Bowing out when the ovation is loudest

! page VM2

EWS THAT THE Central Bank of

Nigeria would permit com-mercial banks to charge ATM users N65 after 3 free withdrawals in a month for remote-on-us users has got customers and consumer rights’ advocates up in arms. The new policy would take ef-fect from September 1. A re-mote-on-us (ROU) trans-action is a withdrawal made by a customer on an ATM not owned by the bank that is-sued the card.

Until the Central Bank reached an understanding with the Bankers Committee in December 2012 to waive

ROU charges, banks had charged card holders N100 every time a withdrawal was made on a remote ATM. This time, the first three ATM withdrawals in a given month on other banks’ ATMs will be free, and subsequent with-drawals are to be charged at N65 to cover payments to switching companies.

Notwithstanding, banks maintained payments to switching companies for pro-cessing ROU transactions. Switching companies process and guarantee the seamless payments transfer between an acquiring bank, that is, the bank that issued the cus-

tomer’s card, and a payment bank, that is, the bank that owns the ATM on which the withdrawal is made.

After a year and half of bearing these costs by them-selves, it has become an un-sustainable burden for banks. The impact is felt on declining maintenance of the ATMs, drop in the number of newly

commissioned ATMs, and a hit to their non-interest in-come.

A vocal minority has threatened a showdown in resistance to the new policy. They are yet to propose real-istic alternatives that accom-modate the business logic of banks that have borne these costs for nearly two years.

Some critics have gone as far as making innuendos that this is the latest move by God-win Emefiele, the CBN gov-ernor who resumed in June, of seeking to block profit seepage among the country’s banks, his former constitu-ency.

For the financial institu-tions, it is not so much about seeking to make a profit from these transactions as it is about avoiding a loss.

At N65 cost paid by a cus-tomer’s bank to the switch-ing company for these small withdrawals it became clear that the service was being abused because the customer was not picking the tab. The new policy is aimed at remov-ing the perverse incentive.

For the proponents of the new policy the heat generated by those opposed to the new policy has more to do with a failure to distinguish between the old N100 charge which was imposed for every trans-action, and the novel N65 fee that will be paid only after 3 free withdrawals in a month at ATMs operated by other banks. The CBN recognizes

the gap in communication and is making an extra ef-fort to clear the air. But with both sides sticking to their guns, something has got to give soon. After all, payment banks are not bound to serve customers of other banks on their ATMs. This is not an empty threat, and may have received the tacit support of the country’s central bank au-thorities. ;

Vanguard Markets | Monday, August 25, 2014 | Issue 007

BANKING

Fixed Income & Forex

Much ado over ATM charges

0B 10.0 10.508/08 11/08 11/0818/08 19/08 19/0821/08 22/08 22/0813/08 14/08 14/08

840B 11.6 15.5

14.5630B 11.213.5

420B 10.812.5

210B 10.4 11.5

FGN Bonds & TBills NITTY NIBORFGN BondsTreasury Bills

O/N1M

3M6M

SPOTLIGHT

161.511/08 19/08 22/0814/08

163.0

162.5

162.4

162.1

161.8

FX ($/N)

Source: FMDQ

BidAsk

1M2M

3M6M

9M12M

N

Pay as you cash. The new CBN policy seeks to curb the indiscriminate use of ATMs as purses-in-transit, and perhaps catalyse broader adoption of mobile money services.

Notwithstanding, the cancellation of fees in December 2012 banks were obliged to keep paying switching companies for processing ROU transactions.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE TABLE (AUGUST 21, 2014)

Currency Central Rate

US DOLLAR 155.23

POUNDS STERLING

257.6042

EURO 205.9126

SWISS FRANC 170.0033

YEN 1.4946

CFA 0.3044

WAUA 235.7352

YUAN/ RENMINBI

25.232

RIYAL 41.3903

DANISH KRONA

27.6117

SDR 236.198

Obinna Ufudo, outgoing Transcorp CEO

SOURCES OF AVERAGE MONTHLY TRANSACTIONS (2012-2013)

Type 2013 (N ’Bn) 2012 (N ’Bn) Change in Value

Cheques 600 622 -3.5%

NEFT 1,123 1,138 1

ATM 214 165 29.6%

POS 10 4 138.4%

Internet 3 3 31.3%

Mobile 9 3 228.8%

NIP 696 324 114.8%

RTGS 9,168 9,417 -2.7%

NIP: NIBSS Instant PaymentNEFT: Nigerian Electronic Fund Transfer RTGS: Real Time Gross Settlement

Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, KPMG Advisory Services

HE NEWS THAT Obinna Ufudo, chief executive of Trans-

national Corporation of Nigeria, the NSE30 company with strategic investments in

the power, hospitality, agri-business and energy sectors, would be leaving at the end of the month has taken many by surprise. This would be the first orderly transition at Transcorp since the company was launched in 2005. All pre-vious CEOs have left suddenly and rarely in glorious circum-stances. This time it is different.

In three years, Ufudo has worked wonders at the com-pany. Backed by a support-ive board and surrounded by a competent team, he has grown Transcorp’s market capitalization ten-fold. He has also kept the company out of the crosshairs of scan-dal. This is no mean feat when one considers the com-

pany’s colourful history.The trim, athletic execu-

tive is known for quickly cut-ting to the chase at meetings. Though it would be incorrect to describe him as press-shy, he never courted the lime-light in contrast to many ex-ecutives who reach the pinna-cle of their careers at a young age. He has always been too focused on the job at hand.

Launching his career in the big leagues in 2003 as special assistant to Tony Elumelu during his days as chief exec-utive of the defunct Standard Trust Bank, he has blossomed under his tutelage to become one of the most sought after transformation engineers in corporate Nigeria. Along the

way he picked up an MSc in investment banking at the University of Reading in Eng-land under the British Ch-evening Scholars’ program. Ufudo also holds an executive MBA from the prestigious La-gos Business School awarded in partnership with the Uni-versity of Navarra, Spain’s IESE Business School.

It is hard to think that after spending more than a decade as an adjutant-in-chief to Tony Elumelu, Ufudo would be step-ping out of his shadow at this time. Though he has kept his plans close to his chest it is not impossible that Elumelu has a new role in store for him.

Ufudo will be replaced by Emmanuel Nnorom, an-

other Elumelu protégé. Nno-rom is not an unknown at Transcorp. A former executive director at the United Bank for Africa, he first joined the board of Transcorp during the tenure of Nick Okoro, a former chief executive. Okoro deserves credit for instituting many of the positive changes that attracted HEIRS Hold-ing, Elumelu’s investment vehicle, to make a success-ful play for the company in September 2011. Nnorom is presently the chief operating officer of HEIRS Holdings, a position held by Ufudo be-fore he berthed at Transcorp. It is a testimony to Elumelu’s leadership abilities that he has groomed a generation of crack

troops ready to be parachuted into HEIRS portfolio compa-nies at short notice. Many ex-Standard Trust cum ex-UBA staffers, who got their first shot at titles under him are today ensconced in c-suites all across Nigeria. Faith Tuedor-Mat-thews, group chief executive of Mainstreet Bank, is a shin-ing example.

