Economy
BUA Foods Acquires Shipping Vessels for Sugar Export Operations
By Dipo Olowookere
Two shipping vessels to aid the exportation of sugar to West African markets have been acquired by BUA Foods Plc, one of Africa’s leading FMCG companies.
They were built in Japan by Mitsubishi and are named MV Bundu, after the area in which the refinery is located.
However, only one has been delivered to the Nigerian firm, with the second expected to arrive by the end of the second quarter of 2022 to promote cross border trade to businesses across the West African region and other African countries.
A statement from the firm disclosed that the vessels’ cargo capacity is suited to enhance quick and sustainable delivery of more refined sugar in the face of growing export demand from across the African region.
It will depart and berth at BUA’s port and terminal with refined sugar of high-grade quality processed from BUA Foods’ ultra-modern sugar refinery located in Port Harcourt, which has a capacity of 750,000 metric tons.
BUA Foods explained that the acquisition of the vessel will increase the company’s export capacity, reduce operating costs, provide an alternative source of income and benefit the economy.
“As we drive our business for growth with a focus on sustainable returns, and benefit to all our stakeholders and the Nigerian economy, owning a shipping vessel is an important step in BUA Foods strategy,” the Chairman of BUA Foods, Mr Abdul Samad Rabiu, was quoted as saying in the statement signed by the company’s Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Adewunmi Desalu.
The Chairman further said, “We see an increased and continued demand for refined sugar across the region with the attendant increase for logistics support to aid timely delivery, which is why it is important for us to strengthen our current capability with our own controlled asset as we advance further in our business strategy.
“These new vessels will create operational efficiencies in our business and open possibilities for new services.”
With this acquisition, BUA Foods believes it is well positioned to take advantage of the AfCFTA, considering its investments in the food sector over the years.
“Owning a vessel to export sugar is a crucial enabler of flexibility and agility in our total supply chain as it allows our customers to tackle time-critical fulfilment challenges due to timely availability of their goods,” the Managing Director of BUA Foods, Mr Ayodele Abioye, stating, adding that, “As we expand our customer base into the region, we strongly believe in working closely with them towards meeting and surpassing their needs in time and in full.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira witnessed a depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 10.
According to data from the FMDQ Exchange, the local currency weakened against the greenback yesterday by 0.12 per cent or N1.80 to sell for N1,543.03/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,541.23/$1.
The pressure on the domestic currency came as the access granted to the Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to purchase FX from the official market through the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform prepares to end next week, precisely on January 19.
The CBN had given a 42-day window to the operators to access the platform to help stabilise the Naira in December, and this expires next week.
On Friday, the Nigerian currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N30.78 to sell for N1,889.29/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,858.51/£1, but gained N5.48 against the Euro to finish at N1,583.81/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s rate of N1,589.29/€1.
As for the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira remained stable against the US Dollar during the trading session at N1,650/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.
In the cryptocurrency market, it was bearish as the US economy added 256,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, topping forecasts for 160,000 and up from 212,000 in November (revised from an originally reported 227,000).
However, the readings came after a number of recent economic reports triggered a broad-market pullback across asset classes such as crypto as investors quickly scaled back the idea of a continued series of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025.
Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to trade at $0.921, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $185.93, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $3,233.27, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.3 per cent to finish at $103.62, Dogecoin (DOGE) shed 0.5 per cent to sell at $0.3315, Bitcoin (BTC), waned by 0.2 per cent to $94,154.43, and Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 0.1 per cent to $693.30.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 1.5 per cent to settle at $2.34, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
Profit-takers took control of Customs Street on Friday, plunging it by 0.08 per cent at the close of trading activities.
The sell-offs were across all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on last trading session of the week.
The insurance space went down by 1.53 per cent, the banking index depreciated by 0.41 per cent, the consumer goods sector weakened by 0.16 per cent, and the energy counter slumped by 0.08 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) tumbled by 79.68 points to 105,451.06 points from 105,530.74 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N48 billion to N64.303 trillion from N64.351 trillion.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.5 billion shares worth N19.4 billion in 12,877 deals compared with the 489.5 million shares worth N13.1 billion transacted in 13,010 deals in the preceding day, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 1.02 deals and a rise in the trading volume and value by 203.14 per cent and 48.09 per cent, respectively.
Wema Bank was the busiest stock with 976.2 million units valued at N9.8 billion, Tantalizers traded 53.0 million units worth 129.6 million, Universal Insurance sold 34.8 million units for N26.8 million, Access Holdings exchanged 33.9 million units valued at N843.8 million, and Nigerian Breweries traded 27.3 million units worth N873.3 million.
The heaviest loss was suffered by Sunu Assurances with a decline of 9.99 per cent to trade at N7.30, Eunisell shed 9.96 per cent to N17.35, SAHCO crumbled by 9.87 per cent to N30.15, DAAR Communications plunged by 9.28 per cent to 88 Kobo, and Sovereign Trust Insurance went down by 7.04 per cent to N1.32.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4.51, Honeywell Flour appreciated by 9.99 per cent to N10.02, Trans Nationwide Express jumped by 9.89 per cent to N2.00, RT Briscoe rose by 9.83 per cent to N2.57, and Secure Electronic Technology grew by 9.46 per cent to 81 Kobo.
Business Post reports that the bourse ended with 33 price gainers and 25 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent neared the $80 price mark on Friday, gaining $2.84 or 3.7 per cent to sell fr $79.76 per barrel as traders braced for supply disruptions from the broadest US sanctions package targeting Russian energy revenue.
President Joe Biden’s administration imposed fresh sanctions on Russian oil producers, tankers, intermediaries, traders, and ports, aiming to affect every stage of Russia’s oil production and distribution chains.
The move is meant to cut Russia’s revenues for continuing the war as the sanctions also include networks that trade petroleum.
According to the US Government, close to 180 vessels, several senior Russian oil executives, dozens of traders and two major oil companies were targeted by the sanctions.
Many of the sanctioned tankers have been used to ship oil to India and China as a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven countries in 2022 has shifted trade in Russian oil from Europe to Asia. Some tankers have shipped both Russian and Iranian oil.
This followed US sanctions in November on banks including Gazprombank, Russia’s largest conduit to the global energy business, and earlier last year on dozens of tankers carrying Russian oil.
Market analysts note that India and China, which have always patronised Russia, will have to find alternatives.
This move just a few days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, making it likely that he will keep the sanctions in place and use them as a negotiating tool for a Ukraine peace treaty.
Oil prices were also buoyed as extreme cold in the US and Europe has lifted demand for heating oil while fire rages on in California affecting supply.
JPMorgan analysts said in a note on Friday that the weather in the US could record a significant year-over-year increase in global oil demand of 1.6 million barrels a day in the first quarter of 2025, primarily boosted by demand for heating oil, kerosene, and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), by-products of crude oil.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking7 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN