Economy
How Africa Can Achieve Economic Reform—Adesina
By Dipo Olowookere
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Akinwumi Adesina, has highlighted what steps Africa can take to bring about the much needed economic transformation.
The AfDB chief, during his three-day visit the Netherlands, said expanded partnerships and investments in Africa are some of the things Africa must do to achieve this goal.
During his visit to the Netherlands, he met with government officials and private and public sector business leaders and affirmed the accord between the bank and the Dutch government’s development agendas and foreign policy.
At a meeting with Sigrid A.M. Kaag, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, in the Hague, on August 29, Mr Adesina spoke about investing in Africa and commended the Netherlands for its support, which has extended to legal systems, water, food and nutrition, and gender. He also congratulated the government for its Development Policy, which emphasizes global fragility, gender and climate.
“Africa is growing economically. Foreign direct investment is on the increase. This is due to political stability and improved governance. Africa is open and ready to do business,” Mr Adesina said.
Mr Kaag said the adoption of renewable energy by a growing number of African countries was a key element to reducing fragility of countries and to fighting climate change and said this aligned closely with her government’s policy.
“I am happy to see where we can work together on gender, fragility, and conflict prevention in countries in Africa”, the Minister said.
Making a similar point, Peter van Mierlo, Chief Executive Officer of the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), called for greater harmonization between the work of FMO and the Bank in the area of energy, agriculture and institutional investment. President Adesina met with him and other officials, the same day.
“A benefit for Africa is that it can skip development cycles that often developed countries had to go through”, Mierlo said.
Commercial banks are withdrawing from trade finance and as such FMO and African Development Bank would be able to work jointly in boosting trade financing, Mierlo said. Currently, joint projects between FMO and the Bank are estimated at $55 million.
Addressing a High-level Roundtable with Dutch Business Leaders, hosted at Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), on August 29, Mr Adesina presented the Africa Investment Forum (AIF), the Bank’s innovative marketplace scheduled for November 7-9 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The AIF will bring together project sponsors, lenders, fund managers and investors, to attract investment and capital for development, projects in Africa.
“Our role is to mobilise capital for Africa. We have done this through the High 5 Agenda. In the energy sector, the African Development Bank is investing $12 billion over the next 5 years, with the goal of leveraging $40-50 billion. The bank will also be investing $24 billion, over 10 years, in agriculture to implement its Feed Africa Strategy,” Mr Adesina said.
Susan Shannon, Vice President for Government Relations, Policy & International Organisations for Shell, who was present at the meeting, said the move towards cleaner and renewable energy in African countries had resulted in a higher level of engagement by the oil giant on the continent.
“Shell can work with the African Development Bank to expand access to energy in Africa”, Shannon said.
On August 30 in Wageningen, at the Sustainable Development Goal Conference, Mr Adesina repeated the lender’s call to end hunger on the continent.
“What Africa does with agriculture will determine the future of food in the world”, he said. “The greatest agenda we have is how to unlock Africa’s agricultural potential. If Africa can get the right technology to raise productivity, transform its savannahs, turn agriculture into a business and address the issue of nutrition. Africa can feed itself in 10 years and contribute to feeding the world in the years to come.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Secure Electronic Technology (SET) Plc is planning to reconstruct its shares at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by merging four stocks into one.
However, this exercise is subject to the approval of shareholders of the company and the board is proposing an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to be held on or before April 17, 2025.
Business Post reports that the decision to reconstruct the shares of the organisation was reached at the board meeting of the firm on Friday, MArch 7, 2025.
In a notice to the stock exchange, SET Plc said it was agreed that the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation of the company shall be by way of one or a combination of the following; an offer for subscription, rights offering or private placement, upon terms agreed by both parties under the definitive agreement.
It further said, “The issued and share capital of the company be reduced from N2,815,770,000, represented by 1,407,885,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, subject to the approval of the Federal High Court, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and relevant regulatory authorities.”
“This restructuring share result in the cancellation of 4,223,655,000 units of shares and the portion of the share capital cancelled, being valued at N2,111,827,500 be transferred to a special reconstruction reserve,” it noted.
The disclosure also said, “There shall be a proportional upward adjustment in the share price of SET on the NGX to be reflected after the conversion, so that the value of one converted share shall be equal to the market price of four pre-reconstruction shares, and at the end of the reconstruction, SET market capitalisation and each shareholder’s percentage holding shall remain unchanged.”
The company emphasised that it would “consolidate its issued shares at a basis of 1 for 4 ratio, meaning every four shares of SET Plc currently held by a shareholder shall be converted to one share and shareholdings that result in fractional shares post-reconstruction shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.”
It was disclosed that this exercise was suggested by Gamma Civic Limited, a part of Gamma Group, a company listed on the Mauritius Stock Exchange and represented by Cruzan Investment Limited, a company incorporated in Nigerian under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc brought down the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.06 per cent on Wednesday, March 12.
Business Post reports that the share price of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc slumped by N1.26 during the session to N37.45 per unit from the preceding day’s N38.71 per unit.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc gained 27 Kobo to trade at N2.95 per share versus Tuesday’s closing price of N2.68 per unit, and First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to close at 56 Kobo per share, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of 53 Kobo per share.
When the platform ended trading activities yesterday, its value went down by N1.17 billion to settle at N1.955 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.956 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) decreased by 2.03 points to close at 3,385.50 points, in contrast to the previous trading day’s 3,387.53 points.
The volume of securities traded at the bourse dropped by 36.3 per cent to 298,845 units from the 469,185 units published on Tuesday, the value of securities decreased by 4.8 per cent to N10.4 million from the N10.9 million quoted at the preceding session, and the number number of deals moderated by 34.2 per cent to 25 deals from 38 deals.
At the close of business, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 12.5 million units valued at N484.0 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.2 million units sold for N352.8 million.
Also, Impresit Bakolori Plc was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 69.9 million units sold for N23.7 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.2 million units valued at N352.8 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The House of Representatives has passed Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024, repealing Act, Cap 117, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; the Marine Insurance Act, Cap M3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; The Motor Vehicle (Third Party) Insurance Act, Cap M22, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and the Nigerian Insurance Reinsurance Corporation Act, Cap N131, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
At the plenary on Wednesday, the green chamber of the National Assembly approved some conditions the operating licence of an insurance company can be revoked by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
The new piece of legislature, which provides for a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for insurance business in Nigeria, was enacted yesterday after the consideration of the Senate bill.
During the presentation by House Leader, Mr Julius Ihonvbere, yesterday, for a clause-by-clause consideration, it was agreed that NAICOM can withdraw the licence of an insurer or reinsurer if it is not conducting insurance business in accordance with sound insurance principles.
In addition, this action can be carried out if the licence holder has “failed to satisfy the capital or solvency requirement as prescribed by the commission and has ceased to carry on the business of insurance and the primary purpose for which it was registered for at least one year in Nigeria.”
The lower chamber of the parliament also concurred with the Senate that for obtaining an operating licence, “An application for licensing as an insurer shall be made to the commission in the prescribed form and accompanied by such other documents or information as the commission may from time to time require.
“The commission shall publish and make available to the general public a service charter which shall provide for products and services of the commission and the complete list of requirements to obtain the products and services.”
However, no person or organisation is allowed to “commence or carry out insurance, reinsurance or related business in Nigeria unless licensed by the commission as an insurer or a reinsurer under this bill.”
NAICOM was given the power to “regulate the insurance industry [in Nigeria] in order to develop the insurance sector and to protect the interest of policyholders, prospective policyholders and other stakeholders under insurance policies in ways that are consistent with the continued development of a viable, competitive and innovative insurance industry.”
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