Pope to Davos: Don’t Forget The Poor!

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20/01/2016

In a message read by Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to participants gathered at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the Pontiff urged leaders “not to forget the poor” and to see the creation of jobs as an essential part of business leaders’ service to the common good alongside producing wealth and improving the world.

“The present moment offers the world a precious opportunity to guide and govern the transformations associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution in a way that builds inclusive societies. However, it brings diminished opportunities for employment that also brings with it a responsibility among leaders to create jobs, tackle inequality and help solve society’s complex crisis,” said Pope Francis in his message.

On the risk that the Fourth Industrial revolution poses to labour markets, Pope Francis said:
“Clearly there is a need to create new models of doing business that, while promoting the development of advanced technologies, are also capable of using them to create dignified work for all.”

The Pope encouraged leaders to seize the opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution presents:
“The World Economic Forum can become a platform for the defence and protection of creation and for the achievement of a progress which is healthier, more human, more social and more integral.”

Renewable Energy to Drive 4th Industrial Revolution

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20/01/2016

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Far from being a romantic dream, renewables are central to meeting the energy demands that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring.

Clean energy now accounts for more than half of all new energy supply, said Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency, Paris. The bulk of new installations – more than two-thirds – come from emerging countries, he added.

“To meet climate change and growth targets, around 40% of future energy supply must come from zero-emission technologies.”
Hiroaki Nakanishi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Hitachi, Japan; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016, said the challenge has moved from having more renewable energy to having better energy systems.

There are distributional challenges that come with the distance between generation sites of wind and solar energy and the load centres.

“A more systematic approach is required to integrate renewable energy sources into an overall smart grid,” he stressed.

“More renewable energy means more investments in electric grids to manage loads and demands,” outlined Ignacio Sánchez Galán, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Iberdrola, Spain.

“Over the next 25 years, energy demand will increase by more than 80% globally, he added. As such, huge investments are required across all energy technologies as well as electric grids and distribution systems. There is no silver-bullet solution.”
China will play a leading role in this transformation towards green and renewable energy, said Eric Xin Luo, Chief Executive Officer, Shunfeng International Clean Energy, People’s Republic of China.

“The country has set an ambitious target that 25% of all energy production comes from renewable sources,” he said.
In the meantime, China is already a leading exporter of clean energy technology – for instance, more than 60% of the world’s solar panels are manufactured in China.

Dell Expands Open Networking Software Range with New Dell OS10

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20/01/2016

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Dell has extended its reach in Open Networking with the announcement of Operating System 10 (OS10) from Dell Networking, a next-generation networking software designed to introduce new levels of software flexibility and programmability in large-scale data centre environments.

According to the Vice President and General Manager at Dell Networking and Enterprise Infrastructure, Tom Burns, the OS10 platform is designed around new benchmarks for open software modularity so users can create the most efficient and flexible paths across networked systems.

According to Burns, “Modern, software-defined, data centers require a fresh approach to operations – not just for the network, but across compute and storage elements as well. OS10 gives customers a future-ready springboard to innovate their networks and data center infrastructure more quickly and consistently, affording customers greater efficiency and capability at scale.”

Dell’s OS10 comprises a base module and various optional application modules. The OS10 Base Module is available for free and runs a fully-open, unmodified Linux distribution.

Below it, the OS 10 Base Module employs the Open Compute Project Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) that enables a common, programmer-friendly language between vendor network operating systems and the particular silicon residing on the physical switch.

On top of the base module, OS10 can support traditional networking functions (L2/L3 protocols) from Dell as well as numerous third-party, native Linux, and open source applications such as IP, fabric and security services combined with management and automation tools. This allows customers to tailor IT operations for different use case and operational processes.

OS10’s unmodified Linux base provides distinct advantages as customers increasingly look to design applications and data centers across server, storage and networking – not just one silo.

While OS10 will have appeal for traditional network operators seeking conventional programming means, the software will also appeal to DevOps communities seeking a consistent, common development environment across server, storage and networking elements.

