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Ethiopian Airlines to resume using Boeing 737 MAX planes in February

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Ethiopian Airlines plans to resume flying Boeing 737 MAX planes on its fleet in February 2022, saying it was satisfied with their safety, according to its chief executive.

In 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, a Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX bound for Kenya, crashed six minutes after takeoff from Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers and crew.

“Safety is our topmost priority …. and it guides every decision we make and all actions we take,” Tewolde Gebremariam said in a statement.

“We have taken enough time to monitor the design modification work and the more than 20 months of rigorous rectification process…our pilots, engineers, aircraft technicians, cabin crew are confident on the safety of the fleet.”

The best-selling, single-aisle airplane, which was grounded worldwide after two crashes killed 346 people in the space of five months, returned to service in late 2020

Patoma Admin by — December 29, 2021 in Others 0
FG clears N16.67bn accrued pension rights for 2021 retirees

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Federal Government has released N16.67 billion for the payment of accrued pension rights to 2021 retirees of Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

This was disclosed by the management of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) in a statement issued Wednesday in Abuja

“The National Pension Commission (PenCom) is pleased to announce the release of N16.67 billion by the Federal Government for the payment of Accrued Pension Rights to 2021 retirees of Treasury-funded Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

“The Federal Government had earlier settled all arrears of accrued pension rights payments to the verified and enrolled retirees up to December 2020”, said the National Pension Commission.

Also, the PenCom had received early this year the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to pay outstanding pension liabilities of retirees of Treasury-funded Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

This was sequel to PenCom’s submission to the President on the payment of some critical aspects of the outstanding pension liabilities of the Federal Government under the Contributory Pension Scheme.

Specifically, the President approved payment of outstanding accrued pension rights for verified and enrolled retirees of treasury-funded MDAs that retired but were yet to be paid their retirement benefits, as well as the backlog of death benefits claims due to beneficiaries of deceased employees of treasury funded MDAs.

Approval was also given for payment of 2.5 per cent differential in the rate of employer pension contribution for FGN retirees and employees which resulted from the increase in the minimum pension contribution for employers from 7.5 per cent to 10 per cent in line with Section 4(1) of the PRA 2014.

Patoma Admin by — December 29, 2021 in Others 0
CBN defends Naira with $2.1bn to halt further depreciation

By Sandra Adesiyan

 

In an effort to keep the Naira from crashing further the Central Bank of Nigeria(CbN) pumped $2.1 billion to the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange market in the first seven months of 2021.

The amount was an increased by 238 percent when compared with the $621.1 million injected to defend it in the same window in in the corresponding period of 2020 (7mths-2020).

It also represented a 47 percent increase when compared with the $1.43 billion injected in the first 7 months of 2019.

These figures were obtained from CBN’s monthly economic report published on its website.

According to CBN data, the highest amount injected this year was $474.65 million in April while the lowest amount of $195.91 million was recorded in June.

While the intervention helped keep Naira hovering around N412 to 414, it came at a cost of depleting reserves that was replenished with debts.

You will recall that last month, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to allow market forces control the exchange rate.

He said: The real issue confronting the economy on this matter is how to improve the supply of foreign exchange, but this will not happen if we do not allow mechanisms like the Importers and Exporters window to work. If we allow this market mechanism to work as intended, we will find that the Naira will appreciate against the dollar as we restore confidence in the system.”

Although CBN had adopted the flexible I & E window as its official exchange rate, it remained the single source of dollar supply thereby having a significant influence on how the market turns out daily.

Patoma Admin by — November 29, 2021 in Others 0
Afrinvest Foresees 15% Growth for Banking Sector in 2022, Cautions FG on Debt

By admin

 

Analysts at Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited have projected that the Nigerian banking sector which has remained resilient amidst the pandemic would grow by 15 per cent next year.

In the same vein, the research and investment company has called for more banks to merge in the sector, noting that the tier one banks – Access Bank, Zenith Bank, GTBank, First Bank, United Bank for Africa – presently control approximately 70 per cent of banking activities.

The Deputy Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Victor Ndukauba, said this yesterday, while unveiling the Lagos-based firm’s 2021 Nigerian Banking Sector Report titled, ‘Resilience Amidst Endemic and Pandemic Constraints.’

Speaking on the banking sector and its outlook, he said: “The banking sector saw a dip in 2018, obviously following a cut back by banks, who are trying to contain the operation from the effect of the recession of 2016, that sort of spilled over into 2017. But otherwise, it’s been growth consistently.

“Tier-one banks accounting for a sizable portion of the total assets. From what we estimate for year 2021, we think includes that nearly N25 trillion loans, up 24 per cent on last year’s numbers, and we expect a further 10.3 per cent growth into 2022.

“Also, the total industry deposits, we can see that we’ve gone from N17.8 trillion in 2016, and expect to close 2021 at N46 trillion and with a projection of 8.4 per cent growth will take us to about N50 trillion by the end of 2022.

“Again, consistent with the other two metrics, you see that the tier one banks continue to control a significant portion of the industry, business and you know, balance sheet.”

He added: “So, I guess what has to be said clearly is that there is some value to consolidation and scale clearly, because when we look at shareholders’ funds, which is essentially the value that has been created by these banks for shareholders over time, you can see that again, tier one banks continue to be the dominant force here nearly 70 per cent of the industry in value creation.”

Also, Ndukauba, in his presentation noted that the current rate at which the federal government was borrowing was not sustainable. He noted that the federal government’s borrowing had tripled by five times in the past five years since the beginning of this administration.

He said: “Revenues have underperformed by these 30 per cent, the income from oil and gas has worsen, at 44 per cent, non-oil income is up slightly at four and a half percent, while independent revenues up 10 per cent and government owned enterprises down nearly 62 per cent. So on the revenue side, clearly, there is a challenge. We’re not tracking what was planned or expected.

“So, in order to keep up with the significant ramp up in spending, the government has had to obviously do a lot more in terms of borrowings, as well as something here that is captured as ways and means which is effectively the central bank providing liquidity in the form of lending or just a stopgap measure to help plug water the shortfalls.

“And what we can see clearly is that we have a rising debt situation. So aggregate debt N16.8 trillion as of 2016, but between then, and now we’re almost at three times that level, with a total of nearly N48 trillion.”

He noted that the debt service ratio which also grew from 45 per cent in 2016, to 83 per cent, was unsustainable.

He added: “We can see that we’ve gone from debt service ratio of about 45 per cent in 2016, to 77 per cent based on our estimates for 2021. Those numbers are higher in 2020 at nearly 83 per cent. So what it means is that for every naira or revenue you’re spending nearly at 80k to service debt. Clearly that is not sustainable.”

In his keynote address at the event, Partner & Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Andrew Nevin, noted that the Nigerian economy was stable and predicted sustained growth.

He said: “I have never been more optimistic about Nigeria in the 13 years that I’ve been here than I am today. Despite the fact that every one of us is well aware of all of the challenges in the country in the last two or three years, I’m optimistic and confronted by incredible things going around the country that aren’t necessarily seen by the official statistics.”

In his contribution, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf noted that manufacturers were still constrained by access to foreign exchange.

He said, “The bigger issue of manufacturers as well as investors of the real economy is the FX issue because even for some manufacturers who had access to the CBN facility, they could not access foreign exchange to utilise the facility and so it is affecting everything. Secondly the issue is the illiquidity in the foreign exchange market.”

Patoma Admin by — November 25, 2021 in Others 0
Muftau Oyekunle, CIIN President’s speech @ Directors conference

ADDRESS BY SIR. MUFTAU OYEGUNLE, PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN OF COUNCIL, CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA, DURING THE 2021 INSURANCE DIRECTORS’ CONFERENCE HELD ON THE 24TH OF NOVEMBER, 2021 AT RADISSON BLU HOTEL, IKEJA.

PROTOCOLS

It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you to the 2021 Insurance Directors’ Conference. The theme for this event “Insurance Industry in a Changing World” is a theme that cannot be over flogged.

On daily basis, we see signs of the changing world around us. Political and business leaders all over the world gather regularly to discuss the way forward. A radical transformation triggered by the events which took place in the immediate past years has changed the business world and life in general as we used to know it. Countries and organizations’ have woken up to the fact that there is no set date, time, or place for disruption to occur. All businesses are proactively retooling their operations to ensure adequate protection against the unknown future.

It is impossible to talk about the changing world of insurance or even the financial sector in general, without talking about Artificial Intelligence. AI is fast becoming the order of the day as organizations seek to build leaner but more effective teams. Every business firm in the 21st Industry must leverage on technology to simplify its business strategies and processes especially now that the pandemic has forced business executives to do things differently.

