THE NATION THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012
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BUSINESS THE NATION
E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net
Court halts order on A&G Insurance suspension
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HE Interim Order of injunction made in favour of Alliance & General (A&G) Insurance, A&G Life and Fidelity Bond was yesterday discharged on the strength of an oral application made by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan ( SAN). In discharging the interim order, a statement from NAICOM said Justice Patricia Ajoku of the Federal High Court, Lagos, held that the interim injunction granted in favour of the companies on August 14, 2012 was without jurisdiction. Consequently, the interim order of injunction was discharged by the court. The court had last week, among others, granted an interim order restraining the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her ministry from either approving the removal of directors and management of Alliance & General Insurance or ratifying the appointment of new directors and management to assume control over the company. The court also restrained NAICOM from proceeding with planned sack of the management of the insurance company. Furthermore, it restrained NAICOM from implementing a directive suspending the insurance company from transacting new businesses in Nigeria for the next six months with effect from August 6, 2012., However, during proceedings, counsel to the Commission, Osipitan, called the court’s attention to the facts that the motion ex-parte filed by the companies, which resulted in the interim injunction was not accompanied by a written address as required by Order 26 Rule 3 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009.
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
-N6.503 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -10.5% 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
Brazil is an influential member of the BRIC nations with a big apetite for investing in Africa, especially Nigeria. So, there is the need for us to strengthen our partnership with them to attract big investments into our country especially in those areas where we have competitive and comparative advantage. - Minister of Trade & Investment, Olusegun Aganga
Naira firms as funds, banks sell dollars
Indicted oil firms’ list rises to 25 T T
HE Federal Government of the Co-ordinating Minister has increased the for the Economy and Minister number of oil marketers of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjothat will face criminal Iweala said all the indicted oil investigation to 25. marketers will face criminal A statement from the office investigation. The statement released the extract of the report detailing the
The statement signed by payments for consignments Mr Paul Nwabuikwu the brought in by ship, which minister’s Senior Assistant “investigations revealed said the information shows were either non-existent or that some of the were somewhere else in the companies claimed world.” cases against the 25 oil marketers as follows:
HE naira firmed against the United States’ dollar on the interbank yesterday, with large inflows from foreign investors buying shorttenored bonds and as banks sells the greenback to stay within a stipulated open position for them. The naira firmed to close at N157.90 to the dollar, recovering from an intraday low of N158.40, compared with Friday’s close of N158.10. “Dollar inflow from offshore investors buying treasury bills helped lift the naira today,” one dealer told Reuters. The Federal Government sold N71 billion ($445 million) worth of treasury bills yesterday, with maturities ranging from three-month to six-month. Dealers said foreign funds were active but didn’t give specific figures. At the apex bank’s biweekly foreign exchange auction, the bank sold $120 million at N155.80 to the dollar yesterday, compared with $200 million it sold at
Jonathan: PIB will complement NEITI Act From John Ofikhenua, Abuja
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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) now at the National Assembly will complement Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Act in terms of transparency in the oil and gas industry. Representing Jonathan, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, at the inauguration of the new National Stakeholders’ Working Group (NSWG) of NEITI in Abuja, noted that the government looks forward to seeing a transparent and accountable system in the sector. While inaugurating members of the new NSWG led by its new Chairman, Ledum Mitee, the President, charged them to identify companies that are fond of frustrating the workings of NEITI for possible sanctions within the armbit of established laws. He added that the government remains committed to ensuring transparency in the country’s extractive industries. He urged the board to evolve policies that would promote NEITI-post compliant programmes through the five-year development plan document, which the agency has already developed. Speaking on behalf of members the NSWG chairman, Mitee thanked the president for giving them the opportunity and assured that they would strive to meet the demands of their appointment.