In a bid to resuscitate Nigeria’s moribund refineries, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has announced that the Warri and Kaduna refineries would be repaired in the first half of next year. Sylva hinted that the refineries would not only be repaired but their capacities would also be increased to support the rapid infrastructural development in the sector. The Minister assured the public of the intention of the Federal Government to fast-track the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIGB) which would in turn bring about a regulated tariff, open access to pipeline and terminals, a focused regulatory agency, introduction of transportation network code as well as many other benefits to the oil and gas sector. In addition, the Minister noted that the Ministry was envisaging a public-private partnership in the downstream sector which would assist the nation in managing its pipeline infrastructure and depots. Sylva promised to set up the necessary framework that would encourage this partnership while aggressively pursuing the commercialisation of gas flaring.

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Louis Vuitton owner LVMH  has approached Tiffany & Co with a $14.5 billion acquisition offer, people familiar with the matter said, at a time when the U.S. luxury jeweler grapples with the impact of tariffs on its exports to China. LVMH, which has for years been looking for ways to expand in the U.S. market, submitted a preliminary, non-binding offer to Tiffany earlier this month, one of the sources said.LVMH’s offer valued Tiffany at about $120 per share, another of the sources added. Tiffany shares ended trading on Friday at $98.55. Tiffany has hired advisers to review LVMH’s offer but has not yet responded to it, and there is no certainty that it will negotiate a deal, according to the sources. The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. LVMH and Tiffany declined to comment. LVMH, which is behind brands such as Fendi, Christian Dior, and Givenchy, as well as Veuve Cliquot champagne, has stood out for several years as one of the top performers in the upscale retail sector, where not all labels are benefiting to the same degree from booming Chinese appetite for branded goods. Tiffany, on the other hand, has not been as resilient. Beyond the tariffs that have been triggered by the trade war between the United States and China, a lower Chinese domestic sales tax has also contributed to double-digit decreases in its sales to Chinese tourists in the United States and in other destinations.

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The Marketing Manager of Fanmilk in Ghana, Edwin Amoako has said his outfit was looking for innovative ways of the packaging of their products so they do not become a threat to the society. He said though the packaging of their products was bio-degradable, it was necessary for Fanmilk to find ways of reducing the impact of plastics on the environment. Mr. Amoako said this at the 2019 Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) Strategic Marketing Conference held in Accra on Thursday. The conference which was held on the theme "30 years of celebrating marketing excellence; synergies for the future," brought together marketing managers of three companies namely PZ Cussons, GLICO and Fanmilk to present their success stories for the past 30 years. It also brought marketing students and managers from selected universities in Accra and various organizations to the event. Mr. Amoako said his outfit ensures that the plastic used in packaging their products were of the highest standard and would not have any health implications on the consumers.

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The solid minerals sector contributed N52.75 billion to federation revenue in 2017, a 21% increase in the N43.22 billion contributed by the sector in 2016. The information and data followed an independent reconciliation of company payments and government receipts in the sector by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in its latest report released in Abuja. According to the report obtained by Nairametrics, from the sector’s total revenue contribution of N52.75billion, payments to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) accounted for N49.162 billion which is about 93% of the total revenues realized during the period under review. Also, payments to the Mines Inspectorate Department (MID) and Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) amounted to N1.59billion (3%) and N2.08 billion (4%) of the total revenue from the sector. According to NEITI, there has been a very remarkable increase in revenue accruing to the Federation from the solid minerals sector from 2013 to 2017, though 2016 witnessed a decrease of 31.02% compared to 2015. Other revenue flows from the solid minerals include sub-national payments. These are direct payments to states and local governments as a result of national laws, contractual obligations or local regulations which are disclosed as unilateral disclosures by the extractive companies. On production, the NEITI Solid Minerals Report disclosed that 35.33 million metric tons of minerals valued at N32.78 billion were produced in Nigeria during the same period. A breakdown of the product showed that Limestone, Granite, and Laterite accounted for 85.72% of the total minerals produced with Limestone alone contributing about 55% of the production volumes. However, in value terms, Granite and Limestone contributed 37.28% and 35.57% respectively.

