By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) at its 134th meeting in Cairo, Egypt, renewed its approval of a $1 billion facility to operationalise the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Adjustment Funds.

It added that a $10 million Grant Funding to seed the Base Fund of the AfCFTA Adjustment Funds, was equally approved yesterday

Afreximbank and the AfCFTA Secretariat were mandated by the AfCFTA Council of Trade Ministers and the African Union Heads of State and Government to establish and operationalise the AfCFTA Adjustment Funds, which consists of the Base Fund, the General Fund, and the Credit Fund.

The Base Fund will be used to mobilise grants to address tariff revenue losses and to support AfCFTA State Parties to implement the various protocols under the Free Trade Agreement.

The General Fund will be used to mobilise concessional funding, while the Credit Fund will be used to mobilise commercial funding that will be used to support the public and private sector including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), youth and women to adjust to the new trading environment arising from the AfCFTA.

Commenting on the approvals, Professor Benedict Oramah, President, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, said, “Afreximbank is delighted to have been appointed the Fund Manager of the AfCFTA Adjustment Funds following the extensive collaborative work it has done with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the African Union Commission during the past few years.

“The renewal of the US$1 billion facility and the US$10 million grant funding represents resounding entrustment by our Board of Directors of these efforts. These facilities will again be contributing to making a great idea a reality. We thank the AfCFTA Secretariat for the solid partnership that is bringing the aspirations of the AfCFTA within reach.”

The funding required under the Adjustment Funds is estimated at $8-10 billion. The AfCFTA Adjustment Fund will be managed by Afreximbank, through its subsidiary, the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“We urge other development partners and financial institutions to provide additional resources required under the Adjustment Funds to support the implementation of the AfCFTA”, said Mr. Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat.

“The endorsement by the Afreximbank Board brings the continent closer to operationalising the AfCFTA Adjustment Funds before the end of 2022

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Patience Oniha as the Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO) for a second term of five years.

A statement issued in by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said the re-appointment was in accordance to Section IV (9-i) of the Debt Management Office (Establishment ETC) Act, 2003.

The statement further said that the renewal takes effect from July 1, 2022.

“Her appointment for a second term was based on the significant achievements recorded by the DMO in the last 5 years, under her leadership.

“Amongst the achievements are the introduction of Sukuk and Green Bonds to finance the development of infrastructure where there is a huge gap.

“Under her watch, as part of the initiatives to improve the sustainability of the public debt and opening up avenues for raising long term funds for corporates, the DMO introduced long term Bonds with tenors of 30 years in the domestic and international markets.

“This is aside from attracting diverse investors including retail investors to the FGN Bond Market, ” the statement said.

It further added, “Internally, Oniha introduced reforms to strengthen the DMO, as a critical agency in the public finance ecosystem of the country.”

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has guaranteed the sum of N130. 90 billion loan to farmers under the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (ACGSF) between its inception in 1977 and May 2022.

The Chairman of the Board of the ACGSF, Mr. Stephen Okon, gave the update at the 2021 National Best Farmers of the Year Award, held in Abuja, yesterday.

Okon said, “The ACGSF Scheme has proved relatively successful in de-risking the agricultural sector in Nigeria as evidenced in the number of loans guaranteed from inception to date.

“A total of 1,232,326 loans valued N130.903 billion were guaranteed from inception to May 2022 out of which 973,646 beneficiaries had repaid a total of N98.91b.”

The chairman said that the federal government and the CBN both contributed to the Fund in the ratio of 60 percent and 40% respectively, with the CBN doubling as the Managing Agent and the Secretariat.

Mr. Okon said that the timing of the event was apt, given the fact that countries across the globe were experiencing challenges, resulting from the Russian – Ukrainian War.

“Its impact being – global oil and food crises affecting the agricultural sector which has contributed to disruptions in domestic food supply chains and other shocks affecting food production.

“This has led to the loss of incomes, food security risks, inflationary trends, and creating serious tensions in many countries,” he said.

The chairman noted that achieving food security not only carried significant benefits for human health but also served as the basis to achieve sustained economic growth.

“Awakened by a potential rise in food insecurity, many countries and organizations are mounting special efforts to keep agriculture safely running as an essential business,” he added.

In his remarks, the Abuja Branch Controller of the CBN, Mr. Michael Ogbu, said that the successes achieved under the ACGSF had led to significant improvement in Deposit Money Banks’ (DMB) lending to the agricultural sector and to a remarkable growth in the agri-business value chain in Nigeria.

He stressed the determination of the Management of the CBN towards supporting farmers to grow exponentially, saying, “ that way, Nigeria can actually grow what she eats.”

The ACGSF was established by Decree No. 20 of 1977 to guarantee agricultural credit facilities granted to farmers.

The Scheme encourages Deposit Money Banks and Microfinance Banks to lend to those engaged in agriculture by providing guarantee.

It mitigates risks associated with banks’ lending to agriculture by guaranteeing to pay banks 75 per cent of the net amount in default in accordance with the provisions of the enabling Act.

Under the new ACGSF Amendment Act 2019 the maximum for a non-collateralized loan has increased from N20,000.00 to N100,000.00, while the maximum for a collateralized loan moved from N10 million to N50 million.

Mr. Peter Okonkwo emerged overall winner of the 2021 National Best Farmer of the Year.

