Economic & Business Monitor - Odu'a Investment · 2017. 1. 2. · ODU ’A INVESTMENT ... Dr Festus...

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O du’a Investment Company Limited has signed a part- nership agreement with Concave Developers Lim- ited and State Govern- ment of Osun towards the establishment of Aje Inter- national Market, Osogbo. At the turning of the sod of the market, the Gover- nor of the State Govern- ment of Osun; Engr. Rauf Aregbesola noted ...... Continued on Page 7 SPECIAL FOCUS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA ODU’A IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CONCAVE DEVELOPERS LIMITED AND OSUN STATE GOVERNMENT LAYS THE FOUNDATION OF AJE INTERNATIONAL MARKET September, 2012 Volume 1, Issue 13 Global Economic Update 2 Domestic Economy Update 3 Focus on Tele- communicati ons Industry in Nigeria 4-6 Business Update ON Subsidiary/ Associate Companies 7 Macro Economic Indicators 8 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Economic & Business Monitor ODU’A INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED THIRD QUARTER SPECIAL EDITION From Left, Osun State Speaker, Hon Salami, Deputy Governor, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the Governor, Engr. Rauf Areg- besola and the GMD, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr. Adebayo Jimoh with the Chairman, Chief Sarafadeen Alli in attendance. ECONOMIC FACTS AND IMPACT THUS FAR I n terms of the sector growth, Nigeria is ranked the largest and fastest growing telecom market in Africa and among the 10 fastest telecom growth mar- kets in the world, an indication of its robustness to return on investments. From a private sector invest- ment of about US$50 Million in 1999 when the current democ- ratic regime came in place, the telecom industry ...Continued on page 4 Annual Total Subscribers ( 2000-2010 in millions) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Annual Total Subscribers (2000-2010 in millions) Annual Total Subscribers (2000-2010 in millions)

Transcript of Economic & Business Monitor - Odu'a Investment · 2017. 1. 2. · ODU ’A INVESTMENT ... Dr Festus...

  • O du’a Investment Company Limited has signed a part-nership agreement with Concave Developers Lim-ited and State Govern-ment of Osun towards the establishment of Aje Inter-national Market, Osogbo.

    At the turning of the sod of the market, the Gover-nor of the State Govern-ment of Osun; Engr. Rauf Aregbesola noted

    ...... Continued on Page 7

    SPECIAL FOCUS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

    ODU’A IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CONCAVE DEVELOPERS LIMITED AND OSUN STATE GOVERNMENT LAYS THE FOUNDATION OF AJE INTERNATIONAL MARKET

    September, 2012

    Volume 1, Issue 13

    Global Economic Update

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    Domestic Economy Update

    3

    Focus on Tele-communications Industry in Nigeria

    4-6

    Business Update ON Subsidiary/Associate Companies

    7

    Macro Economic Indicators

    8

    INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

    Economic & Business Monitor

    ODU’A INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED

    THIRD QUARTER SPECIAL EDITION

    From Left, Osun State Speaker, Hon Salami, Deputy Governor, Mrs. Grace Titilayo Laoye-Tomori, the Governor, Engr. Rauf Areg-besola and the GMD, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr. Adebayo Jimoh with the Chairman, Chief Sarafadeen Alli in attendance.

    ECONOMIC FACTS AND IMPACT THUS FAR

    I n terms of the sector growth, Nigeria is ranked the largest and fastest growing telecom market in Africa and among the 10 fastest telecom growth mar-kets in the world, an indication of its robustness to return on investments. From a private sector invest-ment of about US$50 Million in 1999 when the current democ-ratic regime came in place, the telecom industry ...Continued on page 4 Annual Total Subscribers ( 2000-2010 in millions)