Nigeria: Experts See Optimistic 2O16

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19/01/2016

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A cross section of local and offshore experts believes the Nigerian situation remains bright and optimistic in 2O16 despite a deluge of challenges.

According to a report by Kate Douglas, last year was tough for Nigeria, not only because it felt the effects of a collapsed oil price, but also the cumulative impact of election tensions that created uncertainties in the national economy.

“Nigeria is not growing in per capita terms – it’s true, it did not in 2015. But the oil price has halved so you can understand why.

The more positive way of looking at it is that this is an economy that’s still growing, that still provides opportunity to foreign investors, that is led by a president who is determined to reduce corruption in a country that unfortunately has a known reputation for it… and a president that seems more capable of reducing the ethnic tensions that have existed in Nigeria,” notes Renaissance Capital’s Global Chief Economist, Charles Robertson.

“So you have an improving security situation, improving anti-corruption policies, and a country still growing [around] 3%, even when its primary export has just halved in price. It would be unwise to write-off Nigeria.”

Anna Rosenberg, H ead of Frontier Strategy Group’s sub-Saharan Africa Research practice, agrees. Her firm recently ranked all sub-Saharan African countries in terms of their resilience to external shocks – with Nigeria scoring quite high.

“So while its main economic trajectory in 2016 is going to be tough, I think that at the end Nigeria is going to get out of it fine, and relatively strengthened,” comments Rosenberg.

According to Edward George, Ecobank’s Head of Research, “we do expect a bit of a pick-up this year, but Nigerians are grappling with very big problems.”

Nigeria’s 2016 budget, revealed in December, was calculated with Brent crude – which contributes the largest share of the country’s foreign exchange reserves – estimated at a price of US$38 per barrel, greatly reduced from last year’s benchmark of $53 per barrel. However, this week Brent crude fell to below $28.

“There are some really difficult decisions to make in terms of public spending and trying to control foreign exchange reserves. And the biggest challenge for them this year is really the currency,” continues George.

Image by: Angelpub

Africa Tech Start-Ups Raise $185.7m in 2O15

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19/01/2016

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A new report by Disrupt Africa says a total of 125 tech African start-ups raised over $185.7 million in seed capital in 2O15.

The report looks to quantify the total amount of investment going into the continent’s tech start-ups, and to what countries and sectors specifically that funding is going to, in order to build a base from which the future development of the sector can be judged.

Below are the major 5 takeaways from the report:

1. Tech funding in Africa is clearly on the rise
The report found 125 African start-ups raised a total in excess of US$185.7m in 2015. This is merely the tip of the iceberg, however, as a large number of investments will have taken place under the radar.

Estimates of some undisclosed funding rounds were made ultra-conservatively in order not to result in an artificially large overall figure.

There were a significant number of investors, both international and domestic, institutional and individual. The continent’s tech start-up ecosystem is on the rise, and 2016 looks like it will be even bigger.

2. South Africa is top of the pile
South Africa came out on top in terms of both the amount of start-ups that raised funding (45%) and total funding of $54.6m.

There were standout deals for the likes of M4JAM and WiGroup, and start-ups across a variety of sectors raised cash. The country has a growing local angel investment scene, and is popular with overseas investors.

3. Nigeria is coming
Narrowly beaten to the top spot was Nigeria, whose start-ups raised over $49.4m in 2015. Interestingly, Nigerian start-ups actually raised more each on average than their South African counterparts.

The country has increasingly become an area of interest for investors given the sheer size of the market, while there is much buzz around the Yaba ecosystem in Lagos.

4. Is Egypt back?
For a few years Egypt was blacklisted by investors due to political instability, but there were signs in 2015 that money is returning to the North African country.

There were record funding rounds, and the average raised per start-up was high. As the new government continues its reforms, this is expected to continue in 2016.

5. There is interest elsewhere too
The big three of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya grab the headlines, but investors are increasingly looking further afield.

