All Posts in "Month: October 2020"

Covid-19: Global economy to suffer $7,000bn losses..Costs insurers, reinsurers $50bn

By Favour Nnabugwu

Global economy is to suffer a whopping of $7000 billion in losses, following the coronavirus pandermic that hit the world in the last eight months.

The Chief Economist of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mr. Laurence Boone said the coronavirus pandemic is expected to have lasting effects on the global economy.

The world GDP is to decline by 4.5 percent in 2020 and rebound by an estimated 5 percent in 2021.

“In terms of cost, the losses caused by COVID-19 will reduce global GDP by 7 000 billion USD for the period ranging from November 2019 to the end of 2021”

According to him, “The decline in activities in Europe was less significant than expected in Q2

In the same manner, the COVID-19 pandermic has cost insurers and reinsurers between $35 bn and $50 bn as at 30 June 2020, according to Standard & Poor’s

The first twenty reinsurers alone have sustained a loss of roughly $12 bn that is to approximately 30 percent of the total amount for the entire market.

Most of the losses are accounted for by the risks of major event cancellation, property loans, credit, business interruption and aviation.

The rating agency says insurance professionals are bound to sustain additional Covid-19 losses in the upcoming months.

Meanwhile, AM Best published the list of the top 50 global reinsurers in 2019. Swiss Re ranked first for the second consecutive year. The Swiss company recorded a total of 42.228 billion USD in gross written premi-ums, an increase of 16% compared to 2018.

This performance goes back to the growth of the non-life activity in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). These two regions account for 25.1 percent of Swiss Re’s revenues.

Munich Re takes the second position in the ranking with $37.864 bn in premiums. Hannover Re retains the third place with $25.309 bn in premiums.

AM. Best has pointed out that the top ten reinsurers generate 69 percent of earnings. The average com-bined ratio of all companies stands at 102.4 percent a slight deterioration compared to 2018 (100.9percent).

Patoma Admin by — October 23, 2020 in Insurance 0
#ENDSARS#: NECO moves October 22,23,24 to November

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has rescheduled its examinations scheduled for Oct. 22, 23 and 24 to November, owing to insecurity and curfew imposed by some states.
Mr Azeez Sani, Head, Information and Public Relations Division (NECO) said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

Sani said that the affected papers were now scheduled for Nov. 17, 18 and 19.

”This is to inform the general public and especially candidates that the National Examinations Council (NECO) has been constrained by circumstances beyond its control, to reschedule the papers meant for Thursday, Oct. 22, Friday, Oct. 23 and Saturday, Oct. 24.
”The affected papers are now scheduled for 17th, 18th and 19th November 2020.

”The examination time table for these papers will be made available subsequently.

“These changes were due to the security challenges, which led to the imposition of curfew and closure of schools by some state governments in order to safeguard lives and properties,’’ he said.

Sani said that the development became difficult for the council to move examination materials across the country.

”The Council prays that the examinations will continue on Tuesday, Oct. 27, all things being equal, with the papers as originally scheduled in the examination time table,’’ he said

Patoma Admin by — October 21, 2020 in Education 0
PenCom applauds PFAs for ROI in eight months

Despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected most aspects of the Nigerian economy, Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in the country performed satisfactorily on Returin On Investment between January and August 2020.

According to the report from Pension Nigeria, no PFA had negative returns on investment (ROI) during the period under review, indicating that all PFAs for Fund I, II, III, and IV recorded positive returns.

This is quite impressive, given that the pandemic had impacted most aspects of the Nigerian economy negatively, causing a 1.95% (year-to-date) decline of the NSE’s All Share index, while the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 6.1% in the second quarter of 2020.

12 out of the 22 PFAs performed above the average ROI of 9.28%, for all the funds put together.

NLPC Pension Fund Administrators Limited topped the list (20.33%), followed by Investment One Pension Managers Limited (14.5%), Veritas Glanvills Pensions limited (12.02%), AXA Mansard Pensions (10%), OAK Pensions Limited (9.7%).

