UNECA: West Africa To Be The Fastest Economic Growing Region In 2013

 

West Africa region is expected to post the fastest growth for 2013 at 6.6 per cent, a report released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Uneca), Africa Economic Report 2013 revealed.

Commodities—especially oil and minerals exploitation in countries such as Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone and peace and stability in Côte d’Ivoire are expected to sustain this expected growth.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Africa region will also be among the fastest economic growing region this year with an expected growth of 6 percent compared to the 5.6 per cent achieved in 2012. This will be aided by natural resource discoveries, improved agricultural performance, and economic diversification

 “Increasing economic diversity, rising agricultural output and exports, as well as new natural-resource discoveries are expected to boost growth in East Africa, which has remained one of the top performing sub regions,” the report stated.

“Consolidating peace and ensuring political stability in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia will help to improve prospects in the sub region,”

The report asserts that East Africa, as well as the Horn of the continent, has become a hot spot for oil and gas exploration in recent years, spurred by new finds in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.

 “Recent discoveries of minerals in several African countries are expected to further expand fiscal space as well as public spending in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Mauritania and Uganda,” Uneca said.

SEC To Choose Alternative Securities Market

 

In line with international best practice, Nigeria’s Security Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed plans to choose consulting firm, investment banks or accounting firm as an efficient Alternative Securities Market (ASM) in the Nigerian Capital Market (NCM).

This came at the heel of the NSE’s move to overhaul its second-tier market to (ASM), to enable Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are emerging and showing good growth potentials to participate and access finance from the Nigerian Capital Market.

According to the Director-General, SEC, Arumna Oteh, the process would enable companies meet all the post –listing requirements adding that these advisers would form all the listing processes, as well as access the delisting firms in the initiative.

“We are looking at what we have in United Kingdom and South Africa which is to nominate adviser, ether accounting firm, investment bank or consulting firm who can help to form the listing process and also help to access delisting firms so that they can meet the post-listing requirement.”

ASM, NSE head, Franklin Nwaubani stated that the Exchange has put structures in place to ensure that these companies sustain growth and would eventually list on the stock market.

“We are revamping what we used to know as Second-tier market . We are re-christening it the alternative securities market and we are using the avenue to bring in SMEs that are emerging and showing good growth potentials to access finance from the capital market .

“We have put structures in place to ensure that these hope comes to operation that these companies would eventually grow and become big companies that can list on the Exchange with other bluechip companies.”

She added that SEC is reviewing and addressing all issues and complaints made by the telecomm and oil and gas companies to make the market more attractive.

“For the big companies that said I am a very large company, do you think there will be enough liquidity in my company if I list here, we are addressing that and that is why we brought NICON and others so that they can ensure that investible assets in Nigeria are able to take the high quality companies and in fact, we have foreign investors putting I money in the country because we believe in strong investment,” Oteh said.

NSE Gives 30 Days Extension For Submission Of Financial Report

In view of challenges experienced by companies in meeting the regulatory periodic filing obligation; Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has given a thirty days extension to quoted companies to submit their financial statement starting Thursday, 28^th March.

According to a a statement signed by Dante Martins, Head, Corporate Communications, NSE, the extension was coming as an intervention to ensure that listed companies present their financials accurately.

It said the extension will cover results due for submission for fiscal 2012 Audited Accounts and 2013 Interim Accounts.

“The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has confirmed on Thursday March 28, 2013, that it will exercise discretion by granting all listed entities an extended filing date from the due date of the required financial periodic submissions.

“The new announcement offers a fresh assurance to businesses and advisors affected by the early adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and levels of regulatory approvals which now includes Financial Reporting Council (FRC),” the statement reads.

The General Manager, Legal and Regulation Division of NSE, Ms. Tinu Awe, stated that the Exchange is in consultation with FRC and other Primary Regulators.

“While we believe that the timely disclosure of financial information is critical to stakeholders in the capital market as well as investors, the challenges which the entities are facing are germane. It is in view of the extenuating circumstances that the exchange is granting all listed companies an extended filing date of 30 days from the due date of the required periodic financial submissions,” she said.

African Universities To Have Its Own research Database

 

A workshop on Institutional and National Digital Repository Collaborative Framework for African Academic and Research Institutions, has ended in Accra.

The two-day workshop which began on Tuesday included delegates from the Association of African Universities(AAU).

Dr Hoba Andoh Pascal, Director of Communications, AAU, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview, that the AAU had been supporting universities in Africa to digitalize their research material and set up a platform containing university research.

The idea is to design a framework where we have a big data base on research by African universities, Dr Hoba, said  adding that by partnering each other, African universities would be able to compile research findings into one data base that could be assessed.

He said the University of Ghana-Legon, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Abuja, were some of the members collaborating with each other.

Prof Etienne Ehouan Ehile, AAU Secretary General, said a programme, dubbed, The Database on African Theses and Dissertations (DATAD), was initiated at a planning meeting organized by the Project for Information Access and Connectivity in Nairobi-Kenya, in 1998.

He said the meeting considered measures for contributing to the creation of capacity in African Universities for the collection, management and electronic dissemination of theses and dissertations

Prof Ehile said the meeting proposed a study to test the feasibility of the idea and acknowledged the centrality of the AAU in coordinating and providing leadership to the project.

He said the report of the feasibility study was approved by the AAU Conference of Rectors, Vice-Chancellors and Presidents in 1999, after which a three-year pilot phase, involving 11 institutions, begun in February 2000.

This phase was concluded in August 2003, and the main database was launched on April 30th, 2003, and was known as DATAD-On-Line.

Prof Ehile said the database had 14,723 records with over 800 institutions that had registered as users of the database.

Today, DATAD has over 100,000 new records, of which more than 30% are in full text.

He expressed the hope that the workshop would provide an opportunity for government officials, the academic and research communities, institutions and organisations to share ideas with colleagues, and to inspire wider participation and establishment of Institutional and National repositories.

The workshop is organized by the AAU and funded by the African Capacity Building Foundation.

Source: Ghana News Agency