At a market valuation of $1 billion and with major stakes in the Transcorp Hilton Ho-tel, Abuja, Transcorp Hotels, Calabar, Teragro Commodi-ties Limited, and Transcorp Ughelli Power, Nnorom has big shoes to fill. Till he does, all hail the man who is choos-ing to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest. ;

Obiora Onyeasoobiora.onyeaso@customsstreet.com

N A CIRCULAR dated August 13, Dipo Fatokun,

the Central Bank of Nigeria’s director of banking and pay-ment’s system department, explained that ‘as a result of the unintended consequences of the decision, which has resulted in substantial cost burden incurred by banks in defraying the cost of the ser-vice,’ it had become neces-sary ‘to review the payment structure for card-carrying bank customers in line with present realities.’

The decision in question was taken in December 2012 by the Central Bank in col-laboration with the Bankers Committee to transfer pay-ment of the obtainable fees charged by switching compa-nies on remote-on-us ATM cash withdrawals to issuing banks. An issuing, or acquir-ing bank is the bank that is-sued the bank customer an ATM card.

This waived fee, the CBN’s payment system director drew attention to ‘should have ordinarily been an in-come to them.’

In the latest H1 results more than one bank attributed a drop in non-interest income to the recently jettisoned pol-icy. For example, FBN Hold-ings, in its H1 2014 earnings statement referred to the ‘lost

income as a result of the ef-fect of various policy changes by the CBN from April 2013.’ This was a veiled reference to the transfer of the remote-on-us charges to acquiring banks that begun to reflect on earnings at the end of the first quarter of last year.

At its core this is what it really boils down to. Who should carry the cost of pay-ing for withdrawals on other bank ATMs to the switching companies? Should bank cus-tomers have an infinite blank cheque to pass on the cost to their banks? Or should the banks carry this cost alone and pass it on to their share-holders?

The debate on the con-venience fees for using other banks’ ATMs is not a new one. Other countries have been here before. In February, Glenn Thibeault, Consumer Affairs Critic of the National Democratic Party in Cana-da thundered that ‘no one should have to pay $2 or $3 to withdraw their own money from a bank machine – espe-cially when it costs the banks around 36 cents.’ His party proposed to cap withdrawal fees on other banks’ ATMs at 50 cents per transaction. This figure was pushed against data provided by both the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and the Canadian Bankers Association that in-dicate that it costs anywhere from $1.50 to $2 per trans-action to use an ATM that is not owned by the customer’s financial institution. Such populist posturing does little to move the debate forward neither does it present viable options that are fair to both sides.

There is a misperception that the costs under review are phantom charges plucked from thin air. They are not. They are real costs that must

be carried by someone, some-where and paid with hard cash.

On its part, the CBN has been a little taken aback by the flurry of animated oppo-sition to the policy. The apex bank had left the responsibil-ity for educating customers on the need to limit their use of other banks’ ATMs or be prepared to bear the costs of the convenience. In its press release, the CBN implored banks ‘to conduct adequate sensitization of their custom-ers on the introduction of the new fee.’ Obviously, the banks have not been proac-tive in this regard. While in the past, banks did not hesi-tate to blanket customers’ phones with text messages on new policies it does not ap-pear to be the case this time. The banks look like they are stepping back from the con-troversy and letting the CBN do their dirty work for them.

To muddy the waters fur-ther, the matter is being pre-sented by critics as a financial inclusion issue. This is an in-genious claim. Anyone who has a bank account and an ATM card is, to boot, finan-cially included in the banking system.

Regardless of a bank cus-tomer’s income bracket or the type of account operated she will always be able to with-draw from her issuing bank’s own ATMs free-of-charge un-der the new regime. The N65 charge does not discriminate against any income group. Instead, it aims to incentivise the banks to maintain high quality service delivery to users of their ATMs, as well as make new investments to expand the geographic cov-erage of their ATMs. To de-mand that banks continue to subsidize remote ATM with-drawals as a social service is a distortion of their business

models and a disservice to their shareholders.

Ibrahim Mu’azu, the head of corporate commu-nications at the CBN, has hinted that banks may have no choice than to deny service to customers if they cannot recover the N65 charge after 3 free withdrawals in a month on other banks’ ATMs. He made it clear that ‘maintain-ing ATMs is expensive and it requires economic incen-tive for owners to deploy and maintain these machines.’ Moreover, ‘if a part of this cost goes unabated, the banks may be forced to reject trans-actions coming from their customers at another bank ATMs, thereby frustrating the interoperability of payment systems.’

Everyone agrees that the ubiquity of ATMs have been a big convenience for bank cus-tomers. Paul Volcker, the US Federal Reserve Chairman under Presidents Carter and Reagan, and a critic of most financial innovation went on record a few years ago to say that ‘the most important fi-nancial innovation in the past 20 years is the automatic tell-er machine, that really helps people and prevents visits to the bank and it is a real con-venience.’

When it is all said and done, everyone can agree that things of convenience are things of value and their pro-viders deserve to be reward-ed. N65 or N55, three times free in one month or 1 time free each week, are the trade-offs where the debate should burrow into. The demand for freebies leaves providers with little choice than to cut off access to other banks’ cus-tomers in entirety and in the process, defeat all the pro-gress made with financial ac-cess expansion in the last two years. ;

BUSINESSVM2

JAYWALKER

SPOTLIGHT

VM | Monday, August 25, 2014 | Issue 007

There is a misperception that the costs under review are phantom charges plucked from thin air.

ATM of their discontent

Obinna Ufudo, Transcorp CEO, Turnaround Maestro

I

Obinna Ufudo

T

Customers Channels Preferences

Source: Nigeria Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (April 2013) and KPMG Advisory Services

Data visualisation by Publican Media

Mobile Payments

1% 1% 1% 4% 93%

Contact Centre

1% 1% 2% 9% 87%

Mobile banking

3% 1% 2% 5% 89%

Social Media

3% 1% 1% 6% 89%

POS

4% 2% 2% 9% 83%

Internet Banking

5% 1% 2% 6% 86%

Branch

33% 14% 30% 21% 2%

ATM

57% 13% 9% 8% 13%

Weekly Fomightly Once a month Rarely Never

INCREASE IN THE DEPLOYMENT OF ATMS from 10,727 in 2012 to nearly 15,000 in June 2014

INCREASE IN ATM TRANSACTIONS from N1.3 trillion in 2012 to N1.7 trillion in June 2014

40% 30%

LEGEND

15-week trading bar:This bar shows the volume of the company’s shares traded during the 5 most recent weeks. Each alternate colour bar represents a consecutive week. The bar is to be read from left to right. The first bar on the left (light blue) represents the traded volume five weeks ago. The next bar (grey) represents the volume 4 weeks ago. The 5th and last bar (light blue) signifies the volume of shares exchanged last week. The purpose of the Weekly Trading bar is to give readers an instant view of trading volumes as they compare on a week-by-week basis.

