Friday 26 July 2013
Thursday 25 July 2013
Dangote Is Africa's First $20 Billion Man, Now 25th World Richest!
Nigerian billionaire and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has become the first African entrepreneur to lay claim to a $20 billion fortune as the stock value of his largest holding, Dangote Cement, leaped just about three-fourths since March when Forbes released its annual ranking of the world’s richest peopleAliko Dangote’s 93% stake in the cement company is now worth $19.5 billion.Add this to his controlling stakes in other publicly-listed companies like Dangote Sugar and National Salt Company of Nigeria and his significant shareholdings in other blue-chips like Zenith Bank, UBA Group and Dangote Flour; his extensive real estate portfolio, jets, yachts and current cash position, which includes more than $300 million in recently awarded Dangote Cement dividends, Dangote is now worth more than $20 billion.Put into context, the Nigerian billionaire is now among the top 25 richest people in the world, richer than Russia’s richest man, Alisher Usmanov, richer than India’s Lakshmi Mittal and running neck andneck with India’s Mukesh Ambani. Heis catching up to such Americans as Google’s billionaire founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.The unprecedented surge in DangoteCement’s share price is largely a market response to the company’s impressive 2013 Q1 results.The cement manufacturer’s unaudited results for the three months ending March 31 showed that the company’s pre-tax profit rose to $339 million, representing an 80.6% increase from last year and a strong indicator of the company’s future earning potential. The results also indicate a 79.5 % rise in its earnings per share over the corresponding period last year.Explaining the company’s share priceboost in an email to Forbes, Carl Franklin, Dangote Cement’s Head of Investor Relations in the U.K said that in the first quarter of 2013, the company had a huge increase in demand across Nigeria, gas supply improved considerably and the capacity was much more ramped up.“So Q1 was the first sign of just how profitable we can be in Nigeria. The amazing thing is that 66% of our gas-fired production in Q1 was done at 84% gas. Imagine what would happen to margins if we did the same amount at 95%. This has given investors a good sense of what we can really do when everything goes in the right direction,” Franklin said.With a current market cap of $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement becomes the first Nigerian company to achievea market capitalization of over $20 billion.“It’s certainly a landmark for a Nigerian company and we’re proud to be the first to achieve it. Obviouslywe are focusing on building long-term and sustainable value for shareholders through our investments in Nigeria and Africa. Nigeria is a very entrepreneurial country and I can assure you that other companies will follow us in achieving this.”Other companies might eventually achieve this, but it’s going to take a bit of time. Dangote Cement currently accounts for more than a quarter of the total market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The second largest company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is currently Nigerian Breweries, West Africa’s largest manufacturer of Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The company has a market cap of $8.5 billion.Dangote debuted on the FORBES billionaires list in 2008 with a fortune we pegged at $3.3 billion. His fortunedropped to $2.5 billion in 2009 and plunged further to $2.1 billion in 2010. His fortune surged 557% in 2011 to $13.8 billion after he took Dangote Cement public. He dropped to $11.2 billion in last year’s rankings,but rebounded at $16.1 billion this year. Since March, his fortune has jumped another 30%.Dangote was destined to shine in business. At age 8, he apparently gave packets of sweets he had made to the house servants to sell for him. His father Mohammed Dangote was a successful businessman and an associate of his maternal uncle AlhajiSanusi Dantata. Dantata and his brother controlled the trade in kola nuts and livestock conducted by 200 agents. Dangote started building his fortune over three decades ago after taking a loan from Sanusi Dantata. He started trading in commodities like flour, sugar and cement.He became a billionaire by later manufacturing these items. He started making pasta, salt, sugar and flour in 1997. But he found his gold mine in cement, when he was awarded a government’s state owned cement business in 2000 and began building his own plant in 2003.He listed Dangote Cement in 2010.Today, it is Africa’s largest cement company providing cement to Nigeria and other African countries that otherwise would likely have to pay to import much of the materials.Dangote still likely has bigger ambitions. He told Forbes Wealth Editor Luisa Kroll at Davos in 2011 that he expected his firm to have a market cap of $60 billion within five years. At $20.5 billion, Dangote Cement still has a long way to go to live up to that dream, and while it is quite unlikely that Dangote Cement could hit a $60 billion Market Cap by 2016, don’t write it off as ‘impossible’.With Dangote, you never know.
