Nigeria Content Online

Gabon is seeking
bids from international telecoms companies for a 3G mobile network
license, the government said in a release on Monday.

Mobile and Internet
service in the central African oil exporter nation is notoriously
patchy and the government has been seeking to improve
telecommunications as part of a broader effort to diversify investment.

India’s Bharti Airtel became one of Gabon’s largest mobile phone
service providers in June after if bought the African assets of
Kuwait’s Zain in a deal worth nearly $9 billion.

Poor quality capped
the amount of cocoa reaching shipping docks in top grower Ivory Coast
last week, widening the year-on-year supply deficit to nearly 2
percent, exporters said on Monday. Some 6,000 tonnes reached the West
African nation’s two ports between July 19 and July 25, bringing
arrivals volumes since the start of the season in October to about
1,082,000 tonnes, the exporters said.

Heavy rains in Ivory Coast in recent weeks have caused cocoa trees
to sprout plenty of pods but have made it difficult for farmers to
properly dry out the ripe beans. Ivory Coast produces about a third of
the world’s cocoa, but output is on track to hit its lowest since at
least the 2004-05 season as plantations suffer years of under
investment in the wake of a civil war.

The value of
Algeria’s cereal, semolina and flour imports declined 34.13 percent in
the first six months of this year, customs data showed on Monday,
reflecting the impact of last year’s strong domestic harvest.

The bill stood at $969 million, down from $1.47 billion in the
January-June period of last year, according to the data published by
the official APS news agency. It gave no figure on the import volumes.
Algeria’s domestic grain harvest reached a record 6.1 million tonnes in
2009, allowing it to reduce imports. Algeria’s overall food imports
were down 11 percent to $2.99 billion in the first quarter of this year
from $3.35 billion in the same period of 2009, the customs data
published on Monday showed.

A U.S. based
Nigerian Forensic Consultant, Nathaniel Cole, says access to the use of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by security agencies
will help them in fighting cyber crimes. Mr Cole, who is also an
anti-money laundering specialist, said in an interview with the media,
on Monday in Abuja, that it was unfortunate that many police stations
in the country had no access to even computer.

“Police stations and police vehicles in other countries are equipped
with computers and we are supposed to be fighting the same type of
crimes,” he said. “Our law enforcement agencies need to be properly
equipped and their personnel trained in the use of ICT to fight crime.”
He also stressed the need for the National Assembly to make appropriate
laws that would help in fighting cyber crimes in the country. “Right
now, there is no definition of what cyber crime is in the country,” he
said. “There is a need to properly define what cyber crime is and how
to combat it.” Mr Cole also called for the enactment of evidence and
data protection laws, saying that it would help the security agencies
in the use of digital evidence in prosecuting suspected cyber
criminals.

The
capital market has remained on a positive note with increase in
investors’ activities a week after the Asset Management Corporation of
Nigeria (AMCON) bill was signed into law.

At
the close of trading session on Monday, the two main parameters for
measuring market performance at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)
-market capitalisation and All-Share Index-inched up by 1.02 per cent
to close at N6.243 trillion and 25,527.44 basis points, from N6.179
trillion and 25,269.36 recorded last Friday. The NSE has recorded about
N186 billion gains since the recent rebound.

Analysts
at Proshare Nigeria Limited said the positive performance recorded so
far cut across all the sectors on the bourse, “but could be attributed
mainly to good performance recorded in the banking and some other blue
chips stocks.” They said as market outlook remains positive, the trend
in some sectors showed indications of profit taking by investors as
sell pressures seem to be gaining momentum. “This may be sending
signals that profit taking activities may be more prominent in the
coming days.”

Banking sector retains lead

The
banking sector led the market transaction volume on Monday with 255.402
million units valued at N2.182 billion exchanged in 3,611 deals.
Transactions in the shares of United Bank of Africa, Zenith Bank,
Platinum Bank, and First Bank Nigeria boosted the volume traded in the
sector.

The
total volume of 136.138 million units valued at N1.370 billion traded
in the shares of the four banks accounted for 53.30 per cent of the
entire sector volume and their value represented 62.79 per cent of the
sector’s value. The number of gainers at the close of trading session
closed at 35 compared with the 40 gainers recorded on the previous
trading day, while losers closed at 29 as against the 22 recorded in
the preceding trading day.

