Economy

Siemens Signs Deals with Uganda, Sudan

Published

8 years ago

05/05/2017

By Dipo Olowookere

Agreements have been signed by Siemens with Uganda and Sudan at the World Economic Forum 2017 in the South African city of Durban.

The Memoranda of Understanding were sealed to cooperate in the areas of power supply, industry, transportation and healthcare as well focus on infrastructure investments and partnerships between public and private sectors.

Siemens will work more closely with the African countries Uganda and Sudan in the areas of power supply, industry, transportation and healthcare.

The documents were signed in the presence of Brigitte Zypries, German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy, Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG and further high-ranking personalities.

“Africa’s economies are gaining ground and can develop their full potential with the right partner. Siemens wants to support their sustainable development – with solutions and projects in Africa, for Africa. The agreements with our African partners are important steps along this path,” said Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG. “Our goal is to double our order intake in Africa to more than €3 billion by the year 2020.”

Brigitte Zypries, German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy, said: “Africa is a continent with economic opportunities and the German industry is an outstanding partner for the countries of Africa to realize these opportunities. I am very pleased that with the agreements signed today, good progress is being made towards the goal of better infrastructure and thus more growth and employment. I particularly welcome the training program because well-trained skilled workers are a key pillar of prosperity and development. And it is precisely these elements that I also support with the ‘Pro! Africa’ plan.”

“Siemens is a company that invests for the long term, and we are interested in the long-term fundamentals of these markets and the diversification of their economies,” said Sabine Dall’Omo, CEO of Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa. “The opportunity for industrialization in Africa is now. It is estimated that Africa imports one-third of the food, beverages and other similar processed goods it consumers. The potential exists for Africa-based companies to meet this domestic demand and in so doing create sustainable revenue streams and opportunities for job creation.”

Under these agreements, Siemens and its partners will develop solutions in the areas of power supply, transportation, industry and healthcare. Another key point in the agreements relates to continuing training programs for various technical fields in order to create a pool of well-trained local workers. Furthermore, Siemens is joining the “Make IT Alliance” of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development to promote start-ups and technology companies across the African continent. The agreement was signed in the presence of Guenter Nooke, German Chancellor’s Personal Representative for Africa in the ministry.

Africa possesses vast economic potential with forecasted growth rates of up to five percent. Spending on African infrastructure has more than doubled to $80 billion over the last 15 years, and the aspiring urban centers offer growth opportunities for the entire continent. More than a billion people worldwide have no access to electric power, and half of those people live in Africa. In Uganda and Sudan, Siemens’ primary goal is to increase national power generating capacities and to connect the local population to the power grids. A reliable and extensive power supply system is the fundamental prerequisite for economic growth.

African countries need infrastructure and industrial projects that generate sustained income streams to fully exploit their own economic potential. New financing concepts and long-term investment guidelines that will remain in effect for 30 years will create a stable investment climate for international investors and help to implement planned infrastructure projects.

Siemens has already developed financing solutions for its megaproject in Egypt and power plant projects in Nigeria and is supporting its African partners’ efforts to implement these major infrastructure projects. Siemens promotes economic growth in Africa through far-reaching partnerships in the competence fields of power generation, transportation and healthcare, as well as the digitalization of industry.

Siemens has been active in Africa for more than 157 years. Today, with more than 3,600 employees based in a total of 15 African countries, the company contributes decisively to the continent’s economic development. In addition, Siemens is investing an average of €10 million per year for training programs and is promoting programs to increase integrity in politics and society. In the spirit of Germany’s current presidency of the G20 group and the recently published Marshall Plan for Africa, Siemens is developing new projects for the continent, with the long-term goal of promoting the African economy and creating local jobs.

Economy

FAAC Disburses 1.727trn to FG, States Local Councils in December 2024

Published

7 hours ago

14/12/2024

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.

The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.

At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.

According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.

It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.

The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.

The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.

As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.

Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.

Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

Economy

Okitipupa Plc, Two Others Lift Unlisted Securities Market by 0.65%

Published

13 hours ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.

On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.

At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.

In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Trades N1,533/$1 at Official Market, N1,650/$1 at Parallel Market

Published

14 hours ago

14/12/2024

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.

The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.

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.

Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.

In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.