hi nairalanders! i just want to let those that have been finding it difficult to sell their products online because of the restrictions in clickbank,etc.you dont have to bother any more as their is a good and better(to me though) to clickbank.they can go ahead and restrict us(Nigerians).there is no need trying to use them still by getting a us billing address,changing our IP address,etc.
there is another US online retail store that accepts Nigerians, they help you create and market your products worldwide,when you use them,anybody anywhere in the world can buy your products.they wil send you a check after taking their own commission.what more can i say?well,to learn more,check how i am using them at www(dot)bestonlinebiz(dot)tk or www(dot)newbiewealthguide(dot)tkthen get back to me for more information. GOOD LUCK FOLKS!!!

nigerians stil doubting if one can really make money from the internet should wake up.check the atachement,you will see one of my recent checks from google with little or no work. infact,this is one of the businesses i do online, go to www.bestonlinebiz.tk

hi nike.

HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MAKE GENUINE MONEY ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT LOSSES? YOUR ANSWER HAS FINALY COME!

Are you a sport lover or a supporter?
Do you intend to invest in the sports industry?
OR
Do you want to make money supporting your favourite clubs like Chelsea, Manchester, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid and others?
then you’re about to discover sports arbitrage and how to get a risk free return of between 3% and 90% in just 2 hours. Again and again - guaranteed!

"This explosively profitable little known secret that has been used by BANKS for centuries is now available to you, thanks to the power of the internet!"

"It's so simple that even a seven year old could understand it. There are literally thousands of these "profit loopholes" every single day, each paying between 3% & 90% on your capital - 100% risk free & guaranteed!"

"It doesn't matter where in the world you are - if you have an internet connection & pc you can claim hundreds of dollars for just a few minutes of easy 'work' (it is clicking a mouse button few times work)"

With this sports arbitrage package you'll learn how to:

• Apply the knowledge of arbitrage to hundreds of sporting events to make money, completely risk free and guaranteed.

You need no knowledge of any sporting events at all - you're effectively discovering how you can trade on both sides of a sporting event so no matter who wins, you're guaranteed a definite fixed return on your investment.

Make money from day one with no requirement of any prior knowledge or further reading. It's not only so simple that a child could understand, but it's 100% legitimate and tax free

Use this incredible but simple investment technique to earn money everyday for as long as the internet is around, regardless of the economic climate or where you happen to live.
You can use this method in the USA, UK, Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, anywhere with an internet connection and pc.

Here is a testimony from an ex-student:

“I tried what you taught me and guess what. I started with about $3 and just after one day my account grew from $3 to $4.72. And it has been growing ever since. But I am going to add more funds since I have seen that it is real. Thank you” O.C.

VISIT www(dot)sportsarb(dot)tk or send email to charlesdmentor@gmail.com FOR HOW TO START NOW!

where to go for more info is www(dot)sportsarb(dot)com or send mail to chamotbliss@gmail.com.

HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MAKE GENUINE MONEY ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT LOSSES? YOUR ANSWER HAS FINALY COME!

Are you a sport lover or a supporter?
Do you intend to invest in the sports industry?
OR
Do you want to make money supporting your favourite clubs like Chelsea, Manchester, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid and others?
then you’re about to discover sports arbitrage and how to get a risk free return of between 3% and 90% in just 2 hours. Again and again - guaranteed!

"This explosively profitable little known secret that has been used by BANKS for centuries is now available to you, thanks to the power of the internet!"

"It's so simple that even a seven year old could understand it. There are literally thousands of these "profit loopholes" every single day, each paying between 3% & 90% on your capital - 100% risk free & guaranteed!"

"It doesn't matter where in the world you are - if you have an internet connection & pc you can claim hundreds of dollars for just a few minutes of easy 'work' (it is clicking a mouse button few times work)"

With this sports arbitrage package you'll learn how to:

• Apply the knowledge of arbitrage to hundreds of sporting events to make money, completely risk free and guaranteed.

You need no knowledge of any sporting events at all - you're effectively discovering how you can trade on both sides of a sporting event so no matter who wins, you're guaranteed a definite fixed return on your investment.

Make money from day one with no requirement of any prior knowledge or further reading. It's not only so simple that a child could understand, but it's 100% legitimate and tax free

Use this incredible but simple investment technique to earn money everyday for as long as the internet is around, regardless of the economic climate or where you happen to live.
You can use this method in the USA, UK, Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, anywhere with an internet connection and pc.

Here is a testimony from an ex-student:

“I tried what you taught me and guess what. I started with about $3 and just after one day my account grew from $3 to $4.72. And it has been growing ever since. But I am going to add more funds since I have seen that it is real. Thank you” O.C.

VISIT www.sportsarb.tk FOR HOW TO START NOW!

hi guys,a friend of mine is in a situation and he needs my opinion on what he should do.he just started going out with a pretty girl in kano state.but the girl has been in a relationship with some one else for the past 5 years and the guy is in lagos.the girl is in kano but goes to lagos some times to visit the old boy friend.

my friend,according to him,really likes this girl and wants something serious with her.the girl likes him but she is not sure she can leave the old guy though my friend has not told her to leave him because she told him before they started going out.my friend said he thought it was a joke as most girls do to scare guys away ot test guys that they have somebody.but its more serious than he thought and he has already fallen ion love with her.

now,should he tell the girl to break up with the old boy friend?if yues,what should he do when the girl refuses? should he continure to go out with her till the girl on her own decides to do away with the old boy friend? or should he just end the relationship?
please reply,thanks guys.

na mouth all of una just dey. i know you guys wont do such a thing, especially if you are a true nigerian.westerners no go fit manipulate us.so, re-think and re-post.

i cant wait to see it happen too.

The bulls had another positive day as the All Share Index closed upward by 46,312.27 base points as against yesterday’s. A total of 7,187 deals, involving a volume 484,975,918 of unit shares valued at N5,152,414,346.24 were traded today; as against yesterday’s total of 8,672 deals involving a total of 1,054,205,586 unit shares, valued at N14,870,507,827.02. The Market Capitalisation also appreciated to N9,443 trillion as against yesterday’s N9.088 trillion.