Others include Leadway Pensure PFA Limited (9.67%), Crusader Sterling Pensions Limited (9.65%), AIICO Pension Managers (9.61%), IEI-Anchor Pension Managers Limited (9.51%), Fidelity Pension Managers (9.46%), Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers (9.45%), and Radix Pension Fund Managers Limited (9.28%).

Meanwhile, 10 PFAs performed below the average ROI, with Premium Pensions Limited (4.96%) at the bottom of the list, followed by APT Pension Fund Managers (5.81%), First Guarantee Pensions Limited (6.46%), TrustFund Pensions Plc (6.61%), ARM Pension managers (7.0%).

Other Administrators that made the list includes, Nigeria University Pension Management Co. Limited (7.23%), Pension Alliance Limited (7.40%), FCMB Pensions Limited (7.60%), Sigma Pensions (8.86%), NPF Pensions Limited (8.95%).

Also, in the Fund I, Veritas Glanvills Pensions Limited topped the list in average return on investment on Fund I with 21.11%, followed by Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers 12.33%, Sigma Pensions Limited 11.95%, OAK Pensions Limited 11.59%, and IEI-Anchor Pension Managers 9.88%.

Fund II – NLPC Pension Fund Administrators Limited led the pack with an average return on investment of 24.32%, followed by IEI-Anchor Pension Managers Limited 11.59%, Crusader Sterling Pensions Limited 10.74%, Investment One Pension Managers Limited 10.65%, and Nigerian University Pensions Limited 10.25%

Fund III – NLPC Pension Fund Administrators Limited dominated the top 5 list with 24.84%, followed by Investment One Pension Managers Limited 17.58%, Radix Pension Fund Managers 14.78%, Fidelity Pension Managers Limited 12.45%, and AXA Mansard Pensions Limited 11.46%.

Fund IV – NLPC Pension fund Administrators Limited maintained the lead in the top 5 PFAs with 23.59%, followed by Investment One Pension Managers Limited with 15.28%, Fidelity Pension Managers Limited with 12.3%, NPF Pensions Limited with 10.98%, and Veritas Glanvills Pensions Limited with 9.74%.

Patoma Admin by — October 21, 2020 in Others 0
Arik Air, others cancel flights

Arik Air has announced the suspension of it flights due to the 24 hour curfew imposed on Lagos State by the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo- Olu.

This is just as some foreign airlines have also announced cancellation of flights due to the current protest and unrest in the country.

The airline Communication Manager, Mr Adebanji Ola yesterday said : “Arik Air has cancelled all its flight operations for Wednesday, October 21, 2020 in compliance to the 24 hours curfew announced by the Lagos State government on Tuesday, October 20, 2020”.

“All booked passengers on the cancelled flights are advised to reschedule their flights for later dates at no extra cost”

The Lagos State government announced a 24 hours curfew effective 4:00pm October 20, 2020″.

Recall the 24 hour curfew took effect yesterday, Tuesday throughout the state to forestall further burning of government and private properties.

Thugs have infetrated and hijacked the protest that started peacefully throughout the country.

Other airlines might likely join in the cancellation of flights as prospective passengers will not be able to access the Airports.

Meanwhile, some foreign airlines have announced the suspension of flights to Nigeria due to the current protest. United States owned airline, Delta, in its advisory said flight DL248 ATLLOS for October 19, 2020 scheduled to arrive LOS on Tuesday Oct 20, 2020 will not operate due to the 24-hour curfew imposed by the Lagos State Government.

According to the airline, “Consequently, Flight DL249 LOSATL scheduled to operate today October 20, 2020 has also been canceled. Further details on flight operations will be duly communicated. We truly regret any inconvenience”

Also Ghana based airline, Africa World Airlines (AWA) yesterday said due to “curfew in Lagos, tonight, we will cancel flights for October 20 and October 21, 2020”.

