Nigeria Content Online

The value of equities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)
yesterday rebounded significantly after two weeks of negative performances.

The NSE market capitalisation of the 201 First-Tier equities
closed on Thursday at N8.125 trillion after opening the day at N8.059 trillion,
reflecting 0.82 per cent or N66 billion gains.

The market also gained N16 billion on Wednesday after the first
upturn in two weeks. Meanwhile, a total of N505 billion has been lost in the
last ten trading days.

The number of gainers at the close of trading session yesterday
closed higher at 37 stocks compared to the 24 recorded on Wednesday, while
losers also closed lower at 18 stocks as against the 42 recorded the previous
trading day.

Analysts at GTI Capital, a stock broking firm, said, “There
appears a likelihood of the free fall in the market indicators abating soon.
This is based on the fact that magnitude on percentage change in the market
index significantly waned on Tuesday,” adding that “another strong point in
support of this assertion is the attractiveness of most stocks in the market
which we believe will buoyed investment ecstasy soonest.”

Virginus Agada, a stockbroker at Eurocomm Securities Limited, a
stock broking firm, said the market may not see significant recovery this
quarter because of political risk, but will rebound after elections.

“With the level of progress in the political scene, I believe
the market will pick up after the election. You’ll notice that the market
recovered a little after major political parties picked their candidates.

“Although the political risk is currently hindering participants
from coming into the market, things should change after election. International
communities are also watching as events unfold,” Mr. Agada said.

Company report

In the meantime, GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria has notified the
Exchange that its board of directors has recommended to its shareholders a dividend
of 90 kobo per share and an additional one-off special dividend of 30 kobo per
share in commemoration of the company’s 40th anniversary.

The dividends are to be paid to members whose names appear on
the register of members at the close of business on Thursday, April 28.

The register of members and transfer of books of the company
will be closed from Friday, April 29 to Thursday, May 5; both days inclusive.

In a related development, Afromedia reported its first quarter
unaudited results for the period ended December 31, 2010 to the market.

On quarter-to-quarter analysis, the company’s turnover grew by
46.5 per cent from N661.67 million in similar period of 2009 to N969.41 million
but fell short of management forecast figure of N1.03 billion by 5.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the company’s profit after tax dropped by 16.4 per
cent from N161.09 million in 2009 to N134.67 million.

It is essential for brands to present attractive offerings that will add value to consumers’ experience.

The present market
realities have made brands adopt strategies aimed at engaging consumers
and also building brand loyalty. The lifestyle of the consumer should
be given utmost priority in service delivery.

Brand offerings
should be able to deliver creativity, excitement, and entertainment, as
it fosters physical and emotional connection with the brand. Today’s
consumers are dynamic and vibrant and they want a brand that can fit
into their lifestyle and give them worthwhile experiences.

In fact, consumers
now want to create the brand and own the brand. They want offerings
that meet their desired taste and the brand they can use as a means of
self expression. This supports the “MSP” i.e. Me Selling Proposition
standpoint, which places a renewed focus on the consumer.

This is perhaps the main rationale for DSTV Mobile’s offering of ultimate mobile TV entertainment for the consumer.

When DSTV Mobile
launched months back in the Nigerian market, it was readily accepted
because it represented entertainment, information, and value added
services to consumers. Hitherto, they watched DSTV in the comfort of
their homes, but with DSTV Mobile, television is in their hands. This
is one visible way to build brand loyalty and followership.

A unique selling
point was a free trial for the subscribers, which is key to creating
value. The strategic intention is to align with the needs of the
upwardly mobile and constantly on the go consumers who desire to have
fun and excitement as they move on in their pursuits.

DSTV Mobile is on
both MTN and Glo networks, making it easier for subscribers to have
first hand information and knowledge about happenings around them. This
is a vantage way to connect and build brand loyalty.

Brands remain
vibrant and relevant when they focus on key consumer segments; it has
become imperative to meet the expectations of today’s consumers with
ideas like DSTV Mobile. The consumer culture is rapidly changing and as
a result, brands should adopt strategies to remain relevant.