Upturn
remained dominant in the banking stocks as transactions in the sector
closed with 15 gainers to three losers compared with the 17 gainers to
two losers recorded last Friday. Analysts say investors’ interest in
the sector continues to grow stronger by the day. The upbeat trend
influence in the breweries sector remained relatively as the only price
change recorded was on the positive note, a reverse of the previous
day’s trend. Performance of stocks in the conglomerate sector at the
close of trading session reflected stronger sell pressures as
transactions closed in the sector with two losers compared with one
gainer to a loser recorded on Friday.

The
number of gainers in the Food/Beverages sector declined to one compared
with five gainers recorded on Friday while the number of losers closed
at one, a repeat of the previous day’s losers figures. Proshare
analysts say stocks in the sector also present “buy opportunities for
discerning investors.”

Market outlook

Commenting
on the economy outlook for the second-half of the year, Biodun Adedipe,
chief executive officer of Biodun Adedipe & Associates Limited, a
business consultancy firm, said, “A combination of the need for
continued stimulation of the economy and the political activities in
2010 towards general elections of 2011 will create liquidity surfeit.”
Mr. Adedipe, said the recent banking reforms, though necessary at the
time they were introduced “have not been well managed to achieve the
intended results.” He, however, said that the central bank, in the
second-half of the year, will want to be careful about liquidity
management and may not run a restrictive monetary policy.

Bob Dudley, who is
expected to be named BP’s next CEO, must move quickly to restore the
oil giant’s battered image in its most important market, improve safety
and make BP a leaner company.

BP’s board met on
Monday to discuss a plan for Tony Hayward to step down as Chief
Executive following criticism of his handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil
spill, and be replaced by Dudley, who is heading the spill response
effort.

Investors hope
Dudley will help repair BP’s image in the U.S, which has been damaged
by a clumsy public relations strategy and a series of gaffes by
Hayward. “As an American he (Dudley) may well be more acceptable to the
U.S. political machine than the other alternatives for the role, which
could serve to better protect value in the U.S. for BP long term,” said
Jason Kenney, oil analyst at ING in Edinburgh.

The U.S. is home to
40 percent of BP’s assets and much of its growth but the public and
political anger over the oil spill has led to fears BP may no longer be
able to operate effectively in the U.S.

Dudley benefits
from experience of navigating fractious disputes, having led BP’s
Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, through a dispute between BP and its
oligarchs partners over control of the company.

He will also need to improve BP’s safety record to recover the respect of U.S. lawmakers.

This could require
a change to BP’s buccaneering approach, where division managers have
had greater freedom than their peers in other big oil companies and top
management has been willing to take greater commercial risks.

“A total change in
the culture of this company is necessary,” Democratic Representative Ed
Markey, chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence
and Global Warming, said on CBS’s “The Early Show.”

Expensive mistakes

In the past five
years, BP has endured three of the industry’s most expensive and
reputationally damaging safety and environmental lapses.

An explosion of a
Texas refinery in 2005 killed 15 workers and cost the company billions,
while an oil spill in Alaska in 2006 led to millions of dollars of
fines and helped cement BP’s reputation in the U.S. as a reckless
operator.

Regulators blamed both incidents on cost-cutting under Hayward’s predecessor John Browne.

Investors, once
charmed by BP cost cutting, may now be more focused on a safer approach
too from the group that pumped more oil and gas than any other
non-state controlled oil concern last year.

“The company’s
strategy will need to be fundamentally changed in order to rebuild
future confidence in the company. Clearly, safety will need to become
the centrepiece,” said Dougie Youngson, oil analyst at Arbuthnot.

Investors and analysts also predict strategic changes.

As part of a peace
deal with the White House, which had been putting massive pressure on
the oil giant, BP agreed to establish a $20 billion fund to compensate
those affected by the spill.

It plans to sell $10 billion of none-core assets in the coming year to help finance that.

Last week the
company said it had agreed the sale of $7 billion of assets and invited
offers for another $1.7 billion worth of gas fields in Asia.

