Landmark Ruling On Application of Freedom of Information Act

Landmark ruling on application of Freedom of Information Act

Contributed by Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun

July 30 2013

Facts
Decision
Comment


In 2011 Nigeria passed the Freedom of Information Act, which seeks to guarantee citizens' access to public information. The law is revolutionary in the scope of information to which it grants access, and the safeguards contained therein are a welcome departure from the pervasive secrecy in Nigerian governance. The Lagos Federal High Court recently had the first opportunity to interpret and apply this law in Boniface Okezie v Central Bank of Nigeria.(1) The Central Bank is a government agency.

Facts

On August 13 2009 the Central Bank, exercising its powers under the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, fired the executive directors of five Nigerian banks for borderline fraudulent acts and mismanagement of bank resources. The affected bankers were also prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which, in collaboration with the Central Bank, sought to recover some of the assets that they had allegedly stolen. However, there were questions about the manner in which the recovery of the assets was being handled, particularly the apparent lack of consideration for the rights of the affected banks' shareholders.

In 2012 the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, represented by its president, Boniface Okezie, wrote to the Central Bank requesting information relating to the recovery of Oceanic International Bank Plc's assets. The letter, written by Okezie's solicitor and dated January 26 2012, requested the following information:

• the cost so far to the Central Bank, the government and the Nigerian people of the banking reforms instituted by the Central Bank, and particularly the amount of legal fees and other fees paid and to be paid to professionals and professional bodies;
• how much of the amount mentioned above represented fees paid and to be paid to Olaniwun Ajayi LP and Kola Awodein & Co. These two law firms dominated representation of the Central Bank and its related bodies in the litigations triggered by the reforms. These same firms were engaged by the Central Bank in other capacities, including as advisers to the five banks in which the Central Bank had intervened and as consultants to the Central Bank and other related bodies, and also for the criminal prosecution of the former executives of the five affected banks;
• the total sum paid to Olaniwun Ajayi LP in respect of the prosecution of Cecilia Ibru, former managing director of Oceanic Bank Plc, and the proportion of this sum that was in the form of commissions on the properties recovered from her; and
• the total cash and value of properties recovered from Ibru, the whereabouts of the recovered assets and what proportion of these assets had been returned to Oceanic Bank and/or its shareholders.

The basis for the above requests was that taxpayers' money was being used for the prosecution of the banks' chiefs and the reform process. The association also believed the entire reform process to be a drain on the economy, benefiting only a few.

When the Central Bank refused to disclose the information requested by the association, a suit was instituted against it under the Freedom of Information Act. The association requested the court to compel the bank to publish its handling of approximately N191 billion's worth of assets forfeited by Ibru.

Decision

In a landmark ruling on the application of the Freedom of Information Act, the court held that the Central Bank, as a public institution, has a duty under the act to provide details of such information, and that the bank's refusal to disclose the information on request by the association was unlawful.

Justice Mohammed Idris ordered the bank to comply with the association's request by releasing the information sought. Stressing that it was unlawful for the bank to withhold the information, the court observed that:

"The Act is intended to promote transparency and prevent corruption, therefore all public institutions must ensure that they comply with the FOI Act in the interest of transparency, justice and development."

However, the court refused to compel the bank to disclose the information relating to the fees and commissions paid to the law firms representing it on the grounds that such information enjoyed client-attorney privilege and was protected under Section 16 of the act. The court mandated the bank to comply with its orders within 72 hours. However, the bank is yet to comply and has appealed the decision.

Comment

The court's ruling on the need for the Central Bank, as a public institution, to comply with a valid request for information and the need for public institutions in general to comply with the Freedom of Information Act is commendable and in the spirit of transparency and accountability.