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  • Regulatory environment in the new year and beyond. With profitability be-ing squeezed, many large U.S. firms are rationalizing their U.S. and world-wide operations, cutting back on pro-duction, hiring, as well as longer-term investments. In Europe, the United Kingdom emerged from its double-dip recession in the third quarter. However, some of the 'Olympic' glow will likely wear off unless domestic demand can maintain the increased momentum at a time when exports are still constrained by the weakness across the channel. Pur-chasing managers' reports throughout the continent are still generally weak, reflecting the continuing compression of regional demand. Business confidence and earnings are being pressured, with cutbacks in out-put and investments, and plant clo-sures contributing to the persistent upward climb in jobless rates. In many of the hardest-hit countries such as Spain, credit taps continue to tighten as financial institutions recapitalize weakened balance sheets and comply with stricter regulatory oversight. Of increased concern, however, are the repercussions from reduced regional demand and much slower-than-expected activity around the world, especially on the larger economies of the region. Activity in France has lost considerable momentum, with eroding cost competi-tiveness contributing to the sharp mod-eration in output and cutbacks in em-ployment. There also has been a dis-cernible slowing in industrial output and exports in Germany, and more recently, a rise in unemployment. Japan's reconstruction-led revival has powered down, leaving output on a very modest growth trajectory. A persis-tently strong yen continues to restrain competitiveness and production, while an aging population prefers to save rather than spend. Source: www.proshareng.com

    GLOBAL ECONOMIC UPDATE Page 2 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 13 Output growth around the world is on track to register an average gain of 3.1% in 2012, down from the 3.9% increase in 2011 and more than 2 percentage points below the 5.3% increase recorded in the first year of the recovery in 2010. The softer per-formance continues to reflect the re-cession in the euro zone, business caution in the United States, and the greater-t h a n a n t i c i -p a t e d s l o w -down in t h e l a r g e emerg-i n g ec on o -m i e s t h a t w e r e s i d e -swiped by the reduction in international trade as well as prior restraint initiatives aimed at moderating domestic credit growth and inflation. Another year of sub-par growth is on tap in 2013, reflecting the ongoing balance sheet consolidation under-way in most developed countries, and the continuing unwinding of imbal-ances in many emerging nations. Nevertheless, policymakers in virtu-ally every region of the world — in Europe, the United States, Japan, China, India and Brazil, for example are implementing further rounds of monetary and/or fiscal stimulus that should keep both short- and long-term borrowing costs at low and pro-growth levels, thereby enabling the global economy to regain some trac-tion and post a slightly faster advance of 3.3%. Even with some lessening in the degree of austerity in many Euro-pean countries, temporary measures in the United States to avoid the 'fiscal cliff', and some renewed stimu-lus in many emerging nations, it will likely be the second half of the year before most

    regions will be able to regain sufficient economic traction. Recent data suggest that the modera-tion in the global economy appears to have slowed, though the risks to the outlook remain on the downside. The U.S. economy has regained some momentum, posting an

    a n n u a l -ized 2.0% inc rease in real GDP in the July-S e p t e m-ber period a f t e r slumping to an an-nu al iz ed 1.3% gain in Q2. U.S. con-sumers a p p e a r more con-

    fident now that policymakers in both the euro zone and at home have taken additional steps to relieve economic strains and reduce instability, particu-larly with the Fed committing to keep borrowing costs very low for a very long time. Car and home sales have strength-ened, leading to increased auto pro-duction and residential construction. Hurricane Sandy will have a significant but temporary negative impact on the densely-populated northeastern states. However, replacement, rebuild-ing and reinvestment activity will ramp up and extend through the first half of next year. Nevertheless, maintaining the recent improvement in US output growth will prove challenging. Businesses have become much more cautious about the economic outlook. The sharp and sus-tained weakness in US durable goods orders in recent months not only re-flects the sluggishness of global growth, but more fundamentally, the lingering uncertainties over govern-ment spending cuts and the tax and

  • VOLUME 1, ISSUE 13

    fied. Identifying the areas being worked on by the two countries, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga explained that the issue of bar-riers to trade were being looked into, as well as Small and Medium Enterprises sector and the Diaspora group. CBN TO INTRODUCE COIN - DISPENSING ATMs The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has completed moves to introduce Auto-mated Teller Machines (ATMs) that can dispense coins in the country in a bid to promote and enhance the use of coins in the country. Speaking in Lagos, the Head of Shared Services at CBN, Chidi Umeano debunked insinuations that

    coining the N5, N10 and N20 was a way of making them valueless and disappear from circulation, stating that the apex bank decided on coins be-cause they last longer and would re-duce the frequency of replacing the notes every three months. On the cash - less policy, he stated that much gain was being recorded, stressing that all hiccups were being addressed by the stakeholders.

