Thread by @Nairametrics

Good evening. Welcome to @Nairametrics #CorporateNewsRoundup where we summarise the biggest Nigerian business stories that dominated the headlines during the week ended May 8, 2021. This thread is brought to you by @BluechipTechNG

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1/Union Bank may soon be acquired. Nairametrics reported that the old Nigerian bank, which is currently majority-owned by Atlas Mara Group, is on the market.

The likes of Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Morocco-based Attijariwafa Bank, and even some Middle Eastern banks have all indicated interest to acquire both Union Bank and other African assets owned by Atlas Mara.

Analysts at Nairametrics noted that the possible acquisition could bring an end to Bob Diamond’s foray into the African financial services industry. Diamond is the Founder of Atlas Mara and had previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank Plc.

But despite his experience and track record of professional success, he had misjudged competition on the African continent, and even made the mistake of overpaying for certain acquisitions.

2/Nigeria’s total pension assets lost about N51.3 billion as at February this year, thereby declining to N12.25 trillion in the month of February 2021. This is according to the recent pension report released by the Nigerian Pension Commission.

Checks by Nairametrics Research showed that the pension assets fell to their lowest position in four months, mainly due to the decline in bond prices and profit-taking activities in the Nigerian equity market.

In specific terms, the total pension asset declined by 0.42% from N12.29 trillion recorded as of January 2021 to N12.25 trillion in February 2021.

3/Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Ganiyu Musa, disclosed last Thursday that insurance companies in the country paid N4 billion in claims to over 2000 businesses that were affected by the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.

He also noted that although some of the claims were still being paid by insurers, members had expressed commitment to ensure that every legitimate claim would eventually be paid.

“The number of insured businesses that were affected at the last count was about 2,000 insured loss and the industry has settled N4 billion claims out of N4.5 billion in respect of the #EndSARS protests.

Once they are documented and completed, we have the commitment of our members that the claims will be paid timely,” he said.

4/Remember those Honeywell loans that were at the centre of CBN’s decision to dissolve First Bank’s former board of directors?

Well, Honeywell Nigeria Plc said it was committed to paying them down. As a matter of fact, the flour maker said the loans were being serviced and that it had already paid down about 30%.

Part of a statement by the company which was seen by Nairametrics said, “Honeywell Group has continued to meet all its obligations on its facilities with the Bank according to agreed terms and has reduced its exposure by nearly 30% in 2.5 years.

The facilities were charged at market rates and the Bank continues to earn significant interest therefrom.”

5/Speaking of First Bank, Fitch Ratings said the recent dissolution and replacement of the company’s board of directors would not affect the bank’s profitability and asset quality. The rating agency however rated First Bank a B- with a negative outlook.

According to the firm, the B- rating reflects its view that CBN’s identification of corporate governance lapses and the imposition of corrective measures through the replacement of FBNH's and FBN Ltd's boards, are all tolerable at the rating level.

6/Meanwhile, another rating agency, Moody’s, released a statement last week noting that it had put First Bank of Nigeria on review for a downgrade, following the recent incidents that led to the sacking of the bank’s entire board of directors.

Part of the statement by Moody’s said, “Moody’s Investors Service, (“Moody’s”) has today placed all long-term ratings and assessments of First Bank of Nigeria Limited (First Bank) on review for downgrade.

The review will focus primarily on an assessment of evolving governance considerations at First Bank, specifically corporate governance developments.”

7/Leading Nigerian conglomerate, BUA Group, announced last week that it had signed a contract agreement with Lummus Technology for the establishment of a polypropylene plant in its refinery and petrochemical project.

The completion of the project is expected to help boost Nigeria’s capacity to meet the country’s increasing demand for petrochemical products.

Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, while disclosing the contract agreement, expressed confidence in the capacity and technical expertise of Lummus Technology to deliver a best-in-class project.

He said, “We are pleased to sign this polypropylene contract for our BUA refinery and petrochemicals project with Lummus Technology, a world leader in delivering polypropylene solutions,

which will solve the increasing demand for high-performance grade polypropylene in Nigeria, the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the Sub-Saharan Africa Region.”

8/Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said plans were in the works to propose tighter and stricter regulatory oversight and requirements for foreign stockbrokers operating in the country.

SEC said it would help to reduce the growing demand for foreign stocks in the country.

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SEC’s executive commissioner for operations, Dayo Obisan, who disclosed this during an interview, said the commission would also actively monitor the local facilitators of foreign stocks.

According to him, the number of Nigerians actively trading or holding foreign equities now exceed those investing in the local market, with about 70% of these participants being less than 40 years of age. Apparently, this is a worrisome trend for the SEC.

9/The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indefinitely extended its Naira 4-dollar scheme for diaspora remittances, which was introduced a few months ago.

The move is expected to help sustain foreign exchange liquidity in Africa’s biggest economy that has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and drop in oil revenue.

Recall that the CBN scheme, which rewards recipients with N5 for every $1 received through licensed IMTOs and commercial banks, was initially expected to end on May 8.

10/Paystack announced last week that it had expanded its operations to South Africa. A statement by the company, which was seen by Nairametrics, quoted CEO Shola Akinlade to have said,

“South Africa is one of the continent’s most important markets, and our launch here is a significant milestone in our mission to accelerate commerce across Africa.

We’re excited to continue building the financial infrastructure that empowers ambitious businesses in Africa, helps them scale and connects them to global markets.”

11/Lastly on tonight’s Corporate News Roundup, Guinness Nigeria Plc announced the appointment of Dr. Omobola Johnson as the company’s new Board Chairman with effect from July 1, 2021.

Her appointment followed the retirement of outgoing Chairman, Babatunde Savage. His last day as Chairman will be on June 30, 2021.

Johnson, who has over 30 years of experience from both the private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy, was a former Minister of Communications Technology, and a former Country Managing Director in Accenture.

That's our thread for this week.

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