Ten Years After

By Salif Atojoko
Monday, July 21, 2003

Express Discount Ltd rolls out the drums to celebrate a decade of fruitful operations

Express Discount Limited, EDL, a company licensed 10 years ago by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as a secondary market for buying and selling of treasury bills to financial institutions has a lot to crow about after ten years in business. Kwesi Sagoe, managing director of EDL said by 2002, the company's balance sheet had grown to N25.88 billion and its pre-tax profit had risen to N551.3 million.

He also said that the gross income of the company stood at N3.39 billion as at the end of the 2002 financial year. According to Sagoe, as at the close of business in March 2002, the paid up-capital of EDL stood at N520 million out of its authorised share capital of N1 billion made up of one billion ordinary shares of N1.00 each.

Akin Kekere-Ekun, chairman of EDL explained last week that a key feature of the operation of the discount house in its 10 years of existence was the sponsorship of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, to the tune of N133 million through Amalgamated Capital Fund Limited. The Fund was created by Cooperative Bank, Trans International Bank and Habib International Bank, all equity holders in EDL.

Kekere-Ekun said the Fund was created to enable the participating banks have an avenue to disburse the mandatory 10 percent of their profits for sponsorship of SMEs. "We identify the SMEs, go in there and participate as equity holders in the businesses. When they get to where they can stand on their own, they will buy back our equity and we will go on to sponsor other ventures," he said.

It has, however, not been smooth sailing for the discount houses due to negative trends in the economy. According to Sagoe, by the nature of discount houses, the economy impacts on their operations. "When there is no liquidity in the financial system, it affects the discount houses," he said. He, however, said that despite the liquidity problem in the economy, EDL would continue to provide its clients with safe and secured short-term investment opportunities within the banking system. He added that the company would seek to promote the development of an active secondary market in government securities and other prime debt instruments originating from the private sector.

The 10th anniversary celebration of EDL will be flagged off with a lecture titled "Wanted: A Voter's Discount" to be delivered by Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate, July 24 in Lagos. Other activities lined up to mark the anniversary, according to Sagoe, include a charity walk and a dinner/award night. He also said the charity walk was being organised in collaboration with the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, to raise funds towards the completion of the National Sickle Cell Centre building project under construction in Lagos.

Jumoke Gbajabiamila, head of corporate affairs of EDL said more than a hundred persons drawn from EDL, the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria and personalities drawn from other business and social sectors of the society will take part in the walk. "Express Discount Limited embraces the National Sickle Cell Centre project under construction as a challenge and would want to use the opportunity of the walk to espouse the cherished value of giving a little back to the society in which it operates," Gbajabiamila said.