    NIGERIA, UK TARGET N1.9tr BILAT-ERAL TRADE VOLUME BY 2014 Nigeria and United Kingdom may have concluded plans to shore up their bi-lateral trade by 2014, when the two countries have projected trade value of £8 billion (N1.9 trillion ) up from the current £4billion. Beside the plan to improve bilateral trade with Nigeria, Britain has also promised to work with Nigerian authorities to ensure a more friendly business climate for investors. The two countries said at a joint press conference meeting that the joint trade value projected was feasible as factors militating against effective trade between them had been identi-

    NIGERIA'S INFLATION RATE SLOWS FURTHER TO 11.30% Nigeria’s inflation rate declined to 11.30 percent y/y in September 2012, down by 40bps from the 11.70 percent recorded in the previous month. The relative moderation in the headline index on a year-on-year ba-sis was principally attributed to the slower rise in the core inflation index recorded at 13.1 percent y/y, down by 160bps from 14.7 percent posted in August. The moderation in the core index represented by the “All items less farm produce” was partially as a result of base effects, as the sharp rise in the index exhibited in Septem-ber 2011 implies that the relative rise in September 2012 may be muted. However, we note that food index captured by “farm produce and

    NDE, ONDO TO PARTNER ON JOB CREATION INITIATIVES The National Directorate of Employ-ment (NDE) and Ondo State Govern-ment have pledge to work together in the State to create an enabling envi-ronment for the generation of employ-ment. In a statement by the Secretary to the Ondo State Government, Dr. Aderotimi Adelola, he said that the State’s job creation model and that of the NDE were similar and could be co-opted for mutual benefits of the un-employed persons. He said the State have recently trained 120 youths on renewable energy, while the state had agricultural training centres where

    DOMESTIC ECONOMIC UPDATE Page 3 processed foods” inched upwards slightly to 10.2 percent in September 2012 from the 9.9 percent recorded in the previous month. On a month-on-month basis, the food index increased by 1.1 percent from August 2012.

    The rise in the food infla-tion was mainly due to the increasing cost of food products especially pota-toes, yams and other tu-bers. Notable increases were also observed in the prices of fruits, bread and cereals amongst other foods. The

    higher food prices partially reflect the impact of the severe floods which affected production of certain crops as well as movement of food products

    to markets across the country.

    However the severity of this impact on the index was moderated by the harvesting of crops which began in late July and early August. The monthly composite CPI was

    higher by 1.01 percent in September 2012 when compared with August 2012.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on media, Dr Festus Adedayo, the forest reserve along Apete Road in Ibadan, as well as the West-end of The Poly-technic, Ibadan has been chosen as the take-off sites of the University which would have satellite campuses in two other senatorial district of the state. According to the governor’s spokes-man, the overriding focus of the new university is to provide the training and learning environment that will provide quality products that are socially and technically aware of their commitment to Nigeria and the global community.

    unemployed persons were trained in various agricultural areas such as ani-mal husbandry, poultry, piggery, crop farming and fishery. OYO ANNOUNCES FORMAL TAKE-OFF OF VERSITY Oyo State government has announced the formal take-off of its Technical Uni-versity, with the seed grant of N250 million and the constitution of a man-agement implementation committee for the university. The bill to establish the university was passed into law by the State House of Assembly in June. According to the

  • ...Continued from page one

    ECONOMIC FACTS AND IMPACT THUS FAR in Nigeria had by end of 2009, at-tracted more than US$18 Billion in private sector investments, including Direct Foreign Investment. The sector now contributes signifi-cantly to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, which was hitherto dominated by the oil and sector. The percentage share of GDP from the sector rose from 0.06 in 1999 to 3.66 by end of 2009. According to estimates by Pyramid Re-search in a 2010 report, the annual revenue from mobile services represents between 2% and 7% of African countries’ Nominal GDP; in Ni-geria this ratio is close to 4%. It may be important to add that the recent global economic meltdown did not sub-stantially affect the uptake of mobile services by the Nigerian subscribers as the monthly growth rate of active sub-scription averaged at about 1.2 million over a long period and has continued thereafter. (JUWAH, 2011) CONTRIBUTION TO THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY (Q1.2010-Q1.2012) This sector continued to perform im-pressively and has remained one of the major drivers of growth in the Nige-rian economy, with its contribution to total GDP increasing continuously. With a highly competitive market backed by intensive marketing strate-gies and value added services by op-erators, the sector has become a ma-jor source of economic activities boost-ing employment generation in Nigeria.

