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Zurich Resilience Solutions and GoImpact Capital Partners forge strategic alliance to bolster climate resilience across Asia Pacific

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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 4 December 2024 – Zurich Resilience Solutions (“ZRS”), the commercial risk advisory and services unit of Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), and GoImpact Capital Partners (“GoImpact”) are pleased to announce a strategic alliance aimed at empowering businesses in Asia Pacific to address the growing challenges of climate change.

This collaboration integrates ZRS’ advanced physical climate risk analysis, proprietary climate and financial loss data, and specialized tools with GoImpact’s sustainability education expertise, delivering a comprehensive solution to help businesses identify, assess, and adapt to climate risks.

Enhancing climate resilience with ready-to-go solutions

The partnership offers a ready-to-go suite of solutions that address the urgent need for actionable climate adaptation strategies. Businesses can benefit from:

  • Data-driven climate risk assessments: ZRS’ proprietary tools to evaluate exposures to physical climate risks like extreme weather and supply chain disruptions.
  • Climate resilience guidance and training: Support for organisations to build resilience in their assets, operations, and people.
  • ESG knowledge upskilling: GoImpact’s structured sustainability learning programmes to keep companies informed about market trends and regulatory requirements.
  • Regulatory reporting support: Assistance in meeting disclosure and reporting requirements related to physical climate risks.

By combining ZRS’ technical expertise with GoImpact’s practical learning resources, the alliance delivers a robust toolkit for businesses to enhance resilience and seize opportunities in the sustainability landscape.

Driving climate resilience and sustainability in business

Initially targeting businesses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, the strategic alliance aims to address key climate risks such as extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, and operational vulnerabilities. Leveraging ZRS’ deep knowledge in climate resilience and GoImpact’s strong regional presence in sustainability advocacy, the alliance is well-positioned to empower companies to implement effective climate adaptation solutions.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr Amar Rahman, Global Head Climate & Sustainability Solutions, Zurich Resilience Solutions said: “Zurich Resilience Solutions’ partnership with GoImpact highlights the critical role of education in fostering climate resilience. The appetite for implementing effective solutions hinges on understanding the challenges at hand and the potential impact of inaction on business operations.”

“Through this collaboration, we aim to elevate awareness and empower public and private sector entities to take meaningful steps toward sustainability, developing solutions that protect their operations and strengthen their resilience against climate change.”

With better knowledge of the latest ESG trends, organizations can be better positioned to take advantage of market conditions and build a sustainable future for themselves and increase the resilience of the communities in which they operate.

“We are excited about this timely partnership between Zurich Resilience Solutions and GoImpact. Our combined strengths are complementary and form a holistic toolkit of offering on risk assessment, learning and advocacy that bridges a significant market gap, for large corporations and small medium enterprises alike,” said Helene Li, CEO and Co-Founder of GoImpact.
Hashtag: #ZurichResilienceSolutions

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Zurich Resilience Solutions

, the risk advisory business of Zurich Insurance Group, leverages 150 years of industry experience and 75 years of risk engineering expertise to address the risk management needs of both existing and new customers. The unit offers specialized insights, tools, and solutions to help businesses tackle traditional and evolving risks, such as climate change and cybersecurity.

As a global entity, Zurich Resilience Solutions has over 950 risk experts stationed in 40 countries, bringing local expertise and industry specializations to clients worldwide. Its capabilities and solutions are available to any organization seeking a proactive approach to risk management and long-term resilience.

GoImpact Capital Partners

Bridging the great divide between the talk and action, accelerating the Sustainable Development agenda from intention to implementation – GoImpact means impact made easy and actionable.

GoImpact has established significant market footprint on its mission to drive the sustainability agenda forward, bridging the knowledge gap between talk and action. We offer the best ESG learning experience in the market, providing case-based, experiential learning courses which are crafted and delivered by a group of world-class experts in sustainable finance and ESG.

Through its partners network across Asia Pacific which includes regulators, financial institutions and large corporations, delivering online-to-offline initiatives, GoImpact connects stakeholders across sectors and provide learning and advocacy opportunities to drive real change by example for everyone who is keen to understand more about the full spectrum of Sustainability and Resilience agenda.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

Economy

NGX Starts Week With 0.11% Loss as Investors’ Wealth Leaks N62bn

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NGX 30 Index

By Dipo Olowookere

The first trading session of this week at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a bearish note on Monday with a 0.11 per cent loss.

Business Post reports weak investor sentiment resulted in sell-offs at the bourse yesterday, especially in the financial and industrial goods sectors.

According to data obtained from Customs Street, the insurance space closed lower by 1.22 per cent during the session as the industrial goods index fell by 0.53 per cent, and the banking counter weakened by 0.11 per cent.

However, the energy and the consumer goods counters witnessed bargain-hunting, resulting in their respective indices growing by 0.44 per cent and 0.02 per cent.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 103.23 points to 98,107.52 points from 98,210.75 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N62 billion to N59.472 trillion from N59.534 trillion.

On Monday, the market breadth index was negative after 19 stocks appreciated and 36 stocks depreciated, with the laggards’ chart led by Secure Electronic Technology due to a 10.00 per cent decline in its share price to 63 Kobo.

Guinea Insurance lost 8.93 per cent to trade at 51 Kobo, Deap Capital shed 8.40 per cent to N1.09, DAAR Communications fell by 7.02 per cent to 53 Kobo, and RT Briscoe declined by 6.12 per cent to N2.30.