However, the court would have been within the remits of both the law and the act to compel the disclosure of fees paid to the legal practitioners representing the bank. A clear reading of the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Evidence Act 2011 shows that it protects only communications which are deemed confidential.(2)

In this case, where shareholders have inferred that depositors' funds recovered by the Central Bank may have been squandered by it or even embezzled, to be explained away as consultants' fees, the question of how much was paid to whom is crucial. The public interest in knowing about such payments far outweighs the advantages of keeping the amounts secret. The Freedom of Information Act envisages as such when it provides that the court shall order a public institution to disclose information or part thereof to the applicant if it finds the public interest in having the record made available to be greater and more vital than the interest served if the application were to be refused, in any circumstance.

However, this case nonetheless represents a bold step in the entrenchment of good governance in Nigeria.

For further information on this topic please contact Funke Agbor or Jamiu Akolade at Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun by telephone (+234 1 462 2094), fax (+234 01 461 3140) or email (fagbor@acas-law.com or jakolade@acas-law.com).

Endnotes

(1) FHC/CS/L/494/12.

(2) Section 195 provides that:

"No one shall be compelled to disclose to the court any confidential communication which has taken place between him and a legal practitioner consulted by him, unless he offers himself as a witness in which case he may be compelled to disclose any communications which may appear to the court to be necessary to be known, in order to explain any evidence which he has given, but no others."

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The materials contained on this website are for general information purposes only and are subject to thedisclaimer.

ILO is a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. In-house corporate counsel and other users of legal services, as well as law firm partners, qualify for a free subscription. Register at www.iloinfo.com.

Download the Freedom of Information Act. 2011. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.


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All Change for Listed Companies: Two Sets of Amended Rules Come Into Force

All change for listed companies: two sets of amended rules come into force

Contributed by Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie

July 30 2013

After almost two years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally published the long-awaited Consolidated Rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The previous consolidated version of the rules was published in 2000, just after the enactment of the Investment and Securities Act 1999. Since then, the Investment and Securities Act 2007 has replaced the 1999 act and numerous amendments have been made to the base document containing the rules. In September 2011, in order to codify the various rules that existed, the SEC released draft consolidated rules for the purpose of market-wide consultation, observation and comments before final adoption. These rules were expected to be formalised and published quickly. However, it became apparent that the draft consolidated rules not only codified the existing rules, but also introduced some new rules that had never formally been exposed to the market.

To avoid any confusion in the market, the SEC then went through a prolonged review process during which it requested formal comments and feedback from the market on the draft consolidated rules. In June 2013, following feedback from stakeholders, the SEC finally adopted the consolidated rules. These rules are substantially different from the previous rules in format and, in some cases, content. The SEC has consolidated all of the rules that were introduced piecemeal over the past 10 years or so, including new rules that were introduced earlier this year such as those governing sukuk. Not all the proposed changes in the draft consolidated rules were retained in the consolidated rules. One of the areas of the draft consolidated rules that caused much concern was a proposed requirement for SEC approval in relation to an acquisition of 30% or more of the shares or equity interests or assets of a company, rather than the existing requirement of 50%. However, it appears from the final version of the consolidated rules that the threshold at which the SEC must approve an acquisition remains at 50%.

The consolidated rules introduce some interesting changes. One such change is the exception to the requirement for SEC approval for all acquisitions: the consolidated rules now exempt from SEC approval acquisitions of the shares of private/unquoted public companies with assets or turnover below N500 million. Also, and perhaps in response to the recent bail-out for stockbrokers, the permitted indebtedness for brokers has been slashed from 200% of net capital to just 10% of net capital. There have also been some minor changes to the definition of a 'company insider' and, in addition to directors, employees and holders of 5% or more of the shares of the company, the rules now include members of the company's audit committee.

The consolidated rules are not the only change in the market, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) recently updated the Listing Rules and has proposed wholesale changes to the form of general undertaking that listed companies must provide. The general undertaking deals with the post-listing obligations of a listed entity, particularly in relation to the disclosure of information to the market. Ensuring equal access to information has been an important focus of the NSE and is one of the eight pillars that the NSE has identified as critical to moving the exchange forward. In furtherance of this objective, the NSE also recently introduced an issuers' portal known as X-Issuer, which allows the online submission of information by listed companies. The NSE believes that X-Issuer will reduce the leakage of price-sensitive information by speeding up the time between submission of financial and other information and the release of such information to the market.