-REUTERS

The 2010 Audi Q7
comes with sharp looks that could take your breath away. The car has
got everything a driver might desire. Is it speed, heavy built,
powerful stance, aggressive outlook, or plush interior? They all make
up the total package for the users to enjoy.

The 2010 Audi Q7
holds up every feature expected from a German-engineered large
crossover Sports Utility Vehicle. The latest Audi SUV is ideal for
family usage and holiday trips, just as its well crafted interior is
enough to make driving pleasurable and memorable.

Design

The Audi Q7 comes
in three model levels that match up with engine choices. They are the
3.6 premium with 3.6 litre gas V6 engine, TDI premium with V6 diesel
engine, and a 4.2 prestige model, which comes with 4.2 litre V8 engine.

The 3.6 premium
model steps on 18-inch wheels and comes with other features like xenon
headlights. Its interior packs multi-faceted features like dual-zone
automatic climate control, Bluetooth, Multi Media Interface (MMI) with
a display monitor and a premium audio system with a six-CD changer,
satellite radio, iPod integration, and an auxiliary audio jack.

The Q7 TDI steps on
higher wheels of 19 inches and has chrome trims on its exterior body.
The 4.2 prestige model comes with unique bumpers, grille, and body-side
mouldings. Its interior comes with four-zone climate control,
power-adjustable steering, and wood shift knob.

A higher luxurious
package can also be got with the TDI and 4.2 prestige model. It comes
with upgraded leather upholstery, 20- or 21-inch powerful wheels,
four-zone climate control, a 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen
surround-sound audio system, and adaptive cruise control.

The 2010 Audi Q7 is
ranked high with its interiors parts and details. The SUV comes as a
solid choice that seats seven passengers.

Engine Power

The 2010 Audi Q7 is
equipped with three varying engines of 3.6-litre V6 (280 horsepower and
266 lb-ft of torque), a 4.2-litre V8 (350 hp and 325 lb-ft) or a
3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 (225 hp and 406 lb-ft).

All models of the
SUV are integrated with a six-speed automatic transmission and manual
shift control. They come as all-wheel drive.

The V8 engine is
capable of covering a distance of 0-60 mph time in eight seconds, while
the V6 diesel engine covers same distance in 8.3 seconds, and 9.5
seconds for the V6.

Safety

The car possesses a
number of standard features like antilock brakes, traction control,
full-length side curtain airbags, and front-seat side airbags,
seat-mounted side airbags, stability control system, and active front
headrests. It also has a blind stop warning system that alerts drivers
if there is another car stationed beside it. It has back up camera that
enhances car parking.

Price

The car has an official price of $46,900 (about N7 million).

June 25 marked the first year anniversary of
Michael Jackson’s death. Whatever you feel about him, whether you were
one of his legion of fans or just someone who observed him with quiet
interest, there is much to learn from his life, death, and legacy. We
revisit a few lessons from the arrangement Michael Jackson put in place
for the orderly transmission of his assets and how the estate has fared
so far.

Write a will

In spite of his extravagance and extraordinary
lifestyle, Michael Jackson sorted out his estate at age 41, some 10
years before his death. He avoided potential misunderstandings with
siblings and other family members as his will was properly filed, and
specifically cited the names of his beneficiaries, to ensure that his
estate would be divided in the way he wanted; for his children, his
mother, and to charity. Had he not written a will, it would have been
up to the California state laws, to decide what happens to his assets.
The “pour over will” also revealed that assets would be transferred to
a trust upon his demise.

Consider a living trust

Michael Jackson established a revocable living
trust, that allows one, at their death to control transfers to your
designated trustee This estate-planning tool lets you transfer all your
property, including bank accounts, investments, and real estate, into a
separately owned entity whilst you still maintain control as trustee.

Unlike a will, the beauty of a living trust is
that the assets it holds at the time of death, do not pass through the
probate process. This provides privacy for the deceased family and
heirs, and spares them the aggravation of a prolonged and expensive
legal process particularly where assets are scattered across various
states.

Michael Jackson’s eldest child was only 11 years
old when his father died. He and his siblings inherited millions of
dollars through a trust, which is an ideal tool where a large
inheritance is left for minor children. A trust provides professional
management of the assets and keeps them from passing directly to the
children until they are old enough to take responsibility for such huge
sums of money.