The report details investments in a variety of other African countries – from Zambia to Uganda – and demonstrates that start-ups in smaller countries are also seeing an increasing amount of capital made available to them.

By Tom Jackson

Global Telcos May Dump Africa over Profit Threat

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19/01/2016

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Africa may well be the next frontier for growth and expansion for global telecom operators, but a number of major players have encountered serious challenges around the profitability of their investments in trying to establish a sustainable and economically viable footprint on the continent.

And, according to global technology research and consulting firm, International Data Corporation (IDC), these challenges have led some global telcos to reconsider their plans for the region.

Etisalat Group, for example, entered into an agreement in 2014 that saw Maroc Telecom acquire its subsidiaries operating under the Moov brand in Francophone West Africa (i.e., Benin, Central African Republic, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Togo).

The deal also included Prestige Telecom, a company based in the Ivory Coast that provided IT services to Etisalat’s operations in the six aforementioned countries. The move was spurred by the steadily declining revenues that Etisalat was pulling in from its international subsidiaries, with all of its West African operations (including Nigeria) contributing just 7% to its overall revenues in 2014.

Elsewhere, Bharti Airtel entered 15 African markets in 2010 after acquiring Zain’s subsidiaries on the continent, and has since expanded into two more markets.

However, after five years of operations, the telco is considering selling some of its African subsidiaries, largely due to concerns around sustainability and profitability. Indeed, Orange is currently in talks with Bharti Airtel to acquire four subsidiaries in Francophone and Anglophone Africa (i.e., Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, and Sierra Leone).

“The poor level of infrastructure – particularly in relation to electricity supply – is one of the key challenges that telcos encounter when it comes to deploying and maintaining top-quality network operations in Africa,” says Paul Black, director of IDC’s telecoms program for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.

“This issue has consistently affected the profitability of telcos due to the increased levels of capital and operational expenditure they must undertake in building and maintaining a passive telecom infrastructure. Some global telcos have also failed to adapt and implement strategies that have succeeded in other regions.

Indeed, the majority of global telcos have been unable to localize their global strategies to suit the unique operating environments of the African market.”

“The operational challenges facing telcos in Africa have driven growth in the continent’s third-party telecommunications infrastructure management business, and IDC expects the pressing need for telcos to reduce their costs and increase their levels of control to sustain growth in this space,” continues Black.

“In order to increase the likelihood of success, telcos wishing to pursue growth and expansion in the African market must focus on developing enterprise products and services that appeal directly to the wants and needs of the local market, and to small and medium-sized businesses in particular.

Telcos looking to enter Africa should tailor strategies that have succeeded in other regions to the specific operating environments they encounter in Africa, while the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) route should also be considered as a potential entry strategy.”

Orange Buys Two Networks in Africa from Bharti Airtel

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19/01/2016

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Orange and Bharti Airtel have signed an agreement leading to Orange’s acquisition of Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.

Orange will acquire 100% of the two companies’ share capital. The consolidated revenue of the two companies is around EUR275 million. These acquisitions will be implemented in partnership with Orange’s subsidiaries in the Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

The outlay for Orange for these transactions will be based on the financials of Airtel’s two subsidiaries for the year ended March 31, 2016 and will represent the equivalent of 7.9 times Airtel’s EBITDA in these two countries at this time. The completion of these transactions remains subject to approval by the competent authorities.

Through this deal, Orange will reinforce its presence in Africa with two additional countries, adding almost 5.5 million customers to its mobile customer base. This acquisition will bring the Group’s African footprint up to 20 countries in 2016.

This is further to the initial agreement signed between Airtel and Orange in July 2015 regarding the potential acquisition of Airtel’s operations in Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Chad and Congo Brazzaville. The agreements regarding potential transactions in the remaining two countries have lapsed.