    The telecommunication sector re-corded a real GDP growth of 36.31 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to 36.19 percent re-corded in the corresponding period of 2010. THE INDUSTRY STRUCTURE Nigerian telecoms sector is basically made up of three standards for tele-phone system namely, Global System of Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Fixed Wired/Wireless. Since the liber-alization of the sector, telephone users in the country have sought to adopt any of the standards of communication for businesses and at home.

    Statistics has shown the share of the telecommu-nication stan-dards where GSM ac-counts for 92 per cent of the entire subscribers, CDMA ac-counts for 7 per cent and Fixed Wired/wireless ac-

    counts for just 1 per cent of the entire telephone users.

    Among the three operational telephony standards in Nigeria, the GSM subsec-tor is the industry leader with 81.196 million active lines while Fixed Wired/Wireless is the industry laggard with 1.050 million active lines out of 88.348 million total active telephone lines in Nigeria. In the GSM subsector, there are five mobile telecoms compa-nies with certain percentage of the industry share, as at 2010, MTN Nige-ria with 47.64 percent was the sector leader Glo-24.17%, Airtel-19.50%, Etisalat-8.36%, while M-tel, a mobile subsidiary of Nitel, with 0.32 percent. The market share of the GSM opera-tors in Nigeria as at June 2011 are: MTN Nigeria Communications Limited:

    48.21%; Globacom Limited: 23.18%; Airtel Limited (formerly Zain): 18.99%; EMTS Limited trading as Etisalat: 9.32%; and M-Tel Limited: 0.31%.

    The market share of the CDMA Mobile operators as at June 2011 are: Visa-fone Limited: 46.71%; Starcomms Lim-ited: 20.78% Multilinks-Telcom: 17.52%; and Reliance Telecoms (Reltel):14.99%. The CDMA market has been facing serious challenges in re-cent times. The major dominant opera-tors of the CDMA subsector are Star-comms, Multilinks, Visafone and Zoom-Mobile; these have been pronounced as the subsector’s market leaders with substantial active subscribers’ base. Meanwhile, the market share of the first seven fixed wired/wireless opera-tors as at June 2011 are: Starcomms Limited: 53.27%; Multilink-Telcom: 10.43%; Reliance Telecoms (Reltel): 10.14%; 21st Century: 7.14%; NITEL: 6.67%; O’Net (Odu’a Telecom): 4.02%; and Visafone: 3.08%, while other op-erators accounted for 5.26% of the market share. The Fixed Wired/Wireless wireless ac-counts for just 1 per cent of the entire telephone users. A review of the tele-communication market as at June, 2011 shows that MTN Nigeria Commu-nications Limited had the highest num-ber of subscribers amongst the GSM operators. Visafone had the highest number of subscribers amongst the CDMA Mobile operators; while Star-comms had the highest number of sub-scribers amongst the Fixed Wired/ Wireless operators.

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    Page 4 VOLUME 1, ISSUE 13

    Telecommunication and Post Growth Rate % (Q12010-Q42011)

  • VOLUME 1, ISSUE 13

    THE INDUSTRY PERFORMANCE The outburst of telecommunication industry in Nigeria has led to many helpful effects in the nation’s economy ranging from expansion of investment opportunities in different sub-sectors of the industry and creation of direct and indirect employment. This occurrence in the industry also

    added to government sources of in-come in terms of licensing fees and taxes. The mobile telecommunication services market in the country has grown from about 500, 000 in 2001 to 88,343,026 in the year 2010. Growth in Nigeria’s mobile market as far as mobile penetration (Tele density) is concerned has been in geometric progression from just 0.33 per cent of the population in 2001 to 58.90 per cent in 2010. According to the Nigerian Communica-tions Commission (NCC), the installed capacity in the telecommunications industry as at October, 2011 stood at 167.840mn lines, an increase of 6.34% over 157.839mn lines as at December 31, 2010. The installed ca-pacity is made up of Mobile GSM, Mo-bile Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Fixed wired/wireless in the proportion of 84.14%, 10.27% and 5.60%, respectively. There were 93.92mn active telephone lines, representing 55.96% of the in-

    stalled capacity, while there were 31.21mn inactive lines of the total 125.14mn connected lines. Teledensity, which measures the pro-portion of telephone lines in relation to population, stood at 67.09% in Octo-ber 2011, up from 63.11% as at De-cember, 2010. The teledensity in Nigeria was calcu-

    l a t e d based on a popula-tion esti-mate of 126mi l -lion peo-ple up till D e c e m -b e r 2 0 0 5 . F r o m D e c e m -b e r

    2006, teledensity was based on a population estimate of 140million. Teledensity from December 2007 was based on active subscribers. I N D U S T R Y F A C T S A N D COMPETITION REVIEW *The Nigerian telecoms industry is highly competitive, the mobile CDMA market and the fixed wireless account for 4% and 1% respectively.