He was said to have taken an N8. 050 million facility under the scheme for the procurement of additional agricultural plants, machineries and packaging in 2018 and with it, generated N15 million income and a profit of over N2,7 million.

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By admin

 

 

The Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI), the parent company of the Ecobank Group, has paid out a total dividend of 40 million dollars to shareholders.

The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Director of ETI, Ade Ayeyemi, made the disclosure during a hybrid event of ETI’s 34th Annual General Meeting, held on Wednesday in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AGM had as its theme: “ One Market. Endless Opportunities”.

The payment is coming after over five years of non-dividend payment.

According to Ayeyemi, improvements recorded in the bank’s ‘Roadmap to Leadership’ strategy adopted in 2016, are instrumental to achieving the dividends payments.

He said that adopting the strategy helped the bank to clarify portfolios across businesses and maximize value of portfolios, which culminated in a cash dividend of 0.16 US cents ($0.0016) per share to shareholders.

Ayeyemi affirmed that the strategy was focused at redefining business segments and building a stronger and more profitable financial institution.

“The group’s profit for the year 2021 was 357 million dollars compared to 88 million dollars in 2020.

“Although the latter was adversely affected by a goodwill impairment charge of 164 million dollars while net revenues increased by 4.6 per cent to 1,757 million dollars.”

He said the bank made meaningful progress across business segments, noting that its gross trade loans increased by 39 per cent to 2.9 billion dollars, driven mainly by commodity financing.

“We transitioned to our ‘Executive Momentum ‘ strategy while continuing to harvest the expected results from our previous strategy.

“We have become more efficient, addressed legacy loan problems, strengthened capital and digitized our operations for the future.”

Ayeyemi assured shareholders that the bank would continue to defend its competitive position, explore growth opportunities, revisit operational strategy in high potential markets and consider constructive exit from low potential markets.

He added that the bank’s first-quarter results for 2022 provided a clear confirmation of Ecobank Group’s continuing strong and sustained performance trajectory.

Ayeyemi said this had reinforced the bank’s reliability and capacity to successfully deliver on its Africa-focused purpose and support for the continent’s economies, regardless of the prevailing challenges.

Also, the Chairman of Ecobank Group, Alain Nkontchou, said the bank had introduced innovative technology that included the virtualisation of its regional processing centres and the automation of a digital MY-HR information system which automates HR processes with enhanced self-service features.

According to him, these programmes are maximising operational efficiency and transforming its businesses for sustainable long term growth.

“The year 2021 was a transformational year for the group, and the board is pleased to be rewarding shareholders with a dividend for the first time since 2016.

“Our results show that we are maximising operational efficiencies and successfully transforming our business for sustainable long-term growth.

“As we continue to deliver on our strategic imperatives, we are firmly positioned as the ideal partner for households and businesses to grow and succeed.

“Also to foster Africa’s economic development, while continuing to grow ourto grow our revenues and value, “he said.

NAN reports that shareholders applauded the group’s impressive strong performance in 2021, which was achieved despite the challenging environment.

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers ( CIS) has announced a core finance professional, Mr Oluwole Adeosun as its new President and Chairman of the Governing Council.

With his election, at the Institute’s hybrid Annual General Meeting (AGM) today, Adeosun, the Institute’s former 1st Vice succeeded the immediate past President, Mr Olatunde Amolegbe whose tenure was characterized by many laudable achievements

By his election, Adeosun shall be formerly decorated with the paraphernalia of office in a high profile event called investiture at a later date.

Under the new change of baton, the Institute’s 2nd Vice President, Mr Oluropo Dada has emerged the 1st Vice President .
Adeosun, a Fellow of the Institute and multinational professional, brings on board over two decades of robust experience in the financial market.

A product of the prestigious Loyola College, Ibadan, he holds a B.Sc. (Hons) in Business Administration from the University of Ilorin in 1986 and capped it with Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and specialises in Finance and Banking from University of Lagos in 1993. Adeosun trained at Coopers and Lybrand (Chartered Accountants) now PricewaterhouseCoopers and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in May 1991. He later qualified as a Chartered Stockbroker and Banker.

He has been a long-standing member of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers since April 2013 and has served as the Institute’s First Vice President in 2020-2022 and Second Vice President from 2018 to 2020. He also served as a member of the Finance and General-Purpose Committee of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and its Investment Subcommittee.

Among the major highlights of the meeting was the re-election of Mrs Fiona Ehimie and Mr Adeyemi Aina to the Institute’s Governing Council and election of Mr Ayodeji Ebo and Mrs Elile Olutimayin to the Board.

He is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Chartwell Securities Limited and a distinguished Fellow of many major professional Institutes in Nigeria’s financial services sector,including, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) amongst others.

In a recent interview, Amolegbe, the Institute’s immediate past President, expressed optimism that he had left behind a team of top notch professionals that would further advance its growth and development.

“ My Priority has always been to enhance the institute’s brand positioning by increasing its visibility via advocacy while putting the members’ welfare on the front burner.” Said Amolegbe.

Senior Stockbrokers commended the Principal Officers and Management of the Institute for its visibility and and returning it to profitability despite the inclement operating environment. Among them were Mrs Elizabeth Ebi, Group Managing Director of Futureview Group, Mr Oladipo Aina and Mr Oluwaseyi Abe, both past presidents.