buhari had begun blocking financial leakages in the country’s economy.
◾Oshiomhole made this known at a public lecture titled “Labour and the Nigerian Economy: What needs to be done”, held at the University of Port Harcourt.
◾He said that businessmen who connived with some officials of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to defraud the nation through subsidy claims would be probed.
◾

“Few people (in Nigeria) are taking away so much wealth, while majority of the people are going home with almost nothing. “A clear example is when you arrive at the private wing of the airport in Abuja; you will find more than 40 to 50 private jets parked there in one airport alone.

◾Oshiomhole called on President Muhammadu Buhari to revoke licences of electricity generation and distribution companies, saying the sector was “fraudulently” privatised and currently enmeshed with corruption.
◾According to him, the country will grow economically if policy makers come up with policies that were in-tune with the character of Nigerians
more on.... http://nairametrics.com/get-ready-to-sell-your-private-jets-oshiomhole-tell-owners/

There are very few things in life that is as satisfactory as getting a job soon after graduating from University. As such, it isn’t unlikely that entry level employees (aka Executive Trainees) riding on the newly found wave of financial independence, display a tendency to splurge and spend their salaries on things they need and do not need. Unfortunately we all have limitations in life which makes our wants are always limited to choices. It is why no matter how much we earn it is never enough to cater for all our needs. Whilst your newly earned salaries puts you at the tip of financial independence, there are certain financial decisions you may be tempted to make that can put you quickly on the path of financial ruin and take away money that would have been better served for investment purposes. Here are some example;

Debt – The first thing you want to avoid at the start of your career is owing. In the first year of employment, you should endeavor to avoid owing on a mortgage, car payments, consumer loans etc. Whilst some may consider items such as owning a car important financing it with your first year’s salary or upfront is not a sound financial decision let alone financing with a loan.

Burden Of Responsibility – We live in a society where relatives depend on each other for survival. It is hence not inconceivable to expect a sudden need to help others once you start your career. However, it is important to note that helping dependent relatives at the expense of your investment goals is a threat to your financial wellbeing and can even erode the eventual support system you originally set out to provide. You must help dependents but not at your financial detriment. Help does not only come through financial support as such not every one that knocks on your door for money can be assisted.

Consumer Loans – The moment you pick up that plum job and start seeing your bank accounts swell, banks, shops, online stores and businesses that offer all sorts of consumer products will approach you. You will be offered debit cards once you open a bank account and soon after a credit card. All types of promo that lure you into acquiring things you need and don’t need will be offered to you. For those who find it hard being frugal it’s the easiest way into financial ruin. You must try to avoid them except where necessary and start by learning to live according to your means.
more on.... http://nairametrics.com/financial-decisions-every-executive-trainee-should-avoid/

Access Bank has now lost 11% in the last one week as against 1.21% for the NSE in the same period. In fact, Access Bank has lost about 44% in the last one year.

So who is dumping?


With the share price shedding further value despite this large volume it suggest a major investor is exiting. We opine these volumes are perhaps a result of a foreign portfolio investor exiting positions with either a market maker or a proxy mopping up the shares.

Outlook for the share price based on technical analysis also suggest further bearishness for the stock. However, in terms of fundamentals and on the back of its Q1 result the shares at any price under N7 looks attractive for a long term investor.
more on... http://nairametrics.com/who-is-dumping-access-bank-shares/

The CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele has been under the radar lately for some of his forex policies. Understandably, the Emperor as we like to call him has an economy to protect and a currency to save. How he goes about it though, is open to anyone’s criticism. And that is what the Economist has just done.

In a scathing article, the website ripped into a hapless Emefiele suggesting he is incompetent and should perhaps be sacked. This may just be the most scathing opinion from a Western Media written about the Emperor since he became Governor over a year ago. See excerpts of the article


The hit list appears to have been drawn up by someone wandering around a home and a building site and randomly pointing at items. It includes Indian incense, toothpicks and wire rods as well as more obvious luxuries such as private jets (demand for which could be slashed by simply barring government officials from flying in them). It also includes basics such as rice and tinned fish. Nigeria does not produce enough of these things to feed itself, but no matter. The nation must be shielded from foreign sardines.


