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THE NATION MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013
BUSINESS THE NATION
E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net
ISSUES
JOBS
Long road to quality service - P. 27 News Briefing ALSCON: KPMG denied access to parts MORE revelations continue to pour out of the audit carried out on the Aluminum Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) by KPMG.
- Page 26
IMF praises CBN on banking reform THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for restoring financial stability after the 2009 banking crisis.
- Page 26
Equities down by N265b THE Nigerian stock market was overshadowed by strong midweek recession as equities lost N265 billion in spite of a last-day rally. Average return of quoted equities recorded a weekly loss of 2.30 per cent, pushing the year-to-date return to 19.36 per cent.
- Page 34 DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$107/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE
-N7.560 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion
RATES Inflation 11.9% Treasury Bills 7.08% Maximum lending-22.42% Prime lending - 15.87% Savings rate 2% 91-day NTB 15% Time Deposit 5.49% MPR 12% Foreign Reserve $35.8b FOREX CFA 0.2958 EUR 206.9 £ 242.1 $ 156 ¥ 1.9179 SDR 238 RIYAL 40.472
We want a SONCAP programme that would serve its purpose; a programme that would be dynamic, where all the identified loopholes would be effectively plugged thereby making it difficult for the plaque of substandard products to continue to dominate the Nigerian business space. -Dr Joseph Odumodu, DG, SON
Building hangars, creating jobs - P. 36
N40b Cabotage fund trapped in banks T
HE N40billion Cabo tage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), designed to assist indigenous shipping firms to acquire capacity to match foreign dominance in coastal and inland trade, is trapped in the banks. The fund, established under the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, 2003, is derived from the two per cent deduction from all contracts awarded under the Cabotage regime. The banks, government sources said, are reneging on
By Oluwakemi Dauda
the agreement they signed with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA) before it made the deposit. Under the agreement, NIMASA is expected to contribute 55 per cent each to all approved companies, while the partnering banks and the respective firms are expected to contribute the balance of 35 per cent and 15 per cent required to buy the vessel at an agreed 5.6 per cent interest approved by
the Board of NIMASA. The banks, sources said, are reluctant to meet their financial obligations under the agreement in the disbursement of the fund, which has risen to over $255 million (about N40 billion). NIMASA is the government agency charged with managing and disbursing the fund to indigenous operators. Sources alleged that the banks are foot dragging in matching their own 35 per cent obligation based on the
agreement. “There are serious indications that the banks are not willing to bring out their counterpart funding based on the 5.6 per cent agreement they had with NIMASA. Although NIMASA may not be willing to say the fact, I can tell you that the banks are responsible for the delay in the disbursement of the fund, “ the source said. The Nation learnt that some maritime lawyers, who are uncomfortable with the twist of events, are considering initiating legal processes to re-
solve the issues. “The banks need to note that the industry watchers are interested in the disbursement of the fund. If they intend to sabotage the efforts of the Federal Government and NIMASA, I am sure they should be prepared for litigation after using the money to promote their businesses,” he said. When contacted, the Deputy General Manager, Public Affairs, NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka said the money would soon be disbursed.
Govt to pay PHCN workers’ benefits with investors’ $2.237b
T
HE Federal Govern ment plans to pay severance benefits of workers of the sold successor companies unbundled from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) with the $2.237billion proceeds from investors who bought the assets. Although payment of the severance package is expected to start immediately the government concludes discussion on the issue with the electricity workers, the eventual handover process will still await the final payment by the successor firms for the assets they bought, a top official of Ministry of Power, said. The government and the workers are still discussing. The result of the biometric exercise carried out on the PHCN staff last year to determine genuine staff members that deserve benefits is being collated. After the collation and settlement of other outstanding issues with the labour group, the payment of the workers’ benefits will commence, but the exact number of PHCN staff that will benefit from the severance package is unknown, The Nation learnt. The preferred bidders for five generation and 10 distribution companies, according to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), have paid 25 per cent value of the bids they made, which totalled $559,445,573.96. The process of selling the remaining generation company Afam Generation Company and (Genco) and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (Disco) is on-going. The bids initially submitted by the investors didn’t meet the required criteria and were quashed. It was gathered that after the government and the workers have reached a consensus, the govern-
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
ment will start the first payment with N50 billion and will continue the payment with the 75 per cent final proceeds expected from payments of the preferred bidders. The Federal Government has agreed to earmark N384 billion as severance package for the PHCN workers, while the labour union is demanding N700 billion. But an official confirmed that the power assets will not be handed over to the preferred bidders until they complete payment. However, the non-conclusion of issues in the power industry has grossly affected electricity supply. Power supply in most areas across the country has dropped by over 70 per cent from what it used to be last year. The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, promised that power generation would rise to 4000 megawatts (MW) by weekend, which is much less than the 4,425MW generated last year. The 15 assets sold and the preferred bidders include Vigeo Consortium, Benin Distribution Company ($32.25million); Transcorp/Woodrock Consortium, Ughelli Power Plc ($75 million); CMEC/EUAFRIC Energy JV, Sapele Power Plc ($50,249,965); Kann Consortium, Abuja Distribution Company ($41 million); Aura Energy, Jos DistributionCompany ($20,464,968.15); Mainstream Energy Limited, Kainji Power Plc ($59,467,500); and Sahelian Power SPV, Kano Distribution Company ($34.25million). Other are Amperion Power Company Limited, Geregu Power Plc ($33 million); Integrated Energy Distribution & Mar-
keting Company, Ibadan and Yola Distribution Companies ($42.25 million and $14.75 million ); NEDC/KEPCO, Ikeja Distribution Company ($32.75
million); and West Power & Gas, Eko Distribution Company ($33.75 million); 4Power Consortium, PortHarcourt Distribution Company ($31million); In-
terstate Electrics Limited for Enugu Distribution Company ($31.5 million); and Northsouth Power Company, Shiroro Power Plc ($27,913,633.50).