Monday, July 9, 2018

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36 MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018 Ivan Rakitic is hoping this Croatia team can go a step further after matching the country’s heroes of 1998 by making it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Barcelona midfielder Rakitic scored the decisive spot-kick as Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final in Sochi on Saturday finished 2-2 at the end of extra-time. “We worked so hard and gave everything we had to get through to the semis. I think for a country like Croatia it is impressive and we want to keep going further,” said Rakitic. “We want to enjoy this victory and not put more pressure on ourselves with what happened in 1998 -- what they did was impressive but we want to keep writing our own history and enjoy what we are doing which is very positive.” Croatia will play England FIFA WORLD CUP RUSSIA 2018 June 14 – July 15 Rakitic dreaming of going further than’98 heroes England midfielder Eric Dier has told ESPN Brasil he wants the team to inspire future generations after they reached a first World Cup semifinal since 1990. A 2-0 win over Sweden in the quarterfinals on Saturday, secured by goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli, set up a meeting with Croatia in the last four. “It means a lot to us,” Tottenham player Dier, speaking in Portuguese to ESPN Brasil’s Francisco de Laurentiis, said. “This is only the third time that England have reached the semifinals, and the first time in 28 years. “I want this to be an inspiration for future generations of English footballers. I hope that, when they look at us, they know that everything is Russia’s most-capped player, Sergei Ignashevich, has announced his retirement after the hosts were eliminated from the World Cup by Croatia. Ignashevich, 38, who spent his club career in Russia, was a key member of his country’s run to the quarterfinals, playing in each of their five matches. He earned 127 caps, scoring nine goals, and holds the record for the most international appearances by any Russian player. “This was my last World Cup, my last tournament and the last match of my soccer career. If it wasn’t for the World Cup, I think I would have ended [my career] earlier,” Ignashevich said in a video on social media. •Rakitic in the last four in Moscow on Wednesday, as they aim to outdo the team of 20 years ago. Back then they lost to hosts France in the last four. “I hope we can outdo them. Their generation are more than heroes for us,” added Rakitic. Croatia came from behind in Sochi with Andrej Kramaric cancelling out Denis Cheryshev’s opener as the tie ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Domagoj Vida then headed ZlatkoDalic’s side in front in extra time, only for Mario Fernandes to make it 2-2 in the 115th minute. However, Rakitic ensured that Croatia prevailed in the shoot-out, their second in a row after beating Denmark on penalties in the last round. They must recover quickly from a draining night before facing England, who were 2-0 winners over Sweden earlier on Saturday. “We enjoy playing against big teams as we showed against Argentina,” insisted defender DejanLovren. “England are one of the favourites to win the World Cup and you need to respect that, but we have nothing to lose. We will enjoy this game and hopefully we can make history.” Lovren added that he was confident right-back SimeVrsaljko would recover from the muscle injury that forced him off in extra-time against Russia. England heroics can inspire generations —Dier possible and that they can also go far.” Dier, who grew up in Portugal, said he had always dreamed of being called up by England but “never imagined what’s happening today.” But he stressed that, despite the elimination of a host of big names from the tournament in Russia, England would be taking nothing for granted. “All the matches here at the World Cup are very hard,” he said. “Since the beginning of the tournament, we’ve seen the big teams struggling against other teams that some considered to be weak. “However, there is no such thing as a weak team in a World Cup. There’s a lot of quality here, in every team. We experienced that against Sweden. It was a really tough Olivier Giroud has backed France to find a way past Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal in St Petersburg. Chelsea striker Giroud, 31, has yet to score in Russia but wants to end that run against Chelsea teammate Courtois. “Thibaut is difficult to beat and he has been very good at this World Cup,” he told a news Russia’s Ignashevich retires •Ignashevich “The World Cup was a strong motivation of me. I feel joy, a feeling of peace because I am ending on a high note. “I am playing at the World Cup. I am playing on a great team with a great coach, a real coach, and with players who give themselves fully to the game.” Ignashevich was one of the game. “Our great triumph is our unity. We have a really great bond between the 23 players and the staff. We’re ready to fight for each other and we