Economists find the policy baffling. Central banks usually prop up their currencies if they are worried about inflation, or allow them to devalue to depress imports and stimulate exports. Nigeria, by contrast, appears to be set on achieving both an uncompetitive exchange rate and higher inflation. Whereas many investors were impressed by the previous CBN governor, Lamido Sanusi, who was sacked for exposing corruption, they fret about the harm being inflicted by the current one. Some wonder which would be worse for Nigeria: allowing him to serve the remaining four years of his term or undermining the independence of the central bank by sacking him.
more on..... http://nairametrics.com/toothpick-governor-economist-suggest-emefiele-should-be-sacked/

Since our increasingly hapless looking President Buhari or “Baba go slow” as amiable named by Bloomberg has refused to appoint ministers or special advisers, I have decided to step into such shoes and suggest a fiscal and job creating economic direction for Nigeria.

Forget about austerity and go for a big stimulus package, that will be the signature legacy of the Daura General. People think four years is a long time, but then you blink and it’s already there with political campaigns and all that distractions. This government has started on a wrong footing and i believe it is probably doomed from here.

That is why the country needs a finance Minister like yesterday.

The North East needs a kind of Marshall plan, while the SS/SE need more federal investments in roads and bridges. Lagos and perhaps Kano probably need to be declared special economic zones and again will need Federal money channeled to these cities to help with infrastructure that the state governments cannot handle.

A solid finance Minister such as i would have figured out how much we need (10% of GDP?), how much we can afford to borrow at what interest rates…10% of GDP is $50 billion and from where (Chinese/Eurobonds/Adb etc).

I would even suggest we sell off a 6 percent stake (down to 49% from 55% now) in all 5 JVs with IOCs and get maybe $30 billion for them, then combine that with a mix of loans, grants and Eurobonds to raise circa $50 – $60 billion and light this country on fire…infrastructure wise.

Buharis only claim to fame is his clean and incorruptible nature. So his only leverage is to make sure this money is spent judiciously.

First of all what is the absorptive capacity of capex in Nigeria (most FG capital expenditure have amounted to N1.2 trillion a year or between $5 billion and $6 billion and in any case only about half of that is actually released).


Get the major construction and infrastructure companies to Abuja and award contracts directly to them. The Julius Bergers, CCECC, GE, etc. I am sure with that we can easily spend $15 billion a year over a 4 year period to total $60 billion.

The East West road, New Niger bridge, Lagos Badagry/ Lagos Ibadan roads, perhaps a 10 % equity stake in Eko Atlantic (and investment of $1 billion in the project for quick completion of infrastructure there), new airports in Lagos and Abuja (with private sector participation), intervention in ABA roads, new 10,000 MW power plants contracts awarded to GE (General Electric) with gas pipelines ( money paid upfront and deadlines given), railways to crisscross North and South…some money ($2 billion perhaps for our military for equipment), roads in the North, etc.

This is how you change a country.

As you invest you also open up opportunity for the Private sector by co-investing with them. That way you can even leverage our initial $60 billion to become $120 billion if the private sector can be made to put money via PPPs to become 50 – 60 percent equity partners in some projects like Airports, Seaports and some toll roads and even railways.

