Nigeria Content Online

Royal Dutch Shell
is facing opposition to its plans to seek shale gas in South Africa’s
semi-desert Karoo region, as farmers fear methods used to extract it
will contaminate water and harm the environment.

The outcome of
whether Shell is allowed to proceed could affect prospects for other
oil and gas companies in the Karoo, which may hold substantial deposits
of gas in shale.

This gas can now be
exploited due to new techniques and could bring a much needed fresh
source of energy to Africa’s largest economy, which is heavily reliant
on coal.

Gulf Arab fund
managers who only weeks ago were predicting Egypt would be the top
regional performer in 2011, are now caught in the country’s political
upheaval as the local financial markets remain shut.

The main Egyptian
share market index has dropped more than 21 per cent since the start of
the year and financial markets have now been shut for the last five
working days, as protesters demand an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s
rule camp on Cairo’s streets,

Fund managers are
now hoping they can cut losses once the market reopens. Egypt’s stock
exchange is due to reopen on Monday, provided banks are operating
smoothly, its chairman was quoted as saying.

Switzerland and
Nigeria will formally conclude a migration partnership in less than two
weeks, Andreas Baum, the ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, has said.

Mr. Baum, at the
inauguration of a new factory by Nestle Nigeria in Ogun State on
Thursday, said the partnership will be concluded during the planned
visit of Odein Ajumogobia, the foreign affairs minister, to Berne on
February 14.

“The memorandum of
understanding on a migration partnership has a pioneering character
which will bring cooperation between Switzerland and Nigeria to a new
level. The partnership, which is designed to acknowledge both the
opportunities and challenges of migration, is the first of such
agreement between Switzerland and an African country,” he said.

“It became clear
that both Nigerian and Swiss partners were aware that capacity building
– including in the field of training and education – should be an area
of joint cooperation,” the envoy further said.

Mr. Baum said the
Swiss Embassy looked into private initiatives and training projects by
business operators and found Nestle’s Nigeria Technical Training Centre
in the Agbara factory an excellent opportunity to build upon because it
targets at developing young people and contributing towards the growth
of Science and technology in Nigeria.

“I am, therefore,
happy to make a formal announcement that Switzerland has decided to
establish a scholarship for five students annually at the new Nestle’s
Nigeria Technical Training Centre,” Mr. Baum said, adding that the
scholarship will provide vocational training in the field of
Electo-Mechanical-Automation Engineering.

“The sponsorship is
one of the key outcomes of the exploratory talks the Embassy initiated
with Swiss companies operating in Nigeria,” he said.

Furthermore, the
five best students from each promotion will have the opportunity to
participate in an additional training module of several months in
Switzerland, in the framework of training programmes of Nestle’s
headquarters.

Meanwhile, at the
inauguration of the new factory, which was also attended by Namadi
Sambo, the nation’s vice president and Gbenga Daniel, Ogun State
governor, the chief executive officer of Nestle South Africa, Paul
Bulcke, reiterated the company’s continuous contribution to Nigeria.

“Nestle has been
operationally present in Nigeria for 50 years, bringing meaningful
value to society at large. This latest investment is proof of our
commitment to Africa,” Mr. Bulcke said.

With an investment of N12 billion, the new factory, Flowergate, is
Nestle’s 27th in Africa and is key to its growth in Nigeria. Nestle’s
activities in the country is worth about N59 billion, with over 3,000
employees.

The Nigerian
economy will experience a surge in the third and fourth quarter of this
year as the country begins to put behind her the aftermath of the April
elections. The economy sectors that would generate significant interest
are the equities market and the property development sector.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri,
managing director of UBA Asset Management Limited, gave this positive
outlook while addressing high networth and institutional investors
yesterday in Lagos.

He also said
foreign direct investment (FDI) would receive a boost as foreign
investors would be interested in making considerable gains in the
Nigerian market.

“Prior to
elections, we see nervousness but over the years we have seen that when
it matters most, Nigerians come together to take a decision that is
good for the country. The truth is that with oil at $100 per barrel,
everybody wants to make sure that it turns out well because it pays
everybody to have that extra naira in the pocket rather than have what
is happening in Egypt or Tunisia,” Mr. Jalo-Waziri said.

Preferred destination

He said with
developed market expected to make marginal gains, emerging economies,
of which Nigeria is prominent, will be the preferred destination by
investors.

Mr. Jalo-Waziri
further said with Nigeria’s GDP (growth domestic product) growth rate
of above 7.5 as projected, the economy provides a good window for
investors, both local and international, to make good returns on
investment.