The future that AI promises for insurance is a series of touch less processes from premium collection through the entire value chain until claims processing. This is evident by the numerous startups, as well as IT and insurance giants massively investing and offering increasingly innovative new solutions. It is imperative for market stakeholders to be at the cutting edge of technology and to equip themselves with the appropriate tools required for performance. The purpose of insurance is to enable risk-taking, support economic growth, encourage innovation and ultimately to enhance the resilience of the society and economy.

Consequently, there is a need for us as individuals, professionals, and organizations to aggressively equip ourselves with skills and knowledge that would ensure we have the best assets. This implies that we must groom world class manpower for improved performance and growth of the industry. With the increasing digitalization and ‘low touch’ system where human input is at its minimal, professionals need to meet the emerging demands for specialized skills.

Furthermore, continuous customer engagement cannot be overemphasized as this not only builds trust but puts the insurer in the face of the customer. Typically, insurance products and services are perceived as offerings that do not require constant meeting with clients except at major events such as customer acquisition, claims registration and policy termination. While it is vital to make these moments rancor free, it is equally important to provide more customer interaction channels to facilitate effective service delivery to clients. A good starting point should be the provision of basic knowledge on insurance and its operations to consumers. Awareness is a militating factor in the growth of Insurance.

The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) as the premier professional body caters for insurance professionals through the provision of skills and knowledge required to deliver excellent performance in their organisation. Ultimately, our members become growth drivers within the industry.

The CIIN in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities established the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) which currently is pivotal in manpower development in the Nigerian insurance industry at all levels. This was achieved by the provision of in-depth training in insurance, financial management and marketing thereby creating an expert driven resource pool from which the industry benefits.

On behalf of the Council of the CIIN, I wish to express our happiness and support for this well packaged event organized by the CIFM in collaboration with the regulator, NAICOM in pursuance of the mandatory learning and training for directors in insurance organizations. The quality of speakers lined up today is quite reassuring of the impactful and insightful experience that this conference would deliver.

I therefore seize this opportunity to appreciate NAICOM on two fronts. First, for providing this platform annually to help members of the board of insurance organizations to refocus on their very important role of running ethical, profitable, and sustainable insurance organizations. Secondly, for the continued confidence in the CIFM and its ability to always deliver quintessential training events.

Beyond technology and knowledge however, we need to bridge the existing gap between various stakeholders in the industry if we must take this industry to the next level. Most of the challenges confronting us today require serious cooperation within the industry and collaboration with other relevant stakeholders to move this industry forward. This is the main aspect of the changing world that we are not paying adequate attention to. I therefore challenge all the captains of the industry here present, to view this as the end of year challenge for all of us. The question begging for an answer is ‘How do we move this industry forward collectively in 2022 and beyond?

The penetration jinx needs to be broken so that the insurance industry can provide its crucial role in supporting individuals and businesses through mechanisms that facilitate resilience building for the economy at large while also making insurance profitable enough to justify the investment of shareholders.

On this note Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you all to the 2021 Insurance Directors’ Conference and wish you all a gratifying experience.

Thank you.

Sir. Muftau Oyegunle ACII, FIIN
President/Chairman of Council
Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria.

Patoma Admin by — November 24, 2021 in Others 0
FG unveils 10-year validity passport facility in London

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Miniter of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola yesterday, commissioned a new Passport Issuing facility that would offer the 10-year validity Passport to Nigerians at the Nigerian High Commission in London, the United Kingdom.

With the facility, eligible applicants can now have access to a variety of options available on the enhanced e-Passport categories including: The five-year, 32-page Passport category; the five-year, 64-page category and the ten- year, 64-page category.

Speaking at the event, the Minister stated that the enhanced e-Passport is a great improvement of the standard e-Passport introduced in 2007 and that the enhanced e-Passport has more sophisticated security features making it one of the most secured Passports in the world.

The enhanced e-Passport he stressed, “comes in polycarbonate data page and with this, Nigeria is at the highest level of Passport security and integrity in the world”.

He assured government’s readiness to continue to provide Passports to eligible applicants without stress and within a reasonable period noting that efforts are being made to resolve all the problems associated with Passport administration and issuance across all Centres.

The Minister revealed that the Nigeria Immigration Service has issued a total of 2.7 million Passports to Nigerians in the past two years including the deployment of over 600,000 booklets, this year alone to address rising demand for the document.

He thanked the officials of the High Commission for their commitment to quality service delivery and urged for a deepened engagement with the diaspora population.