However all i have listed above will not happen without a vision or Finance Minister. And frankly it seems our Buhari does not have the time for all this economic theories now. $50 – $60 billion in new borrowing will only lift our total Debt to GDP ratio to around 30 percent well below peers.
more on.... http://nairametrics.com/what-i-will-do-if-i-were-buharis-finance-minister/

◾Demolition of some structures in the popular Ladipo spare parts market in Mushin, Lagos commenced yesterday. Armed anti-riot policemen from the Lagos State Police Command headquarters, Ikeja have beefed up security.
◾Officials of the Mushin Local Government closed the main gate of the market on Tuesday morning and prevented shop owners and traders from gaining access.
◾According to the officials, they claim that government wanted to rebuild the market.
◾The action of the local government generated tension around Mushin and its environs throughout Tuesday and yesterday.
◾Traders had converged at the main gate when they heard the news of the commencement of the demolition. But in a swift reaction, the Lagos State Police boss drafted additional policemen to complement those already on ground.
◾The traders alleged that they were prevented from entering the market to remove their goods from the shops.
◾The Public Relations Officer of the market, Kanayo Okonkwo, said


“there was no prior notice of the closure/demolition of the market to prepare the traders beforehand.

more on.... http://nairametrics.com/popular-ladipo-market-faces-demolition/

◾The Naira fell to N230 on Wednesday in the parallel market as importers scrambled to source for forex lifeline to save their business.
◾The Naira was N228 on Tuesday and N220 just a week ago thus depreciating by 4.5% in just one week.
◾The depreciation is likely to continue as more importers scramble to secure enough forex for their next imports to avoid being run out of business
◾The naira was trading at 198.95 to the dollar on the interbank market on Wednesday.
◾The central bank lowered its exchange rate peg to 196.95 to the dollar on Tuesday from 196.90 last week.
more on.... http://nairametrics.com/b-o-o-m-naira-depreciates-to-n230-to-1/

◾Nine Nigeria banks made this year top 1000 global banks. The top 1000 global banks was released Monday by the Banker magazine in London.
◾The banks that made the top 1000 global banks which are the top 25 banks in Africa are Zenith, Ecobank, First Bank, Gtbank and Access Banks. Others are, Diamond Bank, UBA, Fidelity and FCMB.
◾According to the banker Zenith bank placed first among Nigeria top banks in terms of tier 1 capital but 6th in Africa with a capital of $3.162 billion. It was followed by Eco Transnational which is second in Nigeria and 7th in Africa with a capital base of $3.030 billion. First Bank ranked 3rd in Nigeria and 10th in Africa with a capital of $2.327 billion.
◾
◾Next in the ranking is Gtbank which came 4th in Nigeria and 13th in Africa. The Banker report said that Access Bank is 5th in Nigeria but 15th in Africa with a capital base of $1.398 billion.
◾Others are Diamond which is 6th in Nigeria and 17th in Africa, UBA ranked 7th in Nigeria and 17th in Africa while Fidelity ranked 8th in Nigeria and 21 in Africa. FCMB on its part was the 9th bank from Nigeria to make the top 25 banks in Africa.
◾The Bankers report said “Nigeria’s banks endured a difficult close to 2014, as the significant slump in oil prices caused havoc with the country’s economy
more on..... http://nairametrics.com/nine-nigerian-banks-make-top-1000-global-banks-list/

Mr. Wang Qishan is a member of China’s seven man Politburo Standing Committee – sort of their equivalent of Nigeria’s FEC. He is also the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) – think of this as China’s EFCC.

Given that China has only one party, everyone in government from civil servants to ministers to the President – is a member of the 80 million member strong Communist Party. What this means is that from the time you sign up as a member of the party, you are subject to the rules and regulations as enforced by the CCDI; take it or leave it. The CCDI is supposed to be a way by which the Communist Party cleans itself and prevents decay.

But as with all things, it ends up depending on the leadership of the country and how seriously they want to deal with corruption. China is deeply corrupt although not as visible as Nigeria (policemen don’t take bribes on the highway) and certainly their corruption is of a higher quality than the variety you find in Nigeria as I tried to explain in a previous piece here.

Enter President Xi Jinping – or Xi Big Big (习大大) as Chinese people have taken to calling him. In January 2013, a couple of months after taking office, he declared that his government would go after ‘flies’ (low ranking civil servants) and ‘tigers’ (ministers and big boys). Nothing new there as every Chinese leader always declares war on corruption. He said:


We must uphold the fighting of tigers and flies at the same time, resolutely investigating law-breaking cases of leading officials and also earnestly resolving the unhealthy tendencies and corruption problems which happen all around people.

