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Coca-Cola Nigeria
Limited has announced the appointment of Kelvin Balogun as the
company’s new chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2011. Mr.
Balogun succeeds Islay Rhind, who will be retiring from The Coca-Cola
Company.

Mr. Balogun, who
becomes the first Nigerian CEO of Coca-Cola Nigeria, joined the company
in October 1999 as strategic planning & business development
manager. In February 2002, he moved to East Africa, where he held
positions of increasing responsibility in Kenya, Tanzania, and the Horn
of Africa before assuming the role of strategy director for the
Coca-Cola East & Central Africa Business Unit in May 2008, with
responsibility for strategy development across 27 countries.

Mr. Balogun’s last
role in East Africa was that of general manager for the East Africa
& Mozambique Franchise, leading Coca-Cola’s operations and market
development in Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique.

Curt Ferguson,
president of Coca-Cola North & West Africa Business Unit, had this
to say – “Kelvin is well grounded in the business and has a strong
track record of performance. He successfully rebuilt some of the key
business drivers for profitable growth in several East and Central
African markets. We are confident that he will accelerate the growth
momentum that our business has built in Nigeria and will lay a solid
framework for sustainable market leadership.”

He began his career
in 1989 as a business analyst at Accenture in Lagos, and rose to the
position of senior manager & head of strategy competency. He has an
MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University in Atlanta
and a Bachelors degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
from Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife. He is also an alumnus of
the Lagos Business School and the Logistics Strategy School at the
Cranfield University in the UK.

“I am excited by the opportunity to return home and help shape and drive the Coca-Cola business here,” said Mr. Balogun.

“Nigeria is a strategic growth market; my colleagues and I will
focus on strengthening the fundamentals of the business, deepening the
bonds between our brands and our consumers, and expanding our market
leadership,” he further said.

Sustaining the
progress recorded under the Federal Government amnesty programme for
former members of armed militant groups in the Niger Delta is important
for lasting peace in the oil producing region.

Timi Alaibe, the
outgoing special adviser to the president on Niger Delta affairs said
yesterday in Abuja at the formal handover ceremony to his successor,
Kingsley Kuku, that he must build on the foundation already laid for
the growth and development of the country’s oil bearing areas.

Mr. Alaibe, who
recently resigned to fly the Labour Party flag in the forthcoming
governorship elections in Bayelsa State, claimed that the amnesty
initiative is the most efficiently conducted programme in Africa,
pointing out that this is the first time that known members of armed
militant groups would accept to drop their guns and embrace peace.

“The amnesty
programme is a resounding success. This is the first time that those
who were carrying arms are transformed into those writing examinations
on non-violence, having shown their readiness to embrace integration in
the society,” he said.

He said the
programmes and operational structure already put in place under his
leadership have charted the pathway for his successor’s success, to
achieve the Federal Government’s objective of providing employment for
youth in the area.

Mr. Alaibe said a
total of 12,917 former members of various Niger Delta armed militant
groups participated in the demobilisation and integration process
through non-violent and conflict resolution programmes, while an
additional 6,166 others enlisted last December.

“I believe my
successor has the pedigree and experience to carry on, to help realise
the Federal Government objectives of creating jobs for the youth and
guaranteeing peace in the Niger Delta region,” he said.

Kingsley Kuku, the
new special adviser to the president on Niger Delta Affairs, and former
spokesman, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), pledged his commitment to sustain
the amnesty programme. Mr. Kuku said 13, 043 former militants were
successfully demobilised in 11 batches between June and December last
year.

About 11,000 of the
demobilised ex-militants were posted to various institutions for
training, with 38 sent to South Africa, 34 currently in training in the
country, while 212 are in Ghana for a similar training.

Uncertainty in the investment clime may be pushing investors to opt for more secured investment instruments.

Some
investment advisory firms have been encouraging their clients to switch
to money market instrument in order to secure their investment and
enjoy more returns. This may have counted for the loss recorded in the
equities market in the last one week.

