NSE transactions maintain positive trading

Activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) resumed trading on Wednesday after the long holidays to mark the Yuletide still on a bullish trend with the market capitalisation growing by N69 billion.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market capitalisation inched by N69 billion or 0.76 per cent to close at N9.182 trillion compared with N9.113 trillion posted on Friday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index rose by 202.23 points or 0.76 per cent to close at 26,688.25 as against 26,486.02 achieved on Friday due to huge gains by some blue chips.
Mobil Oil recorded the highest gain to lead the gainers’ chart appreciating by N12 to close at N292 per share.
Nigerian Breweries came second with a gain of N4.48 to close at N142.03, while Total garnered N3.12 to close at N287.12 per share.
Cadbury improved by 80k to close at N10.83 and Stanbic IBTC rose by 74k to close at N15.66 per share.
Conversely, Guinness led the losers’ table with a loss of N4.30 to close at N80 per share.
ETI lost 54k to close at N10.34 and Forte Oil dipped 26k to close at N103.61 per share.
Custodian Insurance shed 19k to close at N3.74, while Ekocorp dropped 16k to close at N3.21 per share.
An analysis of the activity chart indicated that International Breweries was the most active in volume terms, accounting for 16.21 million shares valued at N289.23 million.
Transcorp traded 12.42 million shares worth N10.98 million, while FCMB Group sold 11.66 million valued at N12.59 million.
Access Bank exchanged 10.65 million shares worth N63.15 million, while Zenith Bank accounted for 7.59 million shares valued at N110.76 million.
In all, investors bought and sold 131.74 million shares worth N1.25 million transacted in 2,257 deals against 139.09 million shares valued at N1.43 billion traded in 1,703 deals on Friday.

Refineries to work optimally in 2017 – NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on Tuesday said it would embark on a comprehensive rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries to achieve optimal capacity utilisation in 2017.
NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Refineries, Mr. Anibor Kragha, said this in Abuja in a statement by Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division.
The three refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt have had skeletal operations this year.
The statement reported Kragha as saying that the Corporation was determined to move away from the approach of quick fixes and undertake a comprehensive revamp of the plants.
He said, “The plan for next year is to get the comprehensive rehabilitation programme done.
“The situation is like having three cars in your garage that have not been maintained for 15 to 20 years while you expect optimal performance from them.
“Changing one fuel pump here, one compressor there is not helpful. What we are doing now is to step back and take a holistic approach and do a full rehabilitation of all the refineries.”
He noted that once the exercise was achieved, a chart for routine Turn Around Maintenance Programme would be drawn.
On the earlier plan to have other refineries co-located with the existing refineries, Kragha explained that though the plan was still on course, none of the projected co-location refineries would come on stream in 2017 based on existing timeline for assemblage of the plants.
He added that the Port Harcourt Refinery was a ”few steps away” from commencing the production of Aviation Turbine Fuel known as aviation fuel.
He said, “We are very close; we have done tests with some of the key marketers. We have achieved all the parameters, we just want to be 110 per cent certain.”
The statement stated that earlier, the Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company, Mallam Idi Maiha, assured that KPRC was ”assiduously working towards a target of 75 per cent capacity utilisation in 2017”.
Mariah projected that the KPRC would supply one cargo of crude oil per month.
Also, the Managing Director of Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company, Mr. Solomon Ladenegan, noted that ”despite the hostile operating environment, fraught with incessant cases of pipeline pulverization and outright product theft, the refinery was looking forward to better days ahead”.

Unions to shut down Arik Air operations over seven-month salary arrears

The unions in the aviation sector on Monday directed the commencement of a joint strike at Arik Air, with effect from December 20, over the airline’s failure to pay seven months salary arrears and other anti-labour practices.
The unions gave the directive in a strike notice signed by General Secretary, National Union of Air Transport Employees, Mr. Olayinka Abioye; the General Secretary, Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frances Akinjole; and the General Secretary of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers, Mr. Aba Ocheme.
The unions said the strike would continue indefinitely, until their demands are met by the management of Arik Air.
They said, “That the management of Arik Air allows total unionisation of its employees, in compliance with extant labour laws and with respect to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The management of Arik Air recalls all sacked employees who have been victimised for their roles in the effort to bring about unionisation in Arik Air.
“Payment of salary arrears for seven months, with a commitment to pay salaries as at when due, henceforth.They also called for the immediate review of all employee remunerations which had remained the same since the inception of Arik Air, over ten years ago.
The unions further demanded for immediate commencement of negotiations of Conditions of Service to be concluded within four weeks and remittance of Pension, Tax, and statutory deductions to the appropriate authorities.
They also urged the management of Arik Air to comply with the Nigerian Expatriate Quota law.
They said, “Towards the full realisation of the strike, all aviation workers, in complete solidarity with their enslaved comrades in Arik Air shall withdraw all services being rendered by third parties.
“The aviation workers will be supported by Nigerian workers from all other sectors throughout Nigeria, to underscore the seriousness of the matter at hand.
“In the above respect, all ground handling services, security clearance for Arik Air ticket holders, marshalling, aviation fuel supply, air traffic control, safety inspection, etc, will be completely withdrawn.
“All Arik Air employees, aviation workers, and other stakeholders are hereby enjoined to ensure full compliance with this directive please.”

