The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Winners emerge in Sterling Bank’s Gunners promo

    Winners emerge in Sterling Bank’s Gunners promo

    Six winners have emerged from the first Sterling Bank Gunners Promo.

    The winners will have the privilege of an all-expenses paid trip to watch home matches involving Arsenal Football Club and other top clubs in the English Premier League at the Emirates.

    The winners, who were picked at the promo draw at  bank’s Sterling Towers’ head office in Lagos,  to watch the Arsenal versus Aston Villa match, are Olaiya Joseph Rotimi; Oduntan Femi Abimbola; Oseni Adekunle; Segun John; Tamunokubie Tamunobarao and Obi Blessing Uwachukwu.

    An excited Rotimi expressed gratitude to the bank for fulfilling its promise to them. Although he said the account was not opened for the purpose of the draw, “ but to identify with a bank supporting the darling team of millions of Nigerians”, he lauded the bank for demonstrating value and assurance that it is a strong and reliable financial institution that could be trusted.

    In all, 30 winners will emerge from five draws making it six winners per draw. The next draw will hold in the first week of January for the Arsenal-Everton match, while the third draw for the match between Arsenal and Liverpool will hold in February. The fourth and fifth draws for the Arsenal matches against Chelsea and West Brom would hold in March and April.

    Gbenga Adegoke of Retail Banking Unit at the bank said the promo was aimed at rewarding customers’ loyalty, and encourage football lovers to share in the experience.

    He said: “The promo is open to new and existing customers. They can open any of the Bank’s Sterling-Arsenal products, such as Arsenal Kick-Off, Arsenal Premium or the Current account product – Arsenal Platinum.’’

  • Access Bank donates van, others to Police

    Access Bank donates van, others to Police

    Access Bank Plc has donated Hilux Patrol Van, Bullet proof vests and Walkie-Talkies and others to the Lagos State Police Command.

    The state Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti, received the items. He praised the lender’s zeal and commitment to the maintenance of peace and security in the state.

    He noted that the items would help the police in fighting crime.

    “We are going to access a lot of prosperity for the people of Lagos State. Access Bank has shown us what partnership in progress is and we really appreciate them. I want to also use this platform to ask other banks to follow suit and support the police,” he stated.

    Head, Compliance and Internal Control, Access Bank Plc, Pattison Boleigha, said the bank remained committed to delivering world- class service embedded in speed, service and security.

    “There is no way we can achieve security which is a very important part of the Access Bank’s values without partnering with the Nigerian Police. How else can we ensure the security of our customers deposit than by supporting the Nigerian Police. We are indeed proud of our partnership with Nigeria Police Force,” he said.

    “The presentation of the Patrol vehicle and other operational items also signifies the banks desire to always remain the front runner in the safety and security consciousness in line with our business continuity strategy” he said.

  • Fidelity Bank positions SMEs for growth

    Fidelity Bank positions SMEs for growth

    Fidelity Bank Plc has reiterated its commitment to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo who spoke at the Annual SME Conference organised by the bank in Lagos, said there is social impact in banking SMEs.

    The bank chief said  banking SMEs also promotes sustainable business model for the operators and improved relationship banking. “I am not saying that there is anything wrong with banking the corporate. We are very strong in that, remember our history as a merchant bank. But if we don’t bank SMEs, how do we produce the Dangote of tomorrow?  What entrepreneurs need is entrepreneurial zeal, determination and vision. We need more potential Dangotes in this country,” he said.

    He said the bank has been recognised in various ways as the best SME bank. Okonkwo noted that the last three years, the bank has increased its focus on SMEs. He said the lender took the decision because of its economic impact.

    “We see this sector as a critical agent of economic development and transformation in Nigeria.  It is also in line with the federal government’s National Economic Development Programme (NEDP) that was launched by President Goodluck Jonathan earlier this year. No economy can ignore the SMEs,” he added.

    Managing Director, Swift Networks, Charles Anudu, said entrepreneurship is not the easiest way to make money, but is about making life convenient for people.

    He said entrepreneurs need to be patient, have will-power and committed to their goals for such objectives to be achieved.

