Economy
SIFAX ICT Records 33,500 TEUs in First Year of Operation
SIFAX Inland Container Terminal (ICT), an off dock terminal owned by SIFAX Group, has recorded over 33,500 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in its first year of operations.
Mr Paul Van den Linden, Head of Terminal, SIFAX ICT, made this known in a statement signed by Mr Muyiwa Akande, Corporate Affairs Manager, Sifax Group, on Wednesday in Lagos.
He said that the terminal, located in Ijora, Lagos, was commissioned in October 2020 to alleviate the difficulties experienced by various port users, including truckers, shipping lines, agents and consignees, in accessing the Lagos ports.
According to Linden while presenting the scorecard, the phenomenal growth of the terminal in the last one year was due to the smart solutions and excellent service of the company.
He said: “In the last one year, the terminal has recorded great strides in line with its core objectives of offering clients a smart alternative in cargo clearing around the Lagos ports.
“Our clients don’t have to go through the stress of traffic gridlock to clear their goods. Our terminal has saved them the stress.
“For our first year of operation, the terminal has recorded 33,500 TEUs of cargo processed. These include 22,000 TEUs of full-laden containers, 10,000 TEUs of empty containers and 1,500 TEUs of export containers.
“This was achieved due to our solid investment in technology, responsive customer care as well as a motivated work force,” he said.
Linden also said the terminal’s customer base had risen to over 600, including agents, importers and exporters.
He noted further that the company had launched a reefer container business to support farmers exporting temperature-sensitive produce.
“The terminal is also playing comfortably in the reefer container space. We now have a solution where we pick temperature-sensitive produce directly from farms across the country to our terminal in Lagos, from where we ship them abroad in excellent condition,” he said.
On the terminal’s future plans, Linden said the phenomenal growth of the company in the last one year had necessitated an expansion of its facilities.
It had done so with the acquisition of adjoining properties which are currently being reconstructed to cope with the surge in demand.
He said the current capacity of the terminal which stands at 15,000 square meters would be increased to 83,000 square meters when the on-going expansion work was completed.
“Other projects in the terminal’s future plan include building of a strong quay in readiness to berth feeder vessels, as well as the purchase of more cargo handling equipment and a transit park for trucks using the facility,” he said.(NAN)
Economy
Investors Gain N183bn on NGX
The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) continued its bullish trend on Wednesday, gaining N183 billion.
Accordingly, the market capitalisation, which opened at N59.532 trillion, gained N184 billion or 0.31 per cent to close at N59.715 trillion.
The All-Share Index also added 0.31 per cent or 303 points, to settle at 98,509.
68, against 98,206. 97 recorded on Tuesday.Consequently, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased to 31.
74 per cent.Gains in Aradel Holdings, Zenith Bank, United Bank For Africa(UBA), Oando Plc, Nigerian Breweries among other advanced equities drove the market performance up.
Market breadth closed positive with 34 gainers and 17 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Africa Prudential, Conoil and RT Briscoe led by 10 per cent each to close at N14.30, N352 and N2.42 per share, respectively.
Golden Guinea Breweries followed by 9.95 per cent to close at N7.18, while NEM Insurance rose by 9.74 per cent to close at N10.70 per share.
On the other hand, Julius Berger led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N155.25, Secure Electronic Technology Plc trailed by 9.52 per cent to close at 57k per share.
Multiverse lost 7.63 per cent to close at N5.45, Haldane McCall dropped 6.07 per cent to close at N4.95 and Honeywell Flour shed 5.62 per cent to close at N4.70 per share.
Analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 49.44 per cent.
A total of 320.10 million shares valued at N6.48 billion were exchanged in 7,943 deals, compared with 939.41 million shares valued at N12.81billion traded in 9,098 deals posted in the previous session.
Meanwhile, ETranzact led the activity chart in volume with 70.27 million shares, while Aradel led in value of deals worth N1.22 billion.(NAN)
Economy
Yuan Weakens to 7.1870 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the Yuan, weakened 22 pips to 7.1870 against the dollar on Monday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the Yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the Yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)Economy
Bring Kaduna Refinery Back into Operation, Youth Group Urges NNPCL
Arewa Youths Initiative for Energy Reforms (AYIFER), has urged Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) to do everything possible to bring Kaduna Refinery back into operation.
National Coordinator of the group, Mr Bashir Al’Amin, stated this in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja.
Al’Amin specifically called on the Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, to do all within his powers to rejuvenate the refinery and bring it up to global standard.
He said that having delivered the Port Harcourt refinery, coupled with the establishment of Dangote Refinery in Lagos, attention should be shifted to Kaduna refinery for easy spread of petroleum products.
“We are calling on Malam Mele Kyari to expedite action on Kaduna refinery so we can be at par with other regions in the country.
“We equally beg the NNPCL to do professional work in rehabilitating the old refinery and deliver a standard and functional petrochemical refinery and not a blending plant.
“Kyari should resist any temptation that could make him do something that can jeopardise his good image,” he said.
Al’Amin said that since the extinction of groundnut pyramid and textiles in Kano State as well as PAN in Kaduna State and with the Kaduna refinery getting moribund, a lot of youths had lost their jobs.
According to him, all their hopes in the north are tied to the legacy refinery, expressing the hope that God would use Kyari to deliver it well and on time.
He said that the group was solidly behind NNPCL in prayer and would be ready to celebrate the company if its expectations were met. (NAN)