2Liquidity Rating: This indicates the level of demand for a company’s shares based on the number of deals rather than volume done over the past week. Stocks are graded accord-ing 5 categories. Blue spheres are used to represent liquidity. • Category 5: This is the highest liquidity rating shown by 5 blue spheres.

Stocks that have traded more than 20 deals per day on at least 4 days in the past week are awarded this score

• Category 4: This is shown by 4 blue spheres. It indicates that the stock has

traded between 12 to 19 deals per day on at least 4 days in the past week• Category 3: Shown with 3 spheres, this liquidity classification represents

those stocks that have traded 8 to 11 deals per day on at least 4 days in the past week

• Category 2: Shown with 2 spheres it identifies those stocks that traded 4 to 7 deals per day on at least 4 days in the past week

• Category 1: This is shown by one blue sphere to represent stocks on which 3 deals and/or below were traded per day on at least 4 days in the week.

SECTOR PRICE CHANGES - AUG 22, 2014MARKET REVIEW– AUGUST 18-22, 2014

TRADING UPDATE

DASHBOARD

TickerFriday 5-day 4-Week

5-Week trading1

52-Week price rangeYtD PE EPS Liquidity

Rating2Close Change, % Volume Open Week Hi Week Lo Change,

% Volume Open Change, % Volume Low Close ( ) High

7UP 128.51 1.36% 722 126.78 128.51 120.75 1.36% 2,572 105.50 21.81% 16,628 64.80 128.51 79.91% 28.43 4.46 ABCTRANS 0.70 -1.41% 3,665 0.69 0.76 0.68 1.45% 33,648 0.79 -11.49% 142,328 0.63 0.97 -10.46% 3.33 0.21

ACCESS 9.64 0.00% 234,745 9.63 9.79 9.50 0.10% 859,266 9.72 -0.82% 13,199,863 7.22 10.91 0.42% 6.13 1.57 AGLEVENT 1.40 0.00% 700 1.33 1.40 1.33 5.26% 1,679 1.34 4.48% 6,009 1.25 1.87 -14.11% 6.22 0.23

AIICO 0.80 0.00% 53,435 0.81 0.84 0.80 -1.23% 287,920 0.81 -1.23% 724,105 0.74 1.03 -13.04% 5.26 0.15 AIRSERVICE 2.20 -2.22% 447 2.13 2.25 2.06 3.29% 6,858 2.18 0.92% 25,341 2.00 4.23 -34.33% 4.32 0.50ASHAKACEM 33.87 1.07% 8,809 33.94 34.15 32.55 -0.21% 29,379 30.23 12.04% 221,971 13.87 34.20 54.80% 42.50 0.80 BETAGLAS 17.96 -4.72% 0 17.90 18.85 17.90 0.34% 385 17.11 4.97% 2,274 10.69 22.10 24.46% 5.06 3.38CADBURY 63.37 -0.97% 1,588 63.67 63.99 63.37 -0.47% 12,271 70.54 -10.16% 27,468 63.37 110.00 -34.79% 42.48 1.57

CAP 39.05 0.13% 791 39.53 39.53 39.00 -1.21% 5,046 40.00 -2.38% 17,237 35.96 51.66 -18.61% 23.32 1.67 CCNN 14.61 -0.61% 3,994 14.33 15.98 13.65 1.95% 48,719 14.17 3.11% 315,110 8.00 15.98 21.85% 13.04 1.12

CONOIL 68.45 -1.93% 2,328 64.80 71.85 64.80 5.63% 14,985 58.90 16.21% 112,924 25.92 79.80 11.63% 20.51 3.34 CONTINSURE 0.98 -1.01% 36,150 1.00 1.02 0.96 -2.00% 82,935 1.13 -13.27% 3,218,358 0.93 1.33 -18.33% 6.12 0.16 COURTVILLE 0.57 0.00% 150 0.55 0.57 0.53 3.64% 7,445 0.54 5.56% 127,353 0.50 0.89 -12.31% 5.18 0.11 CUSTODYINS 3.86 0.00% 8,063 3.85 3.98 3.75 0.26% 172,368 3.90 -1.03% 383,159 1.30 4.11 77.06% 16.08 0.24

CUTIX 1.90 -0.52% 694 1.94 1.94 1.80 -2.06% 17,059 1.90 0.00% 79,567 1.59 2.27 -2.56% 10.00 0.19 CWG 4.80 0.00% 2 4.80 4.80 4.80 0.00% 14 4.75 1.05% 955 4.75 5.83 -17.67%

DANGCEM 229.97 0.01% 207 226.00 230.00 226.00 1.76% 5,883 231.99 -0.87% 67,979 185.00 250.02 6.39% 19.50 11.80 DANGFLOUR 7.50 1.35% 1,168 7.50 7.50 7.25 0.00% 8,099 7.61 -1.45% 39,506 7.25 10.76 -26.69% DANGSUGAR 8.70 0.23% 36,483 8.91 9.00 8.61 -2.36% 187,028 9.20 -5.43% 483,316 8.61 12.49 -23.01% 10.74 0.81 DIAMONDBNK 6.20 -0.96% 133,054 6.28 6.30 6.10 -1.27% 576,930 6.70 -7.46% 1,799,405 5.86 8.20 -17.33% 3.75 1.65

ETERNA 3.88 2.37% 4,035 3.80 3.90 3.60 2.11% 42,631 3.95 -1.77% 154,587 2.48 5.73 -17.97% 6.25 0.61 ETI 16.50 -0.60% 21,992 17.19 17.97 16.40 -4.01% 201,490 16.90 -2.37% 844,792 12.40 18.60 0.67% 4.50 3.67

FBNH 14.61 -0.68% 61,470 14.79 15.30 14.53 -1.22% 454,660 15.22 -4.01% 2,230,200 11.50 17.29 -10.37% 6.77 2.16 FCMB 4.30 -0.69% 8,237 4.25 4.39 4.21 1.18% 293,684 4.20 2.38% 1,622,609 3.01 4.59 11.98% 4.89 0.88