Wednesday 24 July 2013
Tuesday 23 July 2013
Child not bride: the issues.
I recently read an article, where the minister of foreign affairs revealed that the federal government was under pressure from the international community to sign into law the "Gay rights bill".
Were they under pressure when they passed,approved and amended the constitution in regards to underaged marriage. And i ask why aren't they under pressure to stop or checkmate the high rates of crime, insecurity, corruption, unemployment and electricity problem to mention but a few. I have heard comments from Nigerians hiding under the guise of religion, encouraging this new law saying rather than have young girls being raped, disvirgined, work as sex hawkers, having babies out of wedlock and taken for trafficking, its better they are given out in marriage, and i ask do you tackle a problem with more problems?. These girls need education, protection and giving them out in marriage says contrary, as in defeats the purpose. I wonder what women in political offices are doing to stop this. Before they were appointed as ministers, commissioners, women leaders and all, they made promises to fight for women rights( girls included), is it to be said they have failed in the discharge of their duties with the enactment of such laws.
Soon as they are appointed they forget their promises, the reasons they were elected , and pursue their selfish ambitions. With the current diseases and illnesses arising from underage marriage, early sex and pregnancy among young girls like VVF and all, we are still imposing this wicked laws on our children. Most of whom are given out without their consents by parents who are blinded by greed and the quest for material wealth. I dare say if we can wait for calves to grow up to cows, kids to goat and chicks to hen before we eat them, why cant we do same to girls.
It is time Nigerians rise up to the challenge and say no to underage marriage, say no to child bride and save our future from devils cloaked in the garments of religions.
Malaria and Africa
Science has improved into a complex reasoning. Everyday,we hear of endless applications emanating from this submerging entity called "science",ranging from research,cosmology,psychology,pharmacy,bio-chemistry,genetic engineering etc. But yet,this evolving culture has failed to heal our crippling age from the plagues that scourge it. Diseases are more rampant with the advancement in science.African populations are the most affected from these dreadful diseases,although the winds of change are slowly drifting to Africa, yet it is constantly been repelled by civil wars,corruption,and ignorance,thus making the outbreak and insurgence of diseases in this black continent,constant and rather too rampant. Although there is the availability of the structures and equipments to facilitate in the study,discovery and eventual elimination of these diseases,yet,the cure still eludes us.Common amongst these diseases is malaria, from mosquito bites. Malaria has evolved as many times as man has,and is the biggest killer in Africa,it has evolved into a more resilient strain of disease.It has being a serious killer in the ancient world and is now a more deadly killer in this present age,responsible for the death of millions in Africa alone.
Although Man has grown in complexities,his reasoning embroidened,his abilities limitless. Though we developed ways to travel to space in order to explore and study -the moon and the planets, in order to debridge the gap of extra-terrestrial mysticism.We have designed cars,airplanes, trains,cloning-experiments,jets,nuclear stations etc,we have developed things that a hundred years back would seem a complete impossibility,but still we have failed to find a solution to this disease that has plagued us right from the very start. Although science has led to the discovery of vaccines capable of curbing the effects of this disease,which is a positive sign, that in the not too distant future, a vaccine for the complete annihilation of this disease may be discovered. But yet this glimpse of hope is restricted from Africa,where the vector of this disease breeds in the millions.Although programs which have led to the destruction of adult mosquitoes and their breeding sites in many European countries and North America and Chile etc are available,the amount of resources and money invested into them are enormous,which raises a question,if African countries can be able to afford them,when high rates of financial dissolutions and constant civil wars are the order of the day. YES, i think African countries can stake such programs,but the total annihilation of mosquitoes and malaria in Africa is still very much a distant prospect.
