China Internal Debt level ($3 Trillion)

 

China revealed the results of its national audit on Monday, giving the world a rare look at its rapidly expanding local debt levels.

China's National Audit Office said that local government obligations hit 17.9 trillion yuan ($3 trillion) by the end of June -- a dramatic increase from the 10.7 trillion yuan figure reported in 2010.

The audit office said that debt levels are still controllable, echoing the statements of top Communist Party officials in recent months.
For now, China's local government debt remains lower than that of many other advanced economies, such as the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, Germany and Spain.
But what is scary is the pace at which debt has accumulated. China's increase in local government debt is part of a larger issue -- a credit explosion as regional governments borrowed to finance major infrastructure projects to combat a slowing economy.

Harold Simmons, The Texas billionaire dies at 82

The death, confirmed in a statement by Texas Governor Rick Perry, was first reported on the website of the Dallas Morning News which said he died on Saturday at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.

Billionaire Harold Simmons, one of the richest men in America and a major contributor to the Republican Party, has died in his native Texas at 82.
His wife, Annette, told the newspaper Simmons had been “very sick for the last two weeks,” and in Baylor’s intensive care unit for the last eight days.

She did not give a specific cause of death.

Simmons, currently listed at No. 40 on Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, funneled millions of dollars to Republican campaigns with a view toward defeating President Barack Obama last year.
 

Sony to sale its battery unit

Japan’s Sony Corp has decided not to sell its lithium-ion battery unit, media reported on Sunday, in a gamble that it can turn the business around with a weak yen and growing demand for smart phone batteries.

In addition to a weak yen, which can boost overseas earnings, the battery unit is also seeing increased demand for some of its new products, the Nikkei business daily reported.

For the past two years Sony had been planning to offload the unit, which was a pioneer in making lithium-ion batteries for computers and mobile devices but has struggled recently against cheaper South Korean rivals.

A government turnaround fund tried to broker a sale of the battery business to a Nissan Motor Co Ltd and NEC Corp joint venture earlier this year.
 

Apple Strike Deal to sell iPhones through China Mobile

 

Apple Inc. (AAPL), ending six years of negotiations, struck a deal to sell the iPhone through China Mobile Ltd., giving both companies a means to fight declining share in the market of 1.2 billion wireless subscribers.

China Mobile will sell the iPhone 5s and 5c models in its retail stores starting January 17, 2014, the companies said in a statement that provided no financial terms.

The phones for China Mobile’s network will also be available in Apple’s retail stores in China under the multiyear accord.

The agreement means Apple now has access to all carriers in the world’s biggest handset market, where Samsung leads and smartphones using Google Inc.’s Android operating system dominate sales.
 

ZTE Corporation to Introduce Smartphones Netxt Year

ZTE Corporation has reiterated its commitment to providing better telecom equipment to across Nigeria in 2014.

The company also announced its decision to take active role in the mobile devices market with the introduction of ZTE smartphones in Nigeria.

Managing Director, ZTE Nigeria Limited, Brielle Gao, who disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the company’s end of the year get together in Lagos said, “we have maintained effective presence in Nigeria for close to 10 years with stable, long term partnerships with the Federal Government and Major Private Telecommunications Operators.”

Gao said ZTE Corporation, “a publicly-listed company posted a net profit of about USD90.5 Million for the nine-month quarter ending in September 2013.”
 

Forbes Most Powerful Young African Women 2013

Meet the 2013 class of 20 Young Power Women in Africa: the continent’s emerging power brokers, the Amazons to watch, and the custodians of tomorrow.