Brands should also
identify key gaps in the lives of their consumers and bridge these
through innovation and value service. Nigerian consumers have a passion
for football, including foreign football clubs, and this is one area in
which DSTV offers enormous benefits.

Through the mobile
television in their hands, and as long as they are connected to DSTV
Mobile, they cannot miss any of the exciting matches. DSTV Mobile makes
subscribers optimise the quality of their viewing time and also get
premium content and programming on their phones.

Consumers are
attracted to brands that simplify their lives. This is one thing that
DSTV Mobile has done so well. Subscribers will not only be loyal to
such brands, but will ultimately create a community of brand loyalists
by enlisting others to share the same experience. This makes the brand
stand out as one of the very few that matters in the marketplace.

Any brand that keys in to the lifestyle of consumers ultimately creates an enduring experience for them.

Ghana National
Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has given up efforts to buy a stake in the
Jubilee oil field held by Kosmos Energy following the U.S firm’s
decision not to sell, its chairman said on Thursday.

While state-owned
GNPC’s move to end its interest in Kosmos was expected, it will be seen
as significant by investors concerned that the bitter wrangling over
the Kosmos stake was a sign of state interference in the ownership of
oil assets.

Kosmos, backed by
private equity firms Blackstone Group and Warburg Pincus , owns a 23.49
percent stake in the offshore oilfield, operated by Britain’s Tullow
Oil and holding at least 1.5 billion barrels of light crude.

Last August the
firm called off what sources close to the deal said was a $4 billion
pact to sell the stake to ExxonMobil after resistance from GNPC, which
later made a $5 billion joint bid with Chinese oil giant CNOOC.

However Kosmos has
subsequently said the asset is not for sale and announced plans to
raise up to $500 million via an initial public offering of its shares
in the United States.

“That chapter of
GNPC wanting to increase its stake is closed … Kosmos wants to do an
IPO and it is within their rights to do so,” GNPC chairman At Ahwoi
told a news conference.

“I don’t think we
can force them to sell to us at all cost if they don’t want to do so.
So as far as we’re concerned that ends the matter,” he said, adding
that Ghana would still be interested should Kosmos ever put its stake
on the market.

He said GNPC and CNOOC had been partnered in their bid by London-listed BP.

Ghana on Wednesday
lifted a first crude entitlement of 995,259 barrels from Jubilee,
estimated to fetch about $110 million dollars for the state treasury.
Pricing was based on a benchmark of around $110 dollars.

Ghana was fourth to
lift its entitlement after Tullow, Kosmos and Anadarko together lifted
about 3.7 million barrels. GNPC chief executive Nana Boakye Asafo-Adjei
said the first shipment was sold to Sun International, a subsidiary of
U.S.-based Sunoco Inc.

He said in addition to the crude entitlements, Ghana will also receive quarterly tax payments from the Jubilee partners.

Asafo-Adjei said
daily production from the Jubilee field will normalise at 120,000
barrels in June-July, from about 70,000 barrels currently.

Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, the Minister of Petroleum has expressed optimism that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be ready for the president’s signature by next month.Speaking at the eighth Aret Adams annual lecture series held in Lagos yesterday, the minister said, “We are very expectant. The Senate and the House of Representatives are passionate and eager to move this bill forward and they both want it out in the shortest possible time.”

Mrs. Alison-Maduekwe, who was the guest speaker at the lecture titled ‘Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry, its growth post PIB’, said she has been holding discussions with the chairmen of the committees and has been speaking with all concerned.

“We have to show the commitment necessary to the passage of the PIB. We are calling on all Nigerians to turn this aspiration to reality. The PIB has undergone various reviews and it is currently undergoing the final review by the legislators. It has undergone the first and second reading by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Right now, it is undergoing the chapter by chapter reviews by both houses before it is finally passed into law” she said.

She expressed optimism that a clear copy of the bill should be ready for the president’s assent next month. According to her, the passage of the PIB holds a lot of prospects for the country at large. “When this bill is passed, the gas sector will become the crux of our economy going forward. We have much more gas reserves than we have in crude.”