The airline further said that it would be monitoring the situation and will be updating passengers

Kenya Airways has also cancelled flights to the country. The airline said : ” We regret to inform you that KQ533 scheduled to depart 21/Oct/2020 from LOS – NBO has been canceled due to the 24Hrs curfew imposed by the Lagos State Government”

“We implore you to communicate with your guests as soon as you can. Thank you for your patience and understanding”, the airline added.

It also said in a statement that it was planning to send out another communication with regards to “re-protection and flight operations for the affected guests” as soon as they have an update.

Patoma Admin by — October 20, 2020 in Aviation 0
Senate confirms Aisha Dahir-Umar as substantive PenCom DG

The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar, as the substantive Director-General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

Another nominee who was also confirmed by the Senate was Dr Oyindasola Oluremi Oni, from North Central as Chairman.

Also confirmed were Clement Akintola (South-West); Ayim Nyerere (South-East) and Charles Emukowhale (South-South), as commissioners of the PenCom board.

The Senate, however, rejected the confirmation of Hannatu Musa (North-West) because she was unable to present her discharge certificate from the National Youths Service Corps.

Until her confirmation, Dahir-Umar, from the North-East geopolitical zone, held the position in acting capacity.

Patoma Admin by — October 20, 2020 in Others 0
SEC Sets January 2021 for Implementation of Corporate Governance Guidelines

The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has issued a Corporate Governance Guidelines (SCGG) and a template (revised Form 01) for reporting compliance with the Securities which becomes effective from January 2021

Par of the Guidelines indicate that Membership of the Board shall not be less than five (5) and to safeguard the independence of the Board, not more than two members of the same family shall sit on the Board of a public company at the same time

The guidelines also stipulate that in appointing a person to the Board, Shareholders should be provided with information on any real or potential conflict of interest, including whether a proposed appointee is an interlocking director, adding “The letters of appointment should cover the following: Synopsis of Director’s rights; Director evaluation programme used by the company, and Any other contractual responsibilities”.

On sustainability, the guideline stated “Companies shall recognise corruption as a major threat to business and to national development and therefore as a sustainability issue for businesses in Nigeria. Companies, Boards and individual directors must commit themselves to transparent dealings and to the establishment of a culture of integrity and zero tolerance to corruption and corrupt practices.

“In order to foster good corporate governance, companies shall engage in increased disclosure beyond the statutory requirements in the CAMA”.

In a bid to minimise risk in the operations of companies, the guidelines states that the annual risk-based internal audit plan shall: address the broad range of risks facing the company, linking this to a risk management framework; ii. identify audit priority areas and areas of greatest threat to the company; indicate how assurance will be provided on the company’s risk management process; and indicate the resources and skills available or required to achieve the plan.

Recall that the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) of 2018 issued by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria effectively replaced the Code of Corporate Governance for public companies issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  The FRC had also issued a template for reporting compliance with the NCCG 2018

According to the SEC, “Public Companies are by this circular advised to comply with the requirements of the NCCG 2018 and also note that compliance with the SCGG/revised reporting template is mandatory”

Patoma Admin by — October 20, 2020 in Industry, Trade & Investment 0
Nigeria’s Insurance Market Offers Significant Potential Despite Headwinds, A.M.Best

Insurance market in the country is said to have a developmental potentials of growth going by its increasing population and its position as Africa’s largest economy  according to a new report from ratings agency AM Best.

The agency though regretted that insurance industry in the region failed to catch in the the potentials but the industry will use the mandatory insurance to speed up its growth

In a new Best’s Market Segment Report: Nigeria’s Insurance Market Offers Significant Potential Despite Headwinds, AM Best notes that, due to the Covid-19-driven economic slowdown, the insurance market regulator, the National Insurance Commission (Naicom), has agreed to further delay its revised plans to strengthen market capitalisation and limit the volume of premium flowing out of the country.

“Nigeria has failed to deliver on that potential historically, due in part to the volatility of growth in the country’s real gross domestic product, coupled with the sporadic enforcement of mandatory retail insurance lines”

AM Best warns: “If Naicom strictly enforces the new requirements, smaller insurers will face significant pressure to merge with larger players.”

