Nigeria Content Online

Even before Google began threatening to shut down its search
service in China, it was not fitting in.

Google and other major American Internet companies like Yahoo
and eBay failed to gain significant traction in the Chinese market, and
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are blocked by the government.

Instead, the hottest companies in the world’s biggest Internet
market have names like Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba – fast-growing local firms
that are making huge profits. Post-Google, China’s Internet market could
increasingly resemble a lucrative, walled-off bazaar, experts say. Those
homegrown successes, however, could have trouble becoming global brands.

“If the Chinese government continues to favour domestic
companies, those companies that reach critical mass could become phenomenally
profitable,” said Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Ventures, an American
venture capital firm with investments in China. “But it may be hard for those
companies to become world class without outside competition.” Still, the
success of Chinese companies here can be measured by the numbers.

Revenue at Tencent, a kind of Internet conglomerate, jumped over
70 per cent last year, to about $1.8 billion.

Baidu, a Google look-alike, has largely clobbered Google in
China, despite giving up some ground in recent years. And Taobao.com, China’s
huge e-commerce site, handled nearly $30 billion in transactions last year.

Local Companies have the upper hand The story behind the success
of these companies is a simple one, some analysts say. The young people who
dominate Web use in China are not just searching for information; they’re
searching for a lifestyle. They are passionate about downloading music, playing
online games and engaging in social networking.

“Sixty per cent of the Internet users here are under the age of
30,” said Richard Ji, an Internet analyst at Morgan Stanley. “In the U.S., it’s
the other way around. And in the U.S. it’s about information. But in China, the
No. 1 priority is entertainment.” Experts say American companies have largely
failed here because they don’t have local expertise, are too slow to adapt and
don’t know how to deal with the Chinese government.

“Internet companies in China have to work so closely with the
government,” said Xiao Qiang, of the China Internet project at the University
of California, Berkeley. “And that means the government’s political agenda can
become the company’s business agenda.” The need to censor Web sites, for
example, can overwhelm smaller companies, Mr. Xiao said. “This becomes a
growing business cost. So, often, small companies don’t develop.” At this stage,
analysts say the Web in China is less about innovation than about quickly
delivering on the latest online trend.

“People here are quick to see trends, and to clone and
innovate,” said William Bao Bean, a former Internet analyst who is now a
partner at Softbank China & India Holdings. “If one company is doing well,
other companies will quickly clone it and roll it out.” No company is better at
that than Tencent, which is based in the southern city of Shenzhen.

Local advantage

The company’s biggest weapon is a popular instant messaging
service called QQ. Its 500 million active users give the company an advantage
when it introduces new products and offerings, like online games.

Tencent was founded in 1998 by a group of friends that included
Ma Huateng, also known as Pony, who is now its 38-year-old billionaire chief
executive. With Tencent commanding a stock market value of $37.2 billion, the
only global Internet companies that are worth more are Google ($173.7 billion)
and Amazon ($57.2 billion).

One advantage local companies have is government protectionism.
Because the Communist Party wants to maintain tight control over communication
and the media, foreign Internet companies come under suspicion.

For instance, YouTube has been blocked inside the country for
over a year, ever since a user uploaded a video that was said to show human
rights violations in Tibet.

But some experts say Google’s departure will leave Internet
users here with fewer options, making the country’s Internet market less
competitive and less open.

“The biggest loser is Netizens,” says Fang Xingdong, chief
executive of Chinalabs.com, a research firm. “Google is a multilinguistic
search engine, but Baidu is a Chinese-language one. Chinese information only
occupies a small fraction of the Internet.” Google was troubled by censors. And
it’s clear that censors make some of the material on Baidu’s search engine look
like the bulletin board of propaganda, with some links directed to People’s
Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece.

One question, though, is whether Google’s departure will prevent
Chinese companies from developing alongside the world’s technology powerhouses.

“When the Chinese companies go outside of China, they will find
that they fail to understand their competitors as well as they did when they
were competing in China,” said Mr. Rieschel, founder of Qiming Ventures.