FIDELITYBK 1.97 0.00% 66,246 2.00 2.13 1.96 -1.50% 514,797 1.98 -0.51% 1,849,589 1.85 2.95 -27.04% 2.88 0.68 FIDSON 3.33 0.00% 35,693 3.14 3.33 3.01 6.05% 94,690 3.18 4.72% 239,894 1.80 3.33 21.09% 13.88 0.24

FLOURMILL 66.69 2.27% 1,628 69.87 69.98 65.17 -4.55% 18,053 67.27 -0.87% 137,287 58.10 83.64 -18.49% 20.15 3.38 FO 230.00 -3.00% 2,256 222.10 239.99 220.00 3.56% 17,392 216.00 6.48% 56,523 35.00 259.94 147.66% 49.91 4.63

FORTISMFB 5.15 0 5.70 5.70 5.15 -9.65% 160,925 6.00 -14.17% 260,976 5.15 6.66 -17.86% 4.59 1.18 GLAXOSMITH 63.57 -0.66% 51 64.00 65.99 62.54 -0.67% 1,320 65.71 -3.26% 40,204 58.50 74.97 -9.19% 22.01 3.00 GUARANTY 28.52 -1.28% 61,087 28.90 29.50 28.51 -1.31% 444,752 31.00 -8.00% 2,287,917 22.67 31.80 2.77% 8.73 3.27 GUINNESS 189.90 -0.05% 244 189.50 191.00 187.45 0.21% 6,817 197.15 -3.68% 36,144 162.00 266.70 -19.54% 24.11 7.88

HONYFLOUR 4.15 2.47% 17,183 4.01 4.15 4.00 3.49% 120,294 4.26 -2.58% 349,567 2.56 4.50 7.79% 12.09 0.34 INTBREW 26.60 0.68% 80 26.66 27.50 25.50 -0.23% 46,876 26.65 -0.19% 64,431 17.98 31.50 -6.07% 42.84 0.63 JBERGER 65.00 -2.75% 313 64.00 66.84 63.00 1.56% 7,150 64.01 1.55% 15,137 59.18 76.45 3.06% 9.64 6.74

LINKASSURE 0.50 0.00% 5 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00% 15 0.50 0.00% 21,859 0.50 0.50 0.00% 12.57 0.04 MANSARD 2.48 0.40% 4,425 2.54 2.55 2.47 -2.36% 50,905 2.55 -2.75% 98,131 1.95 2.73 -0.80% 16.35 0.15 MAYBAKER 1.60 1.27% 606 1.60 1.62 1.58 0.00% 20,647 1.70 -5.88% 44,949 1.58 2.64 -37.25% 17.56 0.09

MOBIL 175.75 0.14% 2,310 176.76 182.00 175.00 -0.57% 5,207 161.41 8.88% 37,165 102.00 182.00 51.51% 16.76 10.44 MRS 58.49 13.99% 787 53.79 58.49 51.31 8.74% 2,197 58.90 -0.70% 17,368 32.53 70.00 13.09% 56.24 1.04

NAHCO 5.00 0.00% 3,972 5.00 5.15 4.97 0.00% 44,316 4.91 1.83% 234,963 4.56 6.80 -21.26% 15.39 0.32 NASCON 10.00 2.04% 3,938 9.86 10.30 9.75 1.42% 32,733 10.59 -5.57% 282,362 9.75 15.10 -32.66% 9.43 1.05

NB 175.52 -1.39% 4,358 172.01 179.50 172.00 2.04% 38,804 178.00 -1.39% 364,116 140.00 189.00 6.37% 33.52 5.24 NEIMETH 1.20 7.14% 7,401 1.12 1.22 1.12 7.14% 14,027 1.21 -0.83% 48,736 0.79 2.08 9.09%

NEM 0.81 0.00% 77,891 0.80 0.83 0.78 1.25% 363,355 0.82 -1.22% 920,690 0.55 0.97 0.00% 0.41 1.96 NESTLE 1,065.00 0.95% 127 1,062.01 1,099.00 1,055.01 0.28% 15,087 1,105.00 -3.62% 626,539 916.00 1,250.01 -9.90% 37.47 28.82

NIGERINS 0.50 0 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00% 191 0.50 0.00% 69,073 0.50 0.54 0.00% 25.00 0.02 NNFM 21.00 -2.33% 520 22.48 22.48 21.00 -6.58% 2,299 19.48 7.80% 29,441 18.00 28.49 -4.59% OANDO 26.45 0.95% 32,741 26.43 27.00 26.19 0.08% 212,947 25.47 3.85% 1,488,887 9.32 36.89 -1.05% 23.73 1.11

OKOMUOIL 34.85 -0.43% 1,738 35.00 35.00 34.74 -0.43% 6,978 33.06 5.41% 81,429 32.15 48.05 -22.26% 15.93 2.29 PAINTCOM 1.58 0.00% 0 1.61 1.61 1.58 -1.86% 4,677 1.47 7.48% 8,625 1.33 2.30 -18.97% 4.57 0.35 PORTPAINT 5.01 0.20% 3,620 5.09 5.25 4.99 -1.57% 8,576 5.22 -4.02% 39,868 4.00 6.25 -4.57% 8.37 0.60

PREMPAINTS 10.39 0 10.39 10.39 10.39 0.00% 1 10.39 0.00% 114 9.84 10.39 0.00% PRESCO 36.21 -0.28% 105 36.00 36.39 36.00 0.58% 15,120 38.01 -4.74% 48,051 32.00 49.00 -7.15% 4.33 8.38

PRESTIGE 0.50 0.00% 466 0.52 0.52 0.50 -3.85% 39,280 0.52 -3.85% 167,206 0.50 0.81 -20.63% 1.99 0.25 PZ 35.14 0.98% 3,316 36.00 36.00 34.80 -2.39% 12,563 37.60 -6.54% 67,677 30.08 42.29 -5.02% 26.87 1.34

ROYALEX 0.59 3.51% 1,250 0.60 0.63 0.57 -1.67% 88,517 0.52 13.46% 137,514 0.50 0.69 9.26% 6.09 0.10 RTBRISCOE 0.90 2.27% 4,817 0.92 0.92 0.84 -2.17% 25,142 1.00 -10.00% 66,470 0.84 1.60 -36.17%

SEPLAT 690.00 0.00% 177 680.00 690.00 680.00 1.47% 1,558 690.00 0.00% 15,952 590.00 735.00 14.09% SKYEBANK 2.95 0.00% 51,400 3.10 3.11 2.88 -4.84% 250,278 3.20 -7.81% 1,120,709 2.88 4.67 -34.59% 3.46 0.84 STANBIC 29.44 -1.90% 2,565 29.10 30.31 29.10 1.17% 67,812 29.09 1.20% 276,202 16.05 31.50 31.78% 15.61 1.92