But overall, it believes successful implementation of the capital standards “would be favourable for the sector, as they should drive a market-wide strengthening of capital adequacy”.

It suggests: “Market consolidation and the resultant reduction in competition should help alleviate fierce pricing pressure and improve underwriting discipline.”

Patoma Admin by — October 20, 2020 in Insurance 0
Allianz wins top insurance brand for 2nd time

Allianz has emerged as the top insurance brand in the world for the second consecutive time, according to Interbrand’s Best Global Brands Ranking.

Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE, Mr. Oliver Bäte, said the company’s focus on resilience, integrity and customer centricity is paying off. 

“Allianz has once again been recognized as #1 insurance brand globally, which is fantastic news and confirms that we are on the right track,”.

“We are immensely proud to be the #1 insurance brand, and to have secured our place on the Top 40 Best Global Brands list”

Interbrand publishes the Best Global Brands report on an annual basis. Each year’s report aims to identify the world’s 100 most valuable brands. Interbrand’s brand valuation method was the first to receive ISO 10668 certification.

To qualify, brands must be publicly listed and have a global presence. Brands are then evaluated following the economic profit that can be allocated to branded sales, the role of brand, i.e. the extent to which the brand influences the buying decision, and finally the brand’s strength, which is established over ten different internal and external factors of brand performance.

IHead of Brand & Partnerships at Allianz SE, Mr Christian Deuringer said in just ten years, Allianz has moved from 67th place on the list with a value of $4.9 billion in 2010 to 39th place with a value of almost $13 billion in 2020. While half the brands in the Top 100 failed to grow this year, Allianz’s brand valuation increased by 7 percent despite the crisis, taking it to $12.935 billion” 

Deuringer state, “We have set ourselves a goal to become a Top 25 brand by 2025.”

For Allianz, the ranking is more than an encouraging sign of the brand’s growing strength. It also points to Allianz’s increasing role in people’s lives.

Group Strategy, Marketing, Distribution Officer Allianz SE, Serge Raffard  noted, “During Covid-19, we extremely hard to deliver on our promise and beyond, taking on an even greater role in the lives of our customers, our employees and our communities, helping secure the future, and giving our customers courage in these difficult times”.

“Our customer centricity and resilience allow us to benchmark ourselves against brands across industries. The diversity of what we offer, for example, with health services like Doctor on Call, or Chat with Allianz Partners, had an immense impact during the pandemic and made the difference”. 

Raffard added. “We are now up to higher summits with our Olympic partnership kicking off worldwide on January 1st, 2021. And we look forward to many more milestones

Patoma Admin by — October 20, 2020 in Others 0
Ivorian insurance market generated 390.69 bn FCFA in 2019

The Côte d’Ivoire Association of Insurance Companies (ASACI) announced that the Ivorian insurers generated a turnover of 390.69 billion FCFA (666.99 million USD), an 8.6% increase compared to the 359.74 billion FCFA (627.28 million USD) recorded in 2018.

Non-life premiums rose by 8.29% to be set at 222.41 billion FCFA (379.7 million USD), that is 56.93% of the market share. The non-life activity is dominated by the motor activity followed by the personal accident and health classes of business which represent respectively 18.64% and 18.28% of the total turnover.

With a 43.07% market share, life insurance totalled 168.28 billion FCFA (287.29 million USD) in premiums, thus increasing by 9.02% compared to late 2018. With a turnover of 6.77 billion FCFA (96.92 million USD).

SAHAM Assurance takes the lead on the companies’ ranking. SUNU Vie and NSIA Vie stand in the second and third positions with respectively.

Patoma Admin by — October 20, 2020 in Insurance 0
Transportation Minister challenges S/S, S/E on unity for development….As SESSPN pledge to work with government

Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi has called on the people of the South East and South South to work together in unity for the development of their regions.

Amaechi during an interactive session with the South East South South Professionals of Nigeria (SESSPN) in Lagos over the weekend, told the need for them to speak with one voice for development.

