Economy
Yokogawa Acquires Soteica Visual Mesa
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Yokogawa Electric Corporation has announced the acquisition of Soteica Visual Mesa (SVM), a leading energy management technology provider, further delivering on a number of key objectives of Yokogawa’s Transformation 2017 mid-term business plan, namely, expansion of Yokogawa’s advanced solution business, focusing on customers and creating new value.
This announcement marks completion of the SVM acquisition as a wholly-owned subsidiary and initiation of the integration of SVM and the cloud-based Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) provider Industrial Knowledge (IK) into KBC Advanced Technologies (KBC), which was acquired by Yokogawa in April 2016.
The IK business unit was established to enhance the cloud-based advanced solution business based on the technology of Industrial Evolution (IE), which was acquired by Yokogawa in December 2015. A pioneer in the use of cloud-based solutions in the process industries, IE developed a market-leading real-time DaaS solution that is deployed at many of the world’s major energy and chemical companies.
Yokogawa’s acquisition of SVM follows an earlier minority equity investment in SVM made in December 2012. SVM has a solid track record in the energy management solutions (EMS) field, and provides production accounting and scheduling solutions to the refining industry.
After acquiring KBC, Yokogawa formed a post-merger integration team that has been charged with the task of identifying various measures and setups that will create synergy and derive maximum benefit from the integration of the companies’ operations, and thereby enhance our ability to offer new value to our customers.
As a result of their deliberations, Yokogawa has decided to integrate the operations of Soteica, a leading company in the EMS field, and Industrial Knowledge, a business unit with expertise in advanced cloud solutions, with those of KBC.
By leveraging KBC’s premier energy consulting and Visual Mesa, SVM’s best-in-class real-time energy optimization technology, it is anticipated that the combined entity will be able to expand its position in the rapidly growing EMS market in the process industries.
In the immediate term, SVM’s advanced Visual Mesa utility optimization software combined with KBC’s premium energy consultancy will provide comprehensive and best-in-class energy management solutions, underpinned by leading technologies and human performance improvement. Over the longer term, this acquisition supports KBC’s vision of seamlessly integrating utility system and supply chain optimization into KBC’s industry-leading process simulation platform for hydrocarbon processing facilities, Petro-SIMTM.
KBC, SVM, and IK will be led by KBC Chief Executive Officer, Andy Howell, and will be integrated under the KBC brand.
This will significantly enhance KBC’s solutions portfolio and the energy management solutions business, enhance KBC’s ability to develop new cloud-based services, and accelerate KBC’s efforts to create and sustain new value for customers.
This acquisition and integration of these businesses into KBC is fully aligned with KBC’s mission to make and keep its clients world-class in terms of operational excellence and profitability through the actions of its people and the application of its technology.
These actions also materially accelerate delivery of KBC’s vision of becoming the No.1 trusted advisor in the energy and chemical industries, delivering best-in-class operating performance to its clients.
Regarding the acquisition and integration of these businesses, Satoru Kurosu, executive vice president and head of Yokogawa’s Solutions Service Business Headquarters, commented: “Key strategic objectives of Yokogawa’s Transformation 2017 plan are to expand the solution service business, focus on customers, and co-create new value with customers through innovative technologies and services.
“By integrating SVM and IK with KBC, we will bring together deep and rich business, process, and operational domain knowledge across the energy and chemicals sectors, and will connect this with the cloud-based, real-time representation of plant, business, and supply chain operations to identify and implement solutions that will sustain and continuously improve performance. The benefit to our customers is unprecedented.”
Oscar Santollani, founder of SVM, commented: “We are delighted to have been acquired by Yokogawa and in doing so, unite our Visual Mesa real-time energy optimization and production accounting and scheduling technologies with KBC’s industry-leading energy and supply chain consulting practices.
Furthermore, the progressive DaaS capabilities of IK enhance our offerings and enable us to be more innovative, disruptive, and agile by leveraging the cloud in delivery of solutions and sustainability services. This is the future.”
Simon Wright, founder of Industrial Evolution, commented: “The unique capabilities of these combined organizations and their respective offerings mean that for the first time customers can be confident that the investments they make today will pay off now and for the long term. We have provided real-time data as a cloud service for over 15 years.
“The cloud-enablement of SVM’s solutions and KBC’s energy and supply chain consulting services is a very attractive proposition for any asset owner or operator.”
Andy Howell, chief executive officer of KBC, commented: “At KBC, we holistically harness people, processes, and technology to deliver a sustainable competitive advantage to our clients. We are all about helping and empowering our clients to meet their business goals. Imagine having expertise that was previously only available on an occasional basis, continuously unleashed in an unprecedented yet very tangible way by harnessing our technologies and those of Yokogawa with a state-of-the-art yet proven cloud service model. Not only that, but new possibilities such as continuous model updating, mobile delivery, and seamless hand-off between rigorous simulation and big data analytics are also truly exciting.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Bitfinex has listed the wrapped Minima ($WMINIMA) token, an ERC-20 token, aimed at helping build a truly decentralized network that empowers freedom worldwide and increases access to Web3 for any person with a mobile or IoT device.
Bitfinex is one of the first crypto exchanges to list WMINIMA, built on the world’s first mobile-native Layer 1 blockchain.
Minima’s presale for WMINIMA started on February 14, 2023, with 10 million tokens currently acquired out of the total supply of 125 million $WMINIMA tokens.
Traders on Bitfinex are taking this new innovation as a huge opportunity to become early adopters of the $WMINIMA token, by making deposits and purchases during the presale period. Effective 21st of March, 2023, on Bitfinex, trading for WMINIMA against the US Dollar (USD) and Tether tokens (USDt) will be available for all traders.