STERLNBANK 2.28 0.88% 11,659 2.14 2.28 2.09 6.54% 222,319 2.26 0.88% 771,148 2.09 2.74 -8.80% 3.62 0.63 TOTAL 182.05 0.57% 77 182.00 182.05 180.00 0.03% 1,279 176.45 3.17% 8,473 146.26 195.50 5.05% 14.02 12.91

TRANSCORP 5.72 1.42% 134,965 5.60 5.72 5.50 2.14% 773,024 5.51 3.81% 3,987,141 1.26 6.03 31.80% 65.19 0.09 UAC-PROP 16.15 0.00% 3,069 16.40 17.00 16.15 -1.52% 25,353 17.60 -8.24% 63,198 12.00 21.31 5.03% 7.36 2.20

UACN 58.87 -0.25% 8,148 60.21 61.00 58.87 -2.23% 38,203 62.00 -5.05% 129,032 42.58 67.85 5.14% 27.54 2.14 UBA 7.21 -1.23% 34,924 7.31 7.40 7.02 -1.37% 403,576 7.90 -8.73% 2,569,988 6.65 9.60 -21.20% 4.25 1.70

UBCAP 2.17 0.46% 9,964 2.15 2.20 2.10 0.93% 242,808 2.17 0.00% 630,962 1.09 3.04 -4.41% 7.48 0.29 UBN 8.17 0.00% 5,217 8.20 8.50 8.17 -0.37% 22,301 9.25 -11.68% 132,395 8.00 11.00 -14.98% 43.70 0.19

UNILEVER 48.99 0.04% 1,375 49.00 49.01 48.29 -0.02% 10,670 47.63 2.86% 111,040 42.50 64.00 -7.57% 35.76 1.37 UNITYBNK 0.50 0.00% 7,557 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00% 77,102 0.50 0.00% 1,418,707 0.50 0.72 0.00% 4.65 0.11 VITAFOAM 4.15 1.22% 4,024 4.18 4.20 4.05 -0.72% 19,206 4.15 0.00% 63,458 3.66 5.70 -13.72% 5.84 0.71

WAPCO 119.00 -0.84% 1,014 118.60 120.01 117.66 0.34% 12,057 118.90 0.08% 111,542 87.50 136.73 3.48% 14.60 8.10 WAPIC 0.76 -2.56% 22,966 0.78 0.81 0.74 -2.56% 179,367 0.90 -15.56% 600,010 0.66 1.48 -32.74% 10.86 0.07

WEMABANK 0.95 -2.06% 14,145 0.97 0.99 0.95 -2.06% 63,740 1.06 -10.38% 1,792,920 0.89 1.40 -25.78% ZENITHBANK 24.51 -1.57% 39,568 23.88 24.99 23.80 2.64% 656,068 25.23 -2.85% 2,945,749 19.23 27.40 -1.96% 7.14 3.46

The All-Share Index ↓0.4% barely budged last week. Among all NSE indices, only the Oil & Gas index ↑1.05% crossed the 1% gain line. The Banking Index ↓0.18%, Consumer Goods Index ↓0.06%, and Lotus Islamic Index ↓0.15% slipped into negative territory albeit in barely perceptible moves.In total, 1,030,608,356 shares ↓24% were traded at a value of N12,283,684,479.43 ↓7% last week.At the top of the gainers league week were Premier Breweries ↑43.64%, Cornerstone Insurance ↑13.46%, Fidson Healthcare ↑10.63%, 7-Up Bottling ↑10.24%, Sterling Bank ↑8.57%, MRS Oil ↑8.31%, Neimeth Int. Pharmaceutical ↑7.14%, NPF Microfinance Bank ↑5%, Conoil ↑4.98%, Pharma-Deko ↑4.85%.On the decliners’ chart were Flour Mills ↓15.81%, Evans Medical ↓11.50%, Fortis Microfinance Bank ↓9.67%, R.T. Briscoe ↓9.47%, Academy Press ↓9.36%, Vono Products ↓8.76%, Skye Bank ↓7.05%, Northern Nig. Flour Mills ↓6.67%, Costain (WA) ↓5.83%, and Caverton OSG ↓5.08%.