Asuu strike called off
Congratulations to all university students, just about an hour ago the ASUU chairman broke the announcement, which was considered a big one for all university students. After calling off the strike, the media went ahead to ask if the federal government has met the demands of ASUU. Out of dismay,the ASUU chairman shook his head and said he was disappointed with the media more than he his with the FG, saying the media formed a deaf ear to the strike, that the average Nigerian does not know that universities were on strike. He condemned the media's lack of publicity. After expressing his anger he went ahead to say that "the Government is doing nothing concerning our demands", even after a closed door meeting with the education minister where the President said he has so many issues to deal with now than to start spending more money on universities. After the meeting however, the chairman of the newly formed party APC called the chairman of ASUU to a meeting with ACN,CPC, and the APGA governors who promised ASUU that they would give ear to ASUU's demand and will do more- one of which was every student been given a bursaryaward which is to cover 50% of every student's fees, that is, for spending 5 years in the universities. 2 years fee would be paid by the FG,and for any student who graduates with a first class would stand a chance to do their masters in canada, while those with lower credit and pass would continue their studies in South Africa and Ghana respectively. Also,the salaries of VC's would be increased by 90%. After this meeting,the ASUU chairman called off the strike asking all students to resume their various schools on the first week of June 2015, that's about 2 years, of course after voting in APC. Its so sad that you sat down and read all this poo, that means you are as jobless as I am. Men, go find work. This strike would last more than we thought.
Kate gives birth to a baby boy
“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of
Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at
4:24pm (1524GMT),” said the statement.
“The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. (3.8 kilos).”
The baby will be third in line to the throne
and in the direct line of succession after
head of state Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest
son and heir Prince Charles, and then his
eldest son William.
“The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. The Duke of
Cambridge was present for the birth.”
The boy’s name was not revealed, but he
will be known as Prince of Cambridge.
The former Kate Middleton was admitted to
the private Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s
Hospital, Paddington, central London, at
around 6:00 am in the midst of a summer
thunderstorm.
The birth was later officially announced to
great cheers on a golden easel placed in the
forecourt of Buckingham Palace.
US President Barack Obama’s spokesman
had earlier said that he and the first family
were “waiting with anticipation” for the
birth and “wish the family and all of Great
Britain well on this pending momentous
occasion.”
William, at his wife’s bedside, has been on
annual leave and will take two weeks’
paternity leave from his military job as a
Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot.
Both mother and son were “doing well” and
will remain in hospital overnight while the
queen was “delighted with the news”,
according to the palace.
The birth came later than widely expected,
adding to the sense of anticipation that has
built up ever since William, whose mother
Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997, and
the former Kate Middleton married with
huge fanfare in April 2011.
Bookmakers had largely backed a girl baby,
after Kate had said they did not know its
sex.
The fact that it is a boy relieves the need to
rush through new succession laws across
the 16 Commonwealth realms, which would
mean that a girl could no longer be
overtaken by any future younger brothers.
The royal couple used a back entrance to
the hospital when they arrived at 6:00 am
(0500 GMT), missing the ranks of
international media who have camped
outside the hospital for three weeks.
The prince was born in the same hospital
wing and media from across the globe are
hoping for a repeat of the scene in 1982
when Charles and his first wife Diana
brought out the baby to show him off to
the world.
Royal fanatics gathering outside the hospital
also took their excitement to a new level.
“I’m so excited. Like in a washing machine.
Never been so high!” said John Loughrey,
who has slept outside the hospital for
seven nights, wrapped in a British flag.
The new arrival is Queen Elizabeth’s third
great-grandchild, and a first grandchild for
Charles.
It ensures that there are three generations
of heirs to the crown of the United Kingdom
of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland — a nuclear-armed UN Security
Council permanent member and the world’s
sixth biggest economy.
The queen was seen arriving back at
Buckingham Palace from Windsor Castle,
just outside the capital, in mid-afternoon
but other royals went about their usual
business.
Charles, the current heir, was visiting York
in northern England, where members of the
public shouted “Congratulations!”.
Smiling, he replied: “Do you know
something I don’t?”
Charles, who turns 65 in November, joked:
“I’m very grateful indeed for the kind
wishes for my rather slowly-approaching
grandfatherhood.”
Prime Minister David Cameron sent his best
wishes to the couple and the “whole
country is excited.”
The pregnancy was announced in December
when Kate was admitted to hospital with
severe morning sickness.
At the Lindo Wing, a standard room and
normal delivery — which Kate is hoping for
— costs £4,965 ($7,600, 5,800 euros) for
the first 24 hours, plus consultants’ fees
which can reach around £6,000.
The duchess is being tended by a top
medical team led by the queen’s
gynaecologist Alan Farthing and his
predecessor Marcus Setchell.
On the pavement opposite the hospital
entrance, around 30 presenters lined up in
a row delivering live broadcasts and clips,
with photographers and journalists filling
out the scene.
There has been a betting frenzy on the
name of the royal newborn with
bookmakers favouring a George and James
for the top boys’ names.