James Emejo in Abuja
IMPACTO World Group has launched ‘Muse’, a professional showroom for building and finishing materials in Abuja.
But, Chairman of IMPACTO Group, owners of Ceramika brand, Mr. Alejandro Bonafe Diana told THISDAY that the showroom was mainly a concept through which Nigerians could be advised on how to improve on finishing in the housing sector.
He described Muse as an avenue for technical assistance for building professional to solve all forms of finishing limitations in that segment of building construction, albeit, free of charge.
Speaking at the inauguration of Muse, Alejandro said: “We see over the years that tiles are changing dramatically in comparison with marble, among others. Ceramic tiles are getting apart especially because the sizes are so large that they need special abilities and techniques to install the tiles.
“That is why we created Muse to give advice for free to help Nigerians have better housing.
He said the company seeks to address emerging concerns whereby people are afraid of buying large sizes of tiles as they are usually are difficult and expensive to install.
He said:”So, we will be bringing them (tiles) in affordable prices and even do the installations for the customers if they want.”
Also, Managing Director/Vice President of IMPACTO Group, Mr. Chiedozie Udeze, said architects and professionals could access the showroom and have a feel of the materials and have technical information as well as directly engage with professionals in Spain to ask relevant questions.
He said: “Muse is not a showroom that is devoted to selling per se, but more than solving the problems within the industry by giving technical solutions to finishing problems.”
According to him: “There are lots of problems- From the onset, when you decide to do a project and you have a design in place and you start building, then you have to solve problems that arise.
“Structural problems would be solved by the engineers and all that but for finishing which is like the clothes which the building wears. We have a lot of misconceptions in terms of what should be used…we will now tell you that for this particular project, if it is a hospital, it is preferably you use vinyl for the floor rather than ceramic tiles or granite.”
Udeze, further pointed out that the showroom was borne out of necessity due to lack of knowledge in finishing material specification, usage, procurement and installation.
He added: “In bridging the gap, an idea of a technical showroom and co-working space was conceptualised to enhance the knowledge and collaborative
effort of architects, designers and specifiers of finishing materials.”
Fidelity Bank Plans N50bn Bond Sale
Fidelity Bank Plc aims to sell up to N50 billion in tier II debt before the second quarter of next year, to refinance existing bonds as yields fall.
“We might issue naira bonds before Q2 2020 … between N30 billion and N50 billion,” Reuters quoted the bank’s head of investor relations, Samuel Obioha, to have said.
“Currently, we have a seven-year local bond issued in 2015 … callable after five years. We might issue a new Tier II bond before May 2020 to replace the existing bond and take advantage of its capital impact.”
Debt market yields have dropped from a high of 18 per cent since the government redeemed some of its treasury bills in 2017, rather than rolling them over as before to lower borrowing cost. Yields on the one-year treasury bill were quoted around 11 per cent on Friday.
Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced policies aimed at boosting credit growth in Africa’s biggest economy following a recession. The bank hopes it can help revive an economy stuck with low growth. However, pressure has started to build on the currency, traders say.
Fidelity Bank said it had met central bank’s new lending requirements and that it expected yields to moderate as competition for credit rose, which could hurt margins.
