The Nation Newspaper

Category: Industry

  • ‘Poor power supply affecting productivity’

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said poor power supply is affecting businesses, resulting in reduced competitiveness of finished products.

    Speaking with reporters in Lagos, LCCI President, Goddie Ibru said: “The situation has deteriorated. The development impacted negatively on investment in the first quarter with increased expenditure on diesel and petrol by enterprises. This also comes with declining productivity and competitiveness. Unfortunately, no official explanation has been given for the dwindling performance in power supply.”

    He also said the credit situation has not improved, adding that lending rates were over 20 per cent in the first quarter.

    “The credit challenge was identified as the factor with the biggest negative impact on business confidence.  We reiterate our call for fiscal and monetary authorities to work together to ease the credit conditions, especially for the small and medium scale enterprises, and more importantly, domestic businesses. This is critical as well to stem the gradual crowding out of domestic entrepreneurs by foreign investors.

    He said many small and medium scale enterprises still have serious challenges in accessing credit, even at high interest rate. The tight credit situation is a major inhibiting factor to the capacity of domestic enterprises to take advantage of the robust Nigerian market,” Ibru added.

    Ibru said poor access to credit by indigenous entrepreneurs is the main reason foreign investors are gradually taking over businesses in the country.

    On insecurity, he said the situation has deteriorated and has impacted on investment risk and worsened the nation’s perception and image at the global level.

    “Access to markets in the troubled parts of the country has reduced for many enterprises, and this is already affecting sales and profitability. Also, many enterprises have re-located with the inherent challenges,” Ibru said.

    He said the cost at which the government is borrowing is too high and creating distortions in the market, adding that private sector is being crowded out when investment in treasury bills and government bonds are more attractive than putting money in fixed deposits.

    “There is an urgent need therefore to moderate the growth of domestic debts and free resources for investors in the economy. There should be full compliance with the provisions of the fiscal responsibility Act with regard to debt management,” he said.

    He said borrowing should be on concessional terms with low interest rate and with a reasonable long amortisation period subject to the approval of the appropriate legislative body where necessary.

    He said the government should ensure that the level of public debt as a proportion of the national income is held at a sustainable level as prescribed by the National Assembly on the advice of the minister.

    He said government’s borrowing is also creating liquidity problems in the financial system and crowding out the private sector in the market.

    “The government is borrowing at a high cost of between 14 and 66 per cent, which is one of the highest globally,” Ibru said.

     

  • RMRDC urges Fed Govt on exploitation of solid minerals

    The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) has called on the Federal Government to be more resolute on exploitation of solid mineral resources, as no nation can boast of sustainable development if the economy is import-dependent.

    Speaking at a workshop on entrepreneurship training for mineral raw materials exploitation and development in the Northwest in Sokoto, the  Director-General, RMRDC, Prof. Peter Onwualu, said the volatile nature of the oil market has made it imperative for the country to diversify its mono-product economy.

    He said mineral resources form a basis for the industrial development and prosperity of any nation, adding that more priority should be given to the exploitation of solid minerals by encouraging private sector’s participation.

    According to him, to ensure that optimal benefits are obtained from the mineral resources, steps have to be taken to ensure continual development of these resources for industrial development.

    “Time has come for us to be more pragmatic on the issue of exploitation of our mineral resources as no nation can boast of sustainable development if the economy is absolutely import dependent. “

     

     

     

  • UNIDO unveils N31.8b year budget for Nigeria, others

    THE United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) will spend $200 million (about N31.8 billion) to industrialise Nigeria and other African countries over the next six years, its Director-General,  Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, has said.

    A summit speaking out in Abuja, Yumkella said since 2008, the organisation has spent $100 million (about N15.9 billion) on the industrial sectors in Africa, adding that another $200 million (N31.8 billion) is in the pipeline.

    He said the organisation is working with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and the private sector to implement rice husk fuel plant project in Ebonyi, a $820,000 shoe factory in Delta State and mini-hydro power stations, among other projects across the country.

    He said the money would be spent on some of the organisation’s industrial projects, such as energy,tradecapacity building,  pharmaceutical manufacturing and the Accelerated Agribusiness and Agro-industries Development Initiative (ADI)

    Yemekella said: “There has been a significant increase in the number, types and quality of programmes that we have delivered in Africa. All of these activities fit within the overall framework for the Accelerated Industrial Development of Africa (AIDA), formulated by the African Union Commission with UNIDO’s assistance, and endorsed at the 2008 Summit. We have worked with various commissioners to consolidate the economic pillars of AU’s Mandate.