The top traded shares of the day included: (1) IANSURE traded with a volume of 84,274,173 unit shares valued at N62,362,888.02; (2) ACCESS traded 69,179,403 unit shares valued at N876,503,036.01; (3) WEMABANK traded 46,456,410 unit shares valued at N696,846,150.00; (4) FTNCOCOA traded 42,400,000 unit shares valued at N93,306,000.00; while (5) FIDELITYBK traded 29,757,832 unit shares valued at N229,027,242.57.
The top price gainers of the day included: (1) CHEVRON which gained N21.00 to close at N441.00; (2) OANDO gained N6.06 to close at N127.26; (3) GUINNESS gained N5.99 to close at N125.88; while (4) FLOURMILL gained N3.09 to close at N65.08.
On the other hand, the top price losers of the day included: (1) MOBIL which lost N3.59 to close at N355.69; (2) RTBRISCOE lost N0.19 to close at N19.10; (3) DNMEYER lost N0.10 to close at N10.65; while (4) IPWA lost N0.04 to close at N4.76.

fixed odds financial ttrading is basically about predicting movement in prices of stocks,forex and indices.in this kind of business,your loss is limited to the amount you stake;it could be as low as $1 or as high as $3000. your odd of losing is fixed.money could be made in seconds,minutes,hours,days,weeks or even in months;depending on your risk level.
to be succesful in this online business,you have to be emotionless,have some basic understanding of forex trade like how to read a chart,candle sticks patters,etc.

secret: you cal lose in this business but you can also make money.as for me,i do it along side with my normal forex trading but i make more money in it than forex.
my advice: when you start,set a target like 50 or $100 daily.this you will make in about 20 or 30 minutes if you are not greedy.so,if you can,try it.its a cool business for all,especially youths.
goodluck!

Afrinvest West Africa (Afrinvest), Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has today August 11, 2008 opened its N5.0 billion Initial Public Offer (IPO) in the Afrinvest Equity Fund (Authorised and Registered in Nigeria as a Unit Trust Scheme).

This is contained in an electronic copy of the Offer made available to Proshare NI in Lagos Nigeria.

The company in the Prospectus affirms that the minimum investment one or joint Unit holder(s) may make in the Fund is N50, 000.00 representing 500 Units of the Fund at a price of N100 per unit. “The unit of sale is 500 Units and multiples of 100 Units thereafter” the Prospectus stated.

“Thereafter, additional Units in the Fund shall be issued in multiples of N10, 000.00 and shall be subscribed for in those multiples” the document further affirmed.

In the same vein, Afrinvest also confirmed that the fund is open-ended and investors will be free to subscribe to its units through the Manager or any other Agents approved by the Manager after the IPO.

“Therefore, although the Fund has an initial target size of 50,000,000 Units, the Fund Manager will issue additional Units of the Fund to subscribers on demand after the initial tranche of 50,000,000 Units has been fully subscribed, subject to Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) approval of the additional units” the company said.

However, 10 percent of the Offer has been preferentially allotted to Afrinvest West Africa Limited.

This allotment is in compliance with current regulations issued by SEC that promoters of unit trust schemes in Nigeria must subscribe to a minimum of 10 percent of the initial issue of such schemes.

However, the Five-Year financial summary of the Fund Manager as contained in the Prospectus and extracted without adjustment from its audited financial statements for the nine months ended December 31, 2007 and Five-Years Ended March 31, 2007.

Gross Earnings of the company increased from N162.560 million in year 2003 to N1.433 billion in the nine months ended December 31, 2007 indicating an increase of 782 percent in the review period.

While Profit before Tax (PBT) also grew from N5.088 million in year 2003 to N259, 780 million in the nine months ended December 31, 2007 representing a growth of 5006 percent in the period under review.

Profit after Tax (PAT) also rose from N1.152 million in year 2003 to N236.695 million; also in the nine months ended December 31, 2007; showing a rise of 20446 percent.

Issuing House to the offer is Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTbank); application list opens today Monday August 11, 2008 and closes Wednesday September 17, 2008.

more info/news at www.nigerianstock.tk

A turnover of 3.11 billion shares worth N38.16 billion in 72,680 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 4.05 billion shares valued at N43.75 billion exchanged last week in 73,782 deals.

There were no transactions in the Federal Government Development Stocks, State Government Bonds and Industrial Loans/Preference Stocks sectors.

The Insurance subsector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume), with 1.3 billion shares worth N2.05 billion exchanged by investors in 10,433 deals. Volume in the Insurance subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Investment and Allied Assurance Plc. Trading in the shares of the Insurance
Company accounted for 811.8 million shares, representing 62.7% of the subsector’s turnover.

The Banking subsector, boosted by activity in the shares of First City Monument Bank Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc, followed on the week’s activity chart with a turnover of 1.2 billion shares valued at N24.65 billion in 37,592 deals.

Last week, the Insurance subsector led on the activity chart and was followed by the Banking subsector.

Price Movement:
The All-Share Index rose by 4.04% to close on Friday at 52,641.55. The market capitalization of the 209 First -Tier equities closed higher at N10.55 trillion.
Eighty (80) stocks appreciated in price during the week, higher than the nineteen (19) in the preceding week. Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc led on the gainers’ table with a gain of N33.80 to close at N254.00 per share while Julius Berger Nigeria Plc followed with N25.91 to close at N146.24 per share. Other price gainers in the Top 10 category include:

• Flour Mills Nigeria Plc - N8.05

• Unilever Nigeria Plc - N4.97

• Benue Cement Company Plc - N4.85

• Cadbury Nigeria Plc - N4.70

• UACN Plc - N4.42

• PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc - N4.13

• Guinness Nigeria Plc - N4.00

• UACN Property Development Co. Plc - N3.99

Twenty – Six (26) stocks depreciated in price during the week, lower than the ninety-two (92) in the preceding week. Three Petroleum (Marketing) Stocks led on the losers table. Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc led dropping by N46.05 to close at N213.76 per share while Oando Plc followed with a loss of N17.99 to close at N170.01 per share. Other price losers in the Top 10 category include:

• Total Nigeria Plc - N9.50

• Nig. Enamelware Plc . - N8.61

• Nestle Nigeria Plc - N4.24

• 7-Up Bottling Co. Plc - N2.58

• G Cappa Plc - N1.47

• PlatinumHabib Bank Plc - N1.46

• Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc - N1.43

• Ashaka Cement Plc - N1.00

Two equity prices were adjusted for dividend as recommended by the Board of Directors. Access Bank Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.65 per share while NEM Insurance Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.05 per share.