FSDH Securities Limited, an investment advisory firm, recently challenged its clients to reconsider their investment plans.

“In
recent times, we have observed that the return on Nigerian Treasury
Bills (NTBs) investment has been higher than the returns on Fund
Placements. This has resulted in increased participation of
institutional investors in NTBs. Driven by our desire to continue to
provide our individual clients with opportunities to grow their
investments through value added products, services and supports, FSDH
wishes to introduce you to investment opportunities in the NTBs,” the
firm stated in a note to its clients last week.

Treasury
Bills are short term debt instruments issued by the Federal Government
through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide short term funding
for the government. NTBs are the most liquid money market securities
backed by the guarantee of the Federal Government, and are usually
issued for tenors of 91 days, 182 days, and 364 days.

Treasury
Bills are discounted, purchased for a price less than their face value,
and at maturity, the holder of the bills is paid the full par value by
the government.

Last week, 91-day and 182-day treasury bills were sold at marginal rates of 7.3 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively.

Flexible tenors

According
to FSDH, investment in NTBs provides opportunities with flexible tenors
and attractive returns. Upward adjustment in the Monetary Policy Rates
(MPR) last month from 6.25 to 6.50 per cent resulted in rise in key
money market rates.

Analysts at Afrinvest, another investment firm, in their out outlook expect investors to react to the increase.

“Investors
reacted to the increase in the MPR as yields on tradable maturities
inched upwards in the two-way quote market for NTBs last week,” said
the firm in its weekly report on Friday.

Marginal drop in bond yields has also made the treasury bills window more attractive.

Victor
Ogiemwonyi, managing director of Partnership Investment Limited, a
Lagos-based financial and investment company, said investors who want
to stay safe would prefer to invest in NTB.

“Investing
in NTB is like taking a neutral position when you do not know how
things will turn out, when you do not want to make long term
commitments. Bond is long term; equities could dip at this time of
market uncertainty. If I was advising, I will say stay three to four
months with treasury bills,” Mr. Ogiemwonyi said.

The
stock market shed N343 billion in the last one week, closing on Tuesday
at N8.541 trillion. It, however, rose yesterday, by 0.77 per cent to
close at N8.607 trillion.

Mr. Ogiemwonyi said investment decision would depend on the risk appetite of the investor.

“There are others who are speculative, who can see some prospect in
the clutter of uncertainty. To this group, I would advise them to
invest in equities because some opportunities exist in the stock market
right now,” he said.

Uju Udeme, the
president, Asaba Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture
(ASACCIMA), said the association was committed to the promotion of
industrial and commercial activities in Delta State.

Mr. Udeme said this
in Asaba on Wednesday when members of the association visited the state
commissioner for special duties in-charge of Direct Labour Agency
(DLA), Ngozi Okolie.

He said that one of
the objectives of the association was the promotion of the interest of
its members and harnessing and strengthening of the resource base of
private sector operators.

According to him,
key areas in promoting the private sector-driven economy include
telecommunications, tourism, agriculture, oil and gas, transportation
and finance.

“We are aware that
your agency is involved in the construction and maintenance of roads
across the state. And we also know that the impact of road in the
development of the economy of the state cannot be over emphasised,” he
added.

Nigeria’s foreign
exchange reserves slipped slightly to $33.12 billion naira by the end
of January from $33.53 billion two weeks earlier, and remain down more
than a quarter from a year ago, the Central Bank said on Wednesday.

The foreign
reserves of Africa’s top oil and gas producer have fallen over the past
12 months despite rising oil prices and production, raising concerns
about government spending in the run-up to April elections. They are
now 27 per cent below year-ago levels.

The government has
said the decline is partly due to spending to maintain a stable naira
currency in the face of higher dollar demand, as well as spending on
the power sector and seed capital for a planned sovereign wealth fund.