    “We supported the AU to institutionalise the Conference of African Ministers of Industry (CAMI). The Secretariats of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and the governments of Egypt, South Africa and Algeria, provided significant political leadership and technical support to ensure that CAMI becomes a viable organ of the AU,” he added.

    He said the goal of the ADI is to have an agriculture sector in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that are expected to join the highly productive and profitable agricultural value chains by the year, 2020.

    Yumkella blamed the crisis in the power sector on inconsistent policy by previous administrations.

    He described government’s attitude to power problem as ad-hoc, without clear-cut strategy on how to provide lasting solutions to the problem.

    “When power supply goes off, we get the generator. We never sat down to ask where we want the nation to be in the next 20 to 25 years, how fast we want it to grow, how much jobs we want to create and what sectors of the economy we need to develop.

    “Instead of putting the generators on, you would have built the hydropower plant since Nigeria has a lot of water resources,” he said.

    He regretted that most hydropower projects embarked upon by the country were abandoned, while funds allocated for the projects were not accounted for.

    “We surveyed the water basins and started some hydro projects, they were never completed. Some were about 90 per cent completed, but were never turned on. Those dams could be used for irrigation and water supply in cities. So, you have to link energy access with the ambition of Governors to transform their states. We also need to convince the politicians that energy transformation is not a quick fix. It is a long-term strategy of 20 to 30 years,” he added.

     

  • Why we are successful, by DHL MD

    Managing Director ,DHL Express,  Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr Charles Brewer, has said the company has been able to record success as a result of its commitment and their unrelent efforts to satisfied their customers.

    He said despite the various challenges, the firm has recorded successes in the delivery and transporting of strange request by the clients.

    According to him, the increase in requests to transport various endangered animals was particularly noteworthy.

    “For instance, a highlight in 2012 was moving three endangered Black Rhinos from the UK to the Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania. The 10-hour journey from Manston, UK airport to Tanzania included a refuelling stop in Italy and took place aboard a specially outfitted Boeing 757. Special accommodation included rhino-sized life-saving devices and temperature controlled conditions in the cabin, and the transport team included two rhino keepers, two aircraft engineers and a specialist veterinarian.

    “It’s very special that we can use our core capability of logistics to support such valuable conservation efforts,” says Brewer.

  • Lafarge votes 450m euro for building cities, products

    Lafarge WAPCO is investing 450 million euro  in the development of value-added products, construction systems, solutions and services to meet some of the challenges of urbanisation.

    In a statement, the company said its plan  to contribute to building better cities, would be supported by innovation in line with its 2012 to 2015 plan.

    It said by 2050, about 70 per cent of the world’s population, estimated at nine billion people, would be living in towns and cities, compared to over 50 per cent today.

    “ Urbanisation on such a scale will be a challenge and we will do everything we can to reduce the challenges. This will be done most especially in countries where the group is strongly established,” the statement said.

    Addressing five main challenges,  the group noted that its ambition to contribute to building better cities, includes solutions contributing to more housing in cities; to address the issue of housing for all, including affordable housing; more compact cities, with the construction of vertical buildings which help reduce urban sprawl.

    Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc had, against the backdrop of speculations from market watchers, that the company may shut down its plants following alleged glut of cement in the country recently said that it remains in operation and has no intention of shutting down its plants.

     

     

     

  • Akpabio seeks to make Akwa Ibom fishing hub

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio has sought the support of the Nigerian Export Pro-Council (NEPC) in making the state a fishing hub. He wants the council to partner the state in making it a fish exporter.

    Akpabio spoke when the Chairman, NEPC Governing Board, Mrs. Grace Clark visited him in Uyo, the state capital. He said he had directed the Commissioner for Industry to work with the council on a major programme for a fish revolution in the state.

    The state, he said had an international airport to support agricultural produce, which could be exported from there to other parts of the world, adding that with the utilisation of the airport, agricultural produce would exported in real time.

    Akpabio said: ‘’I want to thank you for what you have done in the export sector- for promoting exports. I thank you for identifying areas of comparative advantage that my state seems to enjoy in the export sector. I will work with you to create employment opportunities.

    ‘’We have developed infrastructure that will support the industrial revolution that is expected in the state. We need to develop infrastructure to support industries that will generate products for exports. We believe we can generate employment and revenue for every sector in Nigeria. That is why the Federal Government is cooperating with us to open a deep seaport at Ibaka’’.

