Economy
Court, Shareholders Okay Continental Reinsurance Restructuring Plan
By Dipo Olowookere
The restructuring arrangement of Continental Reinsurance Plc has been approved by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.
This came after shareholders of the company at a Court Ordered Meeting held on Tuesday October 29, 2019, authorised the plan. At the meeting, over 90 percent of the minority shareholders approved the board’s decision, which is aimed at making the firm better.
The board had informed the shareholders that in order for the company to favourably compete in the global reinsurance market, it became pertinent that the organisation aims higher to achieve the kind of ratings that would bring more recognition and profitability. This excited the shareholders, who wasted no time in approving the request, applauding the board for the foresight.
By the recent court approval for the restructuring arrangement, shareholders of Continental Reinsurance are free to choose among the three options provided in the scheme even as the company promised to ensure that the concerns of all the parties are duly addressed.
Under the approved scheme, shareholders could elect to take cash, have their shares transferred to Mauritius directly or keep their shares with the company through a nominee vehicle.
Speaking after the court’s decision, Group Managing Director of the firm, Mr Olufemi Oyetunji, stated that the restructuring was more about repositioning and achieving the best for the company.
He affirmed that the reorganisation has nothing to do with the recapitalisation activities going on in Nigeria because Continental Re commenced its restructuring processes before the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the industry’s regulator, came up with the new capital requirement.
“We have astutely read the signals in our operating environment. Universally, these signals say grow, capitalise, expand your services and innovate. We have responded by negotiating an individualised balance of all these signals,” Mr Oyetunji said.
Speaking further, the GMD said, “As at now, a significant number of our shareholders have made their choices. While some have chosen to collect cash, a few want their shares transferred to Mauritius and those who fall in that category are going through a KYC process.
“Those who want to join the nominee vehicle are being coordinated by PACE Registrar, which is the company in charge of that process. The good thing about this is that our minority shareholders have options.”
Commenting on the reorganisation, Chairman of the company, Mr Ajibola Ogunshola, explained that it will create considerable benefits and opportunities for shareholders and other stakeholders.
According to him, the re-organisation entails the creation of a new holding company that will be domiciled in Mauritius, which will be known as CRe Africa Investments Limited (CRe Mauritius) and capitalised by C-Re Holding Limited, the majority shareholders of Continental Reinsurance Plc, with all the Pan Africa business eventually being consolidated as subsidiaries of CRe Mauritius.
While thanking the shareholders for their support to the future growth of the company, Mr Ogunshola noted that, “in order to consolidate our gains and reposition the company for enhanced competitiveness, it has become imperative to restructure the company with the aim of enhancing capacity which will drive significant business growth and profitability for the group”.
He stressed that, “Today, the key driver for competitiveness is financial strength underscored by ratings and capital. Ratings and capital increasingly determine business quality and volume and confer preferred status by ceding companies, thereby creating access to profitable business.”
Upon completion of the Scheme of Arrangement, Continental Reinsurance African Investments Limited registered in Mauritius, will have CRe Nigeria, CRe Kenya, CRe Bostwana, CRe Douala and CRe Tunis as subsidiaries.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.17 per cent growth was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, extending the stay of the local bourse in the positive territory.
This uptrend was maintained despite profit-taking in the banking sector, which left its index down by 0.23 per cent at the close of trading activities.
Business Post reports that the insurance industry expanded by 4.04 per cent during the session, the energy counter improved by 1.05 per cent, and the consumer goods space gained 0.58 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 170.62 points to 102,353.68 points from 102,183.06 points and the market capitalisation grew by N541 billion to N62.851 trillion from N62.310 trillion.
There were 34 price gainers and 22 price losers yesterday, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Caverton, Livestock Feeds and Sovereign Trust Insurance appreciated by 10.00 per cent each during the session to quote at N2.20, N5.94, and N1.10, respectively, as Neimeth jumped by 994 per cent to N3.43, and Royal Exchange increased by 9.88 per cent to 89 Kobo.
