Intercontinental Bank: Shareholders Sue Sanusi Lamido For N10bn

Shareholders of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc have asked an Abuja Federal High Court to order the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, to pay them N10bn as damages over what they described as the fraudulent banking and investment practices and breaches involved in the sale of the bank.

The plaintiffs, Abdullahi Sani, Adaeze Onwuegbusi and Chijioke Ezeikpe, in the suit filed by their lawyer, Chris Uche SAN, accused Sanusi of conniving with the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede, and Mr. Herbert Wigwe, and Senator Bukola Saraki, to sell the bank in a bid to confer corrupt advantage upon themselves.

The CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission were joined as defendants in the suit, which came up before Justice Ahmed Mohammed on Tuesday.

Justice Mohammed granted an ex-parte motion in which the plaintiffs sought leave to serve the suit on Sanusi by pasting copies of the originating summons at the headquarters of the CBN.

The plaintiffs also urged the court to order the CBN to immediately recover the sums of N16.2bn and N8.9bn, together with accrued interests, being owed Intercontinental Bank by Aig-Imokhuede, Wigwe and Saraki.

The court was asked to declare that the takeover of Intercontinental Bank by Access Bank on the instructions of the Sanusi “without any lawful justification whatsoever in a bid to confer corrupt advantage upon himself and his friends/associates/cronies” was illegal, null and void.

In the same vein, the plaintiffs asked the court to order SEC to conduct a detailed public investigation into the circumstances surrounding the acquisition on Intercontinental Bank by Access Bank.

In an affidavit in support of the originating summons, the plaintiffs averred that as of August 2009, Intercontinental Bank had a paid up capital of N230bn and a balance sheet of N1.6bn, 330 branches nationwide, 10 subsidiaries and 12,000 workers.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/intercontinental-bank-shareholders-sue-sanusi-for-n10bn/

World Most Expensive Currencies

Whenever the word currency is spoken, A dollar or pounds floats in front of our eyes. A currency is nothing but the money, also known as medium of exchange which is commonly used in a particular nation for transaction between an individual and business. You can judge value of the product of your country because we are very much aware about currency value of our country. But if you are traveling form one country to another, before your flight departs you need to exchange your currencies notes with respect to currency of destination country. So when you reach there it becomes little bit difficult for you to purchase any product in unknown country because we are not much aware about pricing rate and currency value for that country. Standard currency such as united state dollar (USD), Pound sterling (GBP) and euro (EUR) are commonly used in foreign exchange market and mostly exchange rates calculation are made with respect to this currency. There are many more currency which are more valuable than US dollar, pound and euro. But it doesn’t mean that doing investment in high value currency will give you good return or country with higher value currency is having good economic health of that country. 10 most expensive currencies whose values are calculated against dollar are listed below: 1. Kuwaiti Dinar (1 KWD= 3.55 USD) In an area slightly smaller than New Jersey, lies the home of the world’s most valuable currency. Dinar is the currency of Kuwait which is the highest value currency in the world. Kuwait is located at western Asia. Capital of Kuwait is Kuwait city. Currency code is represented by KWD and it is further subdivided into 1000 fils. It holds the highest value of currency in the world.The Value of 1 KWD is equal to 3.55USD. Kuwait is oil rich gulf country which from long years back. Earlier gulf rupee was used as currency but in 1961 dinar replaces the gulf rupee and it was almost equivalent to sterling pound. Kuwait currency value is on the top because of oil export across the world. Kuwait has been involved in talks this year with five other Gulf Arab monarchies to form a single currency. The Kuwait currency is currently pegged to the dollar.

2. Bahrain Dinar (1 BHD= 2.65 USD) A small island nation, approximately 3.5 times the size of Washington DC, Bahrain is geographically central in relation to its Persian Gulf neighbors. Its industry relies on petroleum production and refining, as well as financial services and construction. With an exchange rate to the US dollar at around $2.65 for one Bahraini Dinar, second valuable currency in the world. It’s also expected to be relatively steady, as it was officially pegged to the dollar in 2001.

3. Omani Rial (1 OMR = 2.60 USD) Currency of Oman is Rial. Oman is officially called as sultanate of Oman and is Arab state located in southwest Asia. Capital of Oman is Muscat. Omani riyal is third most valuable currency in the world. Currency code of Oman is OMR. Value of 1 OMR is equal to 2.60552 USD. In 1970, the currency of Oman was made by Rial Saidi. Oman is also an oil reach country, deals with petroleum production and refining. Major business of Oman is export of crude oil.

4. Latvian Lats (1 LVL= 1.97 USD) Currency of Latvia is Latvian Lats and Latvia is located at Baltic region of Northern Europe. Riga is the capital of Latvia. Currency code of Latvian lats is LVL and abbreviated as Ls. Value of 1 LVL is equal to 1.97 USD.In 1922 Lats was first introduced, replaced Latvian rubils.Latvian Lats is the fourth most valuable currency in the world. (Quote) (Report) 1 Like (Like)

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5. UK Pound Sterling (1 GBP = 1.64 USD) Currency of United Kingdom is pound sterling which is officially known as pound. Further pound is subdivided into 100 pence. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is commonly known to be United Kingdom (UK).London is capital of UK. Pound sterling is the fifth most valuable currency in the world and it’s denoted by (GBP). Value of 1 GBP is equal to 1.64 USD.

6. Jordanian Dinar (1 JOD =1.41 USD) Jordan may lack water and crude oil but the Mideast kingdom has one thing going for it – a strong currency. From 1927 to 1950, the Palestine Currency Board issued Palestine pound as the official currency in both Palestine and the Trans-Jordan Emirate, according to Wikipedia. When Jordan became independent in 1946, the country wanted its own currency and Jordanian dinar became the kingdom’s official currency.