IoT Could Transform Lives in Developing Countries via ‘Connectivity Key’

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19/01/2016

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A new report from ITU and networking giant, Cisco, identifies the Internet of Things (IoT) as a major global development opportunity that has the potential to improve the lives of millions and dramatically accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Launched at the Pacific Telecommunications Council annual meeting in Hawaii, “Harnessing the Internet of Things for Global Development” outlines how IoT could have a major impact in areas such as grassroots delivery of health care and education, positively transforming communities within a time frame that would have been unimaginable even a few years ago.

The joint report argues that strong demand for IoT technologies has created a huge array of IoT devices that are readily available, affordable and scalable for developing countries, providing an ideal platform to energise growth in emerging economies and improve people’s quality of life significantly – all with minimal investment.

The ITU/Cisco report points to evidence of IoT already having an important impact on health, education and livelihood programmes (such as agricultural productivity) in developing countries.

It cites three prime drivers that, if supported, could create an ‘IoT revolution’ in the developing world:

Availability: IoT devices are already common, cheap and easy replaceable in developing markets. Basic infrastructure to support IoT (Wi-Fi, Internet cafés, etc.) is already in place in many developing communities, with near-ubiquitous basic mobile connectivity (95% global 2G coverage, according to ITU’s latest statistics) and growing levels of 3G coverage (89% of the world’s urban dwellers – but only 29% of rural inhabitants).

IoT devices are increasingly being used in rugged, remote and inhospitable environments. ‘Extreme conditions’ operating parameters are now being built into IoT specs as more and more devices are required to operate outside in varying conditions and climates – making them well-adapted for challenging environments.

Affordability: IoT R&D costs continue to be absorbed by strong demand in developed world markets, and there is little cost associated with ‘tweaking’ IoT devices for the developing world. The report also notes that in many cases, more complex developed world infrastructure is not required or necessary for developing markets; ‘core IoT’ is readily available and provides a digital backbone to build upon.

Scalability: IoT devices are designed to be scalable. Many devices already offer very simple ‘plug & play’ functionality and do not require skilled technicians for installation or maintenance. Reduced and alternate power supplies (such as solar) can maintain sensors and networks where there is no consistent electricity supply, making them ideal for countries struggling with irregular or unavailable grid power.

Finally, IoT devices also tend to be highly flexible, offering short- or long-term solutions and expansion at the household’s, the community’s or the country’s ‘own’ speed.

“The Internet of Things is one of the most exciting areas of our fast-evolving ICT industry, offering huge potential for disruption and transformation. In the context of global development challenges, this means we have the potential to surmount long-standing hurdles in basic services like health care, both quickly and affordably. IoT could prove the long-awaited new approach that will help turn-around developing economies and greatly improve millions of people’s day-to-day lives,” said ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao.

Banks ‘Cooking’ Books for 2O15 Annual Report

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18/01/2016

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Some banks are alleged to be manipulating their 2O15 financials to cover up negative indices arising from a difficult business environment last year.

A prominent financial analyst told Business Journal in Lagos that some banks are currently applying soothing balm on their result by way of revising some critical figures to highlight the ‘bright spots’ and downplay the negative angles.

He said: “Without mincing words, 2O15 was a difficult year for the business community in Nigeria. From pre-election, election and post-election uncertainties, to lack of policy direction for over six months from the Buhari administration and continued fall in oil prices that created attendant squeeze on government revenue, the year, to put it mildly, was difficult.

But banks have a special problem because of intense competition amongst the players and no bank wants to declare a loss publicly to avoid negative perception by the banking public. Even the banks that went under recently were still declaring billions of Naira in profit until they descended into the grave.

And that clearly explains the ‘financial engineering’ and ‘performance consolidation’ going on in some banks today to cover up the losses arising from a difficult 2O15 financial year. It is important for regulators and shareholders to keep their eyes open before we beat a return to the dark era of ‘paper profit’ in the sector.”

He said once a bank declares “billions upon billions of profit for 2O15, it should automatically become a red flag to guide regulators to further scrutinise the audited accounts of such a bank. We must differentiate between real profit and manipulated figures.”