COMPANY NEWS
CONOIL PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N86.85 billion as against N90.52 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N2.6 billion compared with N2.81 billion in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N2.75 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 4, 2008 while payment date is September 19, 2008.

PZ INDUSTRIES PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st May 2008 shows Turnover of N65.94 billion as against N54.22 billion in 2007. Profit after tax, exceptional items and minority interest stood at N3.95 billion compared with profit after tax and minority interest of N3.51 billion in 2007. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.62 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 25, 2008 while payment date is September 11, 2008.

CAPPA & D”ALBERTO PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.50 per share. The date of closure of register of members is October 2, 2008 while payment date would be advised later.

ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N3.13 billion as against N2.71 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N141.25 million compared with N143.01 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.08 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 7, 2008 while payment date is September 7, 2008.

ASO SAVINGS & LOANS PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st March 2008 shows Gross Earnings of N7.1 billion as against N2 billion in 2007. Profit after tax stood at N1.1 billion compared with N276.62 million in 2007. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.05 per share. The date of closure of register of members is October 6, 2008 while payment date is October 24, 2008.

LASACO ASSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N1.84 billion as against N1.6 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N678.11 million compared with N171.35 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.08 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 8, 2008 while payment date is September 4, 2008. The 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders is scheduled to hold on Thursday, September 4, 2008 by 11.00a.m. The venue would be advised later

ROYAL EXCHANGE ASSURANCE (NIG) PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N2.7 billion as against N2.14 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N543.64 million compared with profit after tax and exceptional items of N178.71 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a bonus of 1 for 10. The date of closure of register of members was June 30, 2008.

GREAT NIGERIA INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N608.04 million as against N289.74 million in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N90.25 million compared with loss after tax of N155.35 million in 2006.

GREAT NIGERIA INSURANCE PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Premium of N563.7 million, as against N425.2 million in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N85.4 million compared with N75.85 million in 2007.

NEM INSURANCE PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Premium of N2.32 billion, as against N1.31 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N560.92 million compared with N213.8 million in 2007.

OASIS INSURANCE PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Premium of N521.35 million, as against N158.01 million in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N138.05 million compared with N17.11 million in 2007.

CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Premium of N2.13 billion, as against N1.7 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N438.7 million compared with N330.52 million in 2007.

ASHAKA CEMENT PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N16.5 billion as against N16.8 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N1.6 billion compared with N3.4 billion in 2006. The Directors are recommending a bonus of 1 for 6. The date of closure of register of members is August 25, 2008

ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Revenue of N61.3 billion, as against N38.02 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N9.0 billion compared with N6.6 billion in 2007.

OANDO PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Turnover of N124.41 billion, as against N106 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N3.7 billion compared with profit after tax and exceptional items of N2.31 billion in 2007.

STERLING BANK PLC: Unaudited result for the third quarter ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Earnings of N27.1 billion, as against N16.01 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N4.6 billion compared with N2.5 billion in 2007.

RT BRISCOE (NIG) PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Turnover of N9.03 billion, as against N8.01 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N391.1 million compared with N326.04 million in 2007.

IKEJA HOTEL PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Turnover of N3.22 billion, as against N2.5 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N555.61 million compared with N397.84 million in 2007.

LAFARGE WAPCO PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Turnover of N22.2 billion, as against N19.9 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N4.75 billion compared with N5.82 billion in 2007.

TRIPPLE GEE & CO. PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 30th June 2008 shows Turnover of N225.6 million, as against N161.82 million in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N26.14 million compared with N16.9 million in 2007.

FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Turnover of N4.28 billion, as against N4.3 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Loss after tax stood at N13.82 million compared with N171.7 million in 2007.

INVESTMENT & ALLIED ASSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N675.7 million as against N159.2 million in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N304.65 million compared with N54.64 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of 0.8 kobo per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 8, 2008 while payment date is September 8, 2008.

INVESTMENT & ALLIED ASSURANCE PLC: Unaudited result for the half year ended 30th June 2008 shows Gross Premium of N611.93 million, as against N354.2 million in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N252.9 million compared with N136.8 million in 2007.

REPORT ON THE OTC MARKET FOR FGN BONDS
A turnover of 371.63 million units worth N368.14 billion in 3413 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 232.62 million units valued at N232.6 billion exchanged in 2001 deals during the week ended July 24, 2008. As in the preceding week, the most active bond (measured by turnover volume) was the 5th FGN Bond 2018 Series 2 with a traded volume of 34.85 million units valued at N31.51 billion in 287 deals.

Starcomms Plc blazes the trail on the telecommunication sub sector.


Starcomms Plc, a telecommunications outfit, was commercially launched in 1999 and its deployment of the world class CDMA technology in 2002 has exponentially taken the company to its current position of over 1,000,000 customers in Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri, Port-Harcourt, Ibadan, Abuja, Aba,Onitsha, Asaba, Kaduna, Zaria and Benin. In 2002 the company introduced a revolutionary marketing strategy aimed at permanently changing the fixed/wireless industry for the better. The strategy focused on the need to improve customer service quality and network performance.

The company took additional strides as the leading PTO in December 2003 when it deployed an Intelligent Network technology in Nigeria. History was made in December 2003 when Starcomms introduced its Intelligent Network, the next generation of wireless services, in Kano, Nigeria. Starcomms has maintained a distinct business approach that combines technological novelty and excellence with good customer orientation and a unique branding concept that stands it out amongst pairs. The company, which is managed by a team of professionals led by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Maher Qubain, holds strategic alliances with Qualcomm, CDG, Huawei, Hisense, Harris, Haier, LG and Nera to provide cutting edge technological equipments to deliver on its service promise.

Starcomms made its debut in the telecommunications sub sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange last week by listing a total of 6.9 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N13.65 per share by way of introduction.

Cadbury Plc placed on full suspension

Recent developments have revealed that the last has not been heard of the Cadbury Plc’s financial misstatement saga that was uncovered about two years ago, involving its former Managing Director, Financial Controller and some other principal officers. The Investment and Securities Tribunal, last week enforced a full suspension sanction on the company’s shares. This sanction was initially intended by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but countered by the Nigerian Stock Exchange for lack of a legal backing. However, the Investment and Securities Tribunal, a court of competent jurisdiction on investment matters has imposed the penalty, leaving the Nigerian Stock Exchange with no other option but to consent.

Nevertheless, Cadbury Plc has stated that ever since the misstatement matters came into the limelight, the company had consistently cooperated with the regulators, and would continue to search for justice through the law courts.