Amaechi without mincing words said, “We fight a lot among ourselves. In South South and South East we fight amongst ourselves. I’m saying this so that we can separate emotions from reality. Today it is not about President Buhari, it is about us. This administration is doing a lot, but because it’s President Buhari, we pretend not to see it.

“We complain about lopsided appointments. Apart from the area of security, have you checked other areas side by side? The President will appoint someone from the South East and people from the same region will fight against the appointment, if you are the President, how will you feel?

“When we took office, the President asked us to complete all projects left by previous administrations before starting new ones. We did that and it was across all regions. We completed Port Harcourt Airport, we are working on Enugu Airport; Enugu Onitsha road, work is going on, no matter how slow.

“The second Niger bridge in Onitsha – 48 percent and we have assured the country that by 2022 it would be completed. Those who are from Onitsha or from Anambra, have you gone to the site and work is not going on? When we came it was zero. Most of you don’t see it because it’s not beside the Niger bridge, so you don’t see it unless you visit the site.

The Minister noted, “Onitsha is a River port, 3.5 metre draft. The only thing that can go there is barge. Port Harcourt and Warri seaport will be the highest. And people still criticise a president that is doing this much for this zone. How do we survive by ethnicity?”

On rail projects and why work has not been done in the South East, Amaechi said, “I hate tribalism. I’ve said this before, for me, I’m Nigerian, and what informs my decision of choosing which rail line to construct at any point in time, is the economics of rail; and currently the economics shows that Lagos to Kano has the capacity to move 30 million tonnes of cargo per year. I do the same analysis for Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, 11 million tonnes”.

“We are currently doing the analysis for Lagos to Calabar to know how many tonnes of cargo can be moved there per year. So we started with the Lagos to Kano rail. President Obasanjo approved it, President Jonathan started construction on it by doing Abuja to Kaduna and President Buhari told us to complete all previous projects”.

“Now, we are applying for $11b loan to construct Lagos to Calabar rail. There was no design for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. We knew that the first thing to do was to commence a feasibility study, after that we did the design. Its now they’ll start to do the site drawing. In that three months that they are doing that, you’ll start shouting again, why are they not constructing? You forget that Ibadan to Kano, they are just finishing the design now, that’s why they’ve not started construction.”

“Back to Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, the first thing was the instruction from the President that all rails in Nigeria must be standard gauge. So we did a standard gauge design. We went to Bonny to do studies and we did that study up to Maiduguri. I did a feasibility study that brought it between $14billion to $11 billion. When we finished, we got approval from the President, but I realised that we may not get the money in this government. I changed my course, and I said, while we are looking for money for the standard gauge for Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, let me ask for money to reconstruct the narrow-gauge at $3.1billion. And the President after much argument, accepted. After sometime, he agreed, that we can proceed with the narrow-gauge, while seeking for money to construct the standard gauge.”

“At least I’m sure that before we leave government we would have done up to 80 percent of that rail. Also, there was no line to Owerri, I added Owerri to the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail design, because of the Industrial Park and the University of Transportation in Ubima”, Amaechi said.

He talked about safe anchorage issues which has delayed the government’s maritime security project from commencing operations. According to the Minister, “The deep blue project which has most of its surveillance equipment already on ground would ensure end to end surveillance and safety of Nigeria’s waterways, and would in turn encourage usage of all ports in the South South.”

“The problem with maritime in Nigeria is insecurity. There are rich Nigerians who do bunkering. Next are those who escort vessels, another is the OMSL group who say they are protecting vessels and so on. We have a disadvantage where those who are making the money will not allow you provide the security. We have bought equipment for use in securing our waters. The moment I announced it, they reported me everywhere. But we must end it”, Amaechi stated.

In his opening remarks, President of SESSPN, Hannibal Uwaifo while welcoming the Minister, said, “We will need to work with our people in government, support them, no matter what political party they belong to, to help and promote our region. It is those of us who are exposed, those of us who are professionals that can put heads together with our people in government to overcome these challenges. We have to up our game in order to get a better tomorrow for our children.”

Patoma Admin by — October 19, 2020 in Others 0