Five things to know to start your Friday

Electricity bane of Nigeria’s manufacturing industry says AfDB President

Lack of electricity among other factors is the bane of industrial manufacturing in Nigeria says Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Adesina said this while presenting a lecture, titled, “The Day the Lion Roared! Making Nigeria a Global Industrial and Economic Giant”, at the Business Day CEO Forum held in Lagos.

”Today, capacity utilisation of factories hovers around 40 percent compared to desired 70 percent.

”The reality is that firms are moving to other neighboring countries, where there is greater macroeconomic stability, enabling environment, with better ease of doing business.

”To be a manufacturer in Nigeria is not an easy venture. You succeed not because of ease of doing business, but by surmounting several constraints that limit industrial manufacturing.

”The major challenge facing the industry in Nigeria is the high cost and unreliability of supply of electricity,” he said.

Read more: Nigeria loses N3trn from poor power supply; Adesina

EFCC says it arrested 13 Chinese nationals over illegal mining in Kwara

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested 13 Chinese nationals for allegedly engaging in illegal mining activities in the state.

Wilson Uwujaren, spokesperson of the commission, disclosed this in a statement in Ilorin on Thursday.

The suspects comprise a female and 12 males, and they were arrested on Wednesday at the Government Reserved Area of Ilorin.

Uwujaren listed the suspects to include: Guo Ya Wang, 36; Lizli Hui, 42; Guo Jian Rong, 36; Lizh Shen Xianian, 37; Lishow Wu, 26; Guo Pan, 38; and Lia Meiyu, 53.

The rest are: Guo Kai Quan, 36; Lin Pan, 50; Ma Jan, 38; Wendy Wei Suqin, 31; Li Zhinguo Wei, 29; and Xie, 53.

“This came about following credible intelligence about their activities, which included but were not limited to illegal mining and non-payment of royalties to the Federal Government as required by law,” Uwujaren stated.

Electrification: MAN expresses concern over displacement of local manufacturers under NNMP

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has expressed concerns over the impending displacement of local meter manufacturers and assemblers in Phase II of the National Mass Metering Programme (NNMP).

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, Director-General of MAN, said this on Thursday in Lagos, in reaction to the government’s implementation process of the NMMP Phase II World Bank-funded supply of 1.2 million smart energy meters.

Ajayi-Kadir said the advertised financial requirements and technical specifications by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) appeared to work against the local manufacturers.

According to him, the requirements are extreme, undo the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines for the implementation of NMMP, and portend grave danger for the power sector.

He reminded us all about the need to guard against a repeat of the ugly scenario in 2012, where local manufacturers were sidelined in the meter supply and the nation was greeted with the supply of substandard meters supplied by foreign companies.

Access Bank takes ownership of Angolan’s Finibanco

Access Bank Plc revealed in a notice filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday that it has finalised its acquisition of majority equity in Finibanco Angola S.A., an Angolan financial organisation.

Its acquisition is the finalisation of a process that began on October 4, 2022, and had received regulatory approvals in Nigeria and Angola.

Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, the parent company of Access Bank Plc, speaking about the development, said, “In anticipation of the completion of the transaction, the bank has made excellent progress in integration planning.

“Our plan is to leverage our expansive distribution network, best-in-class technology, risk management, and governance practises to serve high-growth businesses and the rising consumer sector in Angola.

“We will act as a positive catalyst to foster greater innovation and promote the deepening of the financial sector in Angola in line with our strategic growth objective in the broader South African Development Community while delivering value to our stakeholders.”

EU bank unveils new fund worth 400 million euros to help rebuild Ukraine

The European Union’s lending arm on Thursday unveiled a new fund worth 400 million euros ($447 million) to spend on rebuilding Ukraine before the bloc’s longer-term reconstruction plan kicks in.

According to Reuters, sixteen of the EU’s 27 countries said they would chip into the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Ukraine Trust Fund, which will provide grants and loans as well as offer guarantees to Ukrainian banks and businesses.

France and Italy led with contributions worth 100 million euros each to the fund, which a deputy head of the EIB said could go towards repairing extensive infrastructure, financing small and medium enterprises, or providing public services.

“As the EU, we are financing the resilience of Ukraine,” said EIB Vice President Teresa Czerwinska. “We provide financing to build the resilience of society and the economy.”