All Posts in "Day: November 3, 2020"

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), says it will educate no fewer than 10,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) operators, on the need to key into  insurance.

Mr Rasaaq Salami, NAICOM’s Head, Commissioner for Insurance Directorate, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Abuja on Monday, that the engagement was to enable the operators safeguard their businesses.

Salami said the commission would work with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), to appropriately identify the operators to engage and educate in various states.

He said that the Federal Government had set aside some funds for MSMEs to survive, adding that insurance would help their businesses in times of uncertainties.

“We heard the government set aside some funds like the N75 billion MSMEs Survival Fund, but where is the place of insurance in all these.

“It is not for the government to go and arrange the insurance, but we believe that for every beneficiary of this fund, they should ensure that they take up insurance.

“Small businesses can fail, but a small business that is insured, even when you suffer a failure, will bring you back to the level you were before the failure.

“We want to be able to talk to not less than 10,000 MSMEs across the country, for them to know the benefits of insurance to their businesses so that they do not fall victim.

“We are going to start the first engagement in Abuja. We believe that there is ignorance and we want to bridge that gap so that they will know the benefits of insurance.

“Apart from the big insurance companies, we also have micro and takaful insurance companies,’’ he explained.

On compulsory insurance, Salami said the commission was collaborating with the relevant state governments and law enforcement agencies to form a team that would ensure compliance in states.

He said that the commission led by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, had met with Dr Kayode Fayemi, the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The meeting, Salami said, was to apprise him of the objectives and benefits that were inherent in the compulsory insurance arrangement.

“We believe that if we successfully ensure compliance to these compulsory insurances, the scarce resources at the disposal of state governors will be channeled to other ventures that will be beneficial to the state.

“It is better than using the resources to compensate traders whose markets got burnt or their buildings collapsed

Patoma Admin by — November 3, 2020 in Insurance 0
MTN, 9Mobile selected for e-SIM trial run

MTN and 9Mobile networks have been duly selected by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the pilot test run for the embedded Subscriber Identification Modules (e-SIM) Service, subject to full compliance with regulatory conditions.

According to NCC, the conditions required for each of them to fulfill include:

Fullc ompliance by the MNOs (Mobile Network Operators), with the Registration of Telecoms Subscribers Regulations 2011. The Mobile Number Portability Regulations and Business Rules 2015. Guidelines on SIM Replacement 2017. Non-degradationof the Quality of Service (QoS) experience by users of e-SIMs.

The disclosure was made by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who stated that the primary objective of the e-SIM trial run is to confirm, as well as, assess the technical performance of the e-SIM on telecoms service providers’ network – prior to rollout.

He further said, “The trial is in line with the Commission’s forward-looking regulatory approach to ensure Nigeria’s telecoms ecosystem is in tandem with global best practices.”

As e-SIM is a small chip that is embedded on a mobile phone or smart devices. It is designed for convenience, flexibility, and simplicity.

The-SIM makes it easier for subscribers to choose a pre-paid plan provider and switch between network operators.

The information on the e-SIM is rewritable by operators and the identification information can be updated over time.

The e-SIM is a technology that will eliminate the need for physical SIM card slots on mobile devices in the near future.

Patoma Admin by — November 3, 2020 in Others 0
Fidelity Bank posts N20.41 billion profit in nine months

Desite harsh consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses, Fidelity bank, one of Nigeria’s second tier banks, has posted a Profit After Tax worth N20.41 billion for the period ended September 2020.

This is according to the recently released unaudited financial result sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange today.

Profit After Tax (PAT) grew by 7.1%, from N19.05 billion as at September 2019 to N20.41 billion in the corresponding period this year, as the bank also recorded a gross revenue of N155.03billion in 9 months.

On liquidity related issues, deposits from customers increased from N1.12 trillion as at September 2019 to N1.498 trillion in the corresponding period this year, indicating an increase of 34.21%.

Loans and advances to customers also increased by 18.5% from N1.07 trillion to N1.27 trillion within the period under review.

The following are other key financial metrics posted by the bank in its latest financials

Gross earnings for the nine-month period ended September 2020 declined by 14.2% Year-on-Year.

Net interest income appreciated from N58.2 billion to N75 billion within the period under view indicating a gain of 28.8%.

Profit Before Tax increased by 3.6% within the period under view.

Profitb After Tax increased by 7.1%.E

EarningsPer Share increased from N66 to N70 within the period under review, indicating a gain of about 6.1%.C

Cash and balances with the Central Bank also increased from N4.18 billion to N6.34 billion, indicating an increase of 51.8%

Patoma Admin by — November 3, 2020 in Banking & Finance 0
Nigeria generates N424.71 billion VAT in Q3 2020

Nigeria’s value-added tax (VAT) collection increased from N327.2 billion recorded in Q2 2020 to N424.71 billion in Q3 2020, as other manufacturing sector led the pack with N47.07 billion remittance.

This was disclosed by the National Bureau of  Statistics (NBS) in its sectoral distribution of value added tax Sectoral Q3 2020 report released on Monday.

VAT Collections in the quarter  indicates a 29.8% increase as against N327.2 billion recorded in the previous quarter and 54.37% increase compared to N275.12 billion generated in the corresponding quarter of 2019.

Key highlights

Other manufacturing, generated the highest amount of VAT with N47.07 billion and closely followed by Professional Services, which generated a sum of N44.01 billion.

Commercial and Trading generated N21.18 billion while Mining, Textile and Garment industry generated the least with N63.5 million and N346.27 million respectively.

Out of the total amount generated in Q3 2020, N214.66 billion was collected locally as Non-Import VAT while N115.34 billion was collected as Non-Import VAT for foreign.

The balance of N94.70billion was generated as NCS-Import VAT.O

Out of the 28 sectors, 24 of them recorded improved VAT remittances during the period, compared to Q2 2020 while 4 of them recorded decline

The N424.7 billion generated in Q3 2020, brings the total VAT collections year-to-date to N1.08 trillion, which is 22.87% higher than N876.1 billion generated as at the same period in 2019.

Reasons for Increment
Since manufacturing sector is the biggest contributor to VAT during the quarter, the increase can mainly be attributed to the increase in manufacturing activities.

However, it is worth noting that offshore operations recorded the highest growth of 193% in VAT remittances during the period.

Who benefits?
The increase in VAT will grow government revenue base especially in a time when oil revenue is dwindling, this could in turn be invested in infrastructure, other developmental projects, etc.; thereby, stimulating the nation’s economic growth.

Patoma Admin by — November 3, 2020 in Banking & Finance 0