Agriculture 0 4 1Conglomerates 1 4 0

Construction/Real Estate 0 9 0Consumer Goods 2 23 4

Financial Services 14 39 7Healthcare 0 9 1

ICT 0 11 0Industrial Goods 2 15 4

Natural Resources 0 5 0Oil & Gas 4 5 2Services 4 10 5

MARKET DATA VM3VM | Monday, August 25, 2014 | Issue 007

Declined Unchanged Advanced

MARKET SNAPSHOT

3-MONTH PRICE TREND OF BELLWETHER STOCKS

LEGEND

ACCESS 9.6410.917.22

YtD 0.040.42%

0.545.93%

0.010.10%3M 1W

PE 6.140.01

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

ASHAKACEM 33.8734.2013.87

YtD 11.9954.80%

13.9770.20%

-0.07-0.21%3M 1W

PE 42.500.07

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

CADBURY 63.37110.0063.37

YtD -33.81-34.79%

-10.48-14.19%

-0.30-0.47%3M 1W

PE 42.480.30

May June July M T W T F

18/08 22/08

CAP 39.0551.6635.96

YtD -8.93-18.61%

1.554.13%

-0.48-1.21%3M 1W

PE 23.330.48

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

CCNN 14.6115.988.00

YtD 2.6221.85%

4.9150.62%

0.281.95%3M 1W

PE 13.050.28

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

CONTINSURE 0.981.330.93

YtD -0.22-18.33%

-0.03-2.97%

-0.02-2.00%3M 1W

PE 6.130.02

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

FCMB 4.304.593.01

YtD 0.4611.98%

0.4912.86%

0.051.18%3M 1W

PE 4.890.05

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

GUARANTY 28.5231.8031.80

YtD 0.772.77%

0.371.31%

-0.38-1.31%3M 1W

PE 8.740.38

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

MANSARD 2.482.731.95

YtD -0.02-0.80%

0.072.90%

-0.06-2.36%3M 1W

PE 16.350.06

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

OANDO 26.4536.899.32

YtD -0.28-1.05%

8.1744.69%

0.020.08%3M 1W

PE 23.730.02

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

STANBIC 29.4431.5016.05

YtD 7.1031.78%

7.0331.37%

0.341.17%3M 1W

PE 15.610.34

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

UBA 7.219.606.65

YtD -1.94-21.20%

0.020.28%

-0.10-1.37%3M 1W

PE 4.250.10

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

DANGCEM 229.97250.02185.00

YtD 13.816.39%

6.983.13%

3.971.76%3M 1W

PE 19.503.97

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

FIDELITYBK 1.972.951.85

YtD -0.73-27.04%

-0.08-3.90%

-0.03-1.50%3M 1W

PE 2.880.03

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

GUINNESS 189.90266.70162.00

YtD -46.11-19.54%

11.896.68%

0.400.21%3M 1W

PE 24.110.40

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

MOBIL 175.75182.00102.00

YtD 59.7551.51%

50.8540.71%

-1.01-0.57%3M 1W

PE 16.761.01

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

OKOMUOIL 34.8548.0532.15

YtD -9.98-22.26%

2.337.16%

-0.15-0.43%3M 1W

PE 15.930.15

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

TOTAL 182.05195.50146.26

YtD 8.755.05%

25.0515.96%

0.050.03%3M 1W

PE 14.020.05

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

UNILEVER 48.9964.0042.50

YtD -4.01-7.57%

-0.54-1.09%

-0.01-0.02%3M 1W

PE 35.760.01

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

DIAMONDBNK 6.208.205.86

YtD -1.30-17.33%

-0.19-2.97%

-0.08-1.27%3M 1W

PE 3.750.08

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

FLOURMILL 66.6983.6458.10

YtD -15.13-18.49%

1.702.61%

-3.18-4.55%3M 1W

PE 20.153.18

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

HONYFLOUR 4.154.502.56

YtD 0.307.79%

0.153.75%

0.143.49%3M 1W

PE 12.090.14

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

NASCON 10.0015.109.75

YtD -4.85-32.66%

-2.99-23.02%

0.141.42%3M 1W

PE 9.430.14

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

PRESCO 36.2149.0032.00

YtD -2.79-7.15%

1.173.34%

0.210.58%3M 1W

PE 4.330.21

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

UACN 58.8767.8542.58

YtD 2.885.14%

1.873.28%

-1.34-2.23%3M 1W

PE 27.541.34

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

WAPCO 119.00136.7387.50

YtD 4.003.48%

8.998.17%

0.400.34%3M 1W

PE 14.600.40

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

ETI 16.5018.6012.40

YtD 0.110.67%

1.006.45%

-0.69-4.01%3M 1W

PE 4.500.69

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

FO 230.00259.9435.00

YtD 137.13147.66%

58.3333.98%

7.903.56%3M 1W

PE 49.917.90

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

INTBREW 26.6031.5017.98

YtD -1.72-6.07%

1.104.31%

-0.06-0.23%3M 1W

PE 42.840.06

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

NB 175.52189.00140.00

YtD 10.516.37%

0.520.30%

3.512.04%3M 1W

PE 33.523.51

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

PZ 35.1442.2930.08

YtD -1.86-5.02%

0.732.12%

-0.86-2.39%3M 1W

PE 26.870.86

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

UAC-PROP 16.1521.3112.00

YtD 0.775.03%

-1.65-9.27%

-0.25-1.52%3M 1W

PE 7.360.25

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

ZENITHBANK 24.5127.4019.23

YtD -0.49-1.96%

1.215.19%

0.632.64%3M 1W

PE 7.140.63

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

TICKER 25.2327.4019.23

1YtD 0.230.92%

2.9012.99%

0.010.04%3M 1W

PE 7.290.01

May June July21/07

M T W T F

25/07

FBNH 14.6117.2911.50

YtD -1.69-10.37%

0.967.03%

-0.18-1.22%3M 1W

PE 6.770.18

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

GLAXOSMITH 63.5774.9758.50

YtD -6.43-9.19%

-3.43-5.12%

-0.43-0.67%3M 1W

PE 22.010.43

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

JBERGER 65.0076.4559.18

YtD 1.933.06%

-1.36-2.05%

1.001.56%3M 1W

PE 9.641.00

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

NESTLE 1065.001250.01916.00

YtD -117.00-9.90%

-15.00-1.39%

2.990.28%3M 1W

PE 37.472.99

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

SEPLAT 690.00735.00590.00

YtD 85.2014.09%

54.118.51%

10.001.47%3M 1W

PE --10.00

May June July18/08

M T W T F

22/08

3 4 5

9

13

10 11

12

6

8

14

7

21

1. 52-week low price2. Year low price3. Current price4. Year high price5. 52-week high price6. Current price7. 5-day price change8. PE ratio9. 1-year price change10. 3-months price change11. 1-week price change12. Daily price movement over 3 months.13. 30-day moving average14. Daily price movement over last week