In his remarks, the acting Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Isah Jere Idris, affirmed the commitment of the Service to meet the rising demands for Passport services in London and advised prospective applicants to visit the Service’s official website (immigration.gov.ng) to apply and pay for the Passport category of their choice.

He enjoined those who have any complaints, to use available complaints channels to resolve any issues assuring that his Officers are professionals and would continue to deliver excellent services to our citizens.

The event was attended by the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, the Minister of Interior, the acting Comptroller General of Immigration, senior officials of the High Commission, a cross section of Nigerians in the United Kingdom and members of the diplomatic community.

Patoma Admin by — November 24, 2021 in Others 0
Flour Mills buys First Bank’s stake in Honeywell

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and Honeywell Group Limited have announced the signing of an agreement for the proposed combination of FMN and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc.

The companies, in a joint statement on Monday, said Honeywell Group would dispose of a 71.69 per cent stake in its listed subsidiary to Flour Mills at a total enterprise value of N80bn.

Flour Mills announced in a separate statement that it had entered into an agreement with First Bank of Nigeria Limited to acquire the bank’s 5.06 per cent equity in Honeywell Flour Mills.

“Consequently, upon completion of the acquisition, and subject to obtaining all requisite regulatory approvals, FMN is set to hold a circa 76.75 per cent equity interest in Honeywell Flour Mills,” it said.

According to the joint statement, the proposed combination is subject to approval from the appropriate regulators.

“The complementary transaction combines FMN’s market-leading offerings that include grain-based foods, sugar, starches, oils, spreads and breakfast cereals with HFMP’s market leading diverse and differentiated range of carbohydrate products,” it said.

It said stakeholders would benefit from the more than 85-year combined track record of FMN and HFMP as well as their shared goal of making affordable and nutritious food available to Nigeria’s population.

Commenting on the transaction, the Managing Director, Honeywell Group, Obafemi Otudeko, said, “Today’s announcement is in line with the evolution of Honeywell Group and our vision of creating value that transcends generations. For over two decades, we have supported Honeywell Flour Mills to build a strong business with a production capacity of 835,000 metric tonnes of food per annum.

“Following the transaction, Honeywell Group will be strongly positioned to consolidate and expand its investment activities, including as a partner of choice for investors in key growth sectors.”

The Group Managing Director of Flour Mills of Nigeria, Omoboyede Olusanya, said, “The proposed transaction is aligned with our vision not only to be an industry leader but a national champion for Nigeria. We believe that this will create an opportunity to combine the unique talents of two robust businesses.

“As a result, we will have a better-rounded and more comprehensive skill set available to us as a combined diversified food business, thus enabling us to better serve our consumers, customers and other stakeholders, whilst providing employees with access to broader opportunities.”

Patoma Admin by — November 23, 2021 in Others 0
Forex scarcity: Four banks borrow $6.21bn from foreign market in 10 months

Four Nigerian banks raised $6.21bn from foreign creditors between January and October 2021, in a bid to support their balance sheets with foreign exchange.

Access Bank Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Fidelity Bank Plc and the United Bank for Africa Plc sought dollar liquidity through secure and unsecured notes, three of which listed their notes on the London Stock Exchange, according to analysis of reports shared on the issuer’s portal of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

Ecobank on February 11, notified the NGX of successful pricing of its $300m fixed-rate, dollar-denominated bond, carrying a coupon rate of 7.125 per cent. It said the issuance was oversubscribed three times, with about $900m raised.

The rating of B- from Fitch Ratings hinted that the bank was more vulnerable to adverse business, financial and economic conditions but could meet its financial commitments as of the time of issuance.

The bank also announced a $350m tier 2 sustainability Eurobond raise in July issued with a coupon of 8.75 per cent, which was oversubscribed 3.6x, amounting to $1.3bn at its peak.

Access Bank, as part of its expansion drive, raised two tranches of Eurobonds in September.

Its $500m senior unsecured Eurobond rated B by Fitch Ratings and B2 negative outlook by Moody’s showed there was a high credit risk and vulnerability to adverse business, financial and economic conditions, but with a capacity to meet financial obligations.

The bank said the senior unsecured five-year Eurobond with a 6.125 per cent coupon was three times oversubscribed, ending over $1.6bn at the end of the transaction. It also completed another $500m offering with a 9.125 per cent coupon oversubscribed by 200 per cent, peaking at over $1bn.