First Registrars notifies investors on 17 offers of companies
-set to reissue certificates within 7 days
First Registrars Nigeria Limited had notified investors who took part in 17 different offers of its client companies; on the non-receipt of their share certificates, return money and interest warrants; as it is set to reissue certificates within seven days.

Niran Adetunji, Head, Finance & Accounts of the company affirmed this to Proshare NI today in Lagos Nigeria.

Adetunji affirmed that First Registrars is ready to package an indemnity to investors who had not yet received their share certificates from the recent offers handled by it for their various client companies.

“For those who have not yet received their share certificates for the various companies we have handled their offers as Registrars, they should send a formal letter and we would package an indemnity for them within seven days and issue them the duplicate” he said.

A list of the companies as published in First Registrars notice to investors in about 10 dailies; Adetunji affirmed include ARM Aggressive Growth Fund, Platinum Habib Bank Plc (Bank PHB) Costain West Africa Plc, DEAP Capital Management and FBN Heritage Fund offers of 2007 respectively.

Others are Fidelity Bank Plc’s 2005 offer and 2007 Rights/offer respectively, First Bank of Nigeria Plc’s (FBN’s) 2003 Rights and 2007 Rights/offers respectively.

On the list is also StanbicIBTC Ethical Fund offer of 2005, StanbicIBTC Bank offer 2005, Kakawa Guaranteed Income Fund offer 2007, Oando Plc’s Rights/offer of 2004.

There are also the Oasis Insurance Plc’s Rights/offer of 2007, Prestige Assurance Plc’s and Standard Alliance Insurance Plc’s offers of 2006 respectively and the IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund offer of 2007.

The above is a total of 17 offers from different companies. Adetunji further affirmed to Proshare NI that First Registrars would reissue physical share certificates or direct crediting to the investors Central Security Clearing System Limited (CSCS) accounts; if furnished and indicated while filling the indemnity form.

He also confirmed to Proshare NI that the Committee set up by Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on the issue of Infrastructure upgrade and monitoring of Registrars to ensure market transparency; visited First Registrars unnoticed.

Adetunji further confirmed to Proshare NI that the Committee was satisfied with the infrastructure put in place by First Registrar to run its operations.

Some of the facilities on ground, Adetunji affirmed include three Data Capturing Machines, Scanner for converting forms to data and a Call Centre

-set to reissue certificates within 7 days
First Registrars Nigeria Limited had notified investors who took part in 17 different offers of its client companies; on the non-receipt of their share certificates, return money and interest warrants; as it is set to reissue certificates within seven days.

Niran Adetunji, Head, Finance & Accounts of the company affirmed this to Proshare NI today in Lagos Nigeria.

Adetunji affirmed that First Registrars is ready to package an indemnity to investors who had not yet received their share certificates from the recent offers handled by it for their various client companies.

“For those who have not yet received their share certificates for the various companies we have handled their offers as Registrars, they should send a formal letter and we would package an indemnity for them within seven days and issue them the duplicate” he said.

A list of the companies as published in First Registrars notice to investors in about 10 dailies; Adetunji affirmed include ARM Aggressive Growth Fund, Platinum Habib Bank Plc (Bank PHB) Costain West Africa Plc, DEAP Capital Management and FBN Heritage Fund offers of 2007 respectively.

Others are Fidelity Bank Plc’s 2005 offer and 2007 Rights/offer respectively, First Bank of Nigeria Plc’s (FBN’s) 2003 Rights and 2007 Rights/offers respectively.

On the list is also StanbicIBTC Ethical Fund offer of 2005, StanbicIBTC Bank offer 2005, Kakawa Guaranteed Income Fund offer 2007, Oando Plc’s Rights/offer of 2004.

There are also the Oasis Insurance Plc’s Rights/offer of 2007, Prestige Assurance Plc’s and Standard Alliance Insurance Plc’s offers of 2006 respectively and the IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund offer of 2007.

The above is a total of 17 offers from different companies. Adetunji further affirmed to Proshare NI that First Registrars would reissue physical share certificates or direct crediting to the investors Central Security Clearing System Limited (CSCS) accounts; if furnished and indicated while filling the indemnity form.

He also confirmed to Proshare NI that the Committee set up by Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) on the issue of Infrastructure upgrade and monitoring of Registrars to ensure market transparency; visited First Registrars unnoticed.

Adetunji further confirmed to Proshare NI that the Committee was satisfied with the infrastructure put in place by First Registrar to run its operations.

Some of the facilities on ground, Adetunji affirmed include three Data Capturing Machines, Scanner for converting forms to data and a Call Centre

International Energy Insurance Plc (IEI) is to approach the Nigerian Capital Market to raise fresh funds of N10 billion. Jacob Erhabor, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the company made this affirmation to Proshare NI in Lagos Nigeria.

“IEI is proposing to raise additional funds of N10 billion, it is on the table and we are trying to conclude with the plans” Erhabor said.

He affirmed that the offer would likely open before the end of the current quarter. “Before the end of this quarter, we should actualise it” he said.

As at the time of filling in this report, Erhabor confirmed to Proshare NI that the offer price has not yet been fixed; as it is a function of a number of issues.

“I would not want to make a guess as regards the offer price; it has to be based on certain fundamentals” he affirmed.

He however, confirmed to Proshare NI that IEI has not gone to the Quotations Committee of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to present its proposal of raising fresh funds. “There are so many things to be put in place” Erhabor said.

“Today, I can assure you that IEI has about N12 billion to do its business successfully” he affirmed.

The company was subsequently recapitalised to N500 million to meet with the challenges of its new business focus. IEI has since increased its authorised share capital to N6, 000,000,000 comprising of 12,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo”

In the same vein, the insurance company has proposed to give its investors a 0.9 Kobo dividend payout in its current Financial Year End (FYE).

Erhabor further confirmed to Proshare NI, that the 0.9 Kobo dividend payout being proposed to investors; is the beginning of good returns to their investment in the company.

However, the 0.9 Kobo dividend is subject to the approval of the company’s Board at its forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Also, as at the time of filling in this report, Proshare NI could not gather further details concerning the proposed N10 billion Public Offer (PO) of IEI.

Nigerian-German Chemicals Plc has declared a dividend of 45 kobo, amounting to N69m for shareholders in its 2007 financial results.

This represents an increase by 29 per cent over the 35 kobo paid in 2006.

