All Posts in "Day: January 11, 2021"

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Managing Director/CEO of NEM Insurance Plc, Tope Smart, has purchased an additional four million units of the insurance firm’s shares worth a total N9.24 million.

This is according to a notification signed by the firm’s Secretary, Olajumoke Philip-Akede, and sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market today.

According to the disclosure, the transaction which occurred in only one tranche took place on the 8th of January, 2021 and saw a total of 4 million units of the firm’s share purchased at N2.31 per share.

NEM Insurance earlier announced the distribution of bonus shares of 4.7 billion units at N0.50k worth N2.36 billion.Ni

The company is a non-life insurance  group organized around 6 areas of activity, namely; car insurance (29.1% of gross written premiums), fire insurance (23.8%), accident insurance (20.2%), oil and gas insurance (14.8%), marine insurance (10.9%), reinsurance (1.2%).A

Asat the time of reporting this, NEM Insurance Plc shares currently ended trading today, 11 January at N2.30.

Patoma Admin by — January 11, 2021 in Insurance 0

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) is reported to have begun soliciting public opinion on a revised regulation on foreign insurance companies, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

It reported that the CBIRC said the revised regulation will mainly clarify access conditions for foreign insurers and overseas financial institutions, fine tune shareholder change and access requirements, and scrap foreign ownership caps. “New market access conditions will not be added and entry barriers will not be raised under the revised regulation, the CBIRC said, adding that the domestic and foreign insurers will be able to conduct business under the same rules,” said the news report.

It added that, according to the CBIRC, the revised regulation aims to promote a higher level of opening up, while continuing to strengthen risk management and control

Patoma Admin by — January 11, 2021 in Insurance 0

By admin

Global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity fell to its lowest level last year since the financial crisis, but a surge in the final quarter is expected to continue in 2021, according to new data from Willis Towers Watson (WTW).

The research in partnership with the M&A Research Centre at The Business School, formerly Cass, reveals that Covid-19 dragged M&A activity in 2020 to its lowest level for years.

Companies worldwide completed just 674 deals valued at more than $100m. This is significantly less than 774 in the previous year and the lowest annual volume since 332 were record in 2009, according to WTW’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor (QDPM).

But the QDPM shows a sharp rise in M&A volume during the final quarter with 246 deals completed worldwide, compared to 210 in Q4 2019. There were 61 large deals valued between $1bn and $10bn, which is the highest ever recorded during a final quarter.

This Q4 resurgence was driven by a strong uptick in North America, which saw a record 136 deals for a final quarter.

WTW said that despite the uncertain economic outlook, conditions are primed for a global “dealmaking surge” in 2021.

Jana Mercereau, head of corporate M&A consulting, Great Britain at WTW, said: “The year 2020 has been unlike anything we’ve ever seen, fuelled by an enduring pandemic, massive economic uncertainty, a highly divisive US presidential election and rising geopolitical tensions. While the world in 2021 remains a volatile place, pent-up demand, ample funding, ultra-low interest rates and confidence returning to boardrooms indicate conditions are ripe for one of the biggest M&A years on record.

“That said, dealmakers should not assume a corner has been turned, with uncertainty set to remain. It will be as critical as ever for acquirers to pick their targets carefully for growth before jumping into a deal, if they are to give themselves the best chance of success. A dedicated focus on HR and people-related risks during due diligence and integration can help achieve this,” she added.

WTW’s monitor also shows that acquirers worldwide have now, on average, failed to add value from transactions for four consecutive years, based on share-price performance. They underperformed the global index by 1.9 percentage points during the past year. But this is an improvement on underperformance of five and three percentage points in 2019 and 2018 respectively.

European buyers, meanwhile, outperformed their regional index by 12.2 percentage points in 2020 and by 5.3 percentage points in Q4.

UK acquirers beat the European Index by 4.1 percentage points for the full year.

Patoma Admin by — January 11, 2021 in Insurance 0

The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mota-Engil Group for the construction of US$1.959 billion Kano-Maradi Standard gauge railway line.

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi signed on behalf of the federal government while the Managing Director, Mota- Engil, Antonio Gvoea signed on behalf of the contracting firm.
 
The new railway corridor which is to be located in northern Nigeria will run through Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states and through Niger Republic territory as far as Maradi. Other cities to benefit directly from the passage of the rail route are Danbatta, Kazaure, Daura, Mashi, Katsina and Jibiya.
A statement signed by Eric Ojiekwe, Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Transportation noted that the 283.750-kilometre rail line besides developing freight and passenger transport, “will be integrated with road transport to make a great contribution to the local economy as well as an important development in the social sector.”
The project duration is for 36 months and the contract type is Engineering, Procurement and Construction.
 
The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani; Director, Legal Services, Pius Oteh; Managing Director, Mota-Engil Group, Antonio Gvoea; Head of Legal, Mota- Engil Group, Cameron Beverley; Magajin Garin Kano, Muhammad Wada; Director, Mota-Engil Group, Kola Abdulkarim; Vice President, Mota-Engil Group, Mohammed Abdul-Razaq; Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Tuggar; Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala-Usman among other personalities
Patoma Admin by — January 11, 2021 in Others 0