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The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will start getting real-time data on motor vehicle purchases, property deals and real estate investors seeking electricity meters after integrating its system with other agencies in a high-tech war against tax cheats. The taxman is integrating its system with third parties like Kenya Power, National Construction Authority (NCA), the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and other agencies for speedy access to data on taxpayers’ spending patterns. Car purchases, construction contracts and register of landlords seeking electricity bill meters for their premises will be viewed instantly by the taxman, removing the hurdle of making requests to third parties for the information. KRA wants to match spending by wealthy Kenyans with the income they have declared to the taxman in its new strategy aimed at unearthing individuals whose lifestyles are not in tandem with the taxes they pay. "KRA is undertaking system integrations with relevant institutions to facilitate faster access to data," said Elizabeth Meyo, KRA commissioner in charge of domestic taxes.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has promised to be a beacon of hope and creativity in Africa’s Oil and gas landscape in an ever-dynamic world that witnesses disruptions almost every time. This commitment was made by Mallam Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC at the 51st Annual National Conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) which held in Abuja. He was represented by the Managing Director, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Bala Wunti. Wunti highlighted some of the innovations the corporation was adopting to solve its numerous business challenges. Part of the innovations involves the flag-off of the “Operation White” initiative targeted at entrenching energy security and deepening the drive for transparency in petroleum products supply and distribution. Wunti noted that this novel initiative was driven by young and innovative talents within the Corporation. Wunti also added that the Corporation was coming to terms with the importance of technology to their operations. He promised to reposition the NNPC with regards to Big data, Predictive Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and agile work practices. In line with the Corporation’s TAPE Agenda, NNPC promised to create innovation labs that would crowdsource and harness ideas in solving different business challenges across the value–chain.

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Sasol's joint CEOs, Bongani Nqwababa and Stephen Cornell, have agreed to resign after an independent review into the company's disastrous US project. The Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), which will have seven production units that deliver various chemicals including a plastics variant called polyethylene, will cost between $12.6bn and $12.9bn (R190bn at current exchange rates) – almost double the original budgeted amount. It has been plagued by delays and technical problems and has wreaked havoc on Sasol's share price. The company lost 44% of its value over the past year."To be clear, the Board has neither identified misconduct nor incompetence on the part of the joint CEOs," the company said in a statement on Monday. But an independent investigation into the LCCP found inappropriate conduct and incompetence in the LCCP project management team. It also found "an improper tone at the top of the LCCP", and that managers didn't provide accurate cost and schedule estimations to Nqwababa and Cornell. The company will take disciplinary action against the executive vice president previously in charge of the LCCP. He will be removed "from all work responsibilities" and three senior vice presidents will also leave the company. "However, on balance, the Board finds that there is not sufficient evidence to conclude that these individuals acted with an intent to defraud," Sasol said.

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Indonesia has called for better Boeing cockpit systems and oversight by U.S. regulators after design flaws helped bring down a Lion Air 737 MAX jet - a crash that was compounded by errors from ground staff and crew. In its final report into the crash of the jet on Oct. 29, 2018, that killed all 189 people on board, Indonesia made recommendations to Boeing, Lion Air, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other agencies. A copy was seen by Reuters and it is due to be released publicly later on Friday. Less than five months after the Lion Air accident, an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crashed, leading to a global grounding of the model and a growing crisis for the world’s biggest planemaker, which has just ousted the top executive of its commercial aeroplanes division.

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Vice President Mike Pence has denied that the U.S. is seeking to “decouple” from China, despite “the many challenges faced in the U.S.-China relationship.” “The United States does not seek confrontation with China,” Pence said in a speech on the future of the two countries, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks. But so far it appears the Chinese Communist Party continues to resist a true opening or convergence with global norms,” the vice president said, adding that China’s actions demonstrate “that it’s the Chinese Communist Party that has been decoupling from the wider world for decades.”

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Mobile money transactions across networks referred to as Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) in the month of September, recorded the highest volume of transactions since it was introduced. There were a little over one million transactions during the month compared to about 312,000 transactions in September last year, representing an increase of over 250 per cent. The volume for the September transactions is contained in the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) Third Quarter Industry Transaction report. Mobile money interoperability was introduced in May last year and close to about 100 thousand transactions were recorded in its first month. The volume rose steadily and recorded a monthly average of 280,000 transaction last year. This year began with about 400,000 transactions in the month of January rising to about 750,000 transactions in July and the over million recorded last month. The total volume of the cross-network transactions from January to September this year stood at 5.1 million. The Chief Executive of GhIPSS, Archie Hesse in an interview said the volume of transactions could go up further. He said GhIPSS had been working with the telcos to increase awareness about the existence of mobile money interoperability.

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