Of course, Chinese companies may just be happy staying home. With 400
million Internet users and growing, their own market is a substantial prize.

Lee Kun-hee, a tycoon convicted of corruption last August but
pardoned by President Lee Myung-bak four months later to help South Korea
campaign for the 2018 Winter Olympics, returned to the helm of Samsung
Electronics on Wednesday.

He was the latest and most prominent in a series of ex-convicts
who have retained top management of major conglomerates in the country.

The Samsung Group is the largest of those, and in announcing Mr.
Lee’s surprise comeback, it said the chairman will bring to its electronics
subsidiary and to the conglomerate as a whole badly needed leadership at a time
when global businesses like Toyota were tottering.

Not all South Koreans were convinced.

“This only proves how unreasonable Samsung can be,” said Kim
Sang-jo, an economist at Hansung University and executive director of
Solidarity for Economic Reform, a civic group. “His return only makes Samsung
more vulnerable to the kind of risk Toyota faces. It shows how distorted and
how closed its decision-making is. It shows Samsung’s lack of a mechanism to
deal with errors.”

Mr. Lee’s return

The manner of Mr. Lee’s return – as disclosed by a senior vice
president and top Samsung spokesman, Rhee In-yong – spoke volumes not only
about the power the taciturn chairman wielded at Samsung but also about that of
other “owner chairmen” like him at their own family-controlled conglomerates,
known in the country as chaebol.

Top executives of Samsung affiliates, all aides loyal to the Lee
family, conferred twice in February as Toyota was dealing with its car recall
crisis, the spokesman told reporters. The executives were worried and decided
to appeal to Mr. Lee to come back with his “seasoned management skills and
leadership.” Then, on February 24, the most senior of them, Lee Su-bin,
chairman of the top life insurer Samsung Life, visited Mr. Lee.

“I will think about it,” Mr. Lee told the envoy, according to
the spokesman. After a month of deliberation, Mr. Lee finally agreed to retake
the chairmanship of Samsung Electronics, the mother ship of the Samsung fleet.

‘It’s crisis time’

In addition, the way Mr. Lee justified his return typified the
reasoning that other convicted tycoons have used to ignore public outcry and
regain management positions. It is also the reason that many courts of law have
offered to an increasingly skeptical public to explain lenient sentences given
top executives convicted of crimes. They have all said, “It’s a crisis time.”
“Now is the real crisis,” Mr. Lee said Wednesday in a rare comment released by
Samsung. “Top global companies are collapsing. You never know what might happen
to Samsung and when. The lines of business and products Samsung now represents
will be gone within the next 10 years. We have to start over again. There is no
time to lose. Let’s focus and march ahead.” Civic groups that have campaigned
for more transparency and accountability from the nation’s top business
families were not impressed.

“We are back to business as usual. With Lee Kun-hee back, we
fear that Samsung is back to its premodern and imperial management style,” said
Kim Keon-ho, an official at the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice. Under
the “imperial” management system symbolised by the Lee family, “vassal”
executives work only for the best interests of the owner families, not for the
shareholders as a whole, Mr. Kim said.

Corruption scandal

Mr. Lee, 68 – whose father founded Samsung in 1938 – headed the
company for more than two decades until he stepped down in April 2008 amid
scandal.

The group’s former chief legal counsel, Kim Yong-chul, had
asserted that Samsung kept a stash of secret funds and ran a network of
bribery. Mr. Lee also faced allegations that he had helped his son, Lee
Jae-yong, buy shares of major subsidiaries at unfairly low prices as part of a
plan to hand over control of Samsung to the younger Mr. Lee.

After an investigation that critics called a whitewash,
prosecutors said they had found no evidence of bribery. But they indicted Mr.
Lee on charges of evading taxes on 4.5 trillion won, or $4 billion, by hiding
the money in stock accounts under the names of aides. In a Supreme Court ruling
last year, he received a suspended three-year prison sentence for tax evasion
and breach of trust.