However, in a quick reaction, the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] debunked the allegation as baseless.

Mr. Ibrahim Muazu, Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN told Business Journal: “It [allegation] is baseless and l do not expect any bank and their external auditors to allow such.”

Market analysts listed other challenges faced by banks in 2O15 to include unstable forex regime and illiquidity, rising cost of operation, declining margins, bearish capital market and dwindling investor confidence in the economy.

Survey Projects Nigeria as Key Consumer Market in Africa

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18/01/2016

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Consumer spending by a fast-growing middle class is as important a growth driver for Africa as mineral and resource demand, according to a new survey of global logistics executives.

In the survey, which is part of the 2016 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, industry executives rank South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana as the most promising markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Poor infrastructure, lack of power generation and corruption continue to pose the most risk to African economies, according to the more than 1,100 executives responding to the survey.

Despite recent growth and surging foreign investment, Sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenging frontier for many. Only 21.2% of logistics industry executives surveyed said their companies have operations there. Another 12.7% said they are in the planning stages to enter African markets. More than 43% said they have no plans to set up in Africa.

“The results show a serious disconnect between the perception of the market and actual opportunities. These are some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Africa’s requirement for logistics services and supply chain expertise is huge and growing every day. At the same time, many of the companies that need logistics to enter the market don’t know how to get started in Africa or aren’t willing to take the risk,” said Geoffrey White, CEO of Agility Africa.

“The market is open for first movers who can navigate risk and nurture African talent. The opportunity is for those seeking to build long-term, sustainable businesses that bring world-class practices and adapt to local conditions.”

The Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, now in its 7th year, offers a snapshot of logistics industry sentiment and ranks the world’s 45 leading emerging markets based on their size, business conditions, infrastructure and other factors that make them attractive to logistics providers, freight forwarders, shipping lines, air cargo carriers and distributors.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, remains the leading emerging market by a large margin. Among the countries at the top of the Index rankings this year, UAE (No. 2), India (3) and Malaysia (4) leaped over the commodity-dependent economies of Saudi Arabia (5), Brazil (6) and Indonesia (7). Rounding out the top 10 are Mexico (8), Russia (9) and Turkey (10).

The leading markets in Sub-Saharan Africa are South Africa (No. 16) and Nigeria (17). South Africa has Africa’s most advanced logistics industry and transport infrastructure, but its economy has been hobbled by chronic power shortages, slumping commodity prices, a plunging currency and labor unrest.

Nigeria climbed 10 spots in the 2016 Index, tying Egypt (No. 22) for the biggest gain by any country in the seven years since the Index was first published. Nigeria’s enormous potential has become clearer since its recent decision to update the methods by which it collects economic data. Even so, its economy is heavily reliant on oil and has been hurt by low energy prices.

Other countries in the region fall toward the bottom of the rankings: Ethiopia (37), Tanzania (40), Kenya (43) and Uganda (45). Among countries in North Africa, Morocco ranked No. 20, trailed by Egypt (22), Algeria (30), Tunisia (36) and Libya (41).

Nigeria’s size and growth suggest it should rank near Brazil (No. 6) or Mexico (8) in the overall Index. But Nigeria is no more business-friendly than Venezuela and Uganda, and its weak infrastructure, transport links and customs regime puts it with Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Tanzania in same category.

ITU Unveils Global Platform for Smart Cities

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18/01/2016

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The International Telecommunications Union [ITU] has launched the first World Smart City online community was launched to assist city stakeholders in their efforts to develop Smart Sustainable Cities.

The new community aims to identify the top ‘pain points’ presenting challenges to city development.

The community launch is part of the build-up to the first World Smart City Forum, organised by IEC in partnership with ISO and ITU. The Forum will be held in Singapore on July 13, 2016, co-located with the World Cities Summit.

“The development of Smart Sustainable Cities has become a key policy point to administrations around the world as well as to UN organisations,” said ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao.