    Replying, Mrs. Clark said the council would soon begin the training of craftsmen in raffia abound in the state. empower women which and also to generate more revenue for the state.

    In other development, Akpabio has urged the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority in Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to maximise the potentials of hydro-carbon to diversify the economy.

    Speaking when the authority’s Chairman, Dr. Chris Asoluka and Managing Director, Mr. Victor Alabo, visited him in Uyo, Akpabio said there was need to diversify the nation’s monolithic economy.

    He said: “Akwa Ibom is successful today because I was angry in transforming the state. So, you must do like wise by getting angry in order to turn a hydro-carbon economy to a successful economy by setting a standard and be committed in the oil and gas sector.

    “I believe development must be sited everywhere in the country and not based on ethnic/tribal or political considerations but rather let us site industries where the economic scales are sighted and do things right to fix the country”.

    Replying, Asoluka said the authority would do more for the country through the oil and gas sector.

  • Embrace corporate governance, LCCI tells members

    The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called on its members to consistently uphold high ethical standards, integrity and good corporate governance in business practice.

    Its President, Mr Goodie Ibru, who spoke at the award of certificates to 79 new members, said the Chamber was committed to those.

    He said values, adding that since inception, no member of the Chamber had been involved in any unscrupulous business.

    The LCCI chief urged members to pay adequate attention to the integrity of their business transactions and practices.

    He emphasised the code of business ethics to which members subscribe to and warned that a breach of the tradition of integrity would be viewed seriously and be visited with appropriate sanctions.

    “The Lagos Chamber has gone a long way to build its present image and credibility through the vision, selfless services and integrity of its illustrious founding fathers and their worthy successors. It therefore behoves us as inheritors of this glorious and enduring legacy, to keep the flag flying at all times,” Ibru said.

    He appealed to the new members to assist in sustaining the Chamber’s high-level services through prompt payment of their subscription and levies.

    Vice President of the Chamber and Chairman of the Membership and Welfare Committee, Dr. Wole Ogunpehin, disclosed that since its inception in 1888, the chamber had been very selective and careful in its membership admission process, in order to preserve its enviable image.

    He called for high quality representation of member-companies at meetings and other activities of the Chamber.

  • Cocoa producers target 500,000t

    THE Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) will shore-up its volume of production from 250,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes under the second phase of the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, its National President, Mr Sayina Riman has said.

    Speaking with reporters in Lagos, Riman said the cocoa sector would produce 500,000 tonnes of cocoa due to the new hybrid cocoa varieties recently released by Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN).

    He said the new varieties would start bearing fruits after two years and that it would have optimum yield after three years.

    Riman also the association will establish a credible and reliable database of the activities of cocoa stakeholders.

    “Cocoa Association of Nigeria is working hard to establish a credible and reliable database of all cocoa stakeholders across the value chain.

    “We are already working on capturing data from the grassroots; that is one of the major aspects we are working on right now that is going to be a transforming one for the agricultural sector.

    “Why we have not put all our matters on the net is because we are coming with a model that is scientifically proven. That will definitely be what will be sustainable in the industry.

    “We are going to capture from producers; who I call the farmers, the middlemen within the trade sector and the merchants who are the bigger traders.

    “We are going to warehouses and collateral agents; we are going to exporters; we are going to researchers; we will go to importers of Nigerian cocoa and most importantly, we are going into processing,” he said.

    Riman said with the agenda, the Nigerian cocoa sector would revive its position as the largest cocoa producing country, as it was in the recent past.

    He said the country had lost its place to Cote d’Ivoire in global cocoa production and now occupies the fourth position.

  • MAN: multiple tax, epileptic power killing real sector

    Local manufacturers arefinding it difficult to reach their optimal level because of multiple taxation and irregular power supply, their umbrella body has said.

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) said the local manufacturers could not compete with their foreign counterpart until those problems were addressed.

    MAN Chairman in Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, Elder Jackson Iniobong said poor and high cost of power supply and multiple taxation were having negative effects on local manufacturers.

    He said: “For us to be able to manufacture and compete with our foreign counterparts, we must work on our power problems, because it is really getting expensive to produce due to the power component, since virtually everything depends on power.

    “Again, source of capital is another issue because we don’t have much access to long term capital, which is what keeps manufacturing industries on as the financial system only favours trade than manufacturing. The local content policy is a good one as it will help local industries to grow,” he said.