This enthusiasm is
shared by Razia Khan, Regional Head of Research, Africa Global Research
at Standard Chartered Bank, London. In her global focus on Africa
released yesterday, Ms. Khan said that Africa has seen a gradual
improvement in growth since the global economic crisis, when GDP
declined to just over 1 per cent.

“But the region
managed to avert an outright contraction. A number of factors were
responsible for this – good growth momentum before the crisis, the
relatively quick stabilization in commodity prices post-crisis, and not
least, within the region itself, an unprecedented level of fiscal and
monetary stimulus in response to the slowdown,” Ms. Khan said.

Mr. Jalo-Waziri
said the exclusion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) of bank shares from margin loans and
reduction of margin-related borrowing rate to 10 per cent of banks loan
portfolio, would reduce price volatility of bank shares.

“Favourable macroeconomic environment for FDI inflows will provide a much needed boost to the stock market,” he said.

UBA Asset
Management Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Bank for
Africa. In 2006, it simultaneously floated four mutual funds, the UBA
Balanced Fund, UBA Equity Fund, UBA Money Market Fund, and the UBA Bond
Fund for N1 billion each at N1 each.

The funds currently
have assets worth about N5.7 billion out of over N31 billion managed by
the firm and accounts for about 3.5 per cent of the Nigerian mutual
funds market currently estimated at N135.2 billion.

The
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) yesterday said it exceeded its
projected 2010 tax collection targets by about 13 per cent, and almost
30 percent above the figure for the previous year.

The
Executive Chairman, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, said the agency recorded
over N2.83 trillion in tax revenue receipts, against a target of N2.5
trillion projected for the year and a total of N2.197 trillion realised
in 2009.

Though
Mrs. Omoigui-Okauru said that last year was a very uncertain period for
the country, particularly in the wake of the global economic crisis and
the reforms in the banking sector, she said the achievement recorded
vindicated the FIRS’ management resolve to remain optimistic against
all odds.

The
agency boss revealed this at the 2011 enlarged management meeting of
the service, an annual forum for its top managers to review and analyse
the agency’s performance in the past year in line with set objectives
at the beginning of the year as well as identify the agenda and
expectations for the new year.The service was unable to persuade the
National Assembly to pass several tax bills currently pending before
them, particularly constitutional amendments on tax issues.“This year,
we must focus on the big picture and be dedicated to the task of
nation-building. We must implement processes and programmes to make the
system faster, implement self-assessment, voluntary compliance,
integration of informal sector, induce presumptive tax regime,
automation of tax filling processes, multiple taxation and reduction of
overall tax burden on taxpayers,” she said.

New Tax Policy

The Finance minister, Olusegun Aganga, said the problems of
multiplicity of taxes and other fiscal burdens by tax payers will be
removed soon as the National Tax Policy (NTP) is to be launched within
the next few weeks to boost efficiency in the country’s tax
administration as well as improve the climate for business operations.

Mr.
Aganga said the NTP will stipulate guidelines and rules to regulate the
country’s tax system as well as provide a basis for tax legislation and
administration, adding that the ministry would continue to work with
the FIRS to enable it play its role in developing and initiating tax
policy.

“The
National Tax Policy will soon be formally launched and the ministry
will ensure strict implementation of government policy objectives as
spelt out in the policy document. The FIRS must continue to be at the
forefront of the challenge and come up with strategies that will
broaden our revenue base to include the informal sector, as the country
cannot afford to rely on oil revenue forever”,Mr Aganga added.

To enhance tax administration and tax compliance, the minister said
the Federal Executive Council, at its last meeting in 2010, considered
and endorsed tax compliance requirement before approval for all
contracts.

I am a regular face
at a Quick Service Restaurant with a foreign affiliation on a weekly
basis. I am not a fast food freak but my children have made it
compelling for me, as they know the major ones off hand. One major
thing that I found in all the outlets I have visited is the inability
of the employees to live the brand. It gets to a level that if you have
the number of the CEO, you would want to report the damage being done
to a brand that took years of toils and pains to build.

The truth must be
told – our QSRs are nothing to write home about. The way and manner
some of the staff address customers leave much to be desired. They
sound uncultured and very confrontational. The other day, I overheard a
lady chronicling her history that she is a graduate and as a result,
the customer should not look down on her.

There are other
several stories of such but they are not limited to QSRs alone. Our
banks are even worse, even though some of them changed during the
Sanusi Tsunami; but they are gradually descending to the abyss again.

There have been
several instances that cashiers scream at customers and in some cases,
they look at customers with disdain. The situation is embarrassing when
you speak to some company contacts on phone. The so-called customer
care officers sound as if the two of you have been involved in a brawl
prior to that time.