In the draft form of the general undertaking, which was recently released to the market for comments, the NSE proposed for the first time a specific closed period during which insiders of the listed company cannot trade in the shares of the company. Although many listed entities had their own internal guidelines on this issue, this is the first time that a minimum standard has been set. The provisions of the draft general undertaking also place an obligation on listed companies to establish guidelines relating to trading in the shares of the company by employees and introduce specific provisions regarding the obligation of a company to respond to rumours in the market.

For further information on this topic please contact Ngozi Agboti at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie by telephone (+234 1 263 4831), fax (+234 1 263 4541) or email (ngozi.agboti@uubo.org). The Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie website can be accessed at www.uubo.org.

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The materials contained on this website are for general information purposes only and are subject to thedisclaimer.

ILO is a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. In-house corporate counsel and other users of legal services, as well as law firm partners, qualify for a free subscription. Register at www.iloinfo.com.

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Nokia Still Leads in Nigeria

Nigeria

How about Nigeria? Did anyone guess that Nokia was the key player? I doubt it unless you live there. Dearly loved Apple is in 6th place, behind LG and BlackBerry (BBRY) among others.

(click to enlarge)

Click here for the complete report.

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Nigerian Universities and the Bastardization of Admission Processes

Nigerian Universities and the Bastardization of Admission Processes  

~ By Obinna Akukwe

 

The processes of gaining admission into Nigerian universities have been bastardized by the trio of JAMB, respective universities and desperate parents. The once transparent admission process into Nigerian universities has degenerated into a cash and carry fraudulent system devoid of fairness, where the highest bidder carries the day. During our own time, there was so much anxiety over Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) examinations that students attended all manners of extra-mural studies to pass. With the passage of time, especially in the early nineties, graft entered into the JAMB admission processes. Some special centres and villages became centres of 'expo' and malpractices. This led JAMB to continue to cancel centres where it is suspected that malpractice took place. In the process, a lot of innocent students were lumped for punishment with the guilty. Years later schools started employing the services of policemen and other law officers to stem the tide of malpractice. Two years into using the policemen, they too became conduit pipes for the distribution of leaked answer scripts and their usefulness was destroyed.

The situation degenerated so much that answer scripts were leaked from either JAMB office in Lagos or respective zonal centres. In 1995 particularly, I remembered students hawking JAMB question papers eighteen hours to the examinations. Those who felt the papers were fake got the shockers of their lives when they discovered that their honesty and patriotic home training was mocked on the exams hall. Few years ago, I heard that some students distributed solved probable JAMB answers A, B, C, D, E, etc on facebook to their friends.

Speaking on the level of compromise associated with the examination, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof  Dibu Ojerinde said that “In 2012 UTME, we had some disturbing news of extortion of money from innocent candidates by greedy proprietors and supervisors all these persons will be brought to book,” Earlier in that 2011 he told news men  that “JAMB is currently investigating some results of 7, 504 candidates, from some centres which are suspicious…the results must undergo further screening because of the unusual performances recorded by candidates from those centre”.

Constant malpractice coupled with incessant demands for university autonomy by lecturers under the aegis of Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), Committee of Vice Chancellors and other university pressure groups led to the acceding of the request for individual universities to set exams for prospective students. This led to the introduction of Post-University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (Post-UTME) exams. This Post-UTME examination is yet to solve the problems associated with the earlier UTME, UME AND JAMB exams.