He also was ordered to pay 45.6 billion won in back taxes and
110 billion won in fines.

In December, President Lee granted him a pardon so that he could
retain his membership on the International Olympic Committee and lead a
campaign by the South Korean city of PyeongChang to host the 2018 Winter
Olympics.

About the same time, Mr. Lee’s son was promoted to become chief
operating officer of Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s biggest company and a
top global maker of computer chips, cell phones and TV sets.

Mr. Lee and his son remain the largest individual shareholders.

New York Times

Job loss ranks as one of life’s most
challenging events. Some of the issues involved include, adjusting your
finances, looking for a new job, and coping with the emotional and
social impact of your new situation. It would be much easier to deal
with it financially and emotionally if you’ve prepared for the worst by
planning ahead, but even if you failed to anticipate this sudden change
in your circumstances, here are some practical steps to take if the
worst does happen.

Don’t panic

When you think about all the bills and
monthly expenses you have to face without a steady income, it is easy
to despair. Try to remain calm and do not rush into any major financial
decisions whilst you assess your situation; you need a clear positive
outlook. Even if you are eligible, be cautious about dipping into your
retirement savings account.

Do you have any savings?

How much money have you saved? How long
will it last based on your monthly bills? The importance of an
emergency fund becomes glaring in situations like this. If you have
been able to set aside say 6 months of income in a high yield money
market account, you will be able to pay some of your bills and relieve
some of the financial stress while you look for new job. But if you
have always lived from month to month, this may not be an option.

What are your entitlements?

What do your full entitlements amount
to? If you have no savings at all and you are fortunate enough to
receive severance pay or other benefits, use this as a bridge to tide
you over the difficult period. Spend carefully, and do not use all of
your entitlements to make large payments such as your mortgage as you
might have to live off that money for what could be an extended period
of time. Don’t let such funds lull you into complacency; you need to
actively seek a new job or other income generating opportunity.

Revise your budget

How best can you adjust your budget to
suit your new circumstances? Develop a new written budget to cover
several months based on what you have saved and any expected income.
How much will it cost to maintain your family, your home and lifestyle?
Keep your family members fully in the picture so that they too can
adjust their expectations about what you can afford. You will have to
control your spending by cutting back on nonessential expenses.
Naturally your priority will be for housing, food, utility bills. Of
major concern would be the lack of access to affordable insurance and
appropriate health care. This must also be planned for.

Be cautious about borrowing

It is tempting for credit card holders
to start to load day-to-day expenses on their cards. Try to avoid doing
this unless absolutely necessary and only for critically important
expenses that cannot be delayed. Taking on additional debt can keep you
in denial about your true financial situation and can make things worse.

If you are unable to fulfill your
financial obligations, such as your mortgage or car loan, contact your
lenders immediately and inform them that you have lost your job and are
actively seeking new employment. It may be possible to negotiate new
terms and come to an arrangement to adjust your payments for a limited
period of time. It is better to be approach them upfront rather than to
fall behind with your payments. If you default on your home or vehicle
loan, your bank will take steps to re-possess your property.

Stay socially connected

Some people feel embarrassed or
inadequate after losing a job. Don’t withdraw and let negative feelings
stop you from taking important steps; you need your network now more
than ever before. Reach out to family, friends, ex-colleagues and your
network and spread the word that you are in the job market. By seeking
support you may find they may be aware of new opportunities for you.
Your CV should be carefully updated and circulated.

Seek alternative sources of income

With the sheer number of people
currently searching for jobs, you need to cast your net wide, and not
just for the same type of job. Be practical and flexible and don’t
pigeonhole yourself into a specific role or job so you can increase
your chances of finding work. Consider temporary or part time work that
will generate income and give you the time and flexibility to attend
job interviews and actively pursue a more permanent position. This
might be a time to upgrade your skills, or go back to school which will
all add to an impressive resume.

