Nosa Alekhuogie
One of the leading providers of tax, audit and advisory services in Nigeria, KPMG is set to host its first ever FinTech summit in Nigeria.
The summit is slated to hold on the 22nd of November 2016 at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre with its theme being – “The FinTech Disruption – Understanding the Value Proposition”.
The Head, Advisory services practice, Mrs. Bisi Lamikanra made this disclosure during a press briefing at its Head office in Lagos recently.
She revealed that FinTech is an increasingly important area to drive growth in the financial service industry and also, drive financial transactions in the non- financial service industry adding that the focus areas for the summit are next generation payments, lending and financing, financial inclusion, wealth management and personal finance, insurance, blockchain, and cyber security.
She said: “ We expect FinTechs to challenge the status quo in areas like insureTech and wealthTech. Globally, banks are investing in the exploration of potential opportunities for application of Blockchain in financial services – beyond crypto-currency and we expect to see similar trends in the local market.”
Also, Partner and Head, Financial Services Technology, Boye Ademola however noted that one of the aims of the summit is to share how FinTechs add value to differnt stakeholders in the economy. it is an international event with Fintechs from Nigeria, Africa, Asia, Switzerland amongst others in attendance.
He further added “ FinTechs are technology based organisations that develop solutions which position them to compete against or collaborate with Financial Institutions in the delivery of financial services. They aim to develop innovative solutions to existing challenges such as financial inclusion, access to credit, personal finance management, access to insurance etc.
The emergence of FinTechs in Nigeria can be attributed to a surge in e-commerce, smartphone penetration and strong affinity for technology adoption within the teeming youth population. We are seeing an emergence of FinTech players especially in the areas of payments, lending and crowd funding solutions. More recently, we have also seen some growing interest in insurance and blockchain.
FinTech start-ups are well positioned to enable, compete or collaborate with players in the financial services industry in the efficient delivery of services.”
Speaking on its involvement in the summit, Partner and Head, Financial Services Sector, Mr. Ayo Othihiwa explained that the company’s role is simply providing a platform through this summit for all participants to come to a common understanding of what FinTech is.
“With this, everybody would have a better understanding of what the roles of FinTechs are in the economy and begin to work together rather than see them as someone who has come to disrupt your business.
Umana Secures Malaysia’s Support for Oil & Gas FZs
The Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Mr. Umana Okon Umana has said that the nation’s oil and gas free zones should be Nigeria’s first ports of call for foreign direct investments because the Authority has mouth-watering incentives and benefits to investors who set up businesses in the oil and gas free zones.
Speaking to the Malaysian High Commissioner, Lim Juay Jim, during a visit to the Malaysian High Commission in Abuja on Friday, Umana said the benefits for investors include zero tax from federal, state and local tax authorities; zero levies and rates (that is no corporate tax, withholding tax, value added tax and capital gain tax); 100% foreign ownership; 100% repatriation of profit and dividends; 100% repatriation of foreign capital investment. He said other benefits to the investor include streamlined documentation that makes for fast-tracking of all business transactions.
Umana explained to High Commissioner Jim that there were functioning and vibrant oil and gas free zones in Onne, Rivers State; Warri in Delta State and Apapa in Lagos, adding that the OGFZA was developing additional oil and gas free zones in Brass, Bayelsa State; Ikpokiri, which is contiguous with Onne in Rivers State and Ibaka in Akwa Ibom State.
He told the High Commissioner that the new oil and gas free zones being developed in Brass, Ibaka and Ikpokiri, including the developed ones in Onne, warri and Lagos, presented viable and irresistible opportunities for investors to take advantage of and become part of the profitable history of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. He said there were opportunities for the development of infrastructure such as roads and power plants to provide dedicated electric power for the oil and gas free trade hubs.
Umana also explained that attractive opportunities for downstream industries like refineries, manufacturing of pipes for the oil and gas sector and other related industrial goods as well as infrastructure existed for investors in the free zones, adding that the oil and gas Authority was willing to partner with any investors using the public-private partnership (PPP) model to achieve its mandate and business plan. He said the success recorded in the Onne free zone derived from the PPP business model.
High Commissioner Jim expressed joy at the visit and the presentation made by the chief executive of the OGFZA, promising to visit the OGFZA headquarters with a delegation of Malaysian investors to explore investment opportunities in keeping with the strong historical and economic ties between Nigeria and Malaysia.
High Commissioner Jim explained that Malaysia has for long seen Nigeria as the economic hub of Africa, explaining that it was Nigeria’s economic weight that made Malaysia to relocate its Africa trade mission from Nairobi to Lagos. He said though Nigeria was currently going through a recession, Malaysia expects the country to bounce back soon.
Umana was accompanied on the visit by the head of trade and investment at OGFZA, Adamu Kontagora; head of legal department and company secretary, Barr. Abduwasiu Sule and Maurice Etim, Chairman of Aurum Energy Maritime and Construction Limited.