    *The industry’s installed capacity is largely dominated by the GSM seg-ment of the market which accounts for 95% of the available capacity. This is largely driven by significant invest-ments and expansionary activities by GSM operators in the quality of net-work services provided and promotions done. *Visafone is the market leader within the CDMA market, controlling about 79% of the active mobile CDMA sub-scribers (following its acquisition of Multilinks) while Starcomms and Zoom control 18% and 3% of the market re-spectively.

    FOCUS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

    Page 5

    *Broadband has most impact on eco-nomic development in telecommunica-tions than other aspects such as mo-bile telephony, pay-television, etc. *Survey has shown that minimum of 31 million Nigerians have access to internet services where many consum-ers use internet for socializing, re-search, entertainment, education and others. *Statistics has shown that Nigeria has the highest internet penetration per population in the African continent which accounts for one-third of those that use internet in the entire Africa. *Existing GSM operators lost parts of their market share to new entrants in 2010 due to innovation and Value Added Services (VAS). CDMA operators are losing market shares to GSM operators. *Population has helped telecoms penetration in Nigeria among African countries. *Power is a major factor described as an encumbrance making it impossible for operators to perform optimally and this situation has impacted negatively on the operation of the sector. *An industry source revealed that some mobile operators such as Globa-com and Airtel have begun outsourcing parts of their operations such as cus-tomer care etc in order to cut cost.

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  • PROGRESS REPORT THROUGH CONCAVE-ONET RELATIONSHIP As part of its strategic objectives to invest in the upstream telecoms sector, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, the parent company of Odu’a Telecoms Lim-ited, bid for and won five Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Telecommunication licences on the 3.5 GHz frequency for each of the Odu’a states i.e. Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States. Odu’a Telecoms Limited was thus incorporated as a private limited liability company in August 2002 to serve as the investment vehicle for exploiting the new opportunities provided by the licences.

    The above investment objective was supported by the fact that at the time of acquiring 3.5 GHz FWA licence, the South Western States had an average teledensity of 0.4% which was about 20% of the average national teledensity of 1.89%. These teledensities suggest that there were opportunities in the telecoms sector nationally and particularly in the South West making it capable of providing the growth engine Odu’a Group desired and still desires.

    Following the initial technological failure at inception and unsuccessful efforts to recapitalize the company, the project became a misadventure. However, the unrelenting efforts of the holding com-pany to reposition this subsidiary eventu-ally culminated in the Finance and Tech-nical Management Agreement (FTMA) executed with Concave Communications International Group of Canada in March 2001. The immediate marketing efforts con-ducted by Concave Group within the first few months of taking over the manage-ment of O’Net have translated to the following developments: Provision of broadband services to the following institutions: 1. university of Ibadan – Award of

    N57 million (USD 368,000 equiva-lent) contract for the provision of

    45 MB broadband per year. 2. Ladoke Akintola University of Tech-

    nology – Award of N47 million (USD 303,000 equivalent) contract to provide 45 MB broadband per year.

    3. Ondo State Government – N14 mil-lion (USD 90,000 equivalent

    per year 4. The premier university in Nigeria with student population of over 50,000 others include: • Skarnnet – 8 MB • Lagos Airport Hotel – 1 MB • Fan Milk – 1 MB • Premier Hotel 1 MB

    Deployment of dedicated voice/data trunks into the following organisations: • State Secretariat of Osun State • Protea Hotel – Ibadan • Hperia • International Institute of Tropical

    Agriculture A new marketing model involving the use of low end Commercial Telephone Operators (CTO) as point of sales for O’Net handsets and vouchers has been developed. This grass root approach is designed to match the predominantly sub-urban and rural characteristics of South West Nigeria.

