Britam Holdings has shrugged off the bearish run at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) to raise profits 184 per cent in the six months to the end of June, helped by increased investment income.

Britam, which has insurance, asset management and property development businesses, posted a profit of Sh1.77 billion in the half year, up from Sh624 million in a similar period a year earlier.

This marks a turnaround for the firm, which posted a full year loss of Sh1 billion in the period to December due to lower valuations of the companies the firm has invested in at the NSE.

"The overall business is looking healthy, and the shift in investments that made us lower our share of equities cushioned us from the NSE bear run," said Gladys Karuri, Britam's finance and strategy director, adding that Britam sold some shares and pumped in more cash in government securities and fixed deposit accounts.

Its share of equities stood at 16 per cent of its Sh81.7 billion assets, down from 25 per cent last year. It raised investments on fixed bank deposits and government securities to 38 per cent from less than 20 per cent last year.

Investment income was up 41 per cent to Sh2.4 billion.

The benchmark NSE 20-Share Index lost 21.9 per cent last year following a steep drop in stock prices that saw investor wealth at the bourse as measured by market capitalisation shrink by Sh251 billion.

The index is down 15 per cent since the start of the year.

Management of Gaso Petroleum, one of the fastest growing oil marketing companies in the country has opened a new service station in the Cape Coast metropolis.

This forms part of the company's strategy to develop its operations in the oil marketing industry and the outlet, located at Ekon Brafoyaw is the first in the metropolis and second in the Central Region.

The company which received its license in January 2015 from the National Petroleum Authority has more than 25 fuel and liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stations, across the country.

Mr Baffour Osei Yamoah, Managing Director of Gaso Petroleum, speaking on behalf of the Board chairman, said it is the vision of the company to establish at least two service stations in each region of the country.

He said this would help create more jobs for the teaming unemployed youth to contribute to the socio-economic development of their communities.

Mr Yamoah said company believes in offering excellent services and quality product to consumers of petroleum products in the country and assured customers in the metropolis of quality services and value for money.

He said the outlet in Cape Coast would not only sell petroleum products but operate a mart shop, a lube bay for vehicle servicing and oil changing as well as other services.

"Gaso Petroleum is committed to doing business in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible manner whilst supporting the communities in which we operate. We have come to partner this community in its developmental agenda", he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday night in Nairobi, Kenya, reassured existing and prospective foreign investors that their investments in Nigeria were secured and would be fully protected.

This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu.

The statement said that Buhari gave the assurance at a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on the sidelines of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Nairobi.

The president outlined several steps taken by his administration to secure the country and ease doing business in Nigeria.

He also told the Japanese leader that “with the defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists by the military, attention of my administration is now focused on stopping the destruction of the country’s economic assets by militants in the Niger Delta”.

He said that the militants must dialogue with the Federal government or be dealt with in the same way like Boko Haram.

“We are talking to some of their leaders; we will deal with them as we dealt with Boko Haram if they refuse to talk to us.

“As a government, we know our responsibility, which is to secure the environment.

“It is clear to us that lenders won’t fund projects in insecure environments.

“We realize that we have to secure the country before we can efficiently manage it,” Buhari said.

According to him, the security in the Gulf of Guinea, which is greatly affected by piracy and armed robbery at sea, is a priority for the Nigerian government.

“We have provided funds to our Navy to buy new platforms, train and effectively organize the personnel to protect the area.

“We are looking forward to support from developed nations for satellite surveillance covering the Gulf.”

Buhari recalled his audience with G7 leaders in Germany, and thanked Japan for responding positively to Nigeria’s requests for the rehabilitation of victims of Boko Haram and rebuilding of infrastructure in the North-East of the country.

He, however, stated that there was still more to do on education, health and other infrastructure to ensure quick and voluntary return of displaced persons to their communities.

On the United Nations Security Council reform, the president agreed to work with Japan for the reforms, stressing that the case for a permanent seat for Africa on the council was a moral one.

He also expressed Nigeria’s support for Japan in its bid for a UN resolution on the problems in East China and South China as well as the “uncontrolled nuclear tests by North Korea.”

According to him, the UN system is sufficient for the resolutions of all disputes and no nation should be above the United Nations.

“This has to be made absolutely clear and I assure the prime minister that I will meet as many leaders as possible at the forthcoming UN General Assembly concerning the issues,” he added.

In his remarks, Abe congratulated Buhari “for courageously tackling Boko Haram terrorism”.

He said Nigeria and Japan must work together to improve the investment climate in view of the many Japanese companies wishing to invest in Nigeria.