“The recognition of the potential of smart cities comes in parallel with recognition that building smartness into an existing city, or developing a smart city from the ground up, is a complex undertaking, calling for improved cooperation and more integrated decision-making by a variety of city stakeholders and global standards bodies, such as ITU, IEC and ISO.”

By year 2050, an estimated 66 per cent of the world’s population will live in urban areas. City leaders face a major challenge in the need to supply these populations with basic resources, such as safe food, clean water and sufficient energy, while ensuring overall economic, social and environmental sustainability. Cities need to achieve substantial improvements in the efficiency with which they operate and use their resources.

Frans Vreeswijk, IEC General Secretary and CEO: “Cities are giant systems with countless subsystems. All of them depend on electricity and hardware to move people and things, collect data and exchange information. Already now, IEC work impacts all of them. More than ever before, many different organisations will need to collaborate to help make cities smarter; technology integration is a special challenge that requires partnerships and alliances. That’s what the online community and Forum is trying to achieve.”

Kevin McKinley, Acting ISO Secretary-General: “Smart cities make sense: they waste less, offer better quality of life and ensure a brighter future for the next generation. But cities face many challenges in their quest to improve. ISO Standards help cities measure and improve their performance, for example with standards for city indicators, sustainable communities and city infrastructures. These Standards provide best practices and harmonised solutions that can be used everywhere, and allow city planners and decision-makers to benefit from global expertise.”

Oxfam Report: 62 People Richer Than Half of World Population

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18/01/2016

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The richest 62 people in the world control more than half of the world’s money, according to a new report.

That means that those 62 people have the same collective wealth as the world’s poorest 3.6 billion people, and the gap between rich and poor is growing wider, the report released by Oxfam states.

The report was released Sunday in the lead up to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday.

“While such extreme inequality is bad for all of us, it’s the poorest among us who suffer the grimmest consequences,” President of Oxfam America Raymond C. Offenheiser said in a statement.

The report released by Oxfam, an organisation dedicated to fighting poverty, states that the poorest 50% of the world’s population is worth an estimated $1.76 trillion, which is also the estimated net worth of the richest 62 people in the world. Their report did not name names, but based their selection on reporting by Forbes.

One of the biggest areas of concern in the report is that the group of the ultra-wealthy are getting wealthier, making the gap between rich and poor more distinct.

Just five years ago, the majority of the world’s wealth was controlled by 388 people. That means that in those five years, the majority of the world’s wealth has been consolidated into the hands of less than one sixth of the number of people who used to control it.

MTN Will Not Pay N1.O4O Tr NCC Fine

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17/01/2016

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MTN Nigeria says it will not pay a dime or penny to the Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC] in respect of the N1.O4 trillion fine imposed on the telecom operator by the industry regulator for failing to deactivate unregistered SIM cards on its network.

A top official of MTN Nigeria confided in Business Journal that the telecom operator has perfected two grand strategies to avoid paying the fine to NCC.

“I can tell you that MTN Nigeria will not pay a single penny or dime to the NCC. We have already instructed the seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria [SANs] handling our legal action against NCC to keep the matter perpetually in court, up to the Supreme Court, by all means necessary until Buhari leaves office or Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC completes his five-year term.

Now, even if Buhari and Danbatta secure a second term, that would be eight and 1O years respectively, but we can keep the case in court beyond 1O years.”

The MTN official insisted that the operator cannot pay such huge fine without going under, arguing that what the NCC did was clearly in bad faith, not what they expected from a regulator.

He said the second strategy is to withdraw from Nigeria and expand to more African nations to make up for any revenue shortfall in terms of the Group.

“Our second strategy is to leave the Nigerian market entirely and expand into other territories in Africa and probably, the Middle East, to cushion the expected revenue gap from Nigeria.”

He called on Nigerians to prevail on the NCC to soft pedal on the fine, which he described as an attempt by the industry regulator to kill MTN Nigeria.