    On the patronage of made-in Nigeria products, he said:” I am aware that the Federal Government is doing a lot by way of advocacy so that locally made products will be patronised”

    “You know the individual consumers have their preferences but we are looking more for public sector consumers, because government or the public sector is the greatest consumers of any such product anywhere in the world”, he added.

    In Nigeria the bulk of the money is in the public sector so if the public sector doesn’t patronize what we produce then you can be sure that you are going to have some difficulties because the essence of production is for consumption, but if you produce and you are not sure of who is going to patronize or consume it then you have a problem in your hands because you could have your warehouse filled with goods that may not get to the consumers. We are more concerned that the government at the local level is not taking up the fight. They don’t seem to show much interest with regards to patronizing locally made products. We still have a lot of importation by government while local manufacturers are looking for who to sell their goods to.

    “The Federal Government needs to come up with a compulsory policy to make sure that state governments patronize made in Nigeria products except when the production capacity is not available.

    “We still have a long way to go as regards that. Government needs to create more awareness and we also (in the manufacturing sector) are doing a whole lot by persuading government to patronize our goods and we have been having meetings with government at the federal level”.

    The National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called on the Federal Government to monitor unrecorded trading between Nigeria and its neighbours.

    Its Director-General, Dr John Osemede, said there were so many unrecorded businesses going on at the borders that the nation is not officially aware of.

    He added that such unrecorded businesses cause a shortfall in annual revenue due to the country.

    He listed some of businesses to include smuggled items, some of which are on the Import and Export Prohibition List of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).

    Isemede said monitoring of the businesses would enable the government to make proper account of the trading and increase the capacity for export promotion through entrepreneurship.

    “There are about one million Nigerians living and trading around the major borders in Nigeria and doing businesses. The Federal Government needs to have a record of the businesses because some of them are illegal businesses,” he said.

    He advised the government to make solid minerals an alternative revenue source to reduce the reliance on oil.

    He added that the solid minerals sector has the potential of become a major alternative revenue source that could rescue the government from the current economic challenges.

    He said the sector contributed to the country’s foreign exchange earnings between the 60s and 80s and urged the government to pay the desired attention to it.

    “The revenue Nigeria will derive from solid minerals will compete favourably with what it is currently obtaining from petroleum, if the sector is fully developed.

    “Government, in principle, has identified seven critical solid minerals that will attract its attention, but unfortunately, budgetary allocation to the ministry is always going down. The Mineral Development Fund, which has been enshrined in the Minerals and Mining Act, has not been established. Besides, critical infrastructure to mining sites is not developed.

    “Solid minerals need sustainable investment for a period of time to be fully developed. It took South Africa about 15 years of steady investment. India’s potential was realised after years of steady investment,” he said.

    Isemede said NACCIMA would support the government on the exportation drive.

    According to him, for you to talk about export, you need to change the orientation of Nigerians from import-based to export-based.

    “We import many things into the county, including matches, pens, and fruit drinks. These are things we can produce here and even sell to other countries. “We need to get our industries working; for the textile industries to work, we need to go back to agriculture.

    “We need to plant wool and that will take some time; it is not magical. “The government has begun to bail out many moribund industries by pumping money into them. All these will soon yield results,” he said.

  • Cashew production hits 20,000 tonnes

    The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has said the yearly production of cashew in the country has hit 120,000 tonnes.

    The group also reiterated the need to properly fund the cashew industry to ensure value addition and increased exportation.

    In a statement signed by the National Secretary of the association, Mr Sotonye Anga, it said: “Cashew in Nigeria provides livelihood for over 300,000 families in the country, with annual production put at 120,000 tonnes.

    “Unlocking financing to the cashew sector means creating more jobs for our people, reducing poverty and ensuring increased exports of cashew and will encourage value addition to raw cashew.

    “NCAN cashew financing forum is leveraging on the Nigerian cashew cluster finance scheme which was signed during the 2012 annual National cashew season flag off in Ilorin, Kwara State.”

    Anga, who is also the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the event, noted that more funds were required to grow the sector.

    He stressed that cashew traders, exporters, farmers, processors and others across the value chain, needed access to financing to be able to grow their businesses.

    “With this, traders, exporters, farmers, cashew processors and other stakeholders across the value chain will be able to access financing at a pocket friendly rate to improve their cashew businesses,” he said.