1. Isabel Dos Santos, Angolan. Investor.
 2. Mimi Alemayehou, Ethiopian. Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment    Corporation (OPIC)
 3. Vera Songwe, Cameroonian. Country Director, World Bank, Senegal
 4. Tara Fela-Durotoye Nigerian. Founder, House Of Tara
 5. Rapelang Rabana, South African. Entrepreneur
 6. Claire Akamanzi, Rwandan. Chief Operating Officer, Rwanda Development Board
 7. Valentina da Luz Guebuza, Mozambiquan. Investor
 8. Hadeel Ibrahim, Sudanese. Mo Ibrahim Foundation
 9. Alengot Oromait, Ugandan. Member Of Parliament
 10. Monica Musonda, Zambian. Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Java Foods

DSTV's High fees and Low Services Value Nigerians Decries

Nigerians who subscribe to pay TV are now at the receiving end. Most of the time, they say they pay for services that are not delivered. Severally, the management of pay TV companies has called press briefings and customers’ fora to address some of these biting issues concerning their operations, particularly, with off time lost signals by subscribers which lasts for days before signals are restored.
 As of today, subscribers are at a loss as to who pays for the lost days. Chikaodili Igwe, a United Kingdom-based Nigerian who came back to the country recently, was at a Multichoice agent office, and said that rendering good services to Nigerians was far from the official policy of the company in the country. “You will lose the chances of enjoying what you paid for while Multi-Choice smiles to Johannesburg, South Africa, with your cash,” he said. Yusuf Kale, who said he has been a regular customer of DStv since 2004 noted that at the initial stage, services of Multichoice to Nigerians were satisfactory, but that as time went on, it appeared to lose focus, “perhaps as patronage increased.”
 He said like many of his friends, he has started seeking other cheaper pay TV providers. He explained that the only thing that still keeps him with the company is the European League matches, but confessed that he was prepared to start watching such games at viewing centres.

 “I think DStv is forgetting it is now a competitive market, although those other pay TV companies are not as big but Nigerians are beginning to rate them to be more effective. They even have more entertaining programmes,” he stated. Jide Makanjuola, another DStv subscriber, said the cost of subscribing to the company was equivalent to financial suicide. Like Kale, he said Nigerians were becoming more enlightened and that most young users now prefer viewing sites to recharging their decoders. “It pays far better to pay a peanut at the viewing centre and save your money. The man that owns the viewing centre will make his money but you that subscribe at home will lose in the end,” he said.

Revealed: Access Bank Spend 200 Million on Mariah Carey sacked 200 staffs

The managing director of Access Bank, Aig Imokhuede is sure in a party mood, the banking Wizkid who just laid off about 200 top staff for no reasons has just lavished close to a N200m (Two hundred million Naira) to bring one of the hottest R &B/ Soul songstress, Mariah Carey from the U.S. This much National Enquirer can reveal.

According to sources, the bank’s management yesterday had a weird end of the year bash at the 3rd floor of the prestigious Intercontinental hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos and those who attended confided in us that, the fun was unlimited as bottles of champagnes were popped like water.

This office gathered reliably that, the Access Bank MD, Aig had been dreaming of hosting this one in town party where Mariah Carey will host few of his very close friends and confidants, even not all Access Bank’s staff were opportune to attend, yet the party was tagged “Access Bank End Of Year Bash”.
 

CBN WARN NNPC ABOUT $49.8bn Missing Fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned against the politicization of the alleged diverted revenue of $49.8bn (N8 trillion) by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).


The apex bank was reacting to the publication of a memo written by its governor, Mr. Sanusi Lamido to President Goodluck Jonathan in which he complained about the failure of the NNPC to remit the said amount to the Federation Account in contravention of extant laws.

In the letter, Sanusi alleged that the said amount represented 76 per cent of the value of crude oil lifting between January 2012 and July 2013.

However, the corporation on Tuesday refuted the claims that it diverted the said amount, adding that the allegation by the CBN governor was borne out of misunderstanding of the workings of the oil and gas industry and the modality for remitting crude oil sales revenue into the Federation Account.
 

LASG Construct Cassava Flour Factory in Lagos

In a bid to tackle the growing food insecurity in the state, occasioned by increase in population, among others, Lagos State government has completed the construction of a cassava flour factory.

Commissioning the factory yesterday, Governor Babatunde Fashola Fashola said that the factory could produce 32 tonnes of cassava flour per day. He also commissioned a 50, 000 capacity automated five unit broiler houses, 64 tonnes per day feedmills, 200 unit of two bedroom apartment for farmers and 2.34 kilometre road network, within the Agric Training Institute, Araga, Epe.

