president Zuma must raise this issues with his Nigerian counterpart On Thu, Mar 3, 2016 at 8:44 AM, VC <[email protected]> wrote:
> SA President Jacob Zuma begins a State Visit to Nigeria on 8 March 2016. > ------------------------------ > > > > > > > > [image: IOL latest.png] > > > > > > *Truworths pulls out of Nigeria* > > > > > > *Janice Kew, Bloomberg, in IOL, Johannesburg, 22 February 2016* > > > > Truworths International closed its two remaining Nigerian stores last > month as stringent regulation of stock imports, foreign exchange controls > and rising costs made it too difficult for the South African retailer to > operate in Africa’s biggest economy. > > > > The clothing company struggled to get stock into Nigeria and cash out of > the country, CEO Michael Mark said in a phone interview on Friday. > Truworths’ dollar rental bill also soared as the rand weakened against the > US currency, he said. > > > > “The regulations were making it extraordinarily difficult to get stock > into the stores, we couldn’t get money out, so there was no point any > longer,” Mark said. “Obviously everyone gets excited about Nigeria because > of its size, but I think they’ve taken an incredible strain with internal > problems in the country politically and then there are the issues with > their oil.” > > > > The Nigerian central bank has effectively pegged the naira at 197 to 199 > per dollar since March by restricting imports of products from glass to > wheelbarrows, halting supply of foreign currency to exchange bureaus and > all but shutting down the interbank market with trading limits. The > country, Africa’s biggest crude oil producer, has suffered a slump in > government revenue as oil prices plunged. > > > > South African companies to have struggled in Nigeria include food and > clothing retailer Woolworths Holdings, which announced the closure of its > three stores in the country in 2013 because of high rental costs, duties > and difficulties getting stock into stores. MTN Group, the continent’s > largest wireless operator, said Thursday that 2015 earnings fell at least > 20 percent after Nigerian regulators withdrew services and ordered the > company to disconnect 5.1 million customers. > > > > *Get big or get out* > > > > “It’s a tough market, with high rental expenses and I felt you needed to > get big or get out,” Ian Moir, the CEO of retailer Woolworths, told > reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “We made the right call; we didn’t > see things really changing there for the next 10 years.” > > > > Truworths is expanding in countries outside South Africa as economic > growth and consumer spending remain under pressure in its domestic market. > The Cape Town-based company bought a majority stake in UK shoe chain Office > Retail Group last year, and also has stores in sub-Saharan African > countries including Kenya and Botswana. > > > > “The stores in countries bordering South Africa are doing well and in > Ghana it’s O.K.,” Mark said. “It’s just Nigeria that’s not and we would go > back there if everything changes. This is not a permanent thing, we will > see what happens.” > > > > Truworths said Thursday first-half profit climbed 21 percent even as > consumer spending in South Africa remained sluggish. The shares fell 4.7 > percent to R91.21 at the close in Johannesburg, having gained 2 percent the > previous day. > > > > Office Retail is also looking to expand in Europe. As many as 30 store > locations have been identified in the UK and up to 15 stores may be opened > in Germany in the next two to three years, Mark said. > > > > > > *From: > http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/truworths-pulls-out-of-nigeria-1988068 > <http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/truworths-pulls-out-of-nigeria-1988068>* > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus > signature database 13119 (20160303) __________ > > The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. > > http://www.eset.com > > -- > -- > You are subscribed. This footer can help you. > Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to > this message. > You can visit the group WEB SITE at > http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery > options, pages, files and membership. > To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] > . 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