business0515

14 BUSINESS DAY
Friday 15 May 2015
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Nigeria’s forex dealers draw up
proposals to ease central bank rules
Nigeria’s foreign
exchange dealers
say they are
drawing up
proposals to
persuade the central bank
to ease restrictions on forex
trades to revive the secondary
market.
Nigeria’s central bank
restricted dollars sales in the
interbank market in February,
a move that has sharply
reduced liquidity in the interbank
market and put off
foreign investors from buying
equities and bonds in
Africa’s biggest economy.
The naira currency traded
at 197 on the interbank
market on Tuesday. It has
been stuck in the 197-199.50
Diamond Bank plc
has through its
businessxpress
enterprise series
developed and empowered
over 75,000 entreprenures
across the country.
“We train about 15,000
people every single year.
We have done this for five
years in terms of impact.
We always use every opportunity
we have to improve
what businesses are doing,
all the operational structures
they need to put in place, all
the legal, governance structures
they need to put in
place. The whole human
resource, finance, operation
components are very critical,”
Aishah Ahmad, head,
retail banking, said at the 51st
Business Enterprise Series
held in Lagos.
Diamond bank is very
committed to small businesses,
she said, saying “we are
not talking about short term
commitment. Every single
day we show commitment
because this is one of the
biggest segment we focus on.
range since February, after
the central bank pegged
the rate.
Two members of Nigeria’s
Financial Market Dealers
Association (FMDA)
told Reuters that they were
finalising proposals “to find
a way to resolve the problem
of liquidity and curb speculation.”
Another source with direct
knowledge of the matter
said that the central bank
was aware of the talks by the
dealers.
The central bank did not
respond to requests for comment
on whether it would
consider a review of its measures.
Its Monetary Policy
Committee is due to meet
Apart from this, we also have
online portal where people
can go and get information.
We do smaller clinics across
different branches to ensure
all businesses around benefit
from this.”
According to her, it is well
known that Diamond is a
SME bank, that is it focuses
on micro small and medium
enterprises. “It is not just financing
but by making those
businesses viable to be able
to approach those finances,
because it is for a purpose
and the only way the business
can be sustainable to pay that
loan is for it to sell. So, we try
on May 19.
A relaxation on the interbank
restrictions would
likely mean a swift drop in
the naira currency, analysts
said.
“The naira exchange rate
has remained unsurprisingly
stable following the introduction
of the ‘order-based’
system in February,” South
Africa’s NKC Independent
Economists said in a note.
The naira hit a record low
of 206.6 naira to the greenback
in February while the
black market, considered the
“real” value, was even lower
at around 223-227, triggering
the action by the central
bank to restrict foreign exchange
trading.
Live-Your-Dreams conference holds Friday in Lagos
The third edition of
Live-Your-Dreams-
Africa comes up on
May 16, 2015. The
yearly conference is an initiative
of award winning author
and life coach, Bankole
Williams.
Live-Your-Dreams-Africa
is a platform to help Africans
bridge the gap between the
potentials they possess and
their current reality. This
third edition will showcase
people from different walks
of life who have, against all
odds, consciously pursued
Diamond Bank empowers 75,000 entrepreneurs
via businessxpress enterprise series
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
their dreams and are today
celebrated for what they do
and for the impact they have
had in their chosen fields.
Live-Your-Dreams-Africa
offers a platform to glean
from the experiences of
speakers and panellists as
they share their true stories,
triumphs and all. The
organisers strongly believe
that these stories will serve
as a driving force for participants
to begin forging
a life of purpose. Through
the platform, the organisers
hope to see a continent
where human capacity is
fully optimised and where
dreams are actualised.
Sola Fajana, managing
director, MacLester
Healthcare, says “I attended
the last edition, and
heard success stories from
people and it challenged
my thoughts, spurring me
to do more. Today, I have
founded MacLester Healthcare,
an organisation that is
focused on helping people
to stay healthy. I’m living my
dream. God bless Bankole
Williams.”
to prove access to market
by connecting companies,”
she said.
One of the facilitators at
the seminar, AudreyJoe-Ezigbo,
co-founder and executive
director, Falcon Corporation
Limited, told participants
that they should think big,
think synergy, think excellence,
think impact because
they can transform this country.
She sees the challenges
facing businesses as not having
the right person with the
right idea run a business, lack
of finance and competition,
among others.
Business Event
L-R: Jyoti Lalchandani, group vice president & managing director, Middle East, Africa and Turkey,
Mark Walker, associate vice president, Sub Sahara Africa, Stephen Elliot, vice president, Cloud and IT
Infrastructure, and Bola Adisa, country manager, all of International Data Corporation at the West Africa
CIO summit in Lagos.
L-R: Tochukwu Nwosu, MD, Zeph Associates,. Mike Ikpoki, chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria,. Mike
Ojiakor, MD, Correspondence Ltd, and Richard Iweanoge, general manager, consumer marketing, MTN
Nigeria at the 2015 MTN Golf Championship Dinner in Lagos .Pic by Pius Okeosisi
L-R: Nosa Omorodion, NAPE president; Olusola Falodun, GM, Drilling &Completions Systems, Oando
Energy Services (OES); and Kareem Folorunsho, NAPE coordinator, and asset manager, Nigerian
Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) at the April 2015 edition of Nigerian Association of Petroleum
Explorationists (NAPE) business and technical meeting
L-R: Martins Awofisayo, MD, HarvestField Industries Limited, Adjo Mfodwo, manager, Anglophone West
Africa; Sylvestre Jobic, country group manager – Sub-Saharan Africa, both of Bayer Environmental
Science and Ayo Ogunyadeka, President, Pest Control Association of Nigeria (PECAN) at a stakeholders
training and seminar on pest control in Lagos.