On the flip side, Golden Guinea Breweries and the NGX Group appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to sell for N5.94 and N27.50 apiece, Tantalizers grew by 9.92 per cent to settle at N1.33, Africa Prudential soared by 9.72 per cent to N11.85, and Coronation Insurance increased by 9.35 per cent to N1.17.

During the session the trading volume and value went down by 58.11 per cent and 26.29 per cent, respectively, while the number of deals jumped by 31.43 per cent.

This was because the bourse recorded a turnover of 436.0 million shares worth N12.9 billion in 9,489 deals yesterday compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N17.5 billion traded in 7,220 deals last Friday.

FCMB led the activity chart after the sale of 61.7 million equities for N575.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 51.1 million shares valued at N1.2 billion, UBA traded 27.2 million stocks worth N914.5 million, GTCO transacted 24.5 million shares valued at N1.3 billion, and Fidelity Bank sold 24.1 million equities worth N377.7 million.

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Economy

Chappal Finally Completes Take Over of Equinor Assets in Nigeria

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Chappal Energies

By Adedapo Adesanya

Chappal Energies has successfully completed the acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), a subsidiary of Norway’s Equinor ASA, following the announcement of the transaction in 2023.

The total value of the deal is estimated at up to $1.2 billion, with $710 million as the purchase price and the remainder made up of contingent payments.

Business Post reports that Equinor Nigeria confirmed the sale of ENEC, which holds a 54 per cent stake in the OML 128 oil and gas lease, to Chappal Energies in November 2023.

Now, the Mauritius-registered Chappal Energies has finally completed the acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC).

The deal was completed on December 6, 2024.

Equinor Nigeria stated “As part of the transaction, all of Equinor’s assets in Nigeria have been transferred to Chappal Energies. Local employees will remain with the newly transferred company under its new ownership, marking a complete exit of Equinor from Nigeria.’’

The acquisition grants Chappal Energies control over Equinor, which holds a 53.85 per cent stake in the OML 128 oil and gas lease.

This includes a 20.2 per cent interest in the Chevron-operated Agbami oil field and the operatorship of OML 129.

Despite facing several months of delay, Nigerian regulators officially approved the transaction in November 2024. The deal, executed through Project Odinmim a special-purpose vehicle owned by Chappal Energies—was finalized in early December.

Under the terms of the agreement, Equinor retains no significant liabilities, except for certain contractual obligations to Chappal Energies as outlined in the transaction documents.

Equinor’s presence in Nigeria dates back to 1992, and over the last 30 years, the company has played a pivotal role in the development of the Agbami field, which is Nigeria’s largest deep-water oil field.

Since commencing production in 2008, the Agbami field has yielded over one billion barrels of oil, generating substantial profits for its partners and contributing significantly to Nigeria’s economy.

However, in January 2023, Equinor signalled its intention to divest its stake in the Agbami oilfield. At the time, the company had invested over $3.5 billion for its 20.21 per cent share in the field.

Despite its early successes, with 10 wells drilled and a 40 per cent discovery rate, production in Agbami has been declining in recent years, falling from 36,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2019 to 29,000 boepd in 2020.

Equinor’s decision to exit the Nigerian offshore sector is part of its broader strategy to focus on more profitable and strategically aligned assets.

The sale allows Equinor to optimise its international oil and gas portfolio, sharpening its focus on its core areas of operation.

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Economy

VAT Rises 14.2% to N1.78trn as CIT Slumps 28.2% to N1.77trn in Q3 2024

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VAT Nigeria Tax hike

By Adedapo Adesanya

Value Added Tax (VAT) payments made in Nigeria rose by 14.2 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 to N1.78 trillion from the N1.56 trillion recorded in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

VAT is a consumption tax levied on goods and services, usually at each stage of production or distribution where value is added. In Nigeria, VAT is currently at 7.5 per cent as amended in the Finance Act of 2019.

A breakdown showed that local payments recorded were N922.87 billion, Foreign VAT Payments were N448.85 billion, while import VAT contributed N410.62 billion in Q3 2024.

However, on a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q3 2024 increased by 88 per cent from Q3 2023

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, human health and social work activities recorded the highest growth rate with 250.4 per cent, followed by the activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use with 102.1 per cent.

On the other hand, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities had the lowest growth rate with a negative 41.9 per cent drop, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 36.1 per cent.

In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q3 2024 were manufacturing with 22.2 per cent; information and communication with 20.9 per cent; and mining & quarrying activities with 18.9 per cent.

Nevertheless, the NBS data showed that activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.01 per cent, followed by activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.01 per cent and water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 0.03 per cent.

In a related development, Company Income Tax (CIT) for the quarter under review was reported at N1.77 trillion, indicating a slump of 28.2 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis from N2.47 trillion in Q2 2024. However, on a year-on-year basis, CIT collections in Q3 2024 increased by 1.37% from Q3 2023.

CIT refers to taxes imposed on the profit of companies domiciled in the country. It is charged on net profit after other expenses and deductions have been removed from the revenue.

Local payments received in Q3 were N920.91 billion, while Foreign CIT Payment contributed N852.29 billion in Q3 2024.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply recorded the highest growth rate with 47.5 per cent, followed by public administration and defence and compulsory social security with 19.3 per cent.

On the other hand, accommodation and food service activities had the lowest growth rate as it receded by 73.3 per cent, followed by financial and insurance activities with a 70.0 per cent slide.

In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q3 2024 were manufacturing with 25.5 per cent, followed by mining and quarrying with 18.4 per cent; and information and communication with 15.1 per cent.

Nevertheless, the activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.004 per cent, followed by water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation activities with 0.03 per cent and Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies with 0.08 per cent.

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