Prospects and benefits

Mrs. Alison-Maduekwe said the topic chosen for the lecture this year is one that is pertinent to the heart of many Nigerians. “The PIB is a long and in-depth bill, a historic, critical and extensive Bill encompassing the 16 hitherto existing laws with the oil and gas industry. One of the major benefits of this bill is that transparency in the oil and gas industry would be achieved.” “The oil and gas industry has been characterised by too much opaqueness, extreme level of confidentiality. This Bill would remove opaqueness in a scale that has never been seen. Data would be accessible for all interested individuals” she said.

Other benefits that would be derived from the passage of the bill according to the minister includes the availability of over 300, 000 jobs in the industry in the next 4-5 years, the implementation of corporate social responsibility would no longer be an option but compulsorily, gas flaring must be put to an end, and would hasten the commercialisation of the NNPC among other issues.

The government has repeatedly said the passage of the Bill is imminent, yet, revisions and debate have hindered the process since then.

Egbert Imomoh, the chairman, Board of Trustees, Aret Adams Foundation, said “Every year when the board of trustees meet to decide on a topic, we look at the industry, consider the issues which are current, topical and would attract a wide audience. Although the industry has set end of 2010, targets of a petroleum capacity of four million barrels a day, and reserves of 40 billion barrels, it was obvious that it could not be met for all kinds of reasons” he said.

“Secondly, the PIB has made so much progress in the National Assembly and attracted a lot of public and private debate, and based on assurances, we had expected it to be passed before the end of 2010. Apparently, not much investment was being made whilst the PIB was not yet passed. It was therefore obvious that the passage of the PIB was essential for the growth of the industry” he said.

Mr. Imomoh, who was Managing Director and Executive Chairman of Afren Energy Resources Limited and one time Deputy Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria), said growth in the petroleum industry is absolutely essential to the Nigerian economy, given its position as the engine that drives economic expansion. Also, given the level of unemployment, a growth induced by the industry will contribute its own quota to job creation” he said.

The event was well attended by past and present managing directors and CEO’s of oil and gas companies and the NNPC, lawyers and dignitaries from all walks of life. The Aret Adams Foundation is founded on the ideals of the late Godwin Aret Adams, a one-time managing director of NNPC, among other positions in the oil and gas industry. Its major objectives include education and empowerment of Nigerians in the urban and rural centres. The foundation plans to organise seminars on topical issues of national importance aimed at empowering Nigerians.

Not minding the obvious difficult business climate, Nigeria’s trade partners are still interested in increasing their foothold in the country.

Andy Davidson, deputy director, United Kingdom Trade and Investment department in Nigeria, said though the banking crisis has hampered the growth of businesses in the country, enormous opportunity still abound for other countries to tap into.

He said his office was interested in getting more British companies to come to Nigeria and take advantage of the opportunities. He said while the UK acknowledges the rise in trade between Nigeria and China, there were still areas where British companies can still thrive.

“I don’t worry too much about competition. I worry about British companies and how they should see Nigeria. China is our competitor and we need to find a competitive advantage to compete. It’s that simple. It is a capitalist world and Nigeria is a capitalist society. We need to compete.

“The EU (European Union), the United States, China. We all need to compete together. We all have unique selling points and it is just finding those and make sure we have a level playing field,” Mr. Davidson said.

Nigeria has strong historical ties with the UK and is the country’s 33rd largest overseas market and second largest African market for goods. UK export of goods to Nigeria in 2009 was worth £1.23 while that of services was worth £1.28 billion as at 2008.

Lack of information

Speaking at the breakfast meeting of the Nigeria British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) yesterday in Lagos, Mr. Davidson said the major constraint to British businesses coming to Nigeria was the lack of information.

“Without that ability to have confidence and information, it is difficult for British firms to come to Nigeria,” he said.

He, however, said the perception about Nigeria was largely misplaced. “I think states are getting savvy in terms of what their potentials are. Nigeria was a bread basket 50 years ago and I don’t see why it cannot be a bread basket now.”