The style in which you work is no small matter, and if we don’t redress unhealthy tendencies and allow them to develop, it will be like putting up a wall between our party and the people, and we will lose our roots, our lifeblood and our strength

If President Xi was serious about this, it was going to be a big job for Wang Qishan. So more than 2 years after the Tigers and Flies campaign started, how has it fared? Here are some highlights

1. Previously, there was an unspoken rule in China that members of the Politburo Standing Committee do not get investigated for corruption. Zhou Yongkang became the first Tiger to fall to Mr. Wang’s campaign. When you consider that China is a police state, someone who was in charge of the entire internal security apparatus must be an extremely powerful person. He also previously headed the China National Petroleum Corporation, the world’s largest employer (currently 3.2m people).

Last week, Mr Zhou was sentenced to life in prison after having assets worth $14bn seized from him.

2. In September 2013, the much publicised trial of Bo Xilai came to an end and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He had previously been a Minister and then Governor of one of China’s fastest growing provinces, Chonqing, and had ambitions to make it to the Politburo Standing Committee someday. He was charged with taking bribes of $3.5m and had all his assets seized (including a $7m villa in France) upon his conviction.

3. What about the flies? Boy oh boy…Mr Wang has gone after them relentlessly. Each year breaks the record of the previous one in terms of convictions and investigations. This is how he started his job in 2012


One story goes that at a meeting of the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), convened after Mr Wang took charge of it in November 2012, senior members—themselves among the most feared officials in the party—were presented with dossiers of their own sins. Mr Wang’s aim, it appeared, was to terrorise the enforcers themselves. Failure to uncover high-level graft, he has warned them, would be “dereliction of duty”

In 2014, 200 of the CCDI’s own investigators were punished. In 2014, the CCDI had investigated and punished 232,000 civil servants at all levels – both federal and state. This was 30% more than the numbers punished in 2013. The campaign has been intensifying rather than waning as the chart below from the FT shows

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4. An interesting effect of Mr Wang’s crackdown on the civil service is that it has reduced the desirability of those jobs:


For the most recent annual exam for the national civil service, held on November 30th, there were 1.4m applicants, 110,000 fewer than the previous year. Of those, more than one-third failed to show up. There were 40 test-takers for each available position, the lowest ratio in nine years. As recently as 2010 it stood at 59:1. Recent opinion polls have found respondents born in the 1990s to be much less keen on civil-service careers than their elders.

And this:


A Chinese job-search website, Zhaopin.com, reported that in the three weeks after the lunar new-year holiday in February more than 10,000 government workers quit their jobs to seek greener pastures, mainly in the finance, property and technology industries—an increase of nearly one-third over the same period in 2014. The company attributed this to a new emphasis on frugality in government work. Lavish meals are now banned (much to the chagrin of restaurants, which have suffered falls in profits). Governments are no longer allowed to build fancy offices for themselves. Stricter controls have been imposed on the size of ministers’ offices and temperature settings in government buildings. The receiving of gifts and donations of cash, once common features of bureaucratic life, has become far riskier

Future corruption is even being reduced as those who wanted to go into the civil service to steal money are now abandoning the idea.

Mr. Wang apparently organises ‘prison tours’ where he takes serving civil servants (along with their wives) to visit their former colleagues who have been convicted. The message is of course clear – e fit be you o.

Nearly 70 civil servants have committed suicide since the beginning of 2013, usually after they were placed under investigation. More than 60 people at Minister rank have also been convicted.

5. China’s ‘private sector’ is more or less an arm of government. As my previous post showed, Mr Wang’s CCDI went after Lunatic Liu at the Railways Ministry. He has also relentlessly gone after the Chinese version of the NNPC – the CNPC. In fact, the CCDI’s investigations have now been built into the operation of the CNPC:


At China National Petroleum Co, the state-owned parent of listed PetroChina, so many senior executives have been detained that the company has established a reporting system in which top officials check in with department heads daily, according to Chinese media reports.