Employees need to
understand their role in the delivery of high standard customer service
and live their organisation’s brands. Their behaviour should
demonstrate their company’s values and should be fully aware of their
role in providing positive experience for clients.

Their behavioural
disposition should support brand principles. Employees play a crucial
role in creating customer satisfaction and their roles in delivering
value should not be underestimated.

Employers should
ensure that employees are well immersed in the brand values as well as
the organisational objectives so that they project it in a positive
light. Brand values should be promoted to the internal publics in order
to ensure that all employees understand the objectives.

For employees to be
worthy brand ambassadors, there should be consistent engagement
sessions with them to ensure that their attitude and disposition
support the company’s values and goals. This creates a differentiation
and advantage competitors cannot replicate.

It has thus become
a critical thing to do to ensure that employees who interface with
clients directly need to be cultured individuals who have all it takes
to retain a customer. They should be well polished in all intents and
they should have the knowhow to handle customer enquiries efficiently.

Customers’ views are important

Organisations
should also listen attentively to what customers say about their
brands. Every conversation about your brand is very crucial to its
survival for it represents the promise made to customers’ about the
products and services.

There should be
sessions to fully engage customers on a regular basis to feel their
pulse and know their views on the brands. It should not be restricted
to virtual approach alone, as this jeopardises getting the raw insights
that can help the brand on a long run.

I remember vividly
a customer perception project undertaken for one of the big banks
several years ago . The bank’s CEO ordered that the findings should be
sent to all the branches for the Heads to take appropriate action. The
project took the employees unawares, as several of the staff were not
living up to expectation. The management took the findings seriously
and this really helped shaped perception of customers about the brand.
The nature of the project was shrouded in secrecy in order to get an
on-the-spot assessment of the performance of employees.

Most organisations
need to improve on their employees and introduce schemes and
initiatives that will make them become good brand ambassadors. If this
is not given utmost priority, the brands will die slowly until its
final demise. The truth is also that some brands are already dying, but
the signs are not yet ominous for the organisations to take urgent
measures to address the situation.

The next time you are treated badly, tell the person: Please live the brand!

Ayopo, a communication strategist and public relations specialist, is the ceo of Shortlist ltd

The Ondo State
House of Assembly has passed a bill establishing the state’s
Agricultural Inputs Supply Agency to enable the company to operate as a
legal entity.

Speaker Samuel
Adesina said at the plenary session of the House on Wednesday in Akure
that the law setting up the agency was long overdue for review.

Mr Adesina
expressed optimism that the new law will facilitate the development of
the agency and make it more productive in every sphere of its
operations.Assemblyman, Idowu Adebusuyi, the Chairman of the House
Committee on Agriculture, said the committee initiated the bill when it
discovered that there was no law backing up the agency’s establishment.

Work on the N8.3
billion leather and garment cluster in Obingwa in Abia State will
resume in March, Chidibere Ukaegbu, the managing director of the
layout, has said.

Mr. Ukaegbu, who is
the chairman and chief executive of Futuristic Development Ltd., on
Thursday, said that the contractors abandoned the project in the heat
of the kidnapping in the state.

“The project was
not abandoned as being speculated. We and the contractors moved out of
site for safety,” he said, adding that the clearing of the 19.2
hectare-land would continue.

The clearing of the
site, which started in September 2009, was abandoned by the contractors
owing to the level of insecurity in the state, especially in Obingwa.

Nigeria plans to
auction a total of N109.27 billion ($716 million) in 91-day,182-day and
364-day debt next week, the Central bank said on Thursday.

The regulator said
it will issue N39.27 billion in 91-day bills, 40 billion in 182-day
bills and 30 billion in 364-day bonds next Thursday, using the Dutch
Auction System.The result will be released the following day.

Traders said
liquidity from budgetary allocations last month has thinned out, but
expected the offer to be oversubscribed due to improving yields after
the central bank raised its key interest rate to 6.50 percent from 6.25
percent a week ago.

Nigeria,sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest economy, issues treasury
bills regularly as part of monetary control measures to curb inflation
and help banks manage their liquidity.

Kenya will issue a
30-year savings development bond and a 2-year bond to raise a total of
18 billion shillings, the Central Bank said on Thursday.

The 30-year bond is
the first of its kind and the longest dated bond yet. It will come with
a coupon of 12 per cent, paid every six months, the bank said in a
statement.

“Proceeds will be
used towards the development of social and economic infrastructure
including the implementation of the new constitution,” Central Bank
said.

Like other frontier
debt markets, Kenya’s debt market has attracted plenty of local and
foreign investor appetite in the past two years, as investors chased
yields.