Economy
Nigeria Not Producing Enough Cement to Meet Demands—BUA
By Dipo Olowookere
Chairman of BUA Cement Plc, Mr Abdul Samad Rabiu, has disclosed that the volume of cement produced in Nigeria at the moment cannot meet the demands of local consumers.
The businessman made this disclosure at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company for the period ended December 31, 2020, held in Abuja on Thursday.
In view of this supply shortfall, the BUA Cement chair is advocating more investments in the sector to bridge the demand gap.
According to him, there is an urgent need to meet the ever-increasing national demand for cement, which is rising at a rate of over 3 million metric tonnes per annum.
He noted that if new investments are allowed in the cement sector, more cement plants would be developed in the country. He said BUA Cement was constructing a 3 million metric tonne factory in Sokoto State and should commence operations by the end of 2021.
BUA Cement is the second-largest cement company in the country and the largest producer in North-West, South-South, and South-East regions. The cement maker operates strategically from Okpella, Edo State and Kalambaina, Sokoto State.
In the 2020 accounting year, the company recorded a turnover of N204 billion and declared a profit after tax of N72.3 billion, with N70 billion paid as dividend, amounting to N2.067 per ordinary share.
At the AGM yesterday, shareholders applauded the decision of the board to reward them with the dividend, noting that they were also impressed with the performance in the period under review.
Mr Rabiu was also full of praises for the Yusuf Binji led management, staff, and customers of the company for ensuring that BUA Cement remained the cement of choice for quality in Nigeria.
In his remarks at the gathering, Mr Binji, who is the Managing Director of BUA Cement Plc, reassured that the organisation was committed to remaining a value-driven, oriented company that prioritises excellence and product quality.
He also added that the company was well-poised to sustain current profitability despite the very competitive landscape.
“Our value proposition, in terms of product and service support offerings has positioned BUA Cement as a market leader.
“In addition, we continue to prioritise innovation and continuous improvement, thereby ensuring the continued fit of our products to ever-changing customer demands and needs.
“We are also investing in the latest plant designs which not only drive efficiency but translate into value addition to our customer through the cost savings derived,” Mr Binji said.
By Dipo Olowookere
The board of NEM Insurance Plc is seeking regulatory approval for its proposed share reconstruction, a notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Plc has confirmed.
Ms Lilian Dako, who signed the disclosure on behalf of the Head of Listings Regulation Department at the NGX, said the underwriting firm filed its application through its stockbroker, Apel Asset Limited.
NEM Insurance intends to redenominate the nominal value of its stocks from 50 kobo to N1 and then turn every two shares of 50 kobo into one share of N1.00 each.
At the moment, the total authorised shares of the company stand at 10,400,000,000 units of 50 kobo each but this will change to 5,200,000,000 units of N1.00 after the exercise.
However, the authorized share capital will remain at N5.2 billion both before and after the share reconstruction, according to the statement.
“Following the resolutions passed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of NEM Insurance Plc on June 24, 2021, trading license holders are hereby notified that Nigerian Exchange Limited has received an application from Apel Asset Limited for a proposed share reconstruction of NEM Insurance Plc.
“The share reconstruction involves redenomination of the nominal value of the company’s shares from N0.50 to N1.00, resulting in the consolidation of every 2 shares of N.50 each held in NEM Insurance Plc into one share of N1.00 each.
Analysis of the Company?s share capital, pre and post share reconstruction, is provided in the table below:
Details Pre Share Reconstruction Post Share Reconstruction
Authorized share capital (N) 5,200,000,000 5,200,000,000
Issued Share Capital (N) 5,016,477,989 5,016,477,989
Nominal Value per share (N) 0.50 1.00
Total Authorized (Units) 10,400,000,000 5,200,000,000
Total Issued Issues (Units) 10,032,955,535 5,016,477,989
“Further information regarding the share reconstruction will be communicated in due course,” the notice from the exchange today stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has extended the compensation period for defaulting countries in the ongoing oil cuts until June 2022.
This was contained in a statement by the group’s Secretariat, which noted that the extension was granted following requests by some of the underperforming countries.
Nigeria is one of the defaulters and the Vienna-based cartel had previously extended the deadline to submit their compensation plans latest by December 17.
The group reiterated the “critical” importance of adhering to full conformity and to the compensation mechanism.
For some of the countries involved in the Declaration of Cooperation, DoC had defaulted at trimming their cut quotas at some point in the agreement.
Reaffirming the decision of the 10th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, ONOMM held on April 12, 2020, and July 18, 2021, the overall monthly production adjustment plan was adjusted by 400,000 barrels per day for the month of January 2022.
The group reaffirmed the continued commitment of participating countries in the DoC to ensure a stable and balanced oil market.
The biggest concerns were whether the emergence of a new variant of the coronavirus might torpedo the budding global economic recovery, and the restiveness of the United States and key Asian customers, including China, over high oil prices.
The 24th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting will be held on January 4, 2022.
By Dipo Olowookere
An agric-startup based in Tanzania, FarmTime Company Limited, has become the latest beneficiary of a new revenue-linked matching fund designed to incentivize investors to back younger entrepreneurs.
The firm, which was established in 2017 to recycle and repurpose plant and animal waste to produce organic fertilizers, delivering consistent and traceable nutrients at affordable prices, has secured a $50,000 funding support to expand its operations.
FarmTime, a new entrant to the organic fertilizer market in Tanzania, obtained the fresh capital in a round led by Umsizi Fund, which triggered a guaranteed match from the Young Entrepreneurs Fund (YEF).
YEF was launched in 2019 and provides matching investments of up to $50,000 to qualifying entrepreneurs. To date, over $250,000 has been invested across Africa with a growing pipeline of opportunities.
The scheme was designed to incentivise investments into very young entrepreneurs in Africa. It is a “guaranteed follow” fund that will match investments into ventures led by graduates of African Leadership Academy (ALA) programs, including The Anzisha Prize.
Rather than take equity positions, the fund has very intentionally chosen an innovative debt model with variable repayments linked to company revenues.
The founder of the latest beneficiary, FarmTime, Mr Jubilate Lema, disclosed that the new funds would be used to develop solutions to food security that balance human prosperity and the environment at large.
“I hope more funds take the approach of Umsizi and YEF with a revenue-linked debt instrument,” says Lema, “It was easy to understand, doesn’t load our cap table, and forced us to think about cash flow as well as growth.”
Josh Adler, Executive Director of The Anzisha Prize, which manages the fund on behalf of ALA, while commenting, stated that, “YEF is part of a growing move toward more structured exits from investors with a patient capital mandate.
“As a leadership development institution, ALA is able to draw in new forms of support for exceptional young leaders like Jubilate through the fund without having to build investment capabilities internally.”
As for Ed Brakeman from the Umsizi Fund, he said, “This one of the more exciting investments for us in some time with a revenue-linked loan in partnership with YEF.
“We’re eager to support FarmTime’s growth and are confident that we as investors will see returns while ensuring support for the business through the challenging period of product launch and revenue ramp-up.”
Since its inception five years ago, FarmTime has invested in research and product development, licensing and setting up a factory. It has already processed approximately 9,000 kilograms of coconut husks, 2,600 kilograms of fish waste, and 76 kilograms of seaweed, amongst other inputs.
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