On its part, Academy Press lost 9.74 per cent to close at N3.15, PZ Cussons declined by 9.09 per cent to N25.00, DAAR Communications weakened by 8.64 per cent to 74 Kobo, Transcorp Power shed 5.91 per cent to settle at N46.95, and Dangote Sugar fell by 4.94 per cent to N38.50.
A total of 327.8 million shares valued at N11.8 billion were traded in 11,905 deals on Friday versus the 472.2 million shares worth N16.7 billion transacted in 12,336 deals on Thursday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 30.58 per cent, 29.34 per cent and 3.49 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings recorded the highest sales with 49.1 million stocks sold for N1.2 billion, Fidelity Bank exchanged 20.4 million shares valued at N359.0 million, UBA traded 20.1 million equities worth N681.0 million, Oando transacted 14.8 million shares for N998.1 million, and Universal Insurance traded 13.8 million stocks worth N8.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its upward movement with a 0.26 per cent gain on Friday, January 17 amid renewed interest in unlisted stocks.
This raised the market capitalisation of the trading platform by N2.79 billion at the close of business to N1.075 trillion from the N1.072 trillion it closed in the preceding session.
In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 8.08 points at the close of transactions to 3,111.91 points from the 3,103.83 points recorded at the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors went down by 606 per cent to 486,215 units from 1.2 million units, the value of shares shrank by 84.7 per cent to N2.8 million from N18.0 million, and the number of deals decreased by 65 per cent to 14 deals from the 33 deals carried out a day earlier.
In the final trading day of the week, there were three price gainers and one price loser, Geo-Fluids Plc, which lost 9 Kobo to finish at N4.70 per unit versus the preceding session’s price of N4.79 per unit.
On the flip side, Okitipupa Plc gained N3.60 to settle at N39.59 per share compared with the previous day’s N35.99 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc added 3 Kobo to wrap at 36 Kobo per unit compared with the preceding session’s 33 Kobo per share, as FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved its value by 49 Kobo to N39.65 per unit from N39.16 per unit.
At the close of business, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 690,825 sold for N11.1 million.
The most active stock by volume (year-to-date) remained IGI Plc with 23.5 million units worth N5.3 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 3.4 million units sold for N134.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its appreciation against the US Dollar by 0.06 per cent or N89 Kobo on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 17, trading at N1,547.58/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,548.47/$1.
Market analysts expect that the Naira will appreciate in the first quarter of the year, backed by continued policy support by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Vestance Nigeria, an agribusiness advisory firm, projects that the exchange rate will trade between N1,650/$1 and N1,750/$1 this year in its Resilience and Recovery for Agribusiness in 2025 outlook report.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will continue implementing reforms to enhance exchange rate market transparency while maintaining higher interest rates to curb inflationary pressures and attract foreign portfolio management,” it said.
Also, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N20.84 to wrap the session at N1,883.59/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,904.43/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency gained N10.45 to settle at N1,590.34/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,600.79/€1.
In the parallel market, the domestic currency appreciated against the greenback by N5 yesterday to sell for N1,675/$1 compared with the N1,675/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was profit-taking amid excitement for a new era of crypto-friendly US government mounts ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next week.
Crypto investors expect a change from Mr Trump who promised on the campaign trail to position the US as a leader in the crypto space including creating a national stockpile of Bitcoin, in stark contrast to past years’ regulatory crackdowns and enforcements.
Litecoin (LTC) fell by 9.9 per cent to trade at $124.56, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 6.2 per cent to $3.10, Cardano (ADA) dipped by 4.9 per cent to $1.06, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 3.1 per cent to finish at $3,270.61, Binance Coin (BNB) went down by 2.3 per cent to $698.57 and Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.2 per cent to $0.3927.
However, Solana (SOL) rose by 8.8 per cent to end at $235.12, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $102,494.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.
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