7. European Euro (1 EUR = 1.37 USD) Officially introduced in 1999, the multinational Euro didn’t begin changing hands until January 2001. After a rocky start, the Euro has gained on the dollar for years. The currency is the official currency of eurozone that comprises of 17 countries. Some these include Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The currency is the second largest reserve currency as also the second most traded in the world.

8. Azerbaijan Manat (1 Manat = 1.28 USD) After gaining independence in 1991, Azerbaijan became a member of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The banking system of Azerbaijan consists of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, commercial banks and non-banking credit organizations.

9. Cayman Islands Dollar (1 KYD = 1.22 USD) With no direct taxation, the islands thrive as an offshore financial center, with hundreds of banks, insurers and mutual funds. One Cayman Islands Dollar equals $1.22 US. The earlier currency used in Cayman Islands was Jamaican dollar, which was replaced in 1972. On the islands, the US dollar is accepted as legal currency.

10. Switzerland franc (1 Franc = 1.12 USD) Switzerland has a stable, prosperous and high-tech economy. In 2011, it was ranked as being the wealthiest country in the world in per capita terms (with 'wealth' being defined to include both financial and non-financial assets). It has the world's nineteenth largest economy by nominal GDP and the thirty-sixth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the twentieth largest exporter, despite its size. Switzerland has the highest European rating in the Index of Economic Freedom 2010, while also providing large coverage through public services. Sources: http://www.foxnews24x7.com/2013/04/10-most-expensive-currency-in-world.html#sthash.SXrLbr1Y.dpuf http://lakhot.com/10-Most-Expensive-Currencies-in-the-World.php

A Business Lesson From Aliko Dangote

The richest man in Africa and 23rd in the world, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has shared his timeless business principle.

 

It is a principle he learnt from his grandfather, which has helped grow his business and
make him the richest black man on earth with an estimated net worth of $25 billion as of March 2014.

He shared the principle on his twitter handle @AlikoDangote, few days ago;

“My grandfather once told me; ‘the soul of business is not making money but making people happy”
He is the owner of the Dangote Group, which has interests in commodities with operations in Nigeria
and several other countries in Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Togo, Ghana, South Africa and Zambia.

Dangote Group with its dominance in the sugar market and refinery business is the main supplier
(70% of the market) to the Nigerias soft drinks companies, breweries and confectioners. It is the
largest refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world, producing 800,000 tonnes of sugar annually.

Apart from these, Dangote Group owns salt factories and flour mills and is a major importer of rice, fish,
pasta, cement and fertilizer. The company exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seed and ginger
to several countries. It also has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles and oil and
gas. The company employs over 11,000 people and is the largest industrial conglomerate in the whole of West Africa.

SOURCE: www.vanguardngr.com/2014/03/dangote-shares-timeless-business-principle/

Reasons Why Start-up Businesses Fail Too Early

“For entrepreneurs especially those just starting out. They businesses succeed as much as they fail. But Statistics have proven that the failure rate for new startups within the first five years is as high as 50 percent.
Of course, real entrepreneurs treat business failure as a milestone on the road to success. They count on learning from their mistakes, and use the experience to move to the next idea. But why not learn from the mistakes of others, without all the pain and suffering?
Below is my list of 10 top startup failure causes and how to avoid them:

1.No written plan.
Don’t ever believe that a business plan isn’t worth the effort or not necessary. The discipline of writing down a plan is the best way to make sure you actually understand how to transform your idea into a business.

2.Slim or no revenue model.
Even a non-profit has to generate revenue (or donations) to offset operating costs. If your product is free, or you lose money on every sale, it’s hard to make it up in volume. You may have the solution to world hunger, but if your customers have no money, your business won’t last long.


3.Limited business opportunities.
Not every good idea can become a blockbuster business. Just because you passionately believe that your product or service is great, and everyone needs it, doesn’t mean that everyone will buy it. There is no substitute for market research, to supplement your informal poll of friends and family.

4.Can’t execute.
An idea alone is really worth nothing. It’s all about the execution. If you’re not comfortable making hard decisions and taking risks, you won’t do well in that business.

5.Too much competition.
Having no competitors is a red flag, it may mean there’s no market. But finding so many competitors may be a sign that it is also over crowded.

6.No intellectual property.
If you expect to seek investors, or you expect to have a sustainable competitive advantage against giants in your industry, you need to register for patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as enlist non-compete and non-disclosure agreements to protect trade secrets. Intellectual property is also often the largest element of early-stage company valuations for professional investors.

We have the Copyright and Trade mark commission in Abuja and Lagos where you can secure you r patent or ideas with a minimal cost.

7.An inexperienced team.
In reality, investors fund people, not ideas. They look for people with real experience in the business domain of the startup, and people with real experience running a startup. If this is your first time around, find a partner who has “been there and done that” to balance your passion and bring experience to the team.

8.Underestimating resource requirements.
A major resource is cash funding, but other resources, such as industry contacts and access to marketing channels may be more important for certain products. Having too much cash, not managed wisely, can be just as devastating as too little cash. Don’t quit your day job until new revenue is flowing.

9.Not enough marketing.
Having a slick word-of-mouth marketing strategy isn’t enough to make your product and brand visible in the relentless onslaught of new media out there today. Even viral marketing costs real money and time. Without effective and innovative marketing across the range of media, you won’t have customers or a business.

10. Giving in too early.
The most common cause of startup failure is the entrepreneur just gets tired, gives up and shuts down the company. Despite setbacks, many successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison kept slugging away on their vision until they found success.


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