Central Bank
governor, Lamido Sanusi, told Reuters last month monetary tightening,
higher money market yields, a recovering banking sector, and higher oil
prices and production should help stop the reserve depletion.

The National Health
Insurance Scheme says it has registered about five million federal
civil servants, representing about 95 per cent of the target
population.

Its executive
secretary, Dogo Muhammed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in
Abuja on Wednesday that the figure covered family members of the civil
servants.

He said that the scheme had stabilised and that it had attained the target population given to it by government.

“We all appreciate
that NHIS has stabilised both in the target population we were given,
that is, the federal government employees and their families. We have
captured over 95 per cent of that and we have just been doing the
mop-up or when new people are employed, we have to register them,” Mr.
Muhammed said.

He further explained that the scheme had been experiencing some challenges in getting to the states.

Mr. Muhammed said
that they are working hard to ensure that the Act establishing it was
amended to accommodate other sectors and also to make it compulsory for
all.

Investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday
recorded more losses on the value of their equities, as market closed trading
on negative note.

The NSE market capitalisation of the 201 First-Tier equities
closed yesterday at N8.541 trillion after opening the day at N8.575 trillion,
reflecting 0.39 per cent decline or N34 billion losses. The market had lost
N168 billion at the close of trading session on Monday.

However, the transaction volume recorded yesterday appreciated by
16.87 per cent to close at 330.40 million units exchanged in 6,349 deals as
against a decline of 22.69 per cent recorded on Monday to close at 282.72
million units exchanged in 5,768 deals. Market value also moved up on Tuesday
by 5.38 per cent to close at N3.28 billion as against a decline of 8.93 per
cent recorded the previous trading session to close at N3.11 billion.

Analysts at Proshare Nigeria, an investment advisory firm, said,
“The southward trend continued though waning momentum in sell activities.”

Gainers unchanged

At the close of trading on Tuesday, the number of gainers remain
unchanged as the 16 gainers recorded the previous session while losers closed
lower at 39 stocks when compared with the 50 losers in the previous trading
day.

Air Service and Neimeth topped the price gainers’ table with an
increase of 4.98 and 4.96 per cent respectively. Afro Media and Guaranty Trust
Bank followed in the chart with an increase of 4.84 and 4.42 per cent.

On the losers’ side, Royal Exchange and UBA led the price
losers’ chart with a decline of 5.00 and 4.98 per cent respectively. Africa
Petroleum and Presco followed with a decline of 4.96 and 4.94 per cent.

Bank leads

The banking subsector led the market transaction volume on
Tuesday with 242.41 million units valued at N2.15 billion exchanged in 3,829
deals, as against the 208.28 million units valued at N1.84 billion exchanged in
3,275 deals recorded on Monday.

The volume recorded in the subsector was driven by transaction
in the shares of Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, Fidelity Bank, and
Oceanic Bank. The total volume of 133.76 million units valued at N1.45 billion
traded in the shares of the five stocks accounted for 40.49 per cent of the
entire market volume and their value represented 44.27 per cent of the market’s
value.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Monday that
all registered capital market operators are required to provide, within two
weeks, current information about their organisation as it is “currently updating
their information on the commission’s database.”

The move by the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce derivative foreign exchange
products will eventually allow for a more stable national currency.

According to the
Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA), the body of financial
instruments brokers, the commencement will be beneficial to the end
users of foreign exchange.

Akinsowon Dawodu,
president of the FMDA, said the framework, as released by the Central
Bank, would also help to check speculation on the products.

“The problem is
people may be carried away to speculate using the product. What the CBN
has done by tying the trade to underlying transactions is to reduce
speculation and reduce panic demand. It will keep demand within proper
tenor limits,” Mr. Dawodu said.

According to him, this will help in the long term to reduce fluctuations in the value of the naira.

On the introduction
of the product, he said, “The substance is what we wanted. It is good
for the market, for the end users, and the companies and for the
economy.”

He said though hedge
products do not guarantee stability, but used properly, can help to
reduce the volatility: “Futures, options, forwards, swaps; all these
products are originated as hedge products to mitigate risk.”