This month, UBA announced its $300m senior unsecured Eurobond issued at a coupon of 6.75 per cent. The notes, rated B by Fitch and B- by S&P Global Ratings, showed a vulnerability to adverse business, financial and economic conditions.

Fidelity Bank, in October, raised $400m through a five-year tenor Eurobond with a 7.765 per cent coupon, listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

According to The Punch, are of the view that the banks sought funding from the international markets to support dollar-needing opportunities, equity positions on their balance sheets, and mitigation of risks posed by the devaluation of the naira.

A financial analyst, Kalu Aja, said that since banks provided dollars needed for the importation of goods into the country, acquiring funding from the international market was a necessity.

Patoma Admin by — November 17, 2021 in Others 0
Airlines owe FG agencies N37bn, Aviation Minister 

By Favour Nnabugwu

Airlines in the country are said to be owing Federal government agencies to the tune of N37 billion, according to the Minister of Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.

He also alleged that despite the fact that Bi-Courtney Limited, was owing about N13 billion, it has not remitted a dime to government coffers for 13 years.

Sirika stated this when he featured at the ministerial press briefing organized by the Presidential Communication Team at the presidential villa, Abuja.

The Minister explained that the debts were owed to aviation parastatals including Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) among others.

He further said that government had been circumspect in demanding for the payment mindful of how the might react.

He, however, vowed that the government would go after the airlines and other aviation stakeholders to make sure that they pay what they owe.

Speaking on the controversy over the disbursement of the N5 billion COVID-19 palliative to aviation stakeholders, he said that it was agreed that airlines owing aviation parastatals should not benefit from the palliative.

According to him, “In fact, the service providers in our system, FAAN, NAMA, said oh these guys are owing us, we should take the money from the money being given as palliatives.

“We said no but the intent of President Buhari is ensure that he cushion the effect on businesses. Let us find a way of surviving, and let them take the money. So we would have taken the money and left them with nothing and we stay with nothing.

“So, this brings to the question on the money owed the parastatals. It is about N37 billion that they are owing, especially, Arik, the culprit. I know they’re owing us about, N13, N14 billion.

“If you’re owing government, you are owing FAAN, the Bi-Courtney is owing about N14 billion as at the last count. It has not paid a single dime since the time he started to run the terminal building. And we have not ceased giving him, electricity, water, fire cover, and so on and so forth. He hasn’t paid a dime for 13 years.

“And if we go to shut his doors, media, of course, and Nigerian people will say we’re killing businesses but he is killing our services too, because we have to have that money to provide for that toilet that you’re looking in Lagos airport. Most of these are living by their IGRs and so, we need the money but we will go after the money.”

On the alleged non remittance of N13 billion by Bi-Courtney Limited, to government coffers for 13 years, he recalled how Bi-Courtney obtained the contract to build Lagos Terminal, adding, “They built it not in the original location that we gave. They moved to another location.

“They also annexed what is not part of the agreement, like the car park and the school and so on and start to build hotel, which is not part of the agreement. But that’s another issue.

“So they produced a terminal. But when you produce terminal, you should be paying the agreed money back to government overtime to a point where you will return the terminal building. In this case, it was supposed to be 12 years because he didn’t do anything abinitio initially. After two years of doing nothing, he now quickly built and when already 2, 3, 4 years has gone from 12 years.

“He went for a review. Mind you, there is no ICRC (Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission). So, there is no regulator. He went to government to review it to from 12 years to 15 years to 20 years to 25 years to 30 years to 33 years. And we met it that way.

“And over that 13 years, he has not paid FAAN or any agency as single dime for operating that terminal till today.

“So, we ought to be paying so the other 25 years we would have made money out of it. He would have made his own money and you hand over the building back to us.

“Well, I have to go into the books to know to know the numbers that was agreed. So, it happened like that because there is no institutional framework. There is no legal framework to deliver concession. Today in Nigeria, there is ICRC that will guide this concession and we will make money from day one. Okay.

“The BPE is selling of government properties. But concession is that of the ICRC which is established by law, and we’re using ICRC to do our own.

“So, yes I said, he has not paid a dime to us and is still there and we are providing electricity to him. We are providing security to him. We are providing fire cover to him, and so on so forth. And we’re providing our own runway for him to land. We are also providing our own apron because is our spaces, our land. He is not paying a dime yet.”

On how government will deal with the situation, he stated: “Yes. Well, we’re resolving it and we’re talking with Bi-Courtney. We will ensure that we recover people’s money and also recover the property and put it to use in accordance with the law of the land.”