    The following investments were made within the first year of operation of the company under the new management: 1. Deployment of ZTE IP enabled

    switches and Media Gateways for

    the purposes of interconnection and value added voice service at the cost of USD 3.0 million

    2. Deployment of IP enabled Aviat Eclipse radio to replace the age-ing Mega Star models between Ibadan and Ado Ekiti/Ondo axis at the cost of USD500,000 . 3

    3. Reactivation of the BTS and Back-bone sites located within Ilesha and Akure axis

    4. Deployment of fibre and IP transmission infrastructure for interconnectivity with major op-erators

    5. Deployment of IP infrastructure to enable O’Net transform from be-

    ing a buyer of 6 MB broadband in March 2011 to a seller of a 120 MB a year after OPPORTUNI-TIES The new man-agement of the company has

    identified the following opportuni-ties: 1. Strong commitment by the lead-

    ership of Odu’a Investment Company Limited towards the success of the Company. Mar-keting efforts as well as the goodwill of the Group Managing Director of Odu’a facilitated the contracts won with UI etc.

    2. Untapped business relation-ships with the owner Govern-ments and other stakeholders of the company.

    3. Expressed goodwill among the people of South West towards the company. This socio-cultural affinity to whatever is consid-ered to be that of the people of the region offers strong incen-tive for marketing.

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    ODU’A FARMS TO TRAIN 500 IN MODERN TECHNIQUE Odu’a Investment Company Limited through the Odu’a Farmers’ Academy is to train over 500 members of Osun State Youths Empowerment Scheme (O’Yes) cadet in modern technique of farming. The cadet are expected to undergo a six month inten-sive practical training in modern tech-niques of farming cut-ting across, management of food horti-cultural crops and rearing of commercial live stock during the six months training. The Group Managing Director, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr. Adebayo Jimoh, at the event, stressed that the cadets would be exposed to theoretical and practical

    farming which automatically brings about a valid alternative to the old tra-ditional way of farming and that train-ees will enjoy follow-up and support by the Government through their local government in making available lands and soft loans for their take off imme-

    diately after the programme. The Odu’a Farm-ers’ Academy was established with the aim of provid-ing the highest level of qualitative and modern train-ing for new and emerging commer-cial farmers in viable food com-modities with a view to sustaining food security in Nigeria.

    The Governor, Engr. Aregbesola, on his part stressed that with the training of the youths, the agricultural potential of the state would be developed and food will be made available and cheap to the people.

    ...Continued from page 1

    ODU’A IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CONCAVE DEVELOPERS LIMITED AND OSUN STATE GOVERNMENT LAYS THE FOUNDATION OF AJE IN-TERNATIONAL MARKET that the greatest source of hope for the viability of Nigeria lies in its inter-nal trade links. He noted that despite Nigeria’s challenges, trading remains the strong bond for people with di-verse backgrounds. He made this assertion based on the volume of trade involving grains and beef products from the North to the South and also palm oil and timber from the South to the North. This he said do not include manufactured and imported products from the South to the North. As further noted by the Governor, Aje Market like many others, is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Project aimed at incorporating a more modern and standardized trade fair complex as well as other related facilities.

    He further confirm that the factory will begin a test—run operation in October 21 while full operation will commence in November. The factory on comple-tion, is expected to employ no fewer than 300 indigenous workers assured that the State will not have problems

    marketing the products which vary from clay roof tiles and burnt bricks among others as the products are being produced only in two States.

    It would be recalled that the factory became moribund in 1998 but the

    Fayemi—Led administration expressed its displeasure at the long years of the factory’s unproductive state and de-cided to revive it.

    IRE BURNT BRICKS TO COMMENCE ACTIVITY SOON Industrial activity is expected to com-mence soon at the Ire Burnt Bricks Fac-tory located at Ire Ekiti. This assertion was made following the recent delivery of equipments worth N400m for the resuscitation of the factory. Taking delivery of the equipment, the State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Otunba Reim Bodun-rin, said the State gov-ernment in partnership with Odu’a Investment Company Limited de-cided to revive the moribund factory so that it could gener-ate income for the government and Odu’a Group as well as employment for the teaming unemployed population.

    BUSINESS UPDATE ON SUBSIDIARY/ASSOCIATE COMPANIES

    Page 7

  • A Monthly bulletin Publication Compiled by Research & Planning Department of

    Odu ’a Investment Company Limited

    Cocoa House Building, Floors 20, 21, 22 & 23 e-mail: [email protected]

    MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS

    SOURCE: NBS, CBN, MPC, BUSINESSDAY

    SOURCE: NBS, CBN, MPC, BUSINESS-

    JUNE SEPT

    $USD 155.16 155.76 €EUR

    189.94 201.71 POUNDS

    240.82 249.49

    Monthly Average Exchange