Abe reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to rapid development in Nigeria through quality delivery of ongoing projects in the country, including Jebba hydro power scheme and the Lagos railway project.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Nairobi, Kenya, assured that Nigeria would be one of the most attractive and easiest places of doing business in the world by 2019.

The President, in a statement issued in Abuja, was speaking at a plenary session on “Dialogue with the Private Sector” at the sixth Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi.

According to him, his administration is implementing policies and measures to create right and enabling environment for business and investors in Nigeria.

Nigeria is currently ranked 169 out of 189 countries by the World Bank, according to the Bank’s 2016 Ease of Doing Business report.

President Buhari told the session ,attended by several African leaders, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and international business executives, that his administration’s vision and objective was to make Nigeria one of the top investment destinations in the world, within the shortest possible time.

“We believe government has a particular responsibility to create right and attractive environment for businesses and economic activities to thrive.

“In furtherance of this vision, we have launched the Presidential Enabling Environment Council, PEEC and Inter-Ministerial Council to oversee the efforts of government to remove various bottlenecks that stifle businesses and economic activities.

“This will create economic activities and the right enabling environment and investment climate in Nigeria.

“The secretariat will include strong private sector representation that would be led by experienced business professionals from the private sector,” he said.

The president maintained that his administration was committed to moving up Nigeria’s ranking of the World Bank’s ease of doing business index 20 places in first year and be in the top 100 within the next three years.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry Purwanto, said the volume of trade between Nigeria and his country reduced to 1.75 billion dollars in 2015 from four billion dollars in 2014.

Mr. Purwanto made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Sunday.

He said the signing of economic and technical agreement in 2001 had been of benefit to both countries, but added that interactions between the countries were slowing down.

“From 2001 till now is some period of time and I think up till 2014, there are many things we have done in following up our technical and economic agreement.

“However, after 2014, because of difficulties in the global economy, both countries have focused on their domestic affairs and it looks like the interaction between our countries is slightly slowing down.

“And what we have seen are more explorations rather than manifestations of real and concrete cooperation between two countries.

“It is rather discouraging because in 2014, our trade with Nigeria was almost four billion U.S. dollars.

“In 2015, it went down to about 1.75 billion U.S. dollars because of, perhaps, the oil prices and the global difficulties in economic and financial times.

“From January to June last year, trade on both sides was about one billion U.S. dollars, but this year from January to June, it is going down to less than 800 million U.S. dollars.

“The other thing is perhaps the transition in Nigeria, the change of government, and in Indonesia we did have our new government in late 2014 and we also transitioned; we already have two cabinet reshuffles.

“The new administrations need to learn and see what is on the files before they leap forward,” he said.

The envoy said that the Nigeria-Indonesia Commercial Association facilitated investment opportunities among businessmen of both countries.

He also explained that both countries shared similarities that formed the background of mutual relations between them, and added that efforts were being made to sustain existing relations.

He, however, called for more collaboration that would promote stronger business ties for both

“Before 2013, there was a Nigeria-Indonesia Chamber of Commerce in Lagos which was very active but the Nigeria-Indonesia Commercial Association was formed when our president visited Nigeria in 2013.

“This year, we have brought Indonesian trade missions to Nigeria twice to get new partnerships and also to see possibilities of increasing our trade balance between our two countries.

“We share many commonalities – the youth potential between our two countries economically and we both share ideas on political outlook.

“We put our focus on the high potential of the two countries and we want to transfer these modalities into mutual progress and prosperity for both countries and also find solutions for international challenges.

“That is why, on our part, we try to encourage more interaction between the business communities of the two countries.

“We want to see a stronger organisation or forum of Nigerians who can be vehicles and motivators to encourage more of the Nigerian business community to see opportunities in Indonesia and explore more businesses bilaterally,” he said.

Mr. Purwanto said that the provision of the Memorandum of Understanding for a Joint Commission of Cooperation established in 2013 between both countries was “already adequate”.

He said that the first meeting of the joint commission was held in 2013, adding that the next meeting was expected to have held in Nigeria in 2015.

“Patiently we will wait until there is a hint from Nigeria to host the second joint commission because in the commission, we are not only represented by the government side but the private sector,” he said.

The envoy expressed Indonesia’s interest to enhance cooperation in the areas of science and technology, agriculture, and industry.

Exploration of oil at Block 2A in Wajir County has been paralysed for the last five days after locals vandalized part of the working equipment.Herders cut cables at the site protesting against the ongoing work by Simba Energy Company.

In a press statement, the company's director James Jenkins said they had suffered huge losses as a result of the standoff between them and members of the pastoralist community.

Mr Jenkins said that some individuals had misled locals to oppose the ongoing works.