On Nigeria’s goal of being among the top 20 largest economies by the year 2020, he said though it is challenging, the objective is achievable.

“There is no reason why you would set a goal that is challenging and not achieve it. That is why we are here. It is going to take everybody coming together and driving it,” he further said.

Akinola Akintunde, president and chairman of council of the NBCC, said the chamber was interested in improving bilateral trade and development between both countries. In line with that, the chamber was organising a trade and an investment exposition holding at the end of the month.

“The goal of this show is to sensitise British investors on the potentials and opportunities in Nigeria. In the coming years, we expect to see increased investment in oil and gas, banking and finance, insurance, and professional services,” Mr. Akintunde said.

He further said one of the long term goals of the chamber is to improve the balance of trade between both countries, adding that as at 2009, Nigeria’s exports to UK was about $600 million.

Despite the recent call by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the devaluation of the naira, financial analysts believe that with the sustained intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the value of the naira would remain stable this year.

However, they cautioned that this would be at the expense of foreign reserves. According to Victor Ndukauba, an investment research analyst at Afrinvest, given the weakness of the United States dollar in the global currency markets, coupled with relatively high oil prices, the Central Bank has been able to intervene in the market at crucial times to meet excess demand for dollars and keep the currency broadly stable.
“We believe that sustained high prices, together with the Central Bank’s determination to mitigate the downside currency risk, should ensure that this stability is maintained throughout 2011. We forecast that the naira will stay firmly in the N151.00-N153.00 to the dollar range,” Mr. Ndukauba said.
Exchange rate movement The naira continues to remain a stable currency, trading at N150.5 to the dollar at the official market, still within the N150±3 per cent margin set by the Central Bank. Nigeria’s external reserves currently stand at $33.8 billion, representing a 4 per cent accretion YTD.
On a year to date (YTD) basis, the naira depreciated by 0.9 per cent at the official market but appreciated 0.6 per cent in the parallel markets while the spread between the official and parallel rates narrowed by 34 per cent to N4.5k.
“The Central Bank may continue its defence of the currency due to increased forex earnings (as a result of strong oil prices and production). Near term projection therefore remains stable,” Bismarck Rewane, managing director, Financial Derivatives Company, said.
According to him, the marginal build up in reserves comes on the back of strong oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day (mbpd) and high prices (above $100), making the figure somewhat disappointing.
“However, we expect to see a better performance in the coming months now that there are no special power projects to fund, boomed oil wells have been replaced, and speculative attack on the naira has thawed (the three major factors that helped to drain reserves according to the Central Bank governor),” Mr. Rewane said, adding that the naira is expected to trade at between N155-N160/$.
According to him, analysis has shown that the cash market is funded by the Central Bank. “The Central Bank’s defence is at the expense of the reserves,” he said.
Also, Yvonne Mhango, macro and fixed income research analyst, Renaissance Capital, an investment bank, said, “A comparison with Russia and Kazakhstan suggests to us that the naira should remain stable.”
She added that the similarity with which the 37 per cent decline in the annual average oil price impacted the currencies of Nigeria, Russia, and Kazakhstan in 2009 is peculiar.
“The naira, rouble, and tenge depreciated by 26 per cent, 27 per cent, and 23 per cent respectively, against the dollar in 2009. Notably, the currencies of Russia and Kazakhstan appreciated in 2010 on the back of a 29 per cent increase in the average oil price, while that of Nigeria moderately depreciated. This, in our view, adds to the argument that the naira should not be devalued.
“Although its current account surplus estimate for 2010 was downwardly revised to 7 per cent of GDP, Nigeria’s external position remains strong with eight-to-nine months of import cover and the strong oil price supporting an improvement in the current account surplus to 8-10 per cent of GDP in 2011, on our estimates. We thus maintain our view that Nigeria’s exchange rate will remain stable in 2011,” Ms. Mhango said.
The Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in an interview on CNBC TV last month, said that the regulatory body has chosen to go for exchange rate stability.
“It is not a fixed rate; I have made it very clear that we are not there to defend the naira at that level at all cost, but we do not have any fundamental reason for reducing the value of the naira. I have had this debate with the IMF, the recommendations they made are internally inconsistent.
“If we devalue the currency or we depreciate the currency, it adds to inflation. The question is, can we sustain this rate? And in a time of rising oil prices, stable revenues, we think we can. In fact, the depletion of reserves has ended,” Mr. Sanusi had said.