Solution for Snoring

 

While most people think of snoring as a minor annoyance, research shows it can be hazardous to your health.  That’s because for over 18 million Americans it’s related to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). People who suffer from OSA repeatedly and unknowingly stop breathing during the night due to a complete or partial obstruction of their airway.  It occurs when the jaw, throat, and tongue muscles relax, blocking the airway used to breathe.  The resulting lack of oxygen can last for a minute or longer, and occur hundreds of times each night. 
Thankfully, most people wake when a complete or partial obstruction occurs, but it can leave you feeling completely exhausted.  OSA has also been linked to a host of health problems including:
 

How to Improve your Business with Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to find and keep new customers. Email Marketing is the process of sending e-mails to acquire new customers and convince existing customers to make additional purchases. It is also used to enhance the relationship of a business with its customers and prospects and encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.
By building a mailing list, a business can create an extremely valuable asset.
The advantages of email:

• Email lets you send information to a wide range of existing and potential customers at a much lower cost than direct mail or printed newsletters.
• E-mail marketing allows you to track your return on investment exactly and is often reported as second only to search marketing as the most effective online marketing tactic.
• The delivery time for an e-mail message is short (i.e., seconds or minutes) as compared to a mailed advertisement (i.e., one or more days).
• E-mail marketing is paper-free (i.e., "green)
• Once you have a large list, you can "rent" your list to 3^rd party marketing firms that will mail other offers to people on your list - this can be a significant additional source of revenue for your business.

Mobile Apps for Churches from eKnowvate Solutions

eKnowvate Solutions Limited, a foremost mobile applications development Company has introduced an innovative solution into the Nigerian market specifically designed to help churches effectively manage discipleship and create interactive engagement with the wide body of the church. Speaking on the idea behind the development of the software, Ayomiku Ojeyomi, marketing manager, eKnowvate Solutions Limited, stated that, “with the invigorated pace of evangelism, technological advancement and human mobility, the church in effectively carrying out its work of evangelism has to respond more radically to the management of church growth in discipleship and follow up of new converts beyond the traditional approach of one-on-one visitation.”

The mobile application, according to Ojeyomi, currently available on Blackberry, iPhone and Android mobile platforms is specified to bring church overseers and administrators closer to the congregation members through a 2-way information platform that is guaranteed to bring about a more enriching fellowship. Maintaining that today’s church members need timely information on church programmes, events and sub-group meetings in order to actively participate and network, Ojeyomi noted that the new FLOCKCARE® mobile application which can be specially branded for any church with its colours and made available for download globally in the App store and Android marketplace offers overwhelming benefits to church leaders and administrators who subscribe to it.

Jonathan, Alison-Madueke, Okonjo-Iweala Involved In NNPC Diversion Of $50 Billion Crude Oil Funds

Okonjo Iweala, Jonathan and Alison Madueke

President Goodluck Jonathan and two of his top ministers may be attempting a cover-up on what clearly competes as Nigeria’s biggest fraud ever, involving the illegal diversion, or theft, of over N8 trillion crude oil sales proceeds.

In a frantic and unusual memo to the president on September 25, 2013, Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi detailed how government-owned oil firm, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had systematically diverted the huge sum, being sales proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013.

The CBN governor said for all crude oil sales within the period, the NNPC paid only 24 percent proceeds into the federation account, and diverted or stole the remaining 76 percent-totalling N8 trillion.

As the CBN calculated, the NNPC sold at least 594 million barrels of oil within the period, and should have paid N10.3 trillion (USD65.3 billion) into the federation account. But the corporation paid only N2.5 trillion (USD15.5 billion), Mr. Sanusi said, citing documentation from pre-shipment inspectors.

The whereabouts of the huge balance is unknown.
 

Insecurity linked to corruption in Nigerian ports

Report on the Nigerian ports sector released by a coalition of anti- corruption agencies has indicated that the problem of security in the nation’s ports is strongly connected to the issue of corruption.

Head, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-corruption Reforms, TUGAR, Mrs. Lilian Ekeanyanwu, who gave the presentation of the findings in Abuja yesterday, said the current report was a result of a six months project, carried out by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related Offences Commission, ICPC, and was supported by UNDP and the Maritime Anticorruption Network.