"As a company, we are here to do our work, we will abide to all the rules given by the local clans and the Wajir county government. Unfortunately, we have been hindered by few individuals who do not share our ideology," he said.

"The community was getting the wrong information on what we are doing and think that we are going to disrupt their lives," he said.

However, a local committee claimed the company had failed to honour a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the community to start development projects.

"The company has floated all our engagements," added Mr Abdinur Abdi Abdullahi, the committee's secretary.

But another elder, Mzee Mohamed Dakane, differed saying the company had employed more than 250 locals as staff.

"The people are not happy with the action of the committee which was responsible in paralyzing company's activities," said Mr Dakane.

President John Magufuli has directed the Ministry of Energy and Minerals to fast-track the construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Lindi Region to cost 30 billion US dollars (65 trillion/-).

“I want to see this project taking off, there have been a lot of unnecessary delays… just accomplish whatever is creating any bureaucracy so that our investors can begin the work with immediate effect,” he said.

The president was speaking at the State House in Dar es Salaam yesterday after receiving a progress report on the multi-trillion grand project for construction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant at Likong’o area in Lindi Region.

The report was presented by an official of the Norwegian Company, Statoil Country Representative, Mr Oystein Michelsen, who insisted that after completion of the construction of the envisaged gas plant, production would continue for a period of not less than 40 years.

“The Norwegian government is fully committed to ensuring that implementation of the project is done for the benefits of our two countries and I request that the Tanzanian government continue giving us its full support so that we achieve in putting up the plant,” said Mr Michelsen.

Lately, the country discovered an additional 2.17 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of possible natural gas deposits, raising the east African nation’s total estimated natural gas reserves to more than 57 tcf.

Most of the gas discoveries in Tanzania were made in deep-sea offshore blocks south of the country near the site of a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant.

Earlier this month, the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Professor Sospeter Muhongo, revealed that the government had already embarked on the grand plan, adding that Lindi residents and Tanzanians in general should expect economic revolution in few years to come.

Prof Muhongo was speaking during the official launch of the Nanenane exhibitions at Ngongo Grounds in Lindi Municipality.

“I would like to ensure Lindi residents and Tanzanians in general that our economy is going to grow at a high speed; we are going to invest at least 30bn/- US dollars in the construction of a gas processing plant,” he said.

However, the minister asked the public to remain calm as the government continues to set plans for the grand project. He observed that the project was likely to take many years because it needs huge amount of money, high skilled and experienced personnel as well as good supervision.

Prof Muhongo said the government would be required to construct about 200 kilometres of gas pipes from the sea to the plant. He remarked: “This is not an easy job; it will take some years.

We are supposed to bring the gas from the sea. It is between 100 and 200 kilometres.” At the State House yesterday, Dr Magufuli assured the Statoil country representative that the Tanzanian government was committed to make sure that the project was successful.

He said the project would create many employment opportunities to Tanzanians as well as enabling the government to collect revenue through various forms of taxes that will help in strengthening provision of social services including education, health, water and infrastructure, among others.

Apart from Statoil, other companies that will invest in this project include Shell, Exxon, Mobil, Pavillion and Ophir, according to a statement from the Presidential Communications Unit.

When the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was launched in 1993 by Japan in co-operation with the World Bank, the United Nations and the UN Development Programme, it was the first such initiative of one country seeking to deepen its partnership with Africa.

From August 27 to 28, when it meets in Nairobi, TICAD will be held for the first time in an African country. This milestone reflects the evolving nature of relations between Japan and the continent, and the more assertive and confident agency of African countries in their interactions with external powers.

TICAD was originally established to reframe Japan’s aid policy after the end of the Cold War. In the ensuing years Africa has seen a proliferation of forums for engagement with China, India, the European Union, Korea and Turkey, to name but a few.

For all the touted ‘first-mover’ advantage, Tokyo’s initiative and its aid and economic activities in Africa have not received the same profile as some of the other forums, most notably China’s Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

From 1993 to 2013 TICAD was held every five years in Japan. While led by Japan, it has included the African Union Commission and international organisations as co-ordinating partners. TICAD supported the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) after it was adopted as the socio-economic programme of the continent, and the special relationship is evident in the fact that the NEPAD Agency and the African Union continue to be the focal point for Africa’s engagement with Japan.

Although Japan’s TICAD initiative started off as an articulation of its post-Cold War aid policy, over the years it has increasingly also incorporated trade and investment dimensions, largely in response to African countries’ calls in this regard.

Japan was until recently the world’s second largest economy; yet its overall trade with Africa in 2015 was US$20 billion, compared to China’s which was $180 billion. Japanese direct investment in Africa grew from $1.7 billion in 2005 to about $10.5 billion in 2014.