The major business
of South African Tourism is to bring as many tourists as possible into
the country, says Phumi Dhlomo, the Regional Director, Africa and
Domestic of the agency.

He said this during
the Meetings Africa 2011, Africa’s business tourism Lekgotla, at the
Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Meetings Africa is
a business tourism marketing platform which aims to expose local and
international buyers to the range of services and products in Southern
Africa’s Meetings, Incentives, Conference,

Exhibitions (MICE)
industry. The visitor target market is anyone who travels for business
or who books business travel, as well as organisers of events,
conferences, meetings, team incentive trips, or team building
activities.

Lekgotla means a consultative process between groups pursuing a common goal.

Mr Dhlomo however,
said that South Africa is more than a destination for leisure tourism.
“We’re interested in business tourism as well, especially meetings,
conferences, exhibitions and events. We hosted a very successful World
Cup last year and we are also hosting others like golf events, music
events and other small and medium events.” Nomasonto Ndlovu, Global
Manager, Business Tourism at South African Tourism explained further
why business tourism is assuming a greater importance. “People never
travel alone for business meetings but look forward to other things
too, we must make sure that people who come for conferences have other
things to do as well.” She also added that international buyers are
keen to “buy regions” meaning that they prefer regional destinations to
just one destination “and so we are encouraging other countries to
develop as well.” “We want to see the whole continent benefit from
tourism and we believe that if we open up the African axis, it will be
wonderful. We hope South African Airways will open up more routes in
the continent,” said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the country’s minister of
tourism.

Truly, South Africa
is benefitting most from tourism as seen in the over 7.3 million
tourists it hosted between January and November last year.

Mr van Schalkwyk
further highlighted the important and growing role that business
tourism will play in the South African government’s job creation
objectives. “Tourism contributed an estimated 7.7% to South Africa’s
Gross Domestic Product in 2010. Business tourism will no doubt play a
role in getting more visitors to South Africa,” he said.

He added that in 2009, approximately 500,000 business tourists came to South Africa, about 4.7% of total tourist arrivals:

“This represents a
total economic value of about R4 billion with business tourists
spending an average of R5,300 during their stay in South Africa. The
average length of stay business tourists also increased from 4.6 nights
in 2009.” He cited statistics by the International Congress and
Convention Association (ICCA) which ranked South Africa 34th globally
and first in Africa for 2009 in terms of the number of meetings hosted.
The report shows that in 2009, almost 8,300 meetings were held
globally, of which almost 55% were held in Europe.

Africa hosted 3.8%
of the meetings or 314 meetings with 90 held in South Africa, followed
by Egypt with 32 meetings. Cape Town was the leading city in Africa
with 49 meetings; Johannesburg was ranked 5th, and Durban 10th,
compared to other African cities.

“These figures show
that South Africa and our leading business tourism cities compare very
well in terms of the rest of our continent. We believe Meetings Africa
will again be an important opportunity for the entire African meetings
and business community to interact and explore opportunities.”

A legacy of improved infrastructure

The importance of
the eight annual Meetings Africa 2011, was further attested to by
Thandiwe January-McLean, the chief executive officer of South African
Tourism.

“South African
Tourism is confident Africa’s premier business tourism exhibition will
once again be an invaluable opportunity for the entire African and
business community to interact and explore mutually beneficial
opportunities.” The country has a legacy of improved infrastructure and
world class delivery and so it was no surprise that the conference must
have achieved its objectives. The convention centre is a lesson in how
world class infrastructure can facilitate business and improve a
country’s gross domestic product. No doubt, the successful hosting of
World Cup 2010 must have boosted South Africa’s profile as she has been
invited to join the economically influential bloc of Brazil, Russia,
India, and China, with the exciting business opportunities the BRICS
partnership potentially brings.

