29042019 - Economy bleeds as power system collapses

16 — Vanguard MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2019
AGM: From left: Group Chief Executive, FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Ladi Balogun; Chairman, Mr.
Oladipupo Jadesimi; Company Secretary/General Counsel, Mrs. Funmi Adedibu; Founder, FCMB Group,
Otunba Olasubomi Balogun and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Peter Obaseki, during the 6th Annual
General Meeting of the Group in Lagos.
New Delta secretariat to accommodate all MDAs, ICT
Centre, others—Okowa's aide
By Gabriel Olawale
AAssistant SABA—EXECUTIVE
(Communications)
to the Governor of
Delta State, Dr Fred
Oghenesivbe has said that
the multi-billion Naira secretariat
under construction
in the state capital is
another deliberate effort of
the Okowa administration
to block financial leakages,
create conducive
work environment for civil
servants and save huge
funds spent on rented
buildings and facilities for
the conduct of government
business.
He noted in a statement
that the leadership ingenuity
and good governance
initiative of Gov.
Okowa is further revealed
in his strong desire to
widen the scope of
infrastructural development
and place Delta
State, far ahead of other
states in terms of suitable
facilities to enhance performance
of civil servants.
According to him, government
will save huge
sums of money as a result
of the new secretariat
which is capable of accommodating
all Ministries,
Departments and
Agencies, MDA, adding
that those doing business
with government will no
longer travel from one
location to another because
all the MDAs shall
be in one secretariat,
sharing same internet/
ICT and power facilities
as projected by the governor.
He said: "The modern Secretariat
near completion is an
integral part of the SMART
Agenda, one of the star
projects dear to the heart of
the governor. The state government
under this administration
is determined to cut
down, to the barest minimum,
the cost of governance; and
one of such strategies is to
move all MDA to one location.
"Gov Okowa being a prudent
manager of the state resources
is mindful of the cost implication
of rented buildings presently
occupied by MDA and
felt that it is more prudent and
cost effective for government
to build a large secretariat;
well equipped with the state
of the art facilities linked to a
central ICT, power generator
and other facilities that enable
civil servants to perform their
assigned official responsibilities
with ease while those doing
business with government
can do so in one stop location.
"Gov Okowa deserves commendation
for his political willpower
to save the state from
the inherited poor work environment."
Israel’s Delek says made offer
for Chevron’s North Sea oilfields
ISRAEL’s Delek Group
confirmed yesterday it
submitted a proposal through
its Ithaca unit to buy Chevron’s
oil and gas fields in the
British North Sea.
Last week Reuters reported
that Delek was close to clinching
Chevron’s oil and gas
fields in the British North Sea,
which have a price tag of about
$2 billion.
Delek, in a regulatory filing
in Tel Aviv, said it was in discussions
to buy Chevron’s gas
fields as part of its strategy to
expand its international operations
but did not provide
financial details. It said the
discussions centered on
Chevron’s natural gas and
oil fields in Britain’s North
Sea — Alba, Alder and Britannia,
as well as a number
of satellites.
Delek said it believed that
if deal is reached, it could be
completed in 2019 and
would be financed through
bank loans and its own resources.
Arabian Centres to raise up to
$836 million in Saudi’s biggest
IPO since 2014
SAUDI Arabian mall op
erator Arabian Centres
Co could raise up to $836 million
at the top end of the price
range for its initial public offering
(IPO), the sale prospectus
showed yesterday.
The IPO would be the country’s
biggest since Saudi lender
National Commercial
Bank raised $6 billion in
2014, according to Refintiv
data.
Arabian Centres plans to
sell 95 million shares at 26
riyals to 33 riyals per share,
the document showed, implying
a market capitalization
of between 12.4 billion riyals
and 15.7 billion riyals ($3.3
billion and $4.2 billion) on
listing.
Owned by Fawaz Alhokair
Group, the offering will be
the first in the kingdom under
Rule 144a, which allows
the sale of securities primarily
to qualified institutional
buyers in the United States.
It will also be the first major
Saudi IPO this year as the
kingdom tries to move past
the international fallout following
last year’s murder of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Riyadh has been encouraging
more family-owned
companies to list in a bid to
deepen its capital markets as
part of reforms aimed at reducing
reliance on oil revenue.
China urges UK not to discriminate
against Huawei in 5G development
CHINA on Sunday warned
Britain not to discriminate
against companies involved in developing
the 5G network and to
resist pressure from other countries
over whether it should work
with Huawei Technologies.
Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms
equipment maker, is under
intense scrutiny after the United
States told allies not to use the company’s
technology because of fears
it could be a vehicle for Chinese
spying. Huawei has denied this.
Sources told Reuters that Britain’s
National Security Council
(NSC) had decided to bar Huawei
from all core parts of the
country’s 5G network and restrict
its access to non-core parts.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph,
China’s ambassador to
Britain Liu Xiaoming defended
Huawei as having a good track
record on security and said Britain
should “make decisions independently
and in accordance
with their national interests”.
Pilots demand better training if Boeing
wants to rebuild trust in 737 MAX
AMERICAN Airlines pi
lots have warned that
Boeing Co’s draft training proposals
for the troubled 737
MAX do not go far enough to
address their concerns, according
to written comments submitted
to the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration.
The comments were made by
the Allied Pilots Association
(APA), which represents pilots at
American Airlines Group Inc,
the world’s largest airline and
one of the biggest 737 MAX
operators in the United States.
Their support is important
because Boeing has said pilots’
confidence in the 737 MAX will
play a critical role in convincing
the public that the aircraft
is safe to fly again.
Boeing’s fast-selling 737
MAX was grounded worldwide
in March following a fatal
Ethiopian Airlines crash
that killed all 157 on board just
five months after a similar crash
on a Lion Air flight that killed
all 189 passengers and crew..
All stories credited to Reuters