Economy
Dangote Flour Board Postpones 2019 AGM
By Dipo Olowookere
The board of Dangote Flour Mills Plc has announced the postponement of the company’s 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) earlier slated for this month.
In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) the flour miller said though it has no specific date this gathering of shareholders would take place, it was optimistic it should occur before December 21, 2019.
Explaining the rationale behind the cancellation of the AGM, the board said it was because of the Court-Ordered Meeting (COM) scheduled to hold on October 14, 2019 in Lagos.
“Based on the forthcoming Court Ordered Meeting, the board is of the opinion that it will not be practical nor effective to convene an AGM shortly before the Court Ordered Meeting and has therefore, sought and obtained the approval of the Corporate Affairs Commission to hold the AGM no later than December 21, 2019,’ the board explained.
“In view of the fact that the outcome of the Court Ordered Meeting is unknown, the board is unable to propose a specific date for the AGM at this time,” it added.
Dangote Flour is planning to get approval of shareholders to sell the entire issued shares of the company not currently held by Olam through its subsidiary, Crown Flour Mills Limited, by way of a scheme of arrangement.
Business Post reports that on Monday, August 5, 2019, the board of Dangote Flour said in a notice to the NSE that it has received a revised offer from Crown Flour with a final consideration of N120 billion for the acquisition of the company’s 5 billion shares at the rate of N24 each. It explained that the lowering of the valuation followed some adjustments.
It was stated that shareholders of Dangote Flour, excluding Crown Flour, would be paid this amount in accordance with the terms of the scheme document to be considered and approved by the shareholders at a court ordered meeting to be convened for that purpose.
At next Monday’s COM, shareholders would be expected to confirm that, “The Scheme of Arrangement as contained in the Scheme Document dated Thursday, 29 August, 2019, with or subject to such modification, addition or condition agreed at the Meeting and/or approved or imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or the Court, a print of which has been submitted at the Meeting and, for purposes of identification, endorsed by the Chairman, be and is hereby approved;
“That as consideration for the transfer of the Scheme Shares, each holder of the Scheme Shares shall receive N24.00 per share;
“That as a result of the Scheme, the legal and beneficial ownership of 100% of the shareholding of the Company, (not currently held by Crown Flour Mills Limited or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates), be transferred to Crown Flour Mills Limited and any other nominees of Crown Flour Mills Limited;
“That the Board of Directors of the Company be and are hereby authorised to take all actions deemed necessary to give effect to the aforementioned resolutions of the Company or as may become necessary to put the Scheme of Arrangement into effect and to consent to any modification of the Scheme that the Court or the relevant regulatory authorities shall deem fit to impose or approve.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Thursday, December 12 after it ended the trading session with no single price gainer or loser.
As a result, the market capitalisation remained unchanged at N1.055 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) followed the same route, remaining at 3,012.50 points like the previous trading session.
However, the activity chart witnessed changes as the volume of securities traded at the bourse went down by 92.5 per cent to 447,905 units from the 5.9 million units transacted a day earlier.
In the same vein, the value of securities bought and sold by investors declined by 86.6 per cent to N3.02 million from the N22.5 million recorded in the preceding trading day.
But the number of deals carried out during the session remained unchanged at 21 deals, according to data obtained by Business Post.
When trading activities ended for the day, Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, Okitipupa Plc came next with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc was in third place with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N14.79 or 0.9 per cent to trade at N1,534.50/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,549.29/$1 on Thursday, December 12.
The strengthening of the domestic currency during the trading session was influenced by the introduction of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN; publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira at the official market.
Equally, the local currency improved its value against the British Pound Sterling by N3.91 to wrap the session at N1,954.77/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,958.65/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency gained N2.25 to sell for N1,610.41/€1 versus N1,612.66/€1.
However, in the black market, the Naira crashed further against the US Dollar on Thursday by N10 to quote at N1,680/$1 compared with Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,670/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market majorly corrected after earlier gains as US President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his ambition to embrace crypto assets, but a bond market rout dragged risk assets lower.
Mr Trump said, “We’re going to do something great with crypto” while ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, reiterating his ambition to embrace digital assets in the world’s largest economy and create a strategic bitcoin reserve.
Alongside, the European Central Bank trimmed its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points and in its dovish policy statement hinted that more rate cuts were likely to happen.
The biggest loss was made by Cardano (ADA), which fell by 4.9 per cent to trade at $1.10, followed by Ripple (XRP), which slid by 4.1 per cent to $2.33 and Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded a value depreciation of 2.9 per cent to sell at $0.4064.
Further, Solana (SOL) slumped by 1.8 per cent to $225.89, Binance Coin (BNB) slipped by 1.3 per cent to $746.92, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 0.6 per cent to $99,998.18, Ethereum (ETH) crumbled by 0.5 per cent to $3,909.43, and Litecoin (LTC) dipped by 0.3 per cent to $121.52, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The oil market slumped on Thursday, pressured by an expected increase in supply, supported by rising expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
The International Energy Agency (EIA) made a slight upward revision to its demand outlook for next year but still expected the oil market to be comfortably supplied, with Brent crude futures losing 11 cents or 0.15 per cent to trade at $73.41 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declining by 27 cents or 0.38 per cent to finish at $70.02 per barrel.
The IEA in its monthly oil market report increased its 2025 global oil demand growth forecast to 1.1 million barrels per day from 990,000 barrels per day last month, largely in Asian countries due to the impact of China’s recent stimulus measures.
At the same time, the IEA expects nations not in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies (OPEC+) group to boost supply by about 1.5 million barrels per day next year, driven by the US, Canada, Guyana, Brazil and Argentina – more than the rate of demand growth.
On Wednesday, OPEC cut its demand growth forecast for 2024 for the fifth straight month.
The IEA said that, even excluding the return to higher output quotas, its current outlook is to a 950,000 barrels per day supply overhang next year, which is almost 1 per cent of the world’s supply.
The Paris-based agency said this would rise to 1.4 million barrels per day if OPEC+ goes ahead with its plan to start unwinding cuts from the end of next March.
Next year’s surplus could make it harder for OPEC+ to bring back production. The hike was earlier due to start in October 2024, but OPEC+ has delayed it amid falling prices.
Meanwhile, inflation rose slightly in November increasing the possibility of a US Federal Reserve rates cut again as the data fed optimism about economic growth and energy demand.
Support also came as crude imports in China grew annually for the first time in seven months in November, up more than 14 per cent from a year earlier.
-
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
-
Banking6 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