have a very strong mentality. “Everyone has been able to see this since the beginning of the World Cup, and now we expect to be here until the last day.” •England’s Jesse Lingard (back) vying with Sweden’s Viktor Claesson during their 2018 World Cup quarter-final match at the Samara Arena in Samara … on Saturday. Photo: AFP Giroud targets goal against Courtois successful penalty takers in the 4-3 shootout defeat to Croatia and was also on target from the spot when they beat Spain on penalties. “Anything can happen in soccer. But here no one was dissatisfied, not in the dressing room and not on the pitch,” he said. “I plan to receive a coaching license in December. I would like to become a coach, a good coach.” Midfielder Alexander Samedov, meanwhile, has said he is ending his international career. “I’ve decided that it’s time for me to go. This was my last match for the national team,” news agency TASS quoted the 33-year-old as saying. conference on Sunday. “He has a strong defence in front of him, but I am sure we will be able to break through that wall. “I have scored a few goals against Thibaut [in training] at Chelsea, and I intend to do the same again on Tuesday.” Giroud praised Belgium skipper Eden Hazard, another Chelsea colleague, and France’s Kylian Mbappe as two of the best players he has worked with. “Eden and Kylian are both geniuses,” he said. “Kylian is more serious — he makes calls from deeper, so is more attacking than Eden. “That said, I have a special relationship with Eden at Chelsea — we need each other on the pitch. Eden is one of the three top players that I have played alongside during my career, but Kylian might be in that band too.” Giroud predicted a tight game against Belgium, saying he felt it would be “a 50-50 match.” “They have a great team, but we do too,” he said. “We have a big rivalry with Belgium — it is a derby, so this game will have an English feel to it. It is a special match. “They are third in the FIFA rankings and they possess a very •Giroud good generation of players. It will be even harder than the last few matches.” Mbappe told TF1 that France were “really proud” of their achievements so far, adding: “We know our own qualities. We need to get back to work to do the right things in the semifinal and allow ourselves to dream.” Meanwhile, defender Benjamin Pavard rejected the idea that France would be favourites. “Belgium are gaining momentum — they have great players, but we are sure of our qualities, and we have an exceptional squad that is very together,” he said. “It is going to be a very complicated match. However, we are scared of nobody. Our squad is exceptional. “We know that Belgium are a top team. We have played against (Lionel) Messi and (Luis) Suarez, though, so we are afraid of nobody — we will work to keep them out too. “People keep talking us up as favourites, but there are still four top teams left. Give it time — we will see after the Belgium match.” French coach Didier Deschamps, also speaking to TF1, warned: “Belgium have great potential in attack, they possess a generation of great quality. The Belgians are at the best European clubs, and they deserve their semifinal berth.”
punch financial Financial Market Watch …for the week ended July 6, 2018 Equity market - Listed securities on NSE The equity segment of the Nigerian stock market succumbed to profit-taking activities and weak demand despite the kick-off of the pension multi-fund structure. Consequently, the NSE All-Share Index and market capitalisation depreciated by 1.71 per cent to close the past week at 37,625.59 and N13.630tn, respectively. With this, the NSE ASI has posted a negative return of 1.61 per cent year-to-date. In the same vein, most sectored gauges fell: the NSE Banking Index, NSE Consumer Goods Index, NSE Oil/Gas Index and NSE Industrial Index decreased by 0.07 per cent, 3.49 per cent, 2.87 per cent and 2.77 per cent, respectively to close at 475.74 points, 895.36 points, 313.95 points and 1,953 points, respectively; however, the NSE Insurance Index rose by 0.53 per cent to close at 151.23 points. This week, we expect the market to trade slightly sideways as investors, especially the Pension Fund Administrators, are likely to take advantage of the relatively discounted stock prices. NASD unlisted securities The NASD OTC Market garnered momentum in the past week as the NASD USI increased significantly by 1.72 per cent to close at 662.89 points (as against the 651.69 points recorded in the previous week). Consequently, the market capitalisation increased by 1.72 per cent to close higher at 448.60bn compared to 441.02bn recorded in the previous week. Money market The OBB and overnight rates rose higher to 11.33 per cent and 12.92 per cent, respectively. This came on the back of a squeeze in system liquidity as banks funded for their FX bids at a retail auction by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Outflows came by way of retail FX sales approximately N300bn and treasury bills primary auction worth N102.31bn. These were slightly moderated by inflows from refunds