Nigeria Content Online

Petrofac spends
$100 million on a 15 percent stake in Nigerian oil explorer, Seven
Energy, fulfilling the British oil and gas company’s long-term
ambitions to enter sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy.

Petrofac also has
an option to invest a further $52 million, should project milestones be
reached, bringing its interest up to 19.2 percent on a diluted basis,
while other investors have agreed to inject an additional $50 million
into Seven Energy.

“We see this as a
mutually beneficial transaction. Seven Energy has a lot of experience
in operating in Nigeria,” Petrofac’s CFO, Keith Roberts, told reporters
in a conference call.

“We’ve been
targeting for years to establish a much stronger (Nigerian) presence,
and we believe that this transaction and the broader alliance, and the
opportunity that gives us to both co-invest and co-develop with Seven
will help us progress our ambitions to develop a significant presence
in the country,” Mr. Roberts said.

Mr. Roberts noted
that the company had “significant fire power”, with a billion dollars
in cash on the balance sheet to fund any future acquisitions, but
declined to say whether the company was looking at any other specific
targets.

“Clearly, we need
to be comfortable with the opportunities, the returns, and the
associated risks. Let’s start with (this) before we think of anything
else,” he said.

Petrofac will
provide experienced personnel to help with the delivery of Seven
Energy’s key existing projects, and will be represented on its board
and management committees.

Shares in Petrofac were up 0.3 percent at 1,455 pence at 1313 GMT.

REUTERS

The Central Bank of
Kenya (CBK) said on Thursday it was looking to buy 5 million euros from
the local market, its second foreign currency purchase this week.

Some traders have
said the central bank’s frequent purchases of foreign currency have
kept the shilling under-priced. The bank says it is not manipulating
the shilling’s value but building foreign currency reserves.

The CBK purchased 5 million euros on Monday.

The Bank of Mauritius sold just 257 million rupees of 6.69 percent five-year government bonds at auction on Wednesday.

The central bank
had offered 2 billion rupees of the bonds maturing on June 4, 2015,
which it first sold in June this year. It received bids worth 2.8
billion rupees, but rejected most.

The bids ranged
from a yield of 6.25 percent to 7.50 percent. The highest accepted
yield was 6.84 percent, giving a weighted average yield of 6.81 percent
at the auction.

Ghana announced on
Thursday it expected first oil from its Jubilee offshore field to be
pumped on December 17, in line with earlier forecasts that it would
take its place as a major oil producer by year-end.

“First oil is expected December 17, and the government and all the
Jubilee partners are looking forward to this day,” deputy information
minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, told Reuters.The field is operated
by UK-listed Tullow Oil.

A Nigerian firm
involved in a $2.5 billion bid for former state telecomms monopoly,
Nitel, said on Wednesday it was optimistic it would meet a December
deadline to pay a 30 percent deposit to secure its bid.

GiCell won an
extension on November 5 of 20 working days, after failing to make a
deposit of $750 million by an earlier deadline because its financial
backers had developed what it described as “cold feet” over delays in
the sale process.

GiCell is part of
the New Generation consortium, the preferred bidder for Nitel, whose
technical partners include China’s second biggest carrier, China Unicom.

“We are working
tirelessly to meet the deadline, despite the challenges we are facing,”
GiCell managing director, Usman Gumi, told Reuters.

Questions have been
raised over the financing for the New Generation bid, which some
analysts said values Nitel at more than five times what it is worth.

Dangote Cement Plc
(DCP), a member of the Dangote Group, has announced an interim dividend
of N30.98 billion for the period ended September 30.

The interim
dividend is part of the group’s strategies of enhancing and growing
shareholders’ value through consistent dividend payment. It also
fulfills the promise by the directors of the company to pay an interim
dividend to shareholders.

Dangote Cement
resulted from the merger between Dangote Cement and Benue Cement
Company (BCC). The merger created the biggest company listed on the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

In the review
period, the enlarged company reported a turnover of N146.56 billion.
According to the unaudited financial results, turnover rose by N55.26
billion or 37.71 percent, when compared to turnover value of N91.30
billion posted in the corresponding period of 2009.

A review of the
financial results indicated that Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose by N30
billion or 39 percent to N76.93, compared to N46.93 billion recorded in
the corresponding period of 2009. Profit After Tax (PAT) was on the
same upward swing, as it rose by N30.16 billion or 40.05 percent to
N75.30 billion, in contrast to N45.14 billion at the preceding year.

With the payment of
N30.98 billion interim dividend, investors in the companies under the
Dangote Group that are listed on the Exchange received a total dividend
of N60.21 billion.

The Federal
Executive Council (FEC) has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
for the prompt release of a N199.67 billion credit facility to 516
manufacturers across the country.

The minister of
information and communications, Dora Akunyili, made the remark while
briefing State House correspondents at the end of the council’s weekly
meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mrs. Akunyili said
the council made the commendation after the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi, had briefed it on the performance of the nation’s economy in
the third quarter of 2010.

She said the credit
facility will be disbursed under the manufacturers’ SMEs Loan
Restructuring Refinancing Scheme, at a fixed interest rate of seven
percent.

The minister said
the CBN governor told the council that N130.99 billion of the amount
was disbursed through the Bank of Industry. She said the council was
also informed that there had been a steady growth in the nation’s GDP,
which continued to be driven largely by the non-oil sector,
particularly agriculture.

“The inter-bank rates and other money market rates, including
lending, also moderated. The foreign exchange market was substantially
stable, while the slow and steady recovery in the capital market
continues,” Mrs. Akunyili said.