The minister also gave the reason for the frequent collapse of airlines in the country, noting that it is because of poor management capacity.

He said the federal government has therefore decided to establish an Aviation University for the development of all round capacity in the sector.

Sirika added that a small team is already working on the outline of the university, which he said, will be run half online and half full time.

He also revealed that the ministry has released a total of 67 final aviation accident reports covering the period of 2007 – 2016 in government’s bid to ensure that the causes of previous airline accidents are known.

Sirika, who affirmed that the Civil aviation sector can sustain the Nigerian economy, said four airports have already been designated as special economic zones.

Speaking on the achievements of the Aviation ministry under the current dispensation, the minister said these included seven standardized training packages developed with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), construction of Boeing 737 Simulator building, supply and installation of Boeing 737NG full flight simulator, supply and installation of THALES DVOR/DME and Instrument Landing Systems for flight training, automated fire/smoke aircraft training simulator among others.

While noting the completion of work in different airports across the country, he said five airports have already been fitted with Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) to enable aircrafts to land in poor conditions, noting that plans are on to extend it to a total 15 airports in all.

He said Nigeria has also acquired the capacity to download cockpit recorder content for accident investigation, a facility, which he said is the 3rd best in the world.

On the proposed new national carrier, Sirika said his ministry will present the re-worked Outline Business Case (OBC) to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the next one or two weeks for approval.

He also stated that plan for the airline was on course, explaining that government recently launched the airline logo in the United Kingdom for the sake of exposure.

Answering a question on the plight of airline passengers in the country, the minister said operators must provide refreshments to passengers or refund the full cost of tickets where they delay their flights.

Referring to the rights of passengers contained in a leaflet he brought to the briefing, he said: “On domestic flights, delay beyond one hour, carrier should provide refreshments, and one telephone call, or one SMS, or one e-mail. They should send you an SMS or email or call you to say, ‘I am sorry, I am delaying for one hour.’

“Delay for two hours and beyond, the carrier shall reimburse passengers the full volume of their tickets.

“Delay between 10pm and 4am, carrier shall provide hotel accommodation, refreshment, meal, two free calls, SMS, email and transport to-and-fro airport.”

He said the same thing is required of international airlines.

Patoma Admin by — July 8, 2021 in Others 0
AXA boosts expansion in Nigeria, moves to Algeria, Egypt, 6 other countries

By Favour Nnabugwu

AXA has expressed interest to expand its business investment in Nigeria’s insurance industry, to Algeria, Egypt and 6 other countries.

This will now expand to include the African and Middle East markets of Nigeria and six other countries including Cameroon, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Lebanon, Morocco and Senegal.

Additional Asian markets, namely India, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, will also be added under the umbrella, which will be known as AXA Asia & Africa.

Previously, the AXA Asia business included the markets of Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

According to AXA, this move is part of its new strategic plan “Driving Progress 2023”, which seeks to harness the rapidly growing markets across Africa and Asia, with special focus on health, as marked by the recent opening of AXA OneHealth and its 16 clinics across Egypt.

This, the company said, reflects its commitment to an inclusive vision of health equity, with improved health outcomes for all.

The AXA Asia & Africa business will also incorporate AXA Emerging Customers, the insurer’s unit focused on closing the protection gap in the low-income to mass market segments.

Customers in these segments are often under-insured due to a lack of access and familiarity with relevant and affordable insurance products.

By 2023, AXA Emerging Customers aims to protect 25 million customers as their first insurer, through partnerships with leading institutions from both public and private sectors.

“I am excited to be taking on oversight of our mature and emerging markets across Asia and Africa, as well as Lebanon,” said AXA Asia chief executive Gordon Watson.

“This will enable AXA to deliver more holistic solutions that span the spectrum of customer needs, enabling us to fulfil our role as being partners in their life journey. We will continue to develop innovative, holistic solutions that will be tailored to meet the unique needs of each market. I look forward to strengthening AXA’s footprint in these key markets and consolidating our leadership in the industry.”

Watson became the insurer’s Asia CEO in 2018, presiding over a period of strong growth in the region. Before joining AXA, he held senior leadership roles in AIA and AIG across multiple continents, including Africa. Gordon is also the founding chair of the Hong Kong branch of Shared Value Initiative, a non-profit organisation that seeks to help businesses in aligning profit and purpose to address social issues.

Patoma Admin by — June 30, 2021 in Others 0