If any of them drop out of contact they are assumed to have been detained by the CCDI and are replaced the following day by a preapproved successor.

This arrangement reflects the extraordinary power wielded by the CCDI, a highly secretive extralegal body that has no formal right to arrest or press charges but which can investigate and indefinitely detain any of China’s 87m Communist party members.

Once a CEO of a private company disappears, the shares of the company tank as people assume the CDDI has picked the person up. A funny example of this happened a couple of weeks ago to a company called Hanergy Thin Film Power had $18bn of its value wiped off the stock market in about 30 minutes when the Chinese billionaire owner of the firm, Li Hejun failed to turn up at its AGM.

It turned out he had been merely engaged elsewhere but no one was waiting to find that out.

6. The giant Chinese pig industry has not been spared. One way corruption is carried out in China is by wining and dining government officials with very expensive meals which always contain pork. As Mr Wang and the CCDI have cracked down on corruption, these expensive meals have lost their appeal as the risk of being caught in a restaurant while stuffing your face has greatly increased.


In a recent newsletter, China’s leading pork industry analyst explained why hog prices are still depressed in that country after two years of shrinking animal inventories.

In his Soozhu.com newsletter, analyst Feng Yonghui observes that Chinese hog producers are confused as to why prices have not bounced back after two years of declining hog numbers. Feng describes the downsizing as a structural response to the anticorruption campaign and economic downturn that have roiled markets in China over the past two years.

Feng estimates that the anticorruption campaign (launched December 2012) popped a bubble equal to 10% of pork consumption. He estimates that before the anticorruption campaign, 7 out of 10 pigs were consumed on family dinner tables, and the other 3 pigs were supplied to restaurants and cafeterias. He estimates that the anticorruption campaign eliminated 1 of the latter 3 pigs. In other words, it popped a bubble equal to 10 percent of demand for pork.

While the bandits and economic parasites (who are ‘into oil and gas’) in Nigeria continue to buy private jets for themselves, their wives and their girlfriends, here’s what’s happening in China:


Yet a government crackdown on corruption and a creeping anti-luxury climate under Chinese President Xi Jinping may be changing that.

Underscoring the risk to suppliers, the Chongqing Youth Daily, citing unnamed industry sources, reported yesterday that 30% of outstanding orders for private jets have recently been canceled as part of a “chain reaction” tied to a government crackdown on corruption.

It’s not just second-thoughts among new buyers that may affect the market in 2015. Existing owners of private jets are also less willing to hold pricey symbols of wealth at a time when government leaders are emphasizing frugality in everything from architecture to salaries at state-owned companies. As a result, as much as 20% of China’s existing fleet of private jets — including corporate jets — could be for sale, one industry executive recently told Forbes.


Luxury goods too:


All of this news is likely worrisome to luxury companies, which have seen a significant slowdown since the start of the anti-graft campaign. Bain & Company reported a negative 1 percent growthrate for the China luxury market in 2014, marking a third year of the industry’s slowdown after the market grew by 2.5 percent in 2013 and 7 percent in 2012 (a significant decline from 30 percent growth in 2011).

The crackdown hasn’t affected all sectors equally, however—luxury items associated with graft such as high-end spirits and watches have fared the worst, while “affordable luxury” brands geared toward China’s middle class have still seen significant growth.

Since the crackdown doesn’t seem likely to end anytime soon, luxury companies are taking a variety of measures to cope. Some are taking a cue from the success of masstige labels such as Coach and Michael Kors by going more mid-range in order to tap into the growing spending power of China’s upper middle-class consumers. This is especially true for high-end hotels and restaurants hurting from a lack of fancy official banquets, as well as brands producing luxury versions of the Chinese spirit baijiu as sellers slash bottle prices.