Turning over assets to young adults early can have
some harmful outcomes, not only can it place the assets within the
reach of the children’s creditors, it can also jeopardise their sense
of motivation, the drive to work hard, and embarking on pursuits or
careers of their own.

Name a Guardian

If you have minor children, one of the most
important decisions that you will have to make with regard to your
estate plan, is who should take care of your children. .Michael Jackson
was a single parent with minor children, It was rather important that
he nominated an appropriate guardian for them before his passing.
Without this, the state, would have made the decision as to who would
bring up his children, but his will created the appropriate legal
framework to avoid this.

Jackson chose his 79 year-old mother over his
siblings as primary guardian for his children. Some suggest that it
might have been more appropriate for him to choose a younger guardian.
However, his close friend and mentor, Diana Ross, acts as backup,
should his mother be unable to continue in the role. Considerations in
the selection should include, the potential guardian’s family
situation, religious and moral beliefs and values, and the financial
situation of the guardian.

Choose your executors carefully

Choosing who should serve as executor is a
critical part of your estate plan. The last thing you need is the
possibility of an unscrupulous executor who will mismanage the estate.
Ideally you should pick a qualified and experienced professional who
will accept legal responsibility and whom you can trust. Trust
companies are available in Nigeria and offshore that specialise in
trustee services; this is particularly important where a significant
estate is involved.

It is best to assume that your loved ones will
disagree, and perhaps even contest your will unless you have been very
specific and have left little room for ambiguity. Naming multiple
executors to provide checks and balances on the decision-making process
makes sense, but remember that all executors must agree on all
decisions and sign off on all paperwork, which can become cumbersome.

Michael Jackson relied on professionals to ensure that his wishes and intentions would be carried out.

He chose a top lawyer and a business executive, as
co-executors whom he felt had the necessary expertise and whom he felt
would act in the best interest of his beneficiaries. Indeed, estate
co-executors John Branca and John McClain have dramatically turned
around the estates finances. An empire that was reportedly on the verge
of collapse and in debt to the tune of over $500 is now earning
significant income.

It is reported that Michael Jackson’s estate has
earned more than $250 million in the past year, paying off some $70
million in debt, including the $5 million mortgage on the Jackson
family’s Los Angeles home. Interest is serviced with a steady flow of
cash.

The film “This Is It,” based on his final concert
rehearsal footage, is said to have grossed $252 million worldwide. The
estate earned $60 million in advance from Sony, with more expected from
DVD sales. A posthumous deal to sell unreleased Jackson recordings with
Sony Music guarantees $200 million over seven years and has already
brought $125 million to the estate.

Revisit your estate plan periodically

Michael Jackson wrote his will in 2001 when he was
41 years old. Within a 10-year period, those named as executors and
guardians may no longer be appropriate, either because they have become
too old or because your relationship with them has changed. Further,
assets may have increased significantly or the level of financial
sophistication required for managing them may be beyond the ability of
the team in place.

Whilst his estate plan may not be perfect, it has
certainly gone some way to protect his loved ones. It is suggested that
only a tiny percentage of Nigerians have written a will, which is the
most basic estate-planning tool. It is important to ensure that your
loved ones are provided for, should anything happen to you.

Drop us an email at personalfinance@234next.com
with your questions, experiences, successes and challenges. All letters
will be considered for publication, and if selected, may be edited. We
would love to hear from you.

Guaranty Trust Bank
said on Monday it was considering a proposal from the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) to buy up to $30 million worth of new shares
in a private placement. GTB said, in a statement, it was giving
“serious consideration” to the proposal from the IFC, the World Bank’s
private sector lender, and that it would convene a shareholders’
meeting if its board approved the move.

GTB is one of the top five lenders by assets in sub-Saharan Africa’s
second biggest economy and has said it plans to raise capital from time
to time over the next few years to enhance its funding and lending
capabilities. It completed a $90 million naira-denominated bond
placement at the end of 2009, Nigeria’s first corporate debt issue in
years, and successfully issued $350 million of 5-year Eurobonds in
January 2007.

Some finance
experts have commended the Central Bank in releasing its updated
prudential guidelines for banks in Nigeria, released last week.