Wrapped Minima (WMINIMA) is a wrapped version of Native Minima (MINIMA), which has been issued on the Ethereum blockchain. Wrapped Minima (WMINIMA) enables Minima to be tradable on exchanges shortly after its Token Generation Event, without waiting for the technical integration of Native Minima ($MINIMA) onto exchanges, scheduled for Q3/Q4 2023. WMINIMA has an initial circulating supply of 98,100,000 coins and a total supply of 125,000,000 coins, with a listing price of $0.30.
The move is part of Bitfinex’s efforts to bring financial inclusion and financial freedom to less-advantaged and emerging communities around the world, particularly where there is currency volatility.
By becoming an owner of Wrapped Minima on Bitfinex, users will be helping build a truly decentralized network that empowers freedom all around the world.
The Minima protocol and its network have already been built, with Mainnet recently launching after several years in Testnet, yet Minima is still relatively unknown.
As a result, there is still a huge opportunity to become an early adopter of the world’s first mobile-native layer 1 blockchain before it becomes widely adopted.
How to trade WMINIMA on Bitfinex
WMINIMA is available to trade with US Dollar (USD) and Tether tokens (USDt). To sign up now, follow these few easy steps:
- Visit the Bitfinex website or download the Bitfinex mobile app and click on the sign-up button.
- Use the African Bitfinex LEOs community affiliate code “9r9ifKfHx” to get a 6 per cent discount on trading fees for life.
- Create an account by entering the required details: username, email, password, country of residence, and referral (optional).
- Create and confirm a log-in pin code or enable touch ID or face ID, if your phone enables it.
- You will be directed to the setup security page. Here, download the Google Authenticator app. If already downloaded, select the “I’ve installed the app” tab.
- Open the GA app to directly add your new token. Alternatively, you can also select to use the QR or Setup key. Enter your code to enable 2FA setup.
- Check your inbox to confirm your email address via an email sent by Bitfinex.
- After email confirmation, accept the Bitfinex Terms of Service to complete the account setup and proceed to the trading page.
- Once that is done you can now trade the WMINIMA on Bitfinex.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed N12.65 billion to the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), its flagship agriculture intervention scheme, in the first two months of 2023.
The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said this on Tuesday in Abuja when he read the communique issued at the end of the 290th meeting of the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
According to Mr Emefiele, the total disbursement under the ABP since its inception by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015 is N1.09 trillion.
“Between January and February 2023, the bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three agricultural projects under the ABP,” he said.
“It brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.09 trillion to more than 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland,” Mr Emefiele added.
According to Mr Emefiele, the improved performance of the economy has been driven largely by sustained growth in the services and agricultural sectors.
He also cited a rebound in economic activities associated with economic recovery and continued intervention in growth-enhancing sectors by the CBN as responsible for the growth.
He said that the CBN had also disbursed huge sums as an intervention to various other sectors of the economy.
“The CBN also released the sum of N23.70 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to eight new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
“Cumulative disbursements under the Real Sector Facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture, 97 services, and 13 mining sector projects,” he said.
He said that the apex bank also released N3.01 billion under the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2) for capital and operational expenditure of electricity distribution companies (Discos).
He said that the facility was aimed at improving the liquidity status of the Discos, there aiding their recovery of legacy debt.
“This brings the cumulative disbursement under the facility to N254.39 billion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Baron and Cabot, a UK-based international real estate firm, has launched a portal that will use artificial intelligence technology to predict property prices in Africa to allow real estate agents to sell properties and earn in pounds, providing an unprecedented opportunity for growth and financial success.
The novel approach will allow real estate firms to de-risk their investments in international markets and gain access to a wide range of fully compliant properties.
Baron & Cabot has been particularly successful in Africa due to inflation driving clients to move their money into GBP and Dollar to purchase assets. It is one of the top fastest-growing property companies in the world and transacts around £100 million per annum ($120 million) of UK property while having access to some of the best property developments in the UK.
Speaking on this, Mr Mark Pearson, Managing Director of Baron & Cabot, said, “We are thrilled to be launching this innovative concept that will not only provide a platform for real estate agents in Africa to sell UK properties but will also create job opportunities and drive economic growth.
“We believe that by leveraging AI technology to predict property prices, we can provide our partners with a unique advantage and help them to achieve financial success. Our joint venture expansion plans are aimed at creating mutually beneficial partnerships that will bring value to all parties involved.”
In addition to providing agents with access to new revenue streams, Baron and Cabot’s property portal is also expected to create new job opportunities in the African market.
The company also revealed that it would provide its agents with comprehensive 2 to 4-week training and support to help them succeed in their new roles. This training will ensure that agents are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the real estate market and take advantage of the opportunities that Baron and Cabot’s concept provides.
As part of its offering, Baron and Cabot will provide clients with mortgages anywhere in the world (excluding war zones), with mortgage rates lower than 6 per cent and deposits below 35 per cent, making it easier for clients to invest in UK properties.
“Our management company boasts an impressive occupancy rate of over 99 per cent, with properties awaiting new tenants for an average of only 10 days. This sets us apart from other cities around the world, where the average occupancy rate is only 70 per cent.
“In addition, our Airbnb or short-term rental products have an average occupancy rate of over 70 per cent, resulting in substantial rental returns and secure investment. Our secret to success lies in our ability to identify high-demand areas with low supply, combined with exceptional management that keeps both our tenants and landlords satisfied,” Mr Pearson added.
