A presentation by the Managing Director of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), Mr Umana Okon Umana, at the ongoing “Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit” in Washington, DC, United States, has stimulated strong interest in the incentives offered to investors in Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones.
Speaking as a member of the panel discussion on: Investing in Africa, Umana informed the conference that investors in Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones enjoy by law, freedom from all forms of taxation, the right to repatriate profit, dividends and capital, in addition to a host of other incentives.
Another member of the three-man panel, Kenneth Allen, an American who is the founder and managing director of Azurest Partners, United States, said the incentive regime in Nigeria’s oil and gas free zones are wonderful. “What Nigeria has done is extremely helpful,” he said.
Allen and his co-panelist, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Forbes Group Holdings of South Africa, Andrew Darfoor, repeatedly referred to the bouquet of incentives offered to investors in the nation’s oil and gas free zones as the kind of policy direction needed to create the right business environment and attract investment capital to Africa in the face of global competition for foreign direct investment (FDI).
One of the sub-themes the panel discussion was: Opportunities, Return on Foreign Investment in Africa, and Cross Border Partnerships.
Addressing the issue, Umana said: “The story of Africa is changing. We are building strong institutions, and ensuring more coherence in policy execution by government agencies. Umana emphasised the crucial role of government in bringing about and cementing change in different African countries.
The panel discussion also examined the question of availability of reliable data to support strategic investment decisions, and trends in investment policies and trade laws.