Gold:


Gold demand on the mainland shrank for a third quarter as slumping prices failed to boost the purchases of bars, coins and jewellery and officials pressed on with an anti-corruption campaign.

Buying dropped 37 per cent year on year in the third quarter to 182.7 tonnes as last year’s price-driven surge in demand was not repeated, the World Gold Council said in a report yesterday

Mink:


The price of mink has more than halved in the past year after retailers in China and other big fur markets were left with surplus stocks after the bursting of the Chinese fur bubble.

Prices at last month’s auction by Denmark’s Kopenhagen Fur, the world’s biggest fur auctioneer, fell 55% to 258 kroner (£27.19) from a year earlier when Chinese demand sent prices to a record. Saga Furs in Finland said prices at its auctions also halved for mink furs. More than 30 animals are required to make a mink coat.

Salla Tuomivaara, of the Finnish animal welfare group Animalia, said: “The reason for the price drop is most probably the anti-corruption campaign initiated by the Chinese government, which discourages public servants … to accept luxury gifts.”

You might wonder at the damage all this is doing to the economy. Well, President Xi has called it ‘The New Normal‘. Make of that what you will.

7. What about corruption in the Chinese military? Mr. Wang has gone there too. Before he fell, General Xu Caihon was the highest ranking officer in China’s armed forces.

When investigators raided his house, they needed 12 lorries to carry away all the cash and precious stones he had stashed away (one problem in China is that the highest currency denomination is RMB100 so lots of cash is needed to hide loot). He had so much cash that it was reported that he gave so much to his maid and driver who in turn built houses while working for him. When the maid’s house was searched, stacks of cash were found there too.

General Xu was in charge of promotions in the armed forces so it’s not hard to see how he would have made a fortune from bribes with 2.3 million members in the forces. His trial for corruption was going on when he died of bladder cancer in March this year.

In January of this year, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) revealed that 15 senior Generals were under investigation for corruption:


On January 15, Chinese officials announced on China Military Online the names of 16 senior military officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who were under investigation for “seriously violating party discipline,” a euphemism for accusations of graft. The Global Timesnotes that the officers under investigation are at the corps level and above and include one general, four lieutenant generals, nine major generals, and one senior colonel.

***

You can find plenty more on the Tigers and Flies campaign all over the internet. This blog post can’t do justice to it at all. If Mr. Wang was in Nigeria, then our people would say ‘Mr Wang is working, CCDI is working’. The campaign has been vicious and it has been relentless.

And yet this is a country that has lifted 600 million out of poverty in 30 years and where development and progress is visible to the naked eye (Please go through the photos in this article Here. Ignore the Russian text). Corruption has not held back development per se.

Observe, as a random example, the ongoing corruption scandal at the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE):


Investigations by TheCable have uncovered retrospective payments of insurance premiums totalling N27 billion for “cover” not provided to the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). In insurance parlance of “no premium, no cover”, there can be no insurance cover if premium is not paid ab initio, but the BPE and the ministry of power may have succeeded in developing a new practice in which premium is paid years after cover is provided.

A director at the ministry said: “Cover starts the day premium is made. How can you make payment for cover that was not provided? How can you ask for premiums to be paid when PHCN has already been liquidated? The conspirators engineered memos to their principals which were quickly approved and monies disbursed.

What is this shit? A country that cannot engineer bridges or roads is now ‘engineering memos’ to facilitate the transportation of public funds into private pockets. When you have this kind of theft going on, it is clear that people are not even thinking again.

President Buhari has a very big decision to make. As much as he needs competent hands to push his policies, he also needs a Mr. Wang to drive a serious anti-corruption campaign. Nigeria is of course a democracy so things possible in China will not be possible there. But this should by no means diminish the scale of the ambition required for the fight.

Corruption is absolutely killing Nigeria. Nothing serious can get done as things are. No matter how good a policy is, it will be suffocated if thrown into this system. And we have to be honest with ourselves that we have become a people who desperately need to change our ways, to put it mildly.