In the first instances, parents have to send or travel with their wards to different universities to write Post-UTME exams. A student may travel from Enugu to Abuja to write Post-UTME for University of Abuja, and then travels again to Lagos to write for University of Lagos, then moves to Port Harcourt to write that of University of Port Harcourt and back to base to sit for Enugu State University of Science and Technology’s exams, criss-crossing thousands of kilometers across dangerous countryside to write exams. The students usually purchases exorbitant exams forms from all these schools, travel to these locations, and lodge in hotels or with boyfriends, girl friends and sugar mummies in places if the cost of hotel accommodation is unaffordable. I inquired of a girl in Abuja some time in 2009 from her brother and was told that the girl traveled to Lagos to write Post-UTME exams and never returned back again. Whether rapists, robbers or ritualists caught hold of her and cut her breasts, eyes etc for rituals, nobody could tell.

In 2012 three prospective students traveling to UNN, Nsukka for Post-UTME got involved in auto crash. I do not know whether they died after being rushed to the hospital. During the same phased examinations, the process was cancelled midway because the university discovered that the papers actually leaked the night before. Some students told me that they had the answers in their phones and distributed such through text messages hours before the exams. The authorities told the students to go home and come back later to rewrite the papers at the expense of parents and sponsors. It was later discovered that some university staff leaked the papers to their wards who in turn sold same to the highest bidders. The embarrassed authorities with the aid of the police arrested the erring staffers for prosecution.

Despite all these Post-UTME exams, some parents still pay for their ward’s admission. Last year, a family told me that they paid N400.000 for their ward to read medicine in a university in Lagos, while another family confided that they paid N240, 000 to help their ward secure admission to read law in Port-Harcourt. This process disenfranchises those who are supposed to be on the merit list because highest bidders have taken over their chances. This is because some university staffers reserve lots of chances for themselves which they can sell or dispense as they deem fit.

This non-transparent process have made many parents to sell family land, properties and life savings to send their frustrated  wards to schools in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Russia while few buoyant ones send theirs to UK for admission. I have unenthusiastically assisted some frustrated families with finance to send their wards to some of these East-European schools and I kept on pondering at how Nigeria is enriching other people's economy due to moronic and educational policies. This results in capital flight and the enrichment of other nation's education industry. Those who are not buoyant for overseas enrollment litter the streets of Nigeria and constitutes nuisance to the society. Many have joined robbery, kidnapping and prostitution gangs because idle minds are devils workshops.

Nigeria’s Minister of Education Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai recently told a news conference that “out of the over 1.7million students that sat for the examinations in 2013, only 500,000 will gain admission”. This means that 1.2 million students will be disappointed. In 2012, 1,503, 931 students sat for the exams and about 450,000 was admitted. In 2011 it was 1,493,603 with about 420,000 getting admitted. In 2010 according to JAMB about 1,375,642 sat for the exams with spaces for less than 400,000.  From the JAMB statistics, it is obvious that about 900,000 applicants were disappointed in 2010; 1 million applicants in 2011, 1.1 million others in 2012, 1.2 million ‘disappointed’ in 2013 and probably 1.4 million come 2014.

Two years ago the Nigerian Senate made attempts to scrap Post-UTME exams citing corruption and duplication of functions. The process failed because the lawmakers couldn’t find a common ground of acceptance.  Around my residence in Abuja lots of brilliant students have been writing JAMB and Post- UTME exams for many years and yet cannot get admission. Some of them have gotten admitted only for their names to disappear from the merit list. According to their frustrated parents, the number on the merit list for some departments of their choice are not up to 20% while the rest is admission by favoritism. In the same neighborhood, some frustrated parents used political party links and corrupt processes to get their wards admitted.

 The solution to these anomalies is for NUC to relax processes for establishment of universities. Their stringent condition is such that only mega funded billionaire institutions and individuals can dare it. How come Ghana is wooing Nigerian students to go there and study? They have enough quality schools to contain their applicants and they maintained qualitative small universities established at little cost. Secondly JAMB should ensure that individual schools admit at least 50% of those who write Post-UTME exams on the merit list. The amount of money spent on these Post-UTME exams should be reduced and if the universities cannot guarantee transparency, the process should be scraped. Nigeria admission process have been compromised by individual universities, JAMB, NUC,  parents and applicants, and God will not leave some people unpunished whose actions or inaction contributed to the bastardization of the once transparent admission process.

