Shareholders of Wapic Insurance Plc have expressed satisfaction over the N3.51 billion rights issue being embarked on by the company, calling all the existing shareholders to take advantage of the offer to increase their holding.

…pays N7 dividend
The Okomu Oil Palm Plc has revealed plans to build the biggest oil mill in Africa as part of its various steps to strengthen its leadership position in the oil palm and rubber industries on the continent, even as it declared N7.00 per share dividend to its shareholders for the year ended December 2012.

Projections that Nigeria will begin to export refined petroleum products by 2016 may not materialise after all, as the International Energy Agency, IEA, said it expected a significant increase in oil processing with the coming on stream of new refineries in Asia and Middle East.

The cocoa industry in Nigeria is repositioning to compete favourably in the world market. This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akin Adesinaa, at the 23rd partnership forum organised by the World Cocoa Foundation in Washington, DC., recently.

Shareholders of United Bank for Africa, UBA, Plc have commended the board and management of the bank for its sterling performance and dividend payment to investors during the financial year ended December 31, 2012.

Nigeria’s crude oil output declined to a six-month low of 1.96 million barrels per day, mbd, according to the International Energy Agency, IEA.

Malam Aminu Jalal, the Director General of the National Automotive Council, said the council had disbursed N7 billion in loans to vehicle manufacturers under its auto development scheme.

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries said Thursday it had won a $3.0 billion order to build a giant offshore oil storage platform in Nigeria.

Interswitch Transnational Holdings, a pan-African integrated payment processing and transaction switching company, has announced the spin-off, of two of its core divisions: Verve International and Switching and Processing, as separate, autonomous businesses.

THE Seme border post has become a hot bed for all kinds of trading activities ranging from smuggling, under declaration and ineffective scanning system. In this interview with newsmen recently, Chief Sam Madubuike, a Seme border-based freight forwarder said border is a pot porri problem that urgently needs government’s attention. Excerpts:

The Financial deal entered into by World Bank and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, mother body of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) will fast track its global member status.

Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC Alhaji Umar Ibrahim has reiterated the importance of financial intermediation in the banking system, noting that it is key for economic growth.

Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has warned defaulters of its electronic registration policy for products, saying: “By July 1st, any product in the market without electronic registration will be removed.”

There are several ways to overcoming the various business challenges in Nigeria and the African continent, Chairman Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said.

AHEAD of the expiration of the deadline given by the United States Government to Nigeria to improve on its ports security or face sanctions, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has begun to install anti-terrorist gadgets and acquired bomb sniffing dogs.