MARKET DATAVM4 VM | Monday, August 25, 2014 | Issue 007

MARKET DATA VM5VM | Monday, August 25, 2014 | Issue 007

MARKET SNAPSHOT

# TICKER WTD YTD

1 DANGCEM 1.76 6.39

2 NB 2.04 6.37

3 NESTLE 0.28 -9.90

4 GUARANTY -1.31 2.77

5 ZENITHBANK 2.64 -1.96

6 FBNH -1.22 -10.37

7 WAPCO 0.34 3.48

8 STANBIC 1.17 31.78

9 GUINNESS 0.21 -19.54

10 ETI -4.01 0.67

11 FO 3.56 147.66

12 UBA -1.37 -21.20

13 OANDO 0.08 -1.05

14 TRANSCORP 2.14 31.80

15 ACCESS 0.10 0.42

16 UNILEVER -0.02 -7.57

17 FLOURMILL -4.55 -18.49

18 PZ -2.39 -5.02

19 UBN -0.37 -14.98

20 CADBURY -0.47 -34.79

21 UACN -2.23 5.14

22 DANGSUGAR -2.36 -23.01

23 DIAMONDBNK -1.27 -17.33

24 INTBREW -0.23 -6.07

25 JBERGER 1.56 3.06

26 FCMB 1.18 11.98

27 7UP 1.36 79.91

28 ASHAKACEM -0.21 54.80

29 MOBIL -0.57 51.51

30 TOTAL 0.03 5.05

31 GLAXOSMITH -0.67 -9.19

32 FIDELITYBK -1.50 -27.04

33 STERLNBANK 6.54 -8.80

34 CONOIL 5.63 11.63

35 SKYEBANK -4.84 -34.59

36 PRESCO 0.58 -7.15

37 OKOMUOIL -0.43 -22.26

38 CAP -1.21 -18.61

39 NEIMETH 7.14 9.09

40 MAYBAKER 0.00 -37.25

WEEK-TO-DATE RETURN-5% 5%

-40%

-20%

-30%

-10%

0%

+10%

+20%

+30%

+40%

+50%

+60%

+70%

+80%

+100%

+90%

+120%

+130%

+140%

+110%

+150%

0%-2.5% 2.5% 7.5% 10%

YEA

R-TO

-DAT

E RE

TURN

LAGGING

SLIPPING LEADING

IMPROVING

12

3

45

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

2829

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

3738

39

40

Bubble size = Market Cap

TRADING BREAKDOWN BY SECTOR

Sector %

Financial Services 77 \ 77

Conglomerates 8 \ 10

Consumer Goods 5

Others 10 \ 9

18/08 22/0820/0812.4

12.8

13.2

13.6

14.0

2970

2980

2990

3000

3010

FGN Bond Index Market Value YTD Return

INDEX PERFORMANCE

Index Week Opening

Week Close Change WtD MtD QtD YtD

1 All Shares Index 41,380.05 41,564.19 184.14 0.44 -1.27 -2.16 0.57

2 NSE 30 Index 1,880.27 1,885.26 4.99 0.27 -1.89 -2.41 -1.15

3 NSE Banking Index 420.21 419.45 -0.76 -0.18 -3.22 -3.1 -6.34

4 NSE Insurance Index 144.03 144.18 0.15 0.1 -2.44 -1.8 -5.68

5 NSE Consumer Goods Index 1,030.83 1,030.20 -0.63 -0.06 -2.63 -2.65 -6.37

6 NSE Oil/Gas Index 473.39 478.34 4.95 1.05 1.81 2.16 40.74

7 NSE Lotus Islamic Index 2,768.03 2,764.01 -4.02 -0.15 -1.25 -3.85 -3.46

8 NSE Industrial Index 2,695.44 2,720.52 25.08 0.93 0.26 2.02 6.83

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Date Deals Turnover Volume Turnover Value Traded Stocks Advanced

StocksDeclined Stocks

Unchanged Stocks

All Shares Index Value

1 18.08.2014 4,484 177,831,939 2,119,089,466.48 114 \ 118 21 \ 27 27 \ 34 66 \ 57 41,380.05

2 19.08.2014 5,051 303,507,852 3,621,483,268.39 121 \ 137 22 \ 27 29 \ 31 70 \ 79 41,812.14

3 20.08.2014 4,477 192,114,727 1,826,525,988.54 112 \ 109 17 \ 17 25 \ 31 70 \ 61 41,789.56

4 21.08.2014 4,105 182,204,945 3,262,577,943.95 109 \ 103 26 \ 18 26 \ 30 57 \ 55 41,767.33

5 22.08.2014 3,939 174,948,893 1,454,007,812.07 116 \ 114 24 \ 23 27 \ 24 65 \ 67 41,564.19

The \ arrow signifies week-on-week change in value. This week’s value is shown on the left of the \ sign, and last week’s value on the right.

GLOBAL INTEREST RATES & INFLATION TARGETSCentral Bank Rate Last Date

Change%

Change Inflation

TargetChina 6.00% 05.07.2012 -0.31 4.00%Japan 0-0.10% 05.10.2010 -0.20 2.00%

UK 0.50% 05.03.2009 -0.50 2.00%USA 0-0.25% 16.12.2008 -0.75 2.00%

Eurozone 0.15% 05.06.2014 -0.10 <2.00%Brazil 11.00% 02.04.201 +0.25 4.5% +/-2.0%Canada 1.00% 20.07.2010 +0.25 2.0% +/-1.0%Egypt 8.25% 05.12.2013 -0.50

India 8.00% 28.01.2014 +0.25Indonesia 7.50% 12.11.2013 +0.25 4.5% +/-1.0%Malaysia 3.25% 10.06.2014 +0.25Mexico 3.00% 06.06.2014 -0.50 3.00% +/-1.0%Morocco 3.00% 28.03.2012 -0.25Nigeria 12.00% 10.10.2011 +2.75 6.00% - 9.00%Qatar 4.50% 10.08.2011 -0.50Russia 8.00% 28.07.2014 +0.50 5%*

Thailand 2.00% 12.03.2014 -0.25 0.5% - 3.0%Turkey 8.75% 24.06.2014 -0.75 5.00%

* +/- 1.5 pct point uncertainty band

Indices

ASI

NSE30

NSEBNK

NSEINS

NSECNSMRGDS

NSEOILGAS

NSELOTUSISLM

NSEINDUSTR

0.44%-0.49%

0.27%-0.65%

-0.18%-1.01%

0.10%-0.13%

-0.06%-0.71%

1.05%-1.07%

-0.15%-0.21%

0.93%-0.46%

0.57%

YtD, % WtD, % DtD, %

-1.15%

-6.34%

-5.68%

-6.37%

40.74%

-3.46%

6.83%

-7% -4% -2% 0% 7%4%2%

MoFr51,10

51,23

51,49

51,36

51,6251,197.16

Tu We Th Fr

JSE FTSE

MoFr6,675

6,705

6,765

6,735

6,7956,775.25

Tu We Th Fr

FTSE 100

MoFr1,945

1,960

1,990

1,975

2,0051,988.41

Tu We Th Fr

S&P 500

MoFr41,30

41,45

41,75

41,60

41,9041,564.19

Tu We Th Fr

NSEASI

ART AS AN ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT

EDITOR: MIDENO BAYAGBON

GROUP BUSINESS EDITOR: OMOH GABRIEL

CONTENT DIRECTION: OBIORA TABANSI ONYEASO

DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION: PUBLICAN MEDIA

Vanguard Markets features unbiased, in-depth coverage of corporate and market developments across a wide range of business sectors.Every week, Vanguard Markets delivers essential business analysis and commentary on Nigerian companies, regional economies, and global markets. Vanguard Markets is published by Vanguard Media Limited in associa-tion with Customs Street Advisors Limited, a specialist communications consultancy.

Vanguard Media Limited, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa.

Website: www.vanguardngr.com

ISSN 0794-652X

Published by

In Association With

ARENAVM6 VM | Monday, August 25, 2014 | Issue 007

NE OF THE FIRST c o m m u n i c a t i o n s from US Centre for

Disease Control (CDC) was that Ebola is not contracted from food; neither is it water borne. This is little comfort to Nigerians who are swept up in a collective Ebola panic. Even

though it may appear that things are slowly returning to normal, restaurants’ patron-age has dropped, and schools’ resumption dates have been postponed indefinitely. Even wine bars serve a healthy squirt of hand sanitizers as an aperitif. Lagos is in panic.

What has made the Ebola hysteria even more real is the proximity of the hospital where the first Ebola case was diagnosed. Ebola is not con-fined to low income suburbs on the outskirts of Lagos. It resides in the backdoor of af-fluent Lagos ready to impose its terror. Restaurants and supermarkets have mandated their workers to wear rubber gloves and protective masks and they continue to struggle to find their usual traffic of customers.

In the midst of the panic, I realized I was better off cooking at home last week. A quick stock-taking of what I had in the fridge revealed I had an obscene of frozen ground tomato and pepper, a staple in any Nigerian freez-er. I immediately decided to put myself to a test during my quarantine period. The seven day challenge was to make as many tomato based meals as possible. My first meal was breakfast. I made yam and eggs with tomato. I fried down the thawed toma-to-pepper mixture with sliced onions, poured over eggs into the magma of hot oil and to-matoes. I sliced, peeled, and boiled with a bit of ORT wa-ter for the perfect sliced yam. Some may think it is sacrile-gious to do add sugar but it works every time.