 Contact:

Obinna Akukwe

profetobinna2@yahoo.com

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
26 Jul 2013
16:09	CORRECTED-IFC and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority to Promote Infrastructure Development

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Photos From the Book Launch of It’s Okay To Have A Bad Boss

VIPs at the Launch of It’s Okay To Have A Bad Boss


Both the bosses and their subordinates graced the red carpet launching of the new book "It’s Oay To Have A Bad Boss" at the Terra Kulture on Victoria Island on Friday June 28, 2013. The event attracted colleagues of the author from Diamond Bank Plc and VIPs among other guests, including Mr. Hope Obioma Opara, President of Eko International Film Festival, Nigerian actress Amaka Anioji, Best Actress award winner at the last Abuja International Film Festival and Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/CEO of International Digital Post Network Group. The Master of Ceremony Mr. Uju Onyechere, stand up comedian Pencil and the saxophonist Olu Jazz made it an evening to remember.

The MC Mr. Uju Onyechere.
 

Comedian Pencil entertaining the guests. 
 

The author Darlington Onyeagoro and a guest.
 

Popular comedian Pencil and his pretty friend.
 

Hope Obioma Opara, President of Eko International Film Festival.
 

Mr. Chudi Igwe, Group Head, Diamond Bank Plc, Lagos Central.

 Darlington Onyeagoro’s thought provoking book on corporate ethics and politics in the workplace is actually a guide on how to learn from both the good and bad bosses and go on to be the BOSS in the end. And is that not your goal if you are not one already.

The author says: “Its OK To Have A Bad Boss exposes you to the different kinds of bosses and outlines strategies on how to have a fulfilling relationship with them whilst arming you with the necessary tools needed to meander through the murky waters of the workplace. If you are an employer or a boss then this book was written for you”.

"It’s Okay To Have A Bad Boss" can be delivered to you anywhere you are located in Nigeria and other countries by simply contacting the author on Tel: 234 08032532634 or Email: DOnyeagoro@diamondbank.com.

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Indian Investment Comes To Kannywood

Poster of new Kannywood movie GABAR CIKIN GIDA.  

Nigerian Movies Will Boost Africa's Projected 5.2 Percent GDP Growth in 2013
 Euromonitor International and Reed Exhibitions, organizers of the World Travel Market, in a report last November said that Africa's projected 5.2 percent GDP growth in 2013 would be due in part to the popularity of Nigerian films, which it said would also attract domestic and regional tourism. ~ http://in.finance.yahoo.com/news/india-help-build-film-city-093905381.html  


Indian Investment in Nigerian Film to Aid Development

  ~ By Julie Fuller


The Kano State in Nigeria is to get a new “film city” as part of an ongoing development project with India. Like India, Nigeria has enjoyed a booming film industry, and it is hoped that developing this sector will help to bring vital income to the country. It is anticipated that the creation of the film city will bring thousands of jobs to the Nigerian population. It is also hoped that by capitalizing on the country’s popular ‘Nollywood’ industry, this will create another strong foreign export to run alongside the country’s already lucrative oil and gas industry. In order to achieve this ambitious aim, Nigeria is looking to India. The Asian country has for decades enjoyed the global success of Bollywood, the industry having created many internationally renowned film stars, and having generated a huge amount of revenue for the country. One organization that is aware of Bollywood’s success is the EXIM Bank of India, which has financed the industry for many years. The EXIM Bank of India has been working with its Nigerian counterpart, the NEXIM, to develop a similar strategy for Nollywood and to provide ongoing advice and support.  


Historical connection
Film is big business in Nigeria; there are now between 1,000 and 1,200 movies made every year through Nollywood. The industry began in 1992, with a release called ‘Living in Bondage’, which sold more than half a million copies. At the time, movies were made on VHS format, but now the industry has modernized to digital. Nollywood now actually produces more movies than Hollywood, and is second only to Bollywood in terms of quantity. As the industry matures, it is now looking to acquire new international markets. Nigeria’s connection with India’s film industry dates back more than 50 years, when distributors from Lebanon started importing Indian films to Nigeria back in the 1950s. Since then, many Nigerians have grown up watching Bollywood films, hence the creation of Nollywood several decades later, which takes many influences from its Asian counterpart.  


