Business

Flour Mills Floats Bond On FMDQ

Published

3 years ago

January 30, 2021

Eric

FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited has approved the listing of the Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc’s N4.89bn Series 4 tranche A and N25bn Series 4 tranche B Fixed Rate Bonds under its N70bn Bond Issuance Programme on its platform.

The FMDQ in a statement said the Nigerian economic landscape and business environment has continued to witness disruptions as occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic with attendant concerns of a prevailing second wave despite global vaccination efforts and restrictive guidelines put in place by governments and advisory bodies.

The statement said, “The situation has seen corporates across multiple sectors re-evaluate their financing strategies going into the new year by tapping the debt capital markets as a viable avenue to efficiently raise capital in order to meet their business expansion/working capital needs.

“The critical role which debt markets play in facilitating sustainable growth and development cannot be overemphasised.

“The Nigeria debt capital market plays an important role in the efficient mobilisation and allocation of resources in the economy and despite the impact of the current times, the market has continued to effectively support corporates looking to expand their business operations.”

It added, “It is in this regard that FMDQ Holdings in its capacity as a leading market organiser of the Nigerian DCM, amongst others, has continued to provide stakeholders in the Nigerian capital market with a credible and robust platform for capital access, risk management and transfer of value.

“As major effects of the pandemic, Nigeria has witnessed rapid inflation characterised by dwindling food security and reduced labour market participation.

“Flour Mills is strategically positioned to produce and supply products of superior quality and value to the market, thereby enriching the lives of consumers, customers, communities, employees, and all stakeholders.”

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Omoboyede Olusanya, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, said, “Flour Mills is delighted to have successfully concluded the issuance of N29.89bn Series 4 (Tranche A & B) bonds under the N70bn bond issuance programme.

“The bond, which coincided with our 60th anniversary celebration was strongly supported by the institutional investor community and corroborates our strategic objective of sustaining our market leadership position.

“The proceeds of both bonds have been used entirely to refinance our existing commercial paper notes also successfully issued during the pandemic.”

Also commenting on the listing, Abimbola Kasim, Ag Managing Director, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, stated “FCMB Capital Markets appreciates the opportunity given to us by the Board and Management of Flour Mills of Nigeria to act as the Lead Issuing House on its N29.89bn Series 4 Bond Issuance, being the final and largest Series under the N70bn Bond Issuance Programme registered in 2018.

“The success of this transaction speaks to Flour Mills’ impressive operational and financial performance, and an affirmation of this strength by investors in the bond who subscribed overwhelmingly during a low interest rate environment.”

He added that following the success, his firm expected Flour Mills and other clients to continue to explore opportunities to raise funds from the Nigerian debt capital markets to diversify their funding sources.

Business

FirstBank Appoints New MD/CEO, Alebiosu

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Eric

First Bank of Nigeria has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as its new Managing Director with effect from April 2024.

The Bank stated this in a release signed by its acting company secretary Adewale Arogundade.

Alebiosu takes from Adesola Adeduntan, who resigned abruptly on Saturday with eight months left to complete his tenure in December 2024.

The release stated that “following the resignation of the managing director/CEO of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Board of Directors has appointed Olusegun Alebiosu as the acting CEO of the 130-year-old institution.

“The appointment takes effect immediately and is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The release stated that Alebiosu was until this appointment the executive director, chief risk officer and executive compliance officer since January 2022. Prior to that, he was the Group executive/ chief risk officer, a position he held since 2016.

“Alebiosu brings to the executive management of FirstBank over 28 years’ experience in the banking and financial services industry with cross-functional exposure to Credit risk management, Financial planning and control, Credit and marketing, Trade, Corporate and commercial banking, Agriculture financing, Oil and Gas, Transportation (including Aviation and Shipping) and Project financing.”

It added that the new acting MD/CEO commenced his professional career in 1991 with Oceanic Bank Plc (now EcoBank) and prior to joining FirstBank in 2016 served as Chief Risk Officer at Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, Chief Credit Risk Officer at African Development Bank Group and Group Head, Credit Policy & Deputy Chief Credit Risk Officer at United Bank for Africa Plc.

“He is an alumnus of Harvard School of Government and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations and Personnel Management. He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos and holds a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“He is a member of various professional bodies namely, Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA), Associate, Nigeria Institute of Management (ANIM), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and Member, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs.”

Business

Again, Naira Slumps Against Dollar, Trades at N1,169/$1 in Official Window

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Eric

The Naira, on Friday, slumped for the second consecutive day against the American dollar at the official window trading at N1,169/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

At the end of trading on Friday, the Naira lost N15 against the dollar when compared to the previous exchange rate of N1,154/$1 on Thursday, April 18, 2024.

The intra-day high and low recorded during the day were N1,236/$1 and N1,021/$1 respectively, representing a lean spread of N215/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the dollar at the parallel market for the second consecutive day to trade at N1,150/$1 representing a loss of N50 when compared to the N1,100/$1 it traded the previous day.

The British Pound also slumped against the Naira by N50 to trade at N1,500/£1 as against the previous trading price of N1,450/£1 representing a loss of N50 for the local currency,

The Canadian dollar however closed flat against the Naira to trade at N1,000/CA$1 same as the previous trading day rate of N1,000/ CA$1.

The Euro also slumped against the Naira to trade at N1, 280/€1 as against the rate of N1,200/€1 the previous trading rate indicating a gain of N80 in the European currency.

Business

Glo Launches New Internet Solution Products for Homes, Businesses

Published

2 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Eric

Two new products, which provide internet connectivity solutions specially designed for Residential and SME commercial customers, have been unveiled by digital solutions company, Globacom.

The products, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Business (FTTB) were packaged for Glo customers to enjoy reliable and high speed internet through linked fibre services.

Globacom said in a statement in Lagos “With these services, businesses and homes can access dedicated internet speeds of up to 1GBps, allowing unlimited internet usages for seamless video calls, video and music streaming and a whole lot of other dedicated usages to promote business success and equally provide endless entertainment for homes”.

It explained that the new product comes with a unique opportunity for “Residential Estates, High Rise Apartments, Commercial SME Estates to enjoy dedicated high speed internet in their cluster”.

These services, according to Globacom, give exceptional experience and unmatched speed for users at home or in offices and are provided through hi-speed fibre – unlike copper which was being used in the past.

Positioning itself as the premier provider of innovative solutions for businesses of all sizes, Globacom assured customers of the best value for money with the new offerings, adding that users who sign on for these services will also enjoy fully dedicated bandwidth.

“We are committed to delivering the most cost-effective data connectivity experience for homes and businesses in addition to providing dedicated and reliable services.” Globacom concluded.