Although Japan supports international aid initiatives such as those of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, its aid is differentiated from that of other ‘Western’ donors. Its focus on infrastructure and low-key (if any at all) political conditionality is more reminiscent of emerging powers. Yet, it has not benefited among African countries from this fact at the political level. It has been seen as part of the West, and China’s strong diplomatic outreach to Africa with its emphasis on “South to South” ties has made a greater impact since 2000.

This year’s TICAD will be attended by some 35 African heads of state, and will also include a sizeable Japanese business contingent and a business fair. Japanese officials believe this initiative is an important means to expose their business people to the African business environment and enable them to meet and interact with African governments.

In another indication of the shift away from aid as the focal point of the relationship, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has established through his office a Conference on African Economic Strategy which acts as the co-ordinating mechanism for all ministries, thus emphasising that relations with Africa have a strong economic focus and are not solely defined by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is an important shift in emphasis for Africa and signals a maturing relationship and aspiration to place Japanese – African relations on a different footing.

While the India – Africa Forum Summit has moved from a three-yearly event to intervals of five years, TICAD is going in the opposite direction, a decision taken at the 2013 TICAD summit. The 2013 summit also established a follow-up mechanism to review and assess, on an annual basis, the implementation of the commitments in the Yokohama Action Plan.

At TICAD V in Yokohama, Japan committed $32 billion of public and private funds, including $14 billion in overseas development aid over the next five years. Infrastructure has also been an important dimension of Japanese assistance to Africa and in 2013 it committed about $6.5 billion in loans for infrastructure. In addition, there were commitments made in health, education, environment, trade and investment, agriculture and human resources.

Japan committed $500 million to train 120,000 health workers to provide universal health care and $500 million in co-financing with the African Development Bank for the African private sector. Moreover, in August this year Japan committed $120 million in aid to help counter-terrorism efforts in Africa. To aid its anti-piracy efforts in the Horn, Japan has a base in Djibouti, its first overseas base since the end of the Second World War, which it opened in 2011.

The summit in Nairobi is part of a bigger offensive to market Japan’s presence and assistance on the continent as Africa continues to be seen as the next frontier market with significant opportunities.

One should also not lose sight of the fact that Japan’s engagement with Africa is part of its geopolitical positioning in a changing global environment. This includes Japan’s ongoing desire to see UN Security Council reform, including a permanent seat in recognition of its ongoing significant support to the UN and its operations. The world in 2016 is a very different place since TICAD was established in 1993.

Since TICAD I, China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second largest economy. Under President Xi Jinping, China is flexing its muscles in its region, especially around maritime disputes in the South China and East China seas. While Africa has no ‘dog in the fight’, both countries have an interest in garnering international support for their positions on the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. In recent years Japan has taken steps to reverse its post-war pacifist constitution, and in 2014 prime minister Abe ended Japan’s self-imposed ban on the export of weapons. Escalation in the tensions in the East China Sea is likely to have an impact on the world economy and maritime trade.

Will African countries be drawn into taking positions on Asia’s maritime disputes? In this China probably still holds the advantage, built on the diplomatic capital it has amassed over many years. However, it is in the continent’s interests to continue to support the observance of international law and respect and strengthening of multilateral frameworks.

In Nairobi though, the discussions are likely to focus on Africa’s developmental priorities and an assessment of progress on TICAD since 2013. Moreover, Japan is recognised as a pragmatic partner and African countries should not be surprised to see functional cooperation emerging between China and Japan, particularly in the infrastructure space where both countries enjoy strong comparative advantages.

The interest from so many eligible suitors has been an ideal environment for African states to maximise their leverage on investment, infrastructure projects and the like. As the Kenyan foreign affairs and international trade Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed said recently, “Everybody is competing in the same space. And if there is no competition, there is a problem. It simply allows us to choose the best.

Visiting Indian Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram has called on Botswana and Indian government to work together to implement the project for establishment of India-Africa Diamond Institute. Speaking at the reception hosted by the Indian Commission Oram said that the early establishment of the IADI will be mutually beneficial to Botswana and India with Botswana now being the Diamond Hub. Indian Diamond Institute (IDI) is all set to support the government of Botswana in setting up a state-of-the-art diamond institute in the country

According to the IDI, the courses to be taught at the institute in Botswana would include diamond cutting, polishing and grading along with jewellery manufacturing. A team from India will be in Botswana for three months to provide training to the professionals. Another area which Botswana can benefit from India, according to Minister Oram, is in the area of solar energy. "There is great potential for bilateral cooperation in the solar energy sector, with International Solar Alliance in place," he said, adding that India has skills and resources which can be beneficial to Botswana.