Helping Nigerian youth through film
The partnership between the two countries is aiming to improve development in Nigeria in areas such as health, education and employment. Africa, which has the fastest growing and youngest population in the world, is under increasing pressure from international governments to improve its prospects for citizens. The film industry is being highlighted as one of the Nigeria's booming sectors, and one that has the potential to bring vital funds to the country that will aid its development. Not only will the project create a large number of jobs, but the income generated by the film city will go towards the creation of new state of the art health centers and live-in treatment clinics for those getting over addiction and other health-related conditions. Nigeria has recorded a steep rise in the number of young people battling some form of drug addiction in recent years; earlier this year it was reported that drastic action needed to be taken to help vulnerable people rehabilitate back into society before their conditions lead to anti-social behaviour. Projects such as the film city, and partnerships with countries like India, will help to bring vital funds to tackle these problems, as well as giving Nigeria’s youth better prospects for both employment and entertainment.


 International investment in entertainment
 In addition to Nigeria’s project with India, the World Bank has also recognized an international potential and appeal in Nigeria’s film industry. It is therefore helping the Nigerian government in creating the ‘Growth and Employment in States’ project. This project will provide finance and support to the country’s entertainment industry and – according to the World Bank – this could create up to one million jobs in the country’s film industry if managed properly. Roberts Orya, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) said: “The Nigerian film industry has stunned the global movie world through its innovation, imaginativeness and prolific performance.” Orya’s sentiments are backed up by figures; the industry has brought in revenues of between $300 million and £800 million in the past few years alone. Although its income is not yet on the same level as that of Hollywood or Bollywood, the international film industry recognizes that it could well have the potential to match these global heavyweights in future years.

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Wanda Cinema Line Becomes IMAX's Largest International Exhibition Partner

25 Jul 2013 00:04 Africa/Lagos


IMAX, Wanda And AMC Theatres Significantly Expand Worldwide Partnership Deals with Wanda and AMC Include Minimum of 40 and up to 120 New IMAX® Theatres Across China and U.S. 

Wanda and AMC Extend IMAX Lease Terms 


NEW YORK and BEIJING, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX; TSX:IMX) and Wanda Cinema Line Corporation, Asia's largest cinema owner, today announced an amendment to the parties' original 2011 joint revenue share agreement with the addition of a minimum of 40 and up to 120 new IMAX® theatres to be located throughout China. The deal also extends Wanda's lease terms for all new theatres to 12 years from 10 years and brings Wanda's total IMAX commitment in China to up to 210 theaters, positioning Wanda Cinema Line as IMAX's largest international exhibition partner.


(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111107/MM01969LOGO)


In addition, IMAX and AMC Theatres, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wanda Group, signed an agreement to extend AMC's lease terms for all new and existing theatres to 13 years from 10 years and install a minimum of five and up to 10 new IMAX theatres in the U.S. Today's agreement brings AMC's total IMAX commitment to up to 152 theatres, making them the largest IMAX exhibition partner in North America.


"We have developed great partnerships with Wanda and AMC during the last decade and we're excited that the combination of two of our strongest partners has allowed us to advance our relationships to the next level," said IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond. "The Wanda and AMC IMAX network continues to flourish and today's agreement underscores their ongoing confidence in IMAX to strengthen their businesses by delivering to audiences the industry's best cinematic experience.
 

" Wanda Cinema Line was one of IMAX's first exhibition partners in China, opening a theatre in Dongguan in 2007. Building on the success of its existing IMAX theatres, the parties signed a 75-theatre joint venture agreement in 2011 that represented IMAX's first full revenue-sharing deal in China. In 2012, Wanda Group acquired AMC Theatres, IMAX's first and largest North American commercial exhibition partner, creating the world's largest cinema owner as well as the largest operator of IMAX theatres.