The company recorded a turnover of N2.63bn, representing an increase by 5.6 per cent over N2.49bn recorded the previous year. Its profit after tax, however, fell by 22 per cent to N56.9m from N73.3bn in 2006.

Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, The National Chairman, Dynamic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Alex Adio, congratulated the board of the company for its results, and hoped that by the next financial year, the company would perform better.

“Shareholders are impressed that although the profit you recorded this year was lower than that of last year, you still declared a higher dividend,” he said.

Also speaking, the President, Shareholders Solidarity Association, Chief Timothy Adesiyan, stated that the company should ensure the utilisation of its infrastructure in order to enhance productivity.

He urged the management to look into the amount spent on energy, stating that it was on the high side.

The company should look for a solution to the problem, he said.

The Chairman, NGC, Alhaji Shehu Idris, in his response, stated that the company had strategies in place for the next financial year to ensure profitability.

Idris, who was represented by the company’s Vice Chairman, Mr. Adeboye Shonekan, said , owing to this, the company would be seeking to raise fresh capital through a hybrid of rights and bond issues.

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA)’s third quarter unaudited results for its 2008 financial year, shows that the Bank is well on track to meeting and surpassing the expectations of its numerous stakeholders.

Drawing inference from the disclosed figures, stakeholders of the bank can be certain of another rewarding year for their investments in the financial institution.

The unaudited results, recently released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, show a 59.8 per cent increase in the bank’s earnings and growth in its market share. Gross Earnings for the 6 months under review was N120.25 billion, a N45 billion appreciation over the N75.25 billion recorded for the corresponding period last year. This significant increase in earnings, can be attributed to increased customer-patronage resulting from the quality of service and products offered by the bank.

Profit before tax appreciated by 68.31 per cent, with the bank reporting a N33.14 billion PBT in comparison with the N19.69 billion reported last year. The bank’s N28.85 billion profit after tax for the 6 months under review, is also a 6668.42 per cent appreciation over the figure reported last year.

According to financial analysts and industry watchers, the bank’s first quarter results are an indication of good times for its shareholders, if dividend payout for the last financial year are anything to go by.

Bank’s results with that of its peers, shows that it had emerged as the fastest growing in the country.

A turnover of 5.8 billion shares worth N42.12 billion in 88,146 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 4.8 billion shares valued at N41.96 billion exchanged last week in 77,288 deals.

Transactions during the week included a total of 1,000 units of Access Bank Plc N13.5 billion Redeemable Bond 2010 valued at N1 million.

There were no transactions in the Federal Government Development Stocks, State Government Bonds and Industrial Loans/Preference Stocks sectors.

The Insurance subsector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume), with 3.83 billion shares worth N4.6 billion exchanged by investors in 16,880 deals. Volume in the Insurance subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Investment and Allied Assurance Plc. Trading in the shares of the Insurance Company accounted for 3.31 billion shares, representing 86.35% of the subsector’s turnover.

The Banking subsector, boosted by activity in the shares of Fidelity Bank Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc and FirstInland Bank Plc, followed on the week’s activity chart with a turnover of 1.5 billion shares valued at N30.25 billion in 40,848 deals.

Last week, the Insurance subsector led on the activity chart and was followed by the Banking subsector.

Price Movement:
The All-Share Index dropped by 1.43% to close on Friday at 54,662.06. The market capitalization of the 208 First -Tier equities closed lower at N10.85 trillion.

Thirty - Two (32) stocks appreciated in price during the week, lower than the seventy-four (74) in the preceding week. Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc led on the gainers’ table with a gain of N20.17 to close at N217.04 per share while Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc followed with N16.51 to close at N372.00 per share. Other price gainers in the Top 10 category include:

• Guinness Nigeria Plc - N4.99

• Oando Plc - N3.99

• BOC Gases Plc - N2.91

• First Bank of Nigeria Plc - N1.91

• First City Monument Bank Plc - N1.85

• Ecobank Transnational Inc. - N1.72

• Eterna Oil & Gas Plc - N1.49

• PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc - N1.41

Eighty - One (81) stocks depreciated in price during the week, higher than the thirty-eight (38) in the preceding week. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping by
N4.01 to close at N29.99 per share while Presco Plc followed with a loss of N73.59 to close at N12.39 per share. Other price losers in the Top 10 category include:

• Cadbury Nigeria Plc - N2.30

• United Bank for Africa Plc. - N2.20

• Dangote Flour Mills Plc - N2.18

• Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc - N2.05

• Oceanic Bank International Plc - N1.78

• DN Meyer Plc - N1.68

• May & Baker Nigeria Plc - N1.58

• Prestige Assurance Co. Plc - N1.46

Four equity prices were adjusted for dividend and/or bonus as recommended by the Board of Directors. Big Treat Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.10 per share. Prestige Assurance Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.20 per share and bonus of 1 for 4. International Energy Insurance Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.09 per share. Longman Nigeria Plc was adjusted for dividend of N1.00 per share.

…Supplementary Listings
A total of 429,996,932 shares were added to the shares outstanding in the name of Prestige Assurance Plc following the bonus of 1 for 4. Also, a total of 223,000,834 shares were added to the shares outstanding in the name of Access Bank Plc on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 following the conversion of part of the bank’s N13.5 billion Redeemable Bond 2010. Similarly, a total of 12,499,487,995 shares were added to the shares outstanding in the name of Fidelity Bank Plc on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 following the conclusion of hybrid offer made up of public offering of 5,501,100,421 shares, Rights offering of 498,899,579 shares and supplementary allotment of 6,498,899,579 shares.

Change of Name and Sector Reclassification
The name of Crusader Insurance (Nig) Plc was changed to Crusader (Nig) Plc following business restructuring. Also, the company was moved from the Insurance sector and listed in the “Other Financial Institutions” sector.

Delisting
The N2.46 billion Special FGB Bond 2012 for Local Contractors Debt was delisted from the Daily Official List. By this action, the number of FGN Bonds and securities dropped to 41 and 316 respectively.

Technical Suspension
This was imposed on Eterna Oil & Gas Plc on Thursday, July 10, 2008 on receiving the Company’s application to undertake supplementary share offering. Also, it was imposed on First Aluminium Nigeria Plc on Friday, July 11, 2008 on receiving the Company’s application to undertake supplementary share offering.
COMPANY NEWS
INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 31st May 2008 shows Gross Earnings of N60.9 billion, as against N28.75 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N7.82 billion compared with N4.7 billion in 2007.