The new prudential
guidelines were issued about a month after a revised one was posted on
the Central Bank’s website. The experts said there were issues that
needed to be addressed in the revised version, as some of the demands
of the guidelines were contested by the banks as not achievable.

Renaissance
Capital, an investment banking firm, said the move by the bank shows
its attitude towards banks is changing, and it seems to be showing
signs of improvement in listening to Nigerians concerns.

“This is very
important to highlight that the action of the Central Bank demonstrates
just how much the Central Bank’s attitude towards the banks has
changed. The Central Bank is clearly listening now and wants to do
everything to support the banks in their recovery. With the full
support of the CBN, the recovery process will happen, there can surely
be no doubting this,” the firm said.

In the Central
Bank’s statement, it said that the Nigerian banking sector witnessed
dramatic growth post consolidation (2005) and the developments posed a
lot of challenges for the industry and regulation.

“The initial
perceptions that the Nigerian banking system was sound and insulated
from global financial crisis were misplaced. The factors that led to
creation of extremely fragile financial system that was tipped into
crisis by the global financial meltdown.”

It said such
factors include macro-economic instability caused by large and sudden
capital outflows, major failures in corporate governance at banks, lack
of investor and consumer sophistication, inadequate disclosure and
transparency about financial position of banks, critical gaps in
prudential guidelines – current prudential guidelines was issued in
1990 – and uneven supervision and enforcement.

In addressing these
challenges, the Central Bank said it introduced a four pillar reform
programme in 2010 tailored towards enhancing the quality of banks,
establishing financial stability, enabling healthy financial sector
evolution, and ensuring the financial sector contributes to the real
economy.

As part of the
initiative to enhance the quality of the banks, the Central Bank said
it undertook a review of the prudential guidelines. “In this regard,
the revised Prudential Guidelines aim to address various aspects of
banks’ operations, such as risk management, corporate governance, ‘know
your customer’, anti-money laundering/counter financing of terrorism,
and loan loss provisioning. The guidelines also aim to address the
peculiarities of different loan types and financing to different
sectors.”

Watch yourselves

The Central Bank,
however, urged the banks to put into operations stricter policies to
address risks, and not rely solely on its guidelines.

“The issued
guidelines should be regarded as minimum requirements and licensed
banks are encouraged to implement more stringent policies and practices
to enhance mitigation of risks,” said Samuel Oni, the Central Bank’s
director of banking supervision said.

“Banks should pay
special attention to all complex, unusually large transactions, and all
unusual patterns of transactions, which have no apparent economic or
visible lawful purpose. The background and purpose of such transactions
should, as far as possible, be examined, the findings established in
writing, and be available to help the relevant authorities in
inspection and investigation.

“Banks should put
in place effective internal policies, systems and controls to identify,
measure, monitor, and control their credit risk concentrations. The
policies should be approved by the Board of Directors and should cover
the different forms of credit risk concentrations to which a bank may
be exposed,” the CBN said.

The Central Bank
also said that banks should make general loan loss provisions of at
least two percent of loan portfolio not specifically provided for, in
addition to specific provisions, to provide against the unidentified
losses which are known to exist in any portfolio, using a systematic
method which should be consistently followed from period to period.

Ciuci Consulting, a
management consulting firm, said banks should cooperate with the
Central Bank for the successful implementation of the ongoing reforms
in the industry.

“Given the changes
in the agenda of the regulators, the Nigerian banking landscape will
dramatically evolve in the coming months. Evidence of this lies in the
Central Bank’s focus, which essentially is designed to improve the
quality of banks, restore financial stability, enable a healthy
financial sector, and ensure that the financial sector contributes to
the real economy.

“Banks that accept
the future for what it is, as laid out by the regulator, will be
partnering with the Central Bank to work towards achieving these
objectives. It is in the interest of the Central Bank that banks are
supported in their endeavours, that necessary rule and regulations are
designed such that banks can thrive.

“In addition to strategic renewal and operational transformation,
implementation of rules and regulations at the banks will come at a
cost. However, this cost is necessary to come to a more solid,
efficient, effective and lasting banking system,” the firm said in a
report titled ‘What Nigerian Banks should become’.