My next meal was scallops and salmon with a tomato salsa. First, I thawed and drained some scallops and drained them. After heating my oiled skillet for a couple of minutes, I seared both sides and put them in the oven for two minutes. The salmon

gets similar treatment. I had stolen the recipe from the fishmongers at Harrods a few years ago.

My third meal was sea-food pasta with white wine. Having sautéed the left over seafood, I gave the thawed tomato paste the same treat-ment for breakfast and added a splash of dry white wine. I could not resist some Italian herbs and threw in cooked pasta to the aromatic mix.

Right in the middle of my self-imposed quarantine pe-riod, a medical emergency required that I pay a visit to the hospital. This brought me face-to-face with the ul-timate conundrum. It is un-derstandable that after the experience of the index case, the fear of Ebola is height-ened at hospitals. Here, the nurse that checks my vital signs is perfunctorily masked and gloved. I decline to have my temperature taken as they use an old school glass thermometer. She laughs as I whip out Clinell universal wipes to clean every surface I touch. This in my mind is one step better than the hand

sanitizers the hospital has provided for its patients.

I am famished by the time I am done at the hospital. I rightly suspect that restau-rants cannot be as bad as any hospital in Lagos at the moment. My fast food crav-ing kicked in. I stop over at Johnny Rockets and place an order for the Houston ham-burger, Cheesy Bacon Fries and a half vanilla-half choco-late milkshake. I am cheered up by the staff who sing ridic-ulous American style songs in their thick Owerri accents. Their unusual enthusiasm in clapping and singing makes me smile for the first time in days. I saunter to the Jukebox and play a song my Dad used to sing to me as a child. I feel like a kid in Disneyland and resolve to bring my niece and nephew here. This would be the happiest place on earth if I were 5 years old. ;

HIGH TABLE

Ify Ojiis a lawyer, writer and food lover. She is the creator of the GidiTang.com (synonym: Lagos Flavour) blog on food and drink in Lagos. teamlogiclimited@gmail.com

Ebola for breakfast

O

Johnny Rockets1141 Adetokunbo Ademola Street,

Victoria Island, LagosPhone: 0817 588 1155,

0708 795 8787

This article is dedicated to Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh and the staff at First Consultants Hospital, Obalende who in the course of their job showed incomparable bravery in the face of the first Ebola case thus saving millions of lives. It is also dedicated to all others who lost their lives to EVD this month. May their legacies live on.

Johnny Rockets burger

HE JUST CON-cluded 7th edition of the First National

Bank (FNB)-sponsored Jo-burg Art Fair was held from August 22-24, 2014 at the Sandton Convention Center, in the heart of Johannesburg, South Africa’s financial capi-tal. Founded in 2008 by Ross Douglas, director of Art-logic, a high end sponsorship and events company, the art fair is a must-attend for those interested in the continent’s contemporary art scene for

two good reasons. It is the only international art fair on the African continent and the first to focus on contempo-rary art from Africa. Attend-ance numbers are proof of its growing popularity. In recent years, the art fair has received 10,000 visitors on average.

This year the Joburg Art Fair had a strong focus on Nigeria with two galleries from Lagos, Omenka and Red Door, and two art plat-forms, Art Twenty One and LagosPhoto, in attendance. The aim, according to the organizers, was to increase the international component of the event, with a specific focus on pan-African buyers and curators. This shift in the fair’s theme may be a result of increasing global recognition of Lagos as a hub for contem-porary art discourse, as well as observations of rising sales of contemporary African art in Lagos.

The fair also featured two forums on the opening day that centered on collecting and contemporary art devel-opments in Nigeria.

Speaking at the first forum,

Current Tendencies of the Nigerian Art Scene were Jo-seph Gergel, curator at Af-rican Artists’ Foundation and co-curator of LagosPhoto Fes-tival, and Oliver Enwonwu, director of Omenka Gallery, founder of Omenka magazine and president of the Society of Nigerian Artists. Bronwyn Law-Viljoen, head of Crea-tive Writing at the University of the Witwatersrand, and editor of Fourthwall Books, moderated the panel. Gergel spoke on Lagos being at the cusp of a creative renaissance as a result of the unprec-edented speed at which the art community is developing. Enwonwu’s discussion was on the dearth of high qual-ity publications to interrogate our contemporary art prac-tice and ensure a sustained and critical dialogue vital to the continued development of Nigeria’s burgeoning contem-porary art scene.

The second forum was Col-lectors Forum: Focus on Ni-geria with Sammy Olagba-ju, a collector, who talked on the importance of investing in art, Prince Yemisi Shy-

llon, founder of Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation, Lagos, and Kavita Chellaram, chief executive of Arthouse Contemporary, Lagos). Their discussion focused on increased global attention on Nigerian art underscored by the rising prices on the in-ternational market. Bomi Odufunade, a consultant at Dash & Rallo Art Adviso-ry, moderated the panel.

Sales at the Joburg Art Fair are closely watched as an indication of confidence in the economy. Generally, art sales are a good barometer of trends in the economy be-cause they provide a pointer on levels of disposable income among the middle and upper-middle income earners. Ac-cording to Research Report: Assessment of Visual Arts in South Africa, for this group, basic priorities take prec-edence over ‘income-elastic’ products such as the visual arts during periods of eco-nomic recession. Art spend-ing decisions of the market’s topmost segment are immune to economic fluctuations.

In 2010, the value of gallery sales during the 4-day art fair was estimated at R15 million. This figure excludes sales that took place after the art fair. Pre-recession, in 2008, it was not uncommon for sales to reach between R25 and R30 million. According to Douglas there has been a rebound in the last two years. The recov-ery was first observed in 2012 sales, which rose to R16 mil-lion ($1.7 million), and R20 million ($2.1 million) a year later. It is safe to say that the market for contemporary Afri-can art has turned the corner.

Later this year, from Oc-tober 16-19, the 1:54 Con-temporary African Art Fair will take place in London. 1:54 was initiated in 2013 by Touria El Glaoui, a curator and art market developer of Moroccan origin, and builds on the precedent set by the Joburg Art Fair. It would ex-pand the scope of apprecia-tion of African art by provid-ing a platform amongst an international audience for galleries, artists, curators, art centres and museums in-volved in African and Africa-related projects. ;

The FNB Joburg Art Fair

Oliver Enwonwuis the director of leading Lagos gallery, Omenka and president of the Society of Nigerian Artists.oliver@omenkamagazine.com

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Exhibition floor at FNB Joburg Art Fair 2014