C & I LEASING PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st January 2008. The Directors had earlier recommended a final dividend of N0.06 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 4, 2008 while payment date is August 28, 2008.

SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N2.5 billion as against N1.42 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N357.8 million compared with N233.8 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.06 per share and bonus of 1 for 5. The date of closure of register of members is July 23, 2008 while payment date is September 7, 2008. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders is scheduled to hold at Diamond Hall, Golden Gate Restaurant, 25B Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday, August 12, 2008.

STACO INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007. The Directors earlier recommended a dividend of N0.12 per share. The date of closure of register of members is July 21, 2008 while payment date is August 4, 2008.

MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.40 per share. The date of closure of register of members is September 4, 2008 while payment date would be advised later.

ASSOCIATED BUS CO. PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N3.13 billion as against N2.71 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N141.25 million compared with N143.01 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.08 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 7, 2008 while payment date is September 3, 2008.

ASSOCIATED BUS CO. PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 31st March 2008 shows Turnover of N830.3 million, as against N716.3 million in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N62.9 million compared with N50.2 million in 2007.

CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N1.51 billion as against N508.4 million in 2006. Profit after tax and deferred tax stood at N230.01 million compared with N56.9 million in 2006.

RED STAR EXPRESS PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st March 2008 shows Turnover of N3.1 billion as against N2.7 billion in 2007. Profit after tax stood at N195.7 million compared with N118.5 million in 2007. The Directors earlier recommended a dividend of N0.25 per share. The date of closure of register of members is July 24, 2008 while payment date is July 29, 2008.

EKOCORP PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N532.75 million as against N457.7 million in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N72.2 million compared with N65.61 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.15 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 25, 2008 while payment date is September 8, 2008.
STOKVIS NIGERIA PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N2.31 million as against N1.22 million in 2006. Loss before tax stood at N0.714 million compared with N4.3 million in 2006.

NAMPAK NIGERIA PLC: Audited result for the year ended 30th September 2007. The date of closure of register of members is July 21, 2008

CHEVRON OIL NIGERIA PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 31st March 2008 shows Turnover of N8.6 billion, as against N18.34 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Loss after tax stood at N190.63 million compared with profit after tax of N531.24 million in 2007. The company’s result was affected by the strike action embarked upon by the Transport union that lasted for about two months. The company is back into full operations and efforts are being made to recover lost volume.

REPORT ON THE OTC MARKET FOR FGN BONDS
A turnover of 206.9 million units worth N210.65 billion in 1505 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 280.3 million units valued at N281.2 billion exchanged in 2120 deals during the week ended July 3, 2008. The most active bond (measured by turnover volume) was the 3rd FGN Bond 2009 Series 11 with a traded volume of 38.7 million units valued at N42.73 billion in 387 deals.


Source: Nigerian Stock Exchange


more news at www.nigerianstock.tk

A turnover of 5.8 billion shares worth N42.12 billion in 88,146 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 4.8 billion shares valued at N41.96 billion exchanged last week in 77,288 deals.

Transactions during the week included a total of 1,000 units of Access Bank Plc N13.5 billion Redeemable Bond 2010 valued at N1 million.

There were no transactions in the Federal Government Development Stocks, State Government Bonds and Industrial Loans/Preference Stocks sectors.

The Insurance subsector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume), with 3.83 billion shares worth N4.6 billion exchanged by investors in 16,880 deals. Volume in the Insurance subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Investment and Allied Assurance Plc. Trading in the shares of the Insurance Company accounted for 3.31 billion shares, representing 86.35% of the subsector’s turnover.

The Banking subsector, boosted by activity in the shares of Fidelity Bank Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc and FirstInland Bank Plc, followed on the week’s activity chart with a turnover of 1.5 billion shares valued at N30.25 billion in 40,848 deals.

Last week, the Insurance subsector led on the activity chart and was followed by the Banking subsector.

Price Movement:
The All-Share Index dropped by 1.43% to close on Friday at 54,662.06. The market capitalization of the 208 First -Tier equities closed lower at N10.85 trillion.

Thirty - Two (32) stocks appreciated in price during the week, lower than the seventy-four (74) in the preceding week. Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc led on the gainers’ table with a gain of N20.17 to close at N217.04 per share while Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc followed with N16.51 to close at N372.00 per share. Other price gainers in the Top 10 category include:

• Guinness Nigeria Plc - N4.99

• Oando Plc - N3.99

• BOC Gases Plc - N2.91

• First Bank of Nigeria Plc - N1.91

• First City Monument Bank Plc - N1.85

• Ecobank Transnational Inc. - N1.72

• Eterna Oil & Gas Plc - N1.49

• PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc - N1.41

Eighty - One (81) stocks depreciated in price during the week, higher than the thirty-eight (38) in the preceding week. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping by
N4.01 to close at N29.99 per share while Presco Plc followed with a loss of N73.59 to close at N12.39 per share. Other price losers in the Top 10 category include:

• Cadbury Nigeria Plc - N2.30

• United Bank for Africa Plc. - N2.20

• Dangote Flour Mills Plc - N2.18

• Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc - N2.05

• Oceanic Bank International Plc - N1.78

• DN Meyer Plc - N1.68

• May & Baker Nigeria Plc - N1.58

• Prestige Assurance Co. Plc - N1.46

Four equity prices were adjusted for dividend and/or bonus as recommended by the Board of Directors. Big Treat Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.10 per share. Prestige Assurance Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.20 per share and bonus of 1 for 4. International Energy Insurance Plc was adjusted for dividend of N0.09 per share. Longman Nigeria Plc was adjusted for dividend of N1.00 per share.

…Supplementary Listings
A total of 429,996,932 shares were added to the shares outstanding in the name of Prestige Assurance Plc following the bonus of 1 for 4. Also, a total of 223,000,834 shares were added to the shares outstanding in the name of Access Bank Plc on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 following the conversion of part of the bank’s N13.5 billion Redeemable Bond 2010. Similarly, a total of 12,499,487,995 shares were added to the shares outstanding in the name of Fidelity Bank Plc on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 following the conclusion of hybrid offer made up of public offering of 5,501,100,421 shares, Rights offering of 498,899,579 shares and supplementary allotment of 6,498,899,579 shares.