Mutual Benefits Assurance, PZ Partner on Product Insurance

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Business Journal

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17/01/2016

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Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc has initiated a partnership with Coolworld, a subsidiary of PZ Nigeria Plc to provide Product Insurance on Coolworld products.

Mr. Akin Opeodu, Chairman of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, described the partnership with Coolworld as one of the ways the company is entrenching and deepening insurance business and penetration in Nigeria.

“This is a mutually beneficial relationship between the two firms and is extremely important for both. There is insurance factor in everything we do. This relationship is one of the ways that Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc is entrenching and deepening insurance in Nigeria.”

Dr. Aking Ogunbiyi, Group Managing Director/CEO of Mutual Benefits said. “This collaboration is not a new journey for us. We have made a strategic decision to deepen insurance in Nigeria and take insurance to the grassroots.

The customers of Coolworld and PZ would be happy to associate with Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, being the Most Innovative Insurance Company in Africa. Going forward, we would extend such partnerships across West Africa.”

Explaining the details of the partnership, Mr. Segun Omosehin, Managing Director of Mutual Benefits Assurance said. “Today, we are celebrating a special marriage between two great brands. It is our way of redefining the landscape of insurance business in Nigeria to reach the common man in the street.

Mutual Benefits will provide insurance cover to all products purchased from Coolworld nationwide. We would also adopt flexible handling of claims in respect of products purchased through Coolworld.”

Mr. Kolawole Olugbenga, Commercial Director of Coolworld said. “This collaboration between Coolworld and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc will generate value for customers. The partnership is in terms of product insurance, apart from warranty. It represents a radical change in today’s retail environment.”

Iran’s Return Poses New Questions for Oil Price

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Business Journal

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17/01/2016

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Free of international sanctions, unfettered Iranian oil exports might be expected to drive prices further below $30 a barrel.

A report by Reuters says market participants argue that the removal of trade restrictions was so well trailed that price moves on Monday should be limited.

On Saturday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Tehran had met its commitments to curtail its nuclear programme, and the United States, European Union [EU] and United Nations [UN] immediately revoked sanctions that had slashed the OPEC member’s oil exports by around two million barrels per day (bpd) since their pre-sanctions 2011 peak to little more than 1 million bpd.

Growing signals from around a month ago that the move would occur earlier than traders initially expected fueled a selloff which sent Brent crude tumbling 24 percent since the beginning of the year, the biggest such fall since the financial crisis of 2008.

Iran has said that it hopes to increase its post-sanctions crude exports by around 1 million bpd within a year, with most analysts expecting an increase of 200,000-500,000 bpd within six months of restrictions ending.

“Iran is now free to sell as much oil as it wants to whomever it likes at whatever price it can get,” said Richard Nephew, Programme Director for Economic Statecraft, Sanctions and Energy Markets at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy.

“The Iran deal should not be a surprise to the market and has been expected for a long time. I’d argue this is priced in and already reflected in prices. May be there is a small knee jerk reaction and the market opens lower given the pervasive bearishness at the moment but I’d find it hard to believe it has a bigger effect than that,” said Amrita Sen of Consultancy Energy Aspects.

But some market analysts were also worried on the imminent injection of as much as 500,000 bpd of extra Iranian crude into a global market that is already running a surplus of some 1 million bpd.

Iran’s OPEC representative, Mehdi Asali said the country would not hesitate to ramp up production, appearing to contradict comments from other senior Iranian oil officials that Iran would not flood the market at a time of global oversupply.

“We have not moderated our plans regarding increasing output when sanctions are lifted. It will be increased by 500,000 bpd, and by another 500,000 bpd shortly after that,” state news agency IRNA reported.

“I anticipate they will be able to add anywhere from 300-500 thousand barrels per day to the market, probably with an up-front spike as inventories are depleted,” said Nephew, referring to unsold Iranian oil stored on over a dozen Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) super-tankers.

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