I have heard the name of one ‘mad man’ as a possible head of EFCC. A guy apparently so crazy he still drives a Peugeot 504 in 2015. Maybe he can be our Mr. Wang. That said, it is interesting to note that nothing in Wang Qishan’s history made him out to be an anti-corruption crusader – his private sector career was in banking.

But ultimately, the job belongs to Nigerians. A crackdown on corruption when Nigerians themselves remain comfortable with the culprits is unlikely to last long. These people live among us – they are people’s Daddies and Mummies.
More on ....http://nairametrics.com/lesson-from-china-what-if-mr-wang-of-the-ccdi-comes-for-your-daddy/

I was out recently with some friends in a night club in down town Ikeja. It was a boys hangout and as we typically do on such occasions, ended up drinking a lot of vodka, brandy, soft drinks, water and off-course beer. When it was time to pay up our bill was a nicely sum of about N100k. Nicely because we were over 10 guys with half of us surely within “the above N5m per year” earning bracket. The beer bill came to about N39,000, vodka and Hennessy N45,000 and the rest on water and soft & energy drinks etc. Like i said this was a usual norm and nothing special, thats until I read a reuters article that said “an average african had to work three hours on average to afford a beer, compared to 12minutes for a European”!!!! Three hours!!!! Wow.

So, I decided to put that to put it to test, to find out if it is really true. To do that within my resources means I will have to stick to Nigeria and off-course make some assumptions. Here they are?

Average Cost of Beer (Retail Price) – N200

Hours Worked Per day – 8.30-5.30 (9hrs)

Working days a month – 20days

Minimum Wage – N18,000 a month (without deducting tax, pensions etc)

The Result? Go to...... http://nairametrics.com/see-how-many-hours-you-need-to-work-to-afford-a-bottle-of-beer/

◾Lafarge Africa Group Plc, owners of Ashaka cement Plc, in Gombe state has claimed it lost N2.5 billion to insurgency between November 2014 and March 2015
◾The Country Director of the firm, Guillaume Roux has said this on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting with the chairman of the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE) Prof. Soji Adelaja.
◾Roux, however, said the company has no plan to pullout of the north east region or suspending its operations from where its factory is located in Gombe state.
◾Boko Haram attacked an Ashaka Cement factory twice last year , stealing the company’s dynamites and operational vehicles.
◾Ashaka Cements revenue was N21.1billion the whole of 2014 and 2.4% down from the year before.
◾Lafarge’s consolidated revenue was N205 billion for the whole of 2014 and essentially flat from the year before.
◾Ashaka however, reported a revenue of N4.5billion in Q1 of 2015 representing a 30% drop from the year before.
◾Lafarge also reported a 15.4% rise in revenue in the first quarter of 2015.

In a world of over 7 billion people and a country of over 170 million there is every likelihood that you could still find a lot of gullible people in Nigeria. With the advent of internet banking, mobile banking and ATMs Nigerian depositors are also now at risk of being targeted by 419ers.There is no other reason why 419 still exists if not because some people still fall for their lies no matter how stupid they might sound.

We indeed have just seen a very stupid one, thank to a Nairametrics subscriber who gladly decided to share with us. {See how they use GT Bank as the name of the sender and the email address it self something totally unrelated to GT Bank.}


From:”GTBank” <z1713987@students.niu.edu>
Date:Thu, 18 Jun, 2015 at 21:53
Subject:PERMANENT BANK ACCOUNT TERMINATION

—
PERMANENT BANK ACCOUNT TERMINATION
Dear Valued Customer;Your Account will be disabled from transacting in 48 hrs with failure
to register for your Unique Identification Number as directed by
Central Bank Of Nigeria.Register here: http:///1RbLE7sFailure to register will result in Permanent Account Termination as
this is a Mandatory Online Registration process.Guaranty Trust Notification Service
GTBANK © 2015.
More on.... http://nairametrics.com/here-is-a-stupid-format-419ers-now-use-to-steal-your-atm-details/