Major blue equities on Tuesday lifted activities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with the market indicators appreciating by 1.09 per cent.

THE management of the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission, ICRC is presently working round the clock to complete the concessioning of the phase one and two of the Kirikiri lighter terminals in Lagos.

THE Irish ambassador to Nigeria, Sean Hoy, said the trade figure between Nigeria and Ireland has hit 270 million Euro. The envoy disclosed this when he visited the Nigerian Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu in Abuja.

AMIDST the current economic crunch in the country, a team of consultants, under the auspices of Department for International Development, DFID, told the Senate yesterday that if Nigeria must be an economic destination and attractive to investors, it must amend or repeal 54 of its existing laws.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that the Electronic Payment Financial Incentives Scheme (EFIS) Efficiency Award is aimed to enhance competition among operators in the electronic payment industry. Meanwhile Guaranty Trust Bank emerged the leader in the maiden edition of the award winning in six categories. The bank won six of the 11 bank based award. These include Cashless Instant Payment; Cashless PoS issued cards; Instant Payment Transaction Efficiency; Electronic Reference; Automated Direct Debit Mandate; and Customer Experience Satisfaction award.

The Okokomaiko – Badagry axis has the potential to become the ‘Lekki’ of Lagos mainland on completion of the ongoing expansion and rehabilitation of the Okokomaiko – Badagry expressway and the expected take-off of the Blue Line Lagos Rail Transport (LRT) mass transit transport system along the corridor by the end of this year.

The current foreign exchange crisis rocking the Nigerian economy has hit the nascent e-commerce sector as the sector’s major foreign investors have begun to pull back. Vanguard investigation has revealed that some of the big players in the industry such as the Africa Internet Group and Konga.com have begun to implement massive restructuring in order to stay afloat and remain in business.

We suspect that ordinary folks and foreign residents have joined this flight to safety and may be converting their Naira assets into dollar to mitigate additional loss in value. The danger of an unmitigated progressive depreciation of Naira is that our national currency may lose one of the most critical attributes of money, which is “as a store of value” and should this happen, the concerns about the dollarization of the economy will become real.

Some Leading Economic Indicators, LEIs, are pointing to a year-on-year contraction in growth in January 2016, which may see Nigeria’s economy returning a growth rate of less than one per cent in the first quarter, 2016, if the trend continues. But some other international reports indicate that the development is likely to be a global phenomenon though sub-sahara Africa and other commodity dependent economies which include Nigeria, may be worst hit.

Everyday consumers routinely encounter marketing efforts that promote an endless variety of brands and products. Unsurprisingly, consumers are weary, guarded, and circumventing any attempt by marketers to gain their attention. Experiential marketing thus engages consumers on a more intimate and personal level by building meaningful connections through shared moments and events. Princewill Ekwujuru sought the views of Gil Kimani, new Managing Director of EXP Marketing Nigeria, who has had experiences in African markets.