Kofi Ahovi

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc; one of the largest financial services institution in Africa, has released its unaudited financial results for the first six months of the year, showing positive growth in financial indices. In the unaudited financial results, released to the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), UBA recorded a gross earnings of N138 billion (¢2.60billion), representing an increase of 8.66% over the N127 billion (¢2.40billion) recorded in the same period in 2013. Growth in gross earnings was boosted by an 11% increase in interest income to N98.5 billion (¢1.8billion) in the first half of 2014 from N88.6 billion (¢1.6billion) in the comparative period of 2013. There were also increases in other financial indices; Net interest income was up 3.4% to N55.2 billion (¢1.04billion), non-interest income rose 3.1% to N39.8 billion (¢752 million); operating income was up 2.7% to N92.2 billion (¢1.7billion) and profits stood at N29 billion (¢548 million) for the period. Commen...

Surfline Ghana has officially launched the first commercial Fourth Generation Long -Term Evolution (4G LTE) Internet service in the country. The 4GLTE service, which is designed to provide up to 10 times the speeds of Third Generation (3G) networks for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, netbooks, notebooks and wireless hotspots, is expected to provide the fastest internet services in the country. This implies that downloading huge files, movies, pictures, among others, from the internet can be done in seconds instead of minutes or hours as in many instances. The 4G technologies are also designed to provide IP-based voice, data and multimedia streaming at speeds of at least 100 Megabit per second and up to as fast as one Giggabit per second, making it the most reliable service to transform the turnaround time of businesses and individuals. Launching the Surfline service in Accra last week, the Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, described the move as one ...

By Alex Bentil Oracle has introduced its engineered systems in Accra. The engineered systems which are a combination of hardware and software IT products have been assembled and synchronized to work together with ease and increase an organisation’s productivity. The US based multinational computer company’s engineered system provides corporate entities the luxury of faster implementation of IT related duties and tasks, less deployment and operational risks, great cost performance and lowest total cost output. Oracle’s Regional Manager for West and Central Africa, Annick Sakho, explained that since Oracle’s focus is to simplify IT, the outdooring of the engineered system was a step in the right direction. This focus she explained was due to the fact that the business environment was dynamic hence the need to develop products that suited the changing phase of the environment. “Oracle is focused on simplifying IT because the business environment is changing and companies are making...

Kenya Airways has suspended flights operation to both Liberia and Sierra Leone. The suspension was based on a caution from the Kenya’s ministry of Health with regards to the recent Ebola outbreak. In a statement signed by Titus Naikuni, Group Managing Director & CEO, it said “As we have indicated before, we are dependent on expert advice for our continued operations from Ministry of Health and WHO. Following the Ministry of Health statement; Kenya Airways wishes to confirm that we will comply with the advice to suspend our commercial flight operations to Liberia and Sierra Leone temporarily. This operational decision effective; Tuesday 19th August 2014 midnight, is based on the situation risk assessment by Kenya’s Ministry of Health”. The airline expressed its sincere regrets for disrupting travel plans clients who are booked on the suspended flights, and it is providing a full refund of all tickets earlier booked and paid for prior to this suspension. The provision of air ...

The Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), Ghana, has launched a scheme to reward business and financial journalists in the country. Dubbed the “IFEJ Flamingo awards for Business and financial journalism”, the award seeks to deepen the level of financial journalism in the country, while rewarding outstanding financial journalists based on their published works. Speaking at the launch of the awards, the President of IFEJ Ghana, Lloyd Evans, said the award was not aimed at competing with the annual Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards, but rather to complement the awards programme of the association. The first edition of the awards scheme slated for November this year has drawn a lot of corporate sponsors, including the World Bank and Enterprise Life. According to Mr Evans, the awards would not just be an annual event for the sake of it, but would help Ghanaian financial journalists improve on their writing skills to better equip them to win international aw...

Airlines should maintain services to Ebola-hit regions which need connections with the outside world in order to fight the disease, the International Air Transport Association said last week after more carriers put flights on hold. The industry needs only to screen passengers at airports in infected areas, apply rigorous procedures including isolation when handling suspected cases, and fully disinfect planes afterwards, IATA, said, citing World Health Organization advice that aviation constitutes a “row risk” for Ebola transmission. “They have been very clear that travel and trade bans are unnecessary,” Raphael Kuuchi, IATA’s vice president for Africa, told the body’s Africa Aviation Day conference in Johannesburg. “Unless this advice changes we hope that countries working hard to eradicate Ebola continue to benefit from air connectivity.” IATA issued the plea after Kenya Airways Ltd., Africa’s third-largest carrier, said this weekend it would stop flying to Liberia and Sierra L...

Having been among the continent’s fastest-growing economies on the back of an oil-fuelled boom, Ghana has cut its growth target for this year and revised its forecast for inflation and budget deficit upwards as a result of slowing commodity revenues and high current spending. Ghana’s forecasts for 2014 are by any comparison still robust, but they have highlighted some cyclical hurdles ahead. In an economic update released in July, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said GDP growth for 2014 was now estimated at 7.1% instead of 8% previously. He added that the budget deficit for the full year would climb to 8.8% instead of the initially targeted 8.5%, well below the double-digit rates of a few years ago but still higher than expected. The minister has requested parliamentary approval for an additional GHS3.1bn ($837m) in spending on top of the original 2014 budget of GHS34.9bn ($9.43bn). More worryingly, the updated outlook also included a higher forecast for inflation, at about13% inst...