Nigeria’s Union Bank has revealed plans to raise N50 billion ($164 million) by the end of second quarter of 2017. This amount will be raised through rights issue to increase its capital reserves and lend to agribusiness enterprises. Emeka Emuwa, chief executive of the bank said on Thursday it is targeting a capital ratio of more than 18% after the fundraising as against the 13.4% recorded in...

ASKY, the Pan African Airline here-by inform its passengers that due to rehabilitation works on the two landing runways, the International Airport of Douala will be closed to traffic from April 10 to 17, 2017 between 4am and 11am local time. The Airline reassure its passengers that all measures are taken to keep the operations of the flights through a close collaboration with the airport...

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has called on the United Nations to issue $62 million to support farming in the north-eastern part of the country during the wet-season. “FAO is asking for 62 million dollars, under the Humanitarian Response Plan, for Nigeria. A combination of food assistance and food production support is the only way to address the scale of hunger facing the...

Biogaran SAS, a subsidiary of France’s second-largest drugmaker, Les Laboratoires Servier, plans to benefit from Nigeria’s $1.3 billion drugs market by setting up operations in the country. “To start with, the company plans to use Nigeria as a base to export to other West African countries. We found that Nigeria is well adapted for what we want to do. We decided to invest when the...

In Nigeria, the Federal Government on Wednesday released N54 billion ($171.7 million) to pay part of the pension rights accumulated in 2014, 2015 and 2016. “Despite conflicting demands for available cash, President Muhammadu Buhari has always expressed concern over the plight of workers and pensioners. Consistent with this, we have released N54 billion which clears the arrears inherited from...

Nigeria's Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the request for a $1.3 billion loan from international lenders to fund the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun (photo), revealed on Wednesday. According to Adeosun, the loan includes $500 million from the World Bank to be repaid over 21 years, $450 million from the African Development...

Mining firm Avenira hopes to soon raise $AU2.5 million, in the framework of share acquisition plan, to advance its Baobab phosphate project in Senegal. The company will allow its shareholders to buy new shares ranging overall between AU$1,000 and AU$15,000, at c8.4 per share. The price offered is 10.6% below the weighted-average price of Avenira’s share which was estimated at $0.094...

Momentum Africa Real Estate Fund (MAREF), a joint-venture between London-based Global Investment Management and South African real estate group Eris Property, annonced the final closing of a $170 million fund which will focus on real estate assets across Africa. The investment fund whose two main stakeholders are subsidiaries of MMI Holdings, Africa’s third largest insurer listed on the...

Meeting with authorities in charge of arable land, Algeria’s minister of agriculture, rural development and fishery, Abdesselam Chelghoum, announced that the State has recovered more than 100,000 hectares of non-used arable lands across the nation over the past six months. These lands were distributed in the framework of a programme to boost access to land (APFA) and in respect to an...

Nigeria President has formally launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which contains measures expected to help plug the country out of recession. Speaking in Abuja at a brief ceremony set up after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (Cabinet), Muhammadu Buhari (photo) said his administration is determined to transform Nigeria from a consumer nation to a net producer. “The...