of the last auction of approximately N100bn and maturing treasury bills worth N409.15bn. We expect rates to remain slightly pressured at the beginning of the week as banks are expected to fund for another round of FX sales in the wholesale market, but moderate slightly on maturing treasury bills worth N313.56bn. Bonds market The bond market remained relatively flat with most activities still on the 2036s. There were, however, slight buying interests on the 2037s, which compressed yields marginally by a single basis point. We expect the market to remain relatively stable this week as market players have shown renewed buying interests at current levels. Our forward expectation for yields, however, remains slightly bearish due to continued EM selloffs, slightly higher year-end inflation expectations and expected increase in the level of FGN borrowings. Treasury bills market The T-bills market traded on a firmly bullish note with yields declining by an average of 30 basis points in the past week. This came on the back of excess inflows from T-bill maturities in the previous session, which spurred some buying interests in the market. In the week under review, the CBN auctioned treasury bills worth N102.31bn via the primary market. The stop rates for the auctioned T-bills moved in mixed directions across the tenor buckets: the 91-day stop rate moderated to 10 per cent (from 10.20 per cent), while 182-day stop rate was flat at 10.50 per cent; however, the 364-day stop rate rose to 11.51 per cent (from 11.50 per cent). We expect the market to remain slightly bullish this week as we anticipate that a resolution of the recent FAAC standoff will further moderate liquidity pressures in the system. This is, however, barring a renewal of OMO auctions by the CBN. Foreign exchange market The interbank rate remained stable at its previous rate of N305.70/$, with the CBN’s external reserves increasing by 0.36 per cent to $47.80bn from $47.63bn on the 13th of June. The NAFEX rate depreciated further by 0.09 per cent to another high of N362.58/$, last seen on August 14, 2017, when the market closed at N362.50/$. In the parallel market, cash rates appreciated by 40k to N359/$, while the transfer market rate remained stable at N363.50/$. In the past week, the CBN injected a total of $210m into the foreign exchange market, of which $100m was allocated to Wholesale (SMIS), $55m was allocated to Small and Medium-scale Enterprises, and $55m was sold for invisibles. We expect a relatively stable exchange rate at most market segments as the CBN continues its intervention coupled with increased dollar liquidity at the BDC segment. •Dr Bernard Ilori E-mail – woleilori@gmail.com Mobile: 09030004477 (SMS/WhatsApp only) MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018 Retirees kick as pension operators slash lump sum to 20% Many retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme are daily expressing their displeasure over their inability to access at least 25 per cent of the balance in their Retirement Savings Accounts, which is contrary to their expectation, investigation has revealed. Some retirees, who spoke to our correspondent on the development, threatened to take up their Pension Fund Administrators for introducing the initiative without making their intentions public for stakeholders to understand the implications. According to them, the prior information made available to them was that retirees could access either 50 per cent or at least 25 per cent of their RSA balance, even when it was uncommon to see the PFAs giving out 50 per cent. A retiree, Kayode Ibrahim, said he was disappointed when his PFAs denied him the 25 per cent lump sum payment, which he felt was his right. He stated, “I just retired and went to my PFA last week to process my pension, but they calculated my lump sum, which amounted to 20 per cent. I rejected that money and insisted that they must give me 25 per cent minimum; they told me my monthly pensions will be lower than 50 per cent of my last salary if they should give me 25 per cent. “Yet, the amount they want to be paying me as monthly pension is just about 18 per cent of the last salary I got before I retired. If they cannot give me a monthly pension that is worth 50 per cent of my last salary, why should they not give me my 25 per cent lump sum?” Another retiree, James Egerue, who spoke with our correspondent, said that he retired early this year and went to his PFA to know how much he would be paid as lump sum. He said, “They agreed to give me 25 per cent, but I did not fill the form on time. When I went back recently, I got a rude shock as they said they would not give me 25 per cent lump sum anymore, but just 20 per cent. “Even though they offered to pay higher monthly pensions than before, the increase is insignificant because they still want to be paying me monthly pension, which is just 20 per cent of my last salary. I will write a petition against them.” While the Part 1 Section 4(1) C old Pension Reform Act, 2004 provided that 50 per cent of the annual remuneration should