Ekeanyanwu, said the report also identified weak internal ethics infrastructure as major problems in the ports, noting that lack of codes of conduct, weak enforcement, and absence of mechanism for investigating complaints also create avoidable delay. “The problem of security in the ports is strongly connected to the issue of corruption.
 

Nigeria Maritime Development Conference (NIMADEC) Group honor Dangote and President Jonathan with Award

President Goodluck Jonathan and Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, have been named in a strong field of personalities and investors that may have shaped the fate of Nigeria’s maritime industry in the last decade.

A coalition of stakeholders and practitioners, under the Nigeria Maritime Development Conference (NIMADEC) Group, pushing for total overhaul of the industry, said the president has inspired the industry with some sterling policy initiatives. The awards ceremony would round off the 2013 NIMADEC Summit holding between December 9 and 11 at Rockview Hotel in Apapa, Lagos.

The chairman of NIMADEC Group, Prince Andy Usanga, told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview that motivation remained the best tool to push for the rescue of the maritime sector and reposition it to boost economic growth.

GSK Nigeria produces Most Outstanding CEO of the Year, bags first best workplace

Chidi Okoro, managing director, GSK Consumer Nigeria plc, has won the prestigious Most Outstanding CEO of the Year Award at the recently held 2013 PEARL Awards Nigeria. GSK also won the Sectoral Leadership Award in the Health Care (pharmaceutical) category at the event.

The yearly PEARL award in its 18th edition recognises individuals and quoted companies on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange who have contributed significantly to the growth of the exchange and the Nigerian business environment in general.

It would be recalled that GSK Nigeria bagged the first Best Workplace in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) company’s category on the Great Place to Work Trust Index (large companies) for Nigeria for year 2013. The company was also ranked fourth Best Workplace on the overall in Nigeria on the index.
 

Proparco sign $50 million deal with Eco Bank

Pan African Ecobank said on Monday it had signed a $50 million loan agreement for 10 years with French development institution Proparco, to support the growth of its local banking network.

Ecobank, which operates in 35 African countries, said in a statement that the loan would fund regional expansion, including targeting customers on the continent who do not yet have bank accounts.

“Pan-African banking groups … are entering new market segments, targeting those previously excluded from the banking system,” it said.
 

OSUN CAN MAKE 10billion IN A MONTH - AREGBESOLA

Indigenes of the state of Osun have been urged to imbibe the culture of working hard and payment of tax into the coffers of the government so as to assist government in discharging the dividends of democracy.

On assumption of office in 2010, the present administration in the state blocked all the leakages that were existing in the state revenue which jacked up the state internally generated revenue from 300million naira to 1.6billion naira.

The state Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, stated this at the public presentation of the state of Osun Revenue Administration Law 2012, held at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Abere.
 

Zenith Bank post 9m pretax profits of N83 billion-as total assets hits N2.85 trillion.

Zenith Bank was established in May 1990. It became a public limited company in July 2004, and had an initial public offering on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on October 21 of that year.
The bank’s expansion is not limited to Nigeria as Zenith became the first Nigerian bank in 25 years to be licensed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK for the commencement of banking operations by Zenith Bank (UK) Limited in April, 2007.

Amazon announces delivery by DRONE

Amazon has unveiled its secret research project which it claims will be the future of home delivery - packages delivered by drones. The Internet shopping giant's chief executive Jeff Bezos says that he wants to use octocoptors to replace postmen and cut delivery times to just 30 minutes.

Customers would have their order dropped onto their front lawn by the machine which would fly through the air from a nearby warehouse with it clasped in a metal grabber.

culled frm dailymailonline.com

Etisalat Nigeria launched “Easybusiness Millionaire Hunt

Etisalat Nigeria has launched “Easybusiness Millionaire Hunt,” a scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) with a view to helping entrepreneurs realise their business ideas.
Director, Business Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Lucas Dada, said that the Easybusiness Millionaire Hunt will go a long way to help young entrepreneurs who possess business ideas but lack the capital to pursue their dreams.