  • ANAN urges Fed Govt on budget funding

    ANAN urges Fed Govt on budget funding

    The President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Alhaji Sakirudeen Labode has urged the Federal Government to look inwards for alternative means of funding the budget now that prices of crude oil had fallen in the international market.

    Labode made the plea at the Sixth Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPD) of the association held in Abeokuta.

    The ANAN chief said the country could no longer rely on the price of crude oil in the international market in preparing and financing its national budget adding that the product remains unpredictable.

    He advised that all tiers of government should reduce the cost of governance by cutting down on its recurrent expenditure. “Leakages and wastages in business of government should be blocked. Our national needs should be prioritised by appropriating funds to those sectors that will grow the economy like agriculture, rods, health, education, transportation and others,’’ he said.

    Labode said ANAN was last month, admitted into full membership of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in Rome, Italy.

    He said: “The IFAC Governing Council announced the admission during her November meeting held in Rome. You will recall that ANAN was made an Associate of the World Accountancy body in December, 2012.’’

    He described the MCPD as a continuous retraining programme for members of the group aimed at enhancing their service delivery to their employers and also a key requirement of IFAC.

    “It is rotated among the six geo-political zones of the country every year, affording members the opportunity to know other parts of the country,’’ Labode said.

    According to him, the theme of this year’s MCPD is ‘Trends in Professional Practice and Regulation’’, and the sub-theme are all enriching. He said the Governing Council had given approval for the opening of Outreach Campuses of the Nigerian College of Accountancy in the six-geo political zones of the country.

  • Africa’s trade value hits $110b, says AfDB

    The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has said the share of intra-African trade accounts for 11 per cent ($110 billion) of the value of total African trade.

    The Trade Finance in Africa released by the bank at the weekend, explained that given the estimated rejection rates of trade finance applications, the conservative estimate for the value of unmet demand for bank-intermediated trade finance is between $110 billion and $120 billion, significantly higher than estimated earlier figures of about $25 billion. These figures, it said, suggest that the market is significantly underserved.

    It said African banks face numerous constraints in meeting the demand for trade finance.

    It said: “The survey reveals that the main constraints are limited dollar availability (by far the dominant currency in international trade, and by extension, trade finance) and insufficient limits with confirming banks for confirming letters of credit. Other constraints include small balance sheets, which tends to make single obligor limits frequently binding. These constraints also suggest that the AfDB’s trade finance program, as well as those implemented by other international financial institutions, are needed and well suited to relaxing some of the most binding constraints.”

    It however, insisted that the outlook of banks for trade finance remains positive, with 72 per cent expecting to increase their trade finance activities in the immediate future.

    “However, banks foresee obstacles to their trade finance portfolio growth such as low US dollar liquidity, regulation compliance, slow economic growth in some markets, and the inability to assess the credit-worthiness of potential borrowers,” it said.

    Also, the AfDB Board has approved $1-billion trade finance (TF) programme to support African trade and provide financing to underserved African-based financial institutions and enterprises.

    The African lender said despite its importance, there is a great deal it never knew about the trade finance market in the continent.

    This includes the size of the market, the variations across sub-regions, the scale of financing gap, the trade finance devoted to intra-African trade, the relative importance of on-balance sheet versus off-balance sheet financing, and constraints faced by banks.

    “It is based on a unique survey of the trade finance activities performed by commercial banks in Africa in 2011 and 2012. Our survey questionnaire was sent to approximately 900 banks on the continent. We received a high response rate, resulting in a dataset that covers 276 banks across 45 countries.

    distributed across sub-regions as the average trade finance assets per bank in Northern Africa dwarfs those of the other sub-regions. The share of bank-intermediated trade finance that is devoted to intra-African trade is limited, and comprises approximately 18 per cent ($68 billion) of the total trade finance assets of African banks,” it said.

  • S&P to rate banks, regional firms

    Standard & Poor’s expects to rate a number of Nigerian banks this year and is talking to some Kenyan banks and companies about future credit ratings, its managing director for sub-Saharan Africa, Konrad Reuss said.

    He said borrowers across the continent are looking to tap international capital markets following successful bond sales by African countries. A long-awaited