Meetings Africa
also encouraged exhibitors and hosted buyers to interact and experience
first-hand the exciting opportunities that exist in the continent’s
meeting, exhibitions and conferencing industry. Unsurprisingly, South
Africa has secured almost 200 meetings which will attract more than 300,

000 delegates over
the next five years. Events like the United Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP 17) and a major meeting of the International Olympic
Committee.

Over 183 exhibitors
attended the exhibition with buyers from different countries. A
matchmaking programme delivered guaranteed pre-scheduled appointments
and the floor plan improvement with clear categorisation of exhibitors
made it easier for visitors to navigate the show and made the most of
the limited time. As expected, hotels, safari parks, convention
centres, and exhibition venues were the major exhibitors.

A Nigerian travel and tour operator who attended the meeting
described it as “fantastic.” Tinuke Nwakohu said she found Meetings
Africa 2011 useful as “you cannot market a destination without fully
understanding it.” Mrs Nwakohu added that the meeting also showed that
“a lot of work must be done to make Nigeria attractive like South
Africa. South Africa has shown a lot of commitment but I’m not sure we
are committed to tourism as only two people talk about tourism – the
Minister of Tourism and Lagos State Tourism commissioner, maybe when
our oil is finished, we will take tourism seriously.” She concluded.

“How am I supposed
to save when I earn barely enough to live on?” “My salary starts to
disappear as soon as I receive it. No matter how hard I try to save, I
am always broke” “Even when I do save, something always comes up, like
my friend’s wedding which was last week; she will never forgive me if I
don’t “take” her ‘aso-ebi,’ that set me back N30,000 and there is
another one in two weeks time. It’s impossible to save.”

Many young
Nigerians complain that by the end of the month, there is no money left
to save; they give up on saving even before they start. Once they have
taken care of their mobile phone bills, rent, food, clothes and
entertainment. If you are constantly broke before mid month and cannot
make ends meet, then it is time to change the way you treat your money.
With a little determination and discipline, you can do it.

You don’t earn enough to save?

This is the most
common reason for not saving and it is flawed. Many people tell
themselves that they do not earn enough money and that if they made
just a little bit more, things would be much better. This excuse would
hold more water if you have already placed yourself on a tight budget
and are paying careful attention to your spending, and are still broke.

The truth is that
many young adults are simply not paying enough attention to their
personal finances. They assume they will earn lots more as time goes on
and things will begin to fall into place. This attitude means that they
don’t really consider what comes in and where it all goes. Yet, it is
not the amount of money that you earn that matters, but how much of it
that you keep. If you establish poor spending habits when you are
young, it will be no different when you begin to earn a significant
amount of money.

Are you spending more than you earn?

Do you track your
spending? Start tracking what you spend for a month and a startling
picture will emerge of where all your money is going. When you do this,
you will have a clearer idea what you need to cut back on or do without
altogether.

Note that it’s easy
to track spending on set expenses, such as transport costs or rent. But
you can easily lose track of how much you are spending on eating out or
mobile phone re-charge cards especially if you always pay with cash.

Thirty-two year old
Shade lives rent free with her aunt in Lagos, and earns N165,000 a
month yet, she is always broke. When friends visit her office armed
with clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery for sale, she can’t resist and
it is quite easy to acquire the items as they let her pay over three to
six months. At first, these impulse purchases may seem affordable but
before long, the expenses spiral out of control and hundreds of naira
spent in this way grows into hundreds of thousands of naira. It was
glaring why Shade was always penniless and in debt.

She decided to log her expenses for the month of January 2011; it highlighted her typical monthly expense pattern.

Tithes: N17,000;
Hair / Beauty: N32,500; Eating out & Entertainment: N30,000;
Take-away meals: N20,000; Aso-ebi: N45,000; Mobile phone re-charge
cards: N16,000; Transport: N30,000; Clothes: N25,000; total: N215,500.

