Business Briefs
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THE management of Dangote Cement Plc has appointed Onne Van der Weijde as the new managing director for the company as part of strategies aimed at consolidating on its successes. A statement from the company said the new managing director would report to the chairman of the board of directors of Dangote Cement.
It stated that the appointment was in furtherance of the implementation of strategies to drive operational efficiency, support the firm’s ambitious growth strategies and deliver value to shareholders.
According to Dangote Cement, the new managing director efficiently worked to improve the profit and consolidation of the Ambuja Cement India business and was also responsible for the acquisition, growth in marketing and sales of Ambuja Cement business. As a director and Business Planning manager in Holcim (Australia), he developed a business presence in the South East Region of Asia through joint ventures and acquisitions, providing support in the management of existing operations in the region.
Before his appointment, Van der Weijde was the managing director of Ambuja Cement India, and joined Dangote to ensure that strategic, operational and brand synergies are maintained, whilst underlining renewed management focus on all customer segments.
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Remove Fuel Subsidy – LCCI
THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the federal government to completely remove subsidies on petroleum products. The LCCI said the call for total subsidy removal was due to the fact that there had been a crash in the prices of crude oil, hence, there was no need to retain the subsidies on petrol and kerosene.
In a statement signed by Remi Bello, president LCCI, the organisation explained that the removal of the subsidies would help save some income for the country. “We note the reduction of subsidies on petrol by 50 per cent from N200 billion to N100 billion and kerosene from N91 billion to N45.5 billion. We demand a total scrapping of subsidies on petroleum products as there is no rational basis for their retention in the budget, especially in the light of the crash in global oil prices.
“This will not only generate tremendous savings for investment in priority sectors such as infrastructure, but will also provide a great opportunity to liberate the downstream oil sector from the shackles of oppressive regulations and monumental corruption; it will as well pave the way for more robust private sector investment in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry,” he said.
Bello, however, commended the Senate’s decision to cut the National Assembly budget for this year by 25 percent from N150 billion to N112.5 billion, adding that the move would free up resources to finance other priority areas. “The increase of the capital budget from N633 billion to N700 billion is good news. However, this figure remains grossly inadequate in the light of the huge infrastructure deficit in the country and the urgent need to build a robust and sustainable non-oil economy. The Senate’s decision to reduce the recurrent expenditure by N116billion from N2.61trillion to N2.5trillion is a welcome development although a more drastic reduction in recurrent budget is desirable.”
— Mar. 16, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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Tags: Ambuja Cement India Dangote Cement PLC Holcim Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry National Assembly New Managing Director Remi Bello