"Our IMAX theatres have been showing strong performance while Wanda Cinema Line is constantly developing. We're delighted to build on our successful partnership that continues to differentiate our cineplex by offering a premium entertainment experience," said Jerry Ye, Vice President of Wanda Cultural Group, a subsidiary of Wanda Group. "Week after week, AMC guests are choosing to see their Hollywood blockbusters in an IMAX auditorium," said Gerry Lopez, CEO and President of AMC. "As AMC continues to deliver the premiere experience in moviegoing, expanding our partnership with IMAX fits in perfectly with our strategy to provide the best options to even more of our guests."


"Wanda and AMC are two of the best IMAX theatre operators in the world," said Gelfond.
"Their commitment to quality, innovation and building the IMAX brand means that we're not just adding more theatres, we're delivering IMAX audiences top-notch theatres with strong operations that help to differentiate The IMAX Experience®."


 Under the terms of the agreement with Wanda Cinema Line, 80 of the potential 120 IMAX theatres are predicated on the successful development of IMAX's next-generation laser projection system. Upon Wanda Cinema Line's commitment to the 80 additional IMAX theatres, the lease terms for all Wanda IMAX theatres – including their existing theatres – will convert to 12 years. In addition, they may elect to install IMAX's laser projection in a portion of all Wanda IMAX theatres, making them the first exhibitor to bring IMAX's groundbreaking laser technology to Asia. With today's agreement, there are now up to 381 IMAX theatres open or contracted to open in China.

 

About Wanda Cinemas
Wanda Cinemas, the top-ranked exhibitor in Asia, owns 119 modern, high-end chain movie theatres and over 1,100 projection screens, and has maintained a stable lead in market share in China, with a total gain of 1.57 billion Yuan in the first half of 2013, a 30.83% increase in comparison to 1.20 billion Yuan in the first half of 2012. Wanda Cinemas aims to build core competitive strength of a high-end movie theatre chain service brand. "Chain operation capacity, innovative marketing capacity and service brand capacity" have become the three fundamental elements that underline the core competitiveness of Wanda Cinemas. It is planned to open 140 cinemas by 2013 which are estimated to have 1,220 screens, and generate annual revenue of 3.2 billion Yuan accounting for more than 15% of total market share nationwide, becoming one of the top-ranking cinemas in the world.


About AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres delivers distinctive and affordable movie-going experiences in 342 theatres with 4,941 screens primarily in the United States. The company operates 25 of the 50 highest grossing theatres in the country, including four of the top five. AMC has propelled industry innovation and continues today by delivering premium sight and sound, enhanced food and beverage and diverse content. AMCTheatres.com.


About IMAX China
IMAX China is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMAX Corporation, and is incorporated under the laws of Hong Kong. IMAX China was established by IMAX Corporation specifically to oversee the expansion of IMAX's business throughout Greater China.  

About IMAX Corporation
 IMAX, an innovator in entertainment technology, combines proprietary software, architecture and equipment to create experiences that take you beyond the edge of your seat to a world you've never imagined. Top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and, as such, IMAX's network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe.


IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of March 31, 2013, there were 738 IMAX theatres (606 commercial multiplexes, 19 commercial destinations and 113 institutions) in 53 countries.


IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience®, The IMAX Experience® and IMAX Is Believing® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).


This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on IMAX management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in IMAX's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

More details on PR Newswire.


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IMAX Gives the Best Cinematic Experience

IMAX (IMAX) has started covering theater installation costs in exchange for a share of box-office revenues at multiplexes, where IMAX screens can generate three to four times the revenue of regular screens.


"They clearly deliver the best cinematic experience," says J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Townsend Buckles.