Air Peace begins flights to Uyo

Air Peace has announced that it would commence flight operations on the Lagos-Uyo route from December 18.
The airline also assured its customers that it had made adequate preparation with vendors for the supply of aviation fuel throughout the festive period and beyond, to ensure hitch-free operations.
Air Peace made the announcement in a statement issued by its Corporate Communications Manager, Chris Iwarah on Saturday.
The statement said the the airline was expanding its flight operations to Uyo in response to the yearnings of Akwa Ibom people and other air travellers.
It said the timing of the airline’s maiden flight to the state was to give air travellers on the Uyo route a dependable alternative and cater to the huge traffic to the state during the yuletide.
“On Sept. 9, we inaugurated our Lagos-Benin-Lagos and Abuja-Benin-Abuja flight operations to give air travellers a reliable option.
“The inauguration has not only been a huge success, but has also drastically reduced the difficulties faced by air travellers on the Benin route.
“However, since the inauguration of Air Peace Benin operations, our numerous loyal customers and other air travellers have increased their calls on us to take our spectacular flight experience to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
“We are pleased to announce the commencement of our flight operations out of Lagos into Uyo on Dec. 18 and out of Uyo into Lagos on Dec. 19, ‘’ the statement said.
According to the statement, Akwa Ibom is a burgeoning economic and tourist centre in the South-South region of Nigeria.
It added that this status had led to a huge leap in the demand for air travel to and out of the state, which had so far been met with mostly disappointment.
The statement said: “Air Peace, therefore, felt it was time to respond to the yearnings of our numerous loyal customers and other air travellers to expand to the state.
“And there is no better time to do that than this yuletide, when a lot of Nigerians and foreigners will be accessing Akwa Ibom for one activity or the other.”
It said the good news was coming at a time the airline had also made arrangements with aviation fuel vendors to ensure availability of the product to enable it seamlessly take air travellers to its different destinations in the country.
“We have been able to secure the commitment of different aviation fuel vendors, besides our regular suppliers.
“They are ready to make the product available to us because they trust us. We don’t only promptly pay our vendors, we also provide them with funds well in advance, to ensure there is no excuse for non-availability of the product.
“The operating environment may be challenging, but Air Peace irrevocably believes that air travellers deserve on-time, safe, comfortable and affordable flight experience,” it added.

Arik Air reiterates commitment to high safety standards

The management of Arik Air on Thursday reiterated the airline’s commitment to international safety and operational standards.
The airline gave the assurance in a statement signed by its Communications Manager, Mr Ola Adebanji, which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
The statement appealed to Arik Air’s guests to ignore any message alleging that the airline’s aircraft were not well maintained.
It said it was the handiwork of mischief makers and one of the airline’s staff whose appointment was terminated on Dec. 13 for misconduct and fraud.
According to the statement, Arik Air has been leading the resurgence of Nigerian civil aviation and has been using modern and well-maintained aircraft for operations.
The statement said: “This is evident in the airline achieving the stringent IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) four consecutive times, with the last two audits cleared successfully without any findings.
“This achievement has also earned Arik Air, EIOSA (Enhanced IATA Operational Safety Audit) making it the only airline in West and Central Africa to have such certification.”
It added that the airline operates the youngest fleet in West Africa, with an average hull age of 7.8 years.
The statement said it also had an existing contract with world renowned maintenance providers such as Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cityline under full “turnkey” maintenance service contracts and other leading maintenance service providers.
It said: “Arik Air also maintains a well-stocked spare parts store with a market value of over $250 million.
“Arik Air has in its 10 years of operation, safely transported about 20 million passengers across its network of 19 domestic, 10 regional and three international destinations.”

Naira Strengthens Against Dollar.

Naira Strengthens Against Dollar.

 
The Naira on Friday strengthened against the dollar in all segments of the foreign exchange market reports.
At the interbank market, the currency gained N1.45 to close at N304.75 from N306.50 recorded on Thursday.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, naira exchanged at N385/400 to a dollar, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N555 and N500, respectively.
The naira gained N5 at the parallel market to exchange at N455, from N460 recorded on Thursday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N555 and N505, respectively.
Traders at the market said that activities were low as Thursday’s raid on the market by the operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had instilled suspicion among them.
Reacting to the raid, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella, a Senior Economist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, said that the raid was not a solution to the problem of foreign exchange scarcity.
Tella admitted that some elements in the currency exchange market had not jettisoned speculation and round-tripping, but said that solution to foreign exchange scarcity was improving the nation’s foreign exchange earnings.
NAN recalls that the security operatives raided some unregistered BDCs and parallel market traders over alleged arbitrary sale of foreign currencies above the official rates.