Budget

One of the best
ways to ensure that your expenses are not exceeding your income is to
budget. List all your routine monthly expenses, and other spending, and
subtract those amounts from your income. By making small, manageable
changes in your everyday expenses, you can make a huge impact on your
financial situation.

What is really important?

If you are living
on a tight budget, prioritising your spending is essential. Of course,
it is nice to eat out often with friends but it doesn’t have to be
everyday. If there is an item that you have set your mind on, ask
yourself if you really need it. A useful tip is to shop with a list.
Before shopping, make a list of only those items you need and buy only
those, otherwise chances are that you will end up picking up what you
don’t really need. The key is to begin to differentiate between needs
and wants, and being brutally truthful to yourself about your personal
finances.

Pay yourself first

You are probably tired of hearing about this concept but it cannot be over-emphasised, as it is a key first step to saving.

Each time you get
paid, no matter how much it is, try to keep at least 10% aside for
yourself. Instead of waiting until the end of the month to see if you
have any money left, make your savings an urgent bill that must be paid
as soon as you get your salary. This will be the foundation of your
savings. It can be difficult, but once you get started, you will see
the savings adding up and this is self-enforcing; you will be
encouraged to continue saving.

Put your savings on autopilot

Many people don’t
have the discipline to physically set money aside. One solution is to
automate your savings. Talk to your bank about setting up a direct
debit from your salary or current account to your savings account or a
mutual fund each month, preferably the day after payday. You won’t have
to worry about pay-in slips or visiting the bank; which could be an
inconvenience.

Make your savings hard to get at

Even when you make
enough to save just a little money, you will be tempted to spend it if
it is easily accessible. Put your savings in a vehicle that makes it a
little difficult for you to get at. This may be that you have to visit
the bank or observe a notice period to make a withdrawal. Don’t tie
your savings to your debit card as once you pass an ATM you will be
tempted to withdraw. This will help you to curb your impulse spending.

The art of saving
money is really a state of mind. Like any skill, it takes some effort
and practice to improve. If you are disciplined enough to commit to it
in the first place, the process would already have begun. Investing
even small amounts of money at an early age will grow into a
significant sum over time. The sooner you start saving, the better.

Write to
personalfinance@234next.com with your questions and comments. We would
love to hear from you. All letters will be considered for publication,
and if selected, may be edited.

The World Bank has unveiled a new package aimed at consolidating
its efforts to eradicate poverty in Africa through economically empowering the
people.

The package, entitled ‘Africa’s Future and the World Bank’s
Support for it’, is designed to provide support for the continent, with
specific focus on its twin pillars of promoting competitiveness and employment
generation.

The plan, which is a marked shift in the way the global bank
views Africa, is a product of extensive consultation with stakeholders on the
continent on how best to tackle the challenges of under-development through the
creation of the socio-economic and political climate for Africa’s
competitiveness in an increasingly changing global system.

One of the major investment components of the plan would see
about $24 billion (about N18.4 trillion) invested annually by the World Bank to
close the current infrastructure gap, put at about $48 billion annually, to
boost investments in the continent.

Empowering Africa

World Bank’s vice president for Africa Region, Obiageli
Ezekwesili, who announced the plan during a teleconference from Paris monitored
by representatives from various media across the continent, explained that the
implementation of the plan would help the continent’s economic reforms over the
next decade.

She said the package would also help to diversify the economies
in Africa, create employment, improve health care, support good governance, and
tackle the challenges of corruption, climate change, and other occurrences that
hamper development in the continent.

Mrs. Ezekwesili, who hinted that approval of the new plan,
designed after broad consultations with all public and private sector as well
as social groups in the continent, was given by the bank’s board on Tuesday,
pointed out that its goal is to create structures and systems that would
address the challenges of under-development as well as reposition the various economies
for improved competitiveness in the global business environment.

“The plan is going to be a huge focus on how Africa can
diversify its economic structure, how traded goods and services, in
manufacturing, agro-business, ICT, mining, and tourism as well as feed on
domestic capacities.