If you have alternate sources of
income, you will be in a much more comfortable position if you lose
your job. Your hobbies, talents and skills and other interests may be
converted to a business and offer serious possibilities for income.

Be Positive

Apart from the financial issues
associated with job loss, there are usually emotional and personal
aspects that are too often ignored. Whether yours was the only position
that was cut, or an entire unit or department, the feelings caused by
being laid off are largely the same regardless of the circumstances.
Many people experience a loss of self esteem, a sense of failure and
even depression after retrenchment. But it’s important to take your
next steps based on clear rational thought, devoid of emotion.

As difficult as this may sound, one should try to think of losing
your job as a positive event, an opportunity to re-evaluate your future
and, potentially change your career or start a new business. Losing
your present employment may well be the impetus, just what you need, to
take a fresh look at your life and re-define your goals. Often, it is
times like this that propel people into greater things.

So
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would like to see credit to the
private sector grow by more than it has done in the past year?

Credit has strong
uses in most modern economies. Just before the last global crisis
broke, credit-based consumer spending accounted for about 75% of output
growth in the United States. Moreover, current International Monetary
Fund (IMF) estimates indicate that stronger consumption in the US has
been part of the new recovery. Credit works for business investment
too; and when government borrows, it drives government spending.

The apex bank is
thus justified trying to resuscitate bank lending. To this end, it has
tied itself up in several knots. It has eased monetary conditions, only
to find banks building up liquidity in the wrong places, including
balances with it. It has tinkered with the corridor around the policy
rate, trying to discourage banks from warehousing surplus funds in the
CBN’s vaults.

Still, the banks
would rather keep such money with the apex bank, and earn 2% on it,
than lend to sectors of the economy where higher returns might be met
with. When you consider as fact that one of the main responses in the
markets to the current crisis has been for depositors to demand higher
returns on their funds with the banks, then the banks’ behaviour
becomes harder to explain. Surely, there must be better ways to lose
money?

Put differently, is
it enough for banks to have a surfeit of cash in order that they may
lend money? In response to the global and local shocks that have hit
the industry, most banks have tightened their risk acceptance criteria.
They have not only shortened the maturity profile of new loans, they
are more prone to demand that would-be debtors meet requirements that
were not in place nine months ago. Again, we imagine that further down
the road, these loan covenants will firm even more. This would follow
naturally, as risk management frameworks are strengthened in response
to the lapses unearthed by the CBN’s recent special audit.

There are other
worries, not least of which is the fact that most of the banks that
have been at the receiving end of the apex bank’s monetary forbearances
are still in the process of rebuilding their capital. Add to this, the
on-off debate over the extent to which current levels of provisioning
may have sufficiently addressed the industry’s portfolio of
non-performing loans, and the effect on bank lending of current
proposals by the Basle process to raise the industry’s capital adequacy
ratio.

But none of these
attend to the question of how strong the demand for credit is. Current
concern with the supply side of the market for credit is all very well.
However, no less crucial is the need to establish whether there is a
market out there for loans. Are there investment vehicles?

Did the stock
market bubble not inflate largely because the banks had no other place
to put these funds? And what has happened to non-bank sources of
credit? Why have these not taken up the slack from the failure of bank
credit?

The more probable
cause of the credit market problem is that there are major structural
policy challenges constraining the supply and demand sides of the
market.

Until recently, the
downstream sector of the oil industry was a major market for bank
credit. Apparently, the central bank’s intervention at some point dried
this market up. Now, the banks are asking that would-be importers of
fuel obtain promissory notes from the federal government before they
provide the necessary trade finance cover. Because government has
refused to meet this demand, oil importers haven’t had access to the
credit necessary to remove the unsightly fuel queues from our roads. Of
course, government’s practice in the past of not paying these importers
on time was the one reason why their bank facilities did not perform.

Until issues of
this nature are addressed, and you want to add the difficulty with
passing the petroleum industry bill to this list, I am not sure that
the market for credit in this economy will pick up.