  IMAX's fastest-growing market. "Spending a few extra renminbi on something special is within the reach of the emerging Chinese middle class," says CEO Rich Gelfond. However, IMAX faces currency fluctuations and political risk in markets like China where the government has historically favored domestic films over Western imports. "China is a big part of their story, and risks come with that," says Aravinda Galappatthige, an equity analyst at Canaccord Genuity.

“The IMAX frame, I think, is really the best way to see a movie.” – JJ Abrams, Producer, Screenwriter, Director

 . In 2012 global film was a $34.7 billion market, growing by 6% over the 2011 levels. 37% of the growth in global box office totals came from China, which recently passed Japan as the second largest global markets. This is significant insofar as IMAX is concerned, for China allows advantageous terms for IMAX compared to the typical Hollywood film export arrangement. Assuming IMAX can capture just 3.5% of the global cinema market (in 2012 the company grossed just 0.45% of the global box office, double its prior year level), using the consensus estimate for 2013 revenues, 16% TTM ROE, 21% projected franchise ROE (we think this is very conservative), we get a derived P/E for IMAX of 46 on 2013’s analyst consensus $1 of earnings per share, or a price of $46.00.

~ Some of the quotes come from  IMAX Corporation: An Investment Case
by Elliot Turner on April 5, 2013

The IMAX Experience

As soon as you walk into an IMAX theater, the difference in this format is immediately obvious -- the screen is gigantic! There are two different types:

• IMAX theaters - A standard IMAX theater has a huge rectangular screen. A typical IMAX screen is 16 meters high by 22 meters wide (approximately 52 by 72 feet), but they can be much larger. The largest IMAX screen is 30 meters (98 feet) high. Imagine standing next to an eight-story apartment building that is wider than it is tall. That's how big the screen is! It is many times larger than the screen at a normal movie theater.
• IMAX domes - An IMAX dome provides a hemispherical screen that wraps the entire theater. Domes can be up to 30 meters in diameter.

Whether you are in a theater or a dome, the effect is amazing. The screen is large enough to fill your field of vision. By doing this, the screen gives you an incredible feeling of immersion (there is nothing outside the film to distract your attention), and it also enhances the feeling of motion. In fact, the feeling of motion is so strong that it makes some people ill.
In order to fill this gigantic screen with a clear picture, IMAX films are shot and printed on huge film stock that is completely unique in the industry.

IMAX film stock is about 10 times larger than 35mm film stock.

Most films that you see in a theater come in a 35-millimeter format. The frame is 35 millimeters wide, and nearly square. But movie screens are not square -- they are very wide for their height. So the wide image is compressed into the 35-millimeter frame and expanded by the projector to fill the screen.
Some theater films come in a 70-millimeter format. This format provides roughly double the resolution, and the frame is naturally the width of the screen so there is no compression.
IMAX film is called the 15/70 film format. Each frame is 70 millimeters high and 15 perforations wide. In other words, the film size is about 10 times bigger than standard 35-millimeter film. This film size gives an IMAX movie incredible clarity, even on the huge screens in IMAX theaters.
The 15/70 film size makes an IMAX projector a truly unique device. If you have read How Movie Projectors Work, you understand the basic mechanism of a 35mm projector:

• The film feeds in from the top of the projector.
• A claw or sprocket arrangement advances the film one frame and holds it steady in front of the light.
• A shutter opens and lets light shine through the film and lens onto the screen for a fraction of a second.
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In an IMAX projector, the film is so heavy and large that a projector cannot use a claw to move it, and it is hard to hold such a big film frame perfectly flat with respect to the lens. Therefore, an IMAX projector is completely different from a normal projector:

• The film moves through it horizontally rather than vertically.
• A vacuum system sucks each image onto a piece of glass in front of the lens so that the image is oriented perfectly in front of the lens.
• The shutter opens for a longer period of time than on a normal projector in order to let more light through. The bulb for the projector is a 15,000-watt, water-cooled xenon unit.
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All of this advanced technology means that an IMAX projector weighs over 2 tons (1,800 kilograms) -- the equivalent of a small car! That's what it takes to get such a bright, clear image onto such a tremendous screen.
 
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