“These are key pillars of competitiveness like agriculture,
transportation utilities, education and skill development can receive even
greater attention in the areas of reforms as well as public investments in
order to get the highest growth impact.

“It will be a total focus on infrastructure, business
environment, and skills acquisition from without as well as from the
continent,” Mrs. Ezekwesili said.

The World Bank chief said “the strategy will address
macroeconomic as well as shocks such as health, natural disasters such as
drought, forest desertification, soil erosion, as well as address food
shortages, conflict and political violence, and threat of climate change.

“We will provide as much advocacy and build up power to support
development, particularly with regard to climate change. The foundation of the
strategy, which is governance and public sector capacity building, will be
based on the feedback we got during the period we were on the continent.

“We will emphasise the need to address governance as well as
public sector leadership, both of which are critical factors in Africa’s
continued performance and improvement,” Mrs. Ezekwesili added.

The World Bank’s chief economist for Africa, Shantayanan
Devarjan, said the bank’s new planned support for Africa is “as much a
reflection of what we (the bank) heard from Africa’s people and leaders as it
is the thinking of the World Bank”, adding that “though we are confident it is
the right approach at this time, we also want to make sure that we are ready to
adapt asAfrica continues to change and progress.”

Libyan crude oil shipments are set to slide in the coming days
as mounting violence, falling oil output, the impact of sanctions and rising
freight costs take their toll on Africa’s third-largest producer.

As fighting continues across Libya, the oil industry is trying
to assess the output lost. Most estimates have suggested around half of the
country’s 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil capacity is out of action.

But the International Energy Agency said on Friday one million
bpd of production was currently shut as foreign oil firms evacuate their
workers.

“There has been a massive flight of skilled workers,” said
Samuel Ciszuk, senior analyst with IHS Energy.

“You now have a situation where everything is pointing towards a
more or less complete shutdown of Libyan production.”

At least 4.4 million barrels of crude sailed from Libyan ports
last week on tankers. But shipping sources said the export momentum was fading,
adding that a number of shipments had been cancelled in the past few days.

“You are definitely seeing a slowdown in activity,” a ship
broker said. “At the end of last week deals have been a lot more flaky — it’s
a combination of nervousness and people taking stock of the various sanctions.”

Western countries, the European Union and the United Nations
have imposed sanctions on Libya and frozen government assets after forces loyal
to leader Muammar Gaddafi fired on protestors.

The Swiss branch of Libyan oil company Tamoil told Reuters last
week U.N. sanctions could affect the group’s ability to source crude and that
high oil prices had forced it to cut refinery runs.

There were also indications that tankers were leaving Libya
without crude onboard. A tanker owned by Iranian tanker company NITC left a
Libyan port without a cargo, an NITC spokesman said.

Separately, Danish owner and operator Torm said one its tankers
left Libya without loading a cargo.

“They were not able to get hold of the cargo,” a Torm spokesman
said, without giving further details.

Libya’s top oil official estimated last week oil output by the
world No.12 exporter had fallen to 700,000-750,000 bpd.

Falling output

Ship brokers and analysts said the amount exported in oil
tankers was most likely to have been taken from storage tankers or from
existing pipeline supplies.

Sources said the growing costs involved in Libyan oil shipments
was also making deals more unattractive, with more buyers seeking alternative
crude oil sources including Nigerian or Saudi Arabian stocks.

“When ship owners are quoting Libyan cargoes they double or
triple the freight rate due to uncertainties,” a second ship broker said.

Tanker rates on the benchmark cross Mediterranean route rocketed
up to their highest in more than nine months last week to nearly $50,000 a day
before retreating to $41,197 a day on Friday, Baltic Exchange data showed.

Expectation of higher insurance costs is another growing factor,
shipping sources said. London’s marine insurance market added Libya to a list
of areas deemed high risk.

“The key thing at the moment is insurance and it’s expensive for
people to call at Libyan ports,” a ship broker said. “The Lloyd’s market move
is bound to have an impact.”