Change of Name and Sector Reclassification
The name of Crusader Insurance (Nig) Plc was changed to Crusader (Nig) Plc following business restructuring. Also, the company was moved from the Insurance sector and listed in the “Other Financial Institutions” sector.

Delisting
The N2.46 billion Special FGB Bond 2012 for Local Contractors Debt was delisted from the Daily Official List. By this action, the number of FGN Bonds and securities dropped to 41 and 316 respectively.

Technical Suspension
This was imposed on Eterna Oil & Gas Plc on Thursday, July 10, 2008 on receiving the Company’s application to undertake supplementary share offering. Also, it was imposed on First Aluminium Nigeria Plc on Friday, July 11, 2008 on receiving the Company’s application to undertake supplementary share offering.
COMPANY NEWS
INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 31st May 2008 shows Gross Earnings of N60.9 billion, as against N28.75 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N7.82 billion compared with N4.7 billion in 2007.

C & I LEASING PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st January 2008. The Directors had earlier recommended a final dividend of N0.06 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 4, 2008 while payment date is August 28, 2008.

SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N2.5 billion as against N1.42 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N357.8 million compared with N233.8 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.06 per share and bonus of 1 for 5. The date of closure of register of members is July 23, 2008 while payment date is September 7, 2008. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of shareholders is scheduled to hold at Diamond Hall, Golden Gate Restaurant, 25B Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on Tuesday, August 12, 2008.

STACO INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007. The Directors earlier recommended a dividend of N0.12 per share. The date of closure of register of members is July 21, 2008 while payment date is August 4, 2008.

MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.40 per share. The date of closure of register of members is September 4, 2008 while payment date would be advised later.

ASSOCIATED BUS CO. PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N3.13 billion as against N2.71 billion in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N141.25 million compared with N143.01 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.08 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 7, 2008 while payment date is September 3, 2008.

ASSOCIATED BUS CO. PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 31st March 2008 shows Turnover of N830.3 million, as against N716.3 million in the comparable period of 2007. Profit after tax stood at N62.9 million compared with N50.2 million in 2007.

CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Gross Premium of N1.51 billion as against N508.4 million in 2006. Profit after tax and deferred tax stood at N230.01 million compared with N56.9 million in 2006.

RED STAR EXPRESS PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st March 2008 shows Turnover of N3.1 billion as against N2.7 billion in 2007. Profit after tax stood at N195.7 million compared with N118.5 million in 2007. The Directors earlier recommended a dividend of N0.25 per share. The date of closure of register of members is July 24, 2008 while payment date is July 29, 2008.

EKOCORP PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N532.75 million as against N457.7 million in 2006. Profit after tax stood at N72.2 million compared with N65.61 million in 2006. The Directors are recommending a dividend of N0.15 per share. The date of closure of register of members is August 25, 2008 while payment date is September 8, 2008.
STOKVIS NIGERIA PLC: Audited result for the year ended 31st December 2007 shows Turnover of N2.31 million as against N1.22 million in 2006. Loss before tax stood at N0.714 million compared with N4.3 million in 2006.

NAMPAK NIGERIA PLC: Audited result for the year ended 30th September 2007. The date of closure of register of members is July 21, 2008

CHEVRON OIL NIGERIA PLC: Unaudited result for the first quarter ended 31st March 2008 shows Turnover of N8.6 billion, as against N18.34 billion in the comparable period of 2007. Loss after tax stood at N190.63 million compared with profit after tax of N531.24 million in 2007. The company’s result was affected by the strike action embarked upon by the Transport union that lasted for about two months. The company is back into full operations and efforts are being made to recover lost volume.

REPORT ON THE OTC MARKET FOR FGN BONDS
A turnover of 206.9 million units worth N210.65 billion in 1505 deals was recorded this week, in contrast to a total of 280.3 million units valued at N281.2 billion exchanged in 2120 deals during the week ended July 3, 2008. The most active bond (measured by turnover volume) was the 3rd FGN Bond 2009 Series 11 with a traded volume of 38.7 million units valued at N42.73 billion in 387 deals.


Source: Nigerian Stock Exchange. More news at www.nigerianstock.tk

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Nigeria Stock Exchange take swift actions to halt continued downward slide in the value of stocks in the market

June was a frantic month for the regulators of the Nigerian stock market. During the month the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, and the Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE, struggled to halt the slide that was speedily eroding the market’s capitalisation. The stock market lost N1.215 trillion when the market’s capitalisation crumbled from N11.631 trillion to N10.416 trillion between June 2 and June 25. The slide was precipitated by an unconfirmed report that the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had banned banks from engaging in margin trading. The apex bank later denied issuing such a directive.

The first step taken by SEC and NSE was to empanel a committee that would review the practice of margin trading, known also as financier account in the capital market. A financier account enables investors and stockbrokers to borrow money from financial institutions for the sole purpose of buying shares in the stock market at a predetermined interest rate.

Members of the committee were selected from SEC, CBN, NSE and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC. On June 9, the NSE followed this up with the introduction of the circuit breaker, an artificial support system that does not allow stocks to trade below their previous day’s closing price.

The NSE also directed that a stock must trade up to 100,000 units before its price could either move up or down. It also went further to lift the ban it placed on the financier account, on June 11, and renamed it as custody account. Sola Oni, NSE’s spokesperson, said, “that the lifting of the suspension was with immediate effect. Under this system, the purchased stock acts as collateral and cannot be sold without the knowledge of the lending institution. This arrangement empowers the investors and sustain demand in the market.
more at www.nigerianstock.tk

Some 20 Nigerian companies cutting across all sectors of the economy will be in London from 8-9 July to woo international investors as a way of attracting international funding to support their businesses, according to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and Renaissance Capital, an international investment bank which is packaging the business trip.

The interactive session, which will provide first time opportunity to non-financial services sector companies from oil, gas, manufacturing, fast moving consumer goods, telecommunication and real estate, will hold at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, London.

“The recent boom in the Nigeria financial services sector has led to increased capacity to support the development of other sectors,” said the Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Nigeria, Andrew Cornthwaite.

He said many of the companies were seeking ways of attracting the necessary funding to expand their businesses, hence the need to reach out to foreign investors.

“We are delighted to be able to offer them (companies) the first opportunity to meet with prospective international investors,” he added.

FEW days ago, a Nigerian owned Swiss-based firm, AME &T Group, organised a four-day seminar on Private Wealth Management (PWM) for top executives of banks and other professionals in the country. The resource persons were experts drawn from leading management institutes in Switzerland.
In exclusive interviews with Financial Vanguard, the President of AME & T (the Nigerian that organised the seminar) and three of the resource persons spoke on the seminar and various other economic issues. Could you give us a brief resume of AME & T Group that just organised the seminar on private wealth management in Nigeria?

It is basically an enterprise development management, an investment advisory firm. We do a lot of risk management in wealth management as well as sustainable enterprise development practice.

We have done a lot of jobs managing clients, both institutional and private, as well as government, especially governments from Africa in area of maximizing their wealth with Europe, especially Switzerland, whereby they could tap into Switzerland’s private banking practice as well as investment banking practice viz a viz the growing trend in African countries to tap into strong countries in terms of project management like currently, the Federal Government of Nigeria is trying to raise bonds.

They are doing that by approaching international financial institutions, not only on the investment banking, but also on private banking. There is need for that exchange of knowledge and expertise. We have advised a lot of multinationals as well. So, basically, that is our core practice.

AME &T Group is structured into three key products and services. One is Enterprise Development and Management. We have advisory services and then the training arm. These three components actually dictate the way we operate and our core practice. Then there are some services under our advisory.

For instance, we have Investment Advisory section that deals with energy industry. We advise quite a lot of multinationals on raising finance may be from private equity clients of our investment outlet. It could be loan or whatever has to do with their investment banking-related issue. That is in the oil and gas sector. We also handle telecom investment advisory.

Basically, what we do is work with institutions that are willing to maximise profitability. We also provide some finances in terms of arranging loans as well as helping them to structure their finances in a way whereby they could tap into foreign funds. Thirdly, on the training aspect, which is part of the advisory also, is where we bring our expertise to bear in an environment like Nigeria that is evolving. So, that is the way we are structured as a Swiss firm.

We are a decade old. We are more than that in actual sense, in that AME & T Group came as a result of an acquisition of a Swiss company which is about 50 years old. We re-structured it and repositioned it to meet the needs of our immediate clients in the investment banking-related field. Our passion for wealth management came as a result of our expertise in that field. We try to impart that expertise and knowledge to our clients and various institutions - be it a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or individuals - depending on what they want. So, that is the way we are structured.

The training we conducted in Nigeria was the first of its kind. We had a similar event in Geneva, private banking training, which we did in 2004. We had some institutions that attended that. But this was a bit tailor-made for the Nigerian audience. details at www.nigerianstock.tk

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday publicly declared that it neither issued nor contemplated to stop commercial banks from their practice of margin lending or lending for investment in securities. The CBN Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, stated this at a Breakfast Forum for the Bankers’ Committee and financial system regulators in Lagos. On the price volatility witnessed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in recent weeks, Soludo said market volatility was a major feature and common phenomenon in the global market system. He said this was not peculiar to the NSE alone.

He said, “We are still surprised ourselves to hear the rumours making the rounds that we stopped margin lending by banks. There was no letter issued or discussion in this regard. It was not even contemplated by the CBN. We did not know where it came from, but certainly not from us. We make bold to categorically state that there was no basis for it. The CBN will not and does not prescribe to the banks on which sector they should lend to and which sector they should not. The banks are free to lend at whatever direction their management wishes them to.”

Also speaking at the session, the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, expressed faith and optimism in the economy, saying the position of the capital market at the moment was one that should attract more foreign direct investment. He said, “We expect that contrary to speculations, this is the right time for investment both domestically and internationally. Foreign direct investments should quadruple yearly and this is what we expect. The market is still in the right direction.”

On the controversies surrounding the operation of custody accounts and margin accounts by stockbrokers, the Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Prof. Ndidi Okereke-Onyiuke, said the NSE did not stop custody account operations as perceived by market watchers. She said the Central Securities and Clearing System simply issued a letter to the authorities to the effect that the margin accounts be maintained, adding that the controversy was because people were more used to the facility. She said the nomenclature was simply changed from custody accounts to margin accounts.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has approved the absorption of the 25 percent allowed by regulatory authorities on oversubscription of Public Offers (POs) by Construction Giants Costain West Africa Plc (COSTAIN).


Phil Wharton, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of the company affirmed this in Lagos Nigeria at the NSE; while addressing members of the Capital Market Correspondence Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN).


“We have just received the final words from the NSE towards taking over the 25 percent maximum allowed in the event of oversubscription in Public Offer” Wharton said.


He confirmed that Costain’s 2007 hybrid offer by way of subscription and Rights Issue were 240 percent and 140 percent oversubscribed respectively.


Wharton further confirmed that the shares were listed on the Floors of the NSE a few weeks back.


On the issue of share certificates, he affirmed that Costain has dispatched same to investors; taking into consideration the complaints as regards the issue.


“We are very concerned on the bad publicity as regards the issue of dispatch of share certificates to investors. Therefore our advisers had informed us that all share certificates had gone to shareholders, anyone who is yet to receive should get back to us” Wharton said.


Also on the issue of return money, He confirmed that this has been returned to investors with interest.


Though as at the time of filling in this report, he could not confirm the exact amount in figures returned to investors. “I do not really have the information now, but in due time we would furnish you with same” Wharton affirmed.


He further confirmed that Costain West Africa delivered a return of over 250 percent in a six month period with its 2007 Public Offer (PO).


“Costain have delivered a return of over 250 percent in a six month period with our offer at N13.00 in December and a share price of almost N30.00 today” Wharton said.


As earlier reported, Costain West Africa, late 2007 by way of subscription and Rights offered to the Nigerian investing public 178,162,966 and 519,740,000 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N13.00 and N11.00 per share respectively.—

Equity Assurance plc has recorded a profit after tax of N445 million in its 2007 financial year. These was made known by the chairman of the company, Mr Olufemi Somolu during the company’s 21st annual general meeting held in Lagos on Monday. The profit after tax rose compared to the N54.1 million it recorded in 2006 shows an increase of 722 percent. Profit before tax for the company was also impressive as it stood at N498.7 million compared to N55.8 million in the 2006 financial year, indicating an appreciation of 793 percent.
Turnover during the period under review grew by 572 percent from N225.6 million in 2006 to N1.5 billion in 2007. While attributing the impressive outcome of the result to the merger that occurred in the company during the last consolidation exercise in the insurance company, he announced that the company was going to give a dividend payout of 35 kobo per share.