BUSINESS
The Oak Holdings Embraces Nigeria’s Financial Market with Four Firms
By Joseph Amah, Abuja
The Oak Holdings, a hybrid financial institution group, has launched into the Nigerian financial industry with Oak Homes, The Oak Capital, The Oak Digital Bank and The Oak Asset Management to provide services to different clients in the financial services industry.
Speaking at the launching ceremony in Lagos over the weekend, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group, Mr. Olukayode Olusanya, said, the company’s multi-asset strategy combines different types of assets, including equities, fixed income securities, private/mutual funds, indexing, money market instruments among others to create a more nimble, broadly diversified portfolio for its proprietary investment objectives.Olusanya explained that Oak Homes is a leading real estate development company with its primary business in Lagos, Nigeria but it has recently made foray into the United Kingdom and the United States. He added that in addition to core real estate development, the company is also engaged in facility management, construction and infrastructure development and it is manned by an innovative and creative team with combined experience spanning more than four decades.
He said The Oak Capital is a venture capital firm with a bias for supporting underserved start-up founders creating lasting solutions to problems in the African continent by leveraging the use of technology to promote growth of their businesses. According to the Founder, The Oak Capital seeks to back audacious, young entrepreneurs who are solving critical problems across different sectors in Africa, by providing pre-seed and seed stage funding. Citing statistics from the Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria, Olusanya said limited funding remains a critical bottleneck to the growth of small businesses in Nigeria, as only about four percent have access to credit.
He remarked that while there has been significant funding for start-ups from foreign venture capital firms, such is concentrated on elite founders and at much later stages, a development which make most indigent young founders struggle to raise funding at very early stage of their businesses. He said the venture capital is established to make outstanding investment deals in sub-Saharan Africa as it is sector agnostic but with bias for businesses driving technological innovations, financial inclusion, improve health care services and enable food security. He added that the Oak Asset Management Limited provides fund management and portfolio advisory services to a wide range of clientele. The company analyses risks and estimates investment gains before making investment decisions in a bid to ensure that its strategy deliver maximum investment returns to its investors, he said.
The digital bank is an economic driver and a vehicle of economic empowerment which enables the company to “provide the wings for its clients to fly,” he said. Olusanya observed that with access to credit being a major deficiency for SMEs, the Oak Digital Bank proposes value to its clients with strong inclination to have zero deficiencies. He added that the bank is set up as a digital bank to support its businesses entities and will run a lean and efficient model while leveraging non-traditional systems and methods such as mobile App, Web and digital kiosks.
Former Group Managing Director and CEO of First Bank Nigeria Plc, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, who graced the launching, among other dignitaries, advised the board and management of Oak Holdings to create financial advisory services department to relate with customers with a mindset of guiding the needs of its clientele. He urged those who graced the launching to endeavour to do business with the group in the future. Besides Olusanya, the group management team include: Eng. Elias Rassi, COO, Oak Homes; Andrew Idechi, COO , The Oak Digital Bank; Oladimeji Kuforiji, Legal Counsel. Others are Lucky Oboh; Head, Treasury, Oyedade Shokunbi, Venture Capital team Lead, among others.
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)
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)
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)
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