Given the current
state of the Nigerian financial market, Mr. Akinsowon said trading
forward instruments could begin anytime soon.

“Options will take awhile. But forward can start in a few weeks with the regular WDAS (Wholesale Dutch Auction System).”

The CBN on Monday
released guidelines for Foreign Exchange Derivatives and Modalities for
CBN foreign exchange forwards. The guidelines cover products, practices,
regulation, and supervision of the foreign exchange derivatives market.

“The objective of
the CBN is to make our financial markets global, organised, liquid and
diversified. The development of the financial markets will enhance the
transmission of the monetary policy and minimise the risk to financial
system stability,” the CBN said.

According to the CBN
governor, Lamido Sanusi, the move is to discourage currency
speculation, which has been blamed for the volatility in the value of
the naira.

“Part of what we are
trying to do in the Central Bank is introduce a forward market so that
people can hedge that risk and then don’t feel any urge to pre-liquidate
outstanding dollar exposure,” Mr. Lamido said.

As part of moves to
reduce volatility, the CBN, at the last monetary policy committee (MPC)
meeting introduced some measures to tighten liquidity in the system.

Analysts are, however, skeptical about how far this would help mitigate demand for foreign exchange.

According to Razia
Khan, Regional Head of Research, Africa Global Research at Standard
Chartered, London, “we question whether this will be sufficient to quell
FX market nervousness.”

“In view of the wider risks, more ‘complementary measures’ may be needed to calm FX-market sentiment,” she added.

Nigerians’ embrace
of a single debit card to carry out transactions both locally and
outside the country would go a long way in transforming Nigeria into a
cashless economy. This is in line with the quest by the Central Bank of
Nigeria to reduce the quantity of cash in circulation by 2020.

At the conference,
held yesterday in Lagos, officials of Mastercard, the franchisor, said
the new card, which would be available through the banks from next week,
will provide Nigerians news levels of global debit card acceptance
while greatly reducing their need to rely on cash for everyday
purchases.

“We are aligning
with the Central Bank’s desire to reduce cash carried by individuals in
2020. The MasterCard /Interswitch alliance comes at a time when the
Central Bank of Nigeria is laying significant emphasis on its Financial
System Strategy 2020 (FSS 2020),” Charles Ifedi, director, payment
solutions and business expansion, Interswitch, said at the launch.

According to him,
the FSS 2020 seeks to advance the efficiency of the country’s e-payment
systems by reducing the reliance on cash and promoting interoperability
among financial institutions, an objective which would be realised by
the use of the new card.

Banking in recent
times has been undergoing radical transformation. Some obvious changes
like new products and service channels emerge daily. This transformation
is taking place across all aspects of the banking industry.

“Information
technology (IT) is one of the major issues banks have to deal with, as
it is more evident that only the banks that have and use their technical
resources effectively will be able to have a real competitive advantage
in this fast changing industry. IT in banks is used mainly for
improving business processes and reducing turnaround time,” Charles
Idem, a research analyst at Ciuci Consulting, a management consulting
firm, said.

According to him, Nigerian banks have to pay close attention to customer service processes and consid­er ways to improve them.

“They need to move
quickly with the new trends in technol­ogy that eliminate some of the
routine tasks. This will provide employees more time to deal with
customers. To avoid mediocre implementation of IT initiatives, solutions
need to be integrated or aligned with the bank’s overall strategy,” he
said, adding that Daniel Monehin, area head, East and West Africa and
Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide, said cardholders will have
the ability to use a single card for domestic and international
transacting.

“The MasterCard
Verve cobranded debit card is fully Nigerian and fully international.
The new debit card will also give cardholders peace of mind as it will
provide them with a secure and efficient way of using their debit card
for daily purchases and accessing their cash at over 12,000 point of
sale locations, 400 online merchants, and at 10000 ATMs throughout
Nigeria,” he added.