be considered in retirement iNSIDE A new template recently given to the Pension Fund Administrators by the National Pension Commission for the calculation of retirement benefits to Contributory Pension Scheme retirees has led to the reduction in lump sum being paid out and this is generating concerns among some pensioners, NIKE POPOOLA writes • Acting Director-General, PenCom, Aisha Dahir-Umar benefit computation, this provision was not mentioned in the amended PRA 2014. Part III Section 7(1) A of the 2014 version of the law states, “A holder of a RSA shall upon retirement or attaining the age of 50 years, whichever is later, utilise the amount credited to his RSA for the following benefit: withdrawal of a lump sum from the total amount credited to his RSA provided that the amount left after the lump sum withdrawal or annuity for life in accordance with extant guidelines issue by the commission from time to time.” The major parameters used in the template to calculate the monthly pensions are the date of birth, RSA balance, last salary before retirement and gender of the retiree. Some operators, who spoke with our correspondent, said that the new template became imperative as the PFAs were overwhelmed by the number of retirees who regularly came to their offices to ask for another lump sum after exhausting the initial one they got at retirement, which is the only one allowed by law. From their observation, when retirees were given huge lump sums, they squandered the money within months and soon return to penury. “We feel is it better to give them little lump sums and bigger monthly pensions, because when they live long, we will be able to manage the funds better for them,” an operator said. But a retiree, Tunde Ekundayo, who faulted the defence of the operators, noted that it was wrong to categorise all retirees as frivolous spenders who could not be Insurance Insurance sector Homes & Property Engineers call needs to focus for integrity on financial test on Otedola inclusion Bridge – Hassan Pg. 43 Pg. 47 • Adedeji prudent with money. “Many of us already have plans for the lump sum and when they just slash the money arbitrarily like that, it leaves us with little or nothing to do with the money,” he added. Last year, Senator Aliyu Wamako, representing Sokoto North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, sponsored a bill to amend the PRA 2014 to permit retirees to withdraw a definite rate of 75 per cent of the value of their retirement savings upon retirement, leaving only 25 per cent to be spread over their expected years of retirement as periodic pension payment. The pension operators, who faulted the bill, had said it was doubtful if the 25 per cent balance in the retiree’s RSA after deduction of 75 per cent lump sum would, if spread through the retiree’s expected lifespan, be adequate to reasonably cater for his/her livelihood in old age. The President, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Mrs Ronke Adedeji, said the National Pension Commission introduced the new template for use effective May 15, 2018 as an improvement on the existing template. While explaining the characteristics of the new template, she stated, “Unlike the old template, the new programmed withdrawal template has factored in payment of arrears of pensions to retirees who did not access their benefits immediately after retirement. These retirees are paid pension arrears for the period between their retirement dates and the date they access their funds. “Minimum lump sum 37 payment has been reviewed from the initial 25 per cent to 20 per cent of the RSA balance, while the existing maximum of 50 per cent lump sum was repealed. The purpose of the reduction to 20 per cent is to enable retirees with smaller funds to access more periodic pensions for long term sustenance rather than collecting a huge lump sum today at the expense of their future; while those with large sums can potentially access more than 50 per cent.” The PenOp boss added, “The new template contains salary structures of all Federal Government employees to further standardise benefits computation. The minimum of 50 per cent of the final annual total emolument has also been recaptured in the new programmed withdrawal template as 50 per cent of the total annual gross salary of retirees. This is to ensure that retirees have robust periodic pensions to cater for their needs at retirement. “The new template programmes retirees from a minimum age limit of 50 years and above, while the maximum age limit of 65 years that existed in the initial template has been removed. This allows older retirees to earn more lump sum/pension at retirement. “By and large, the new template has been put in place to bring about an improvement in the standard of living of every retiree. However, some perceive this change as unfavourable if there is a drop in their lump sum. We are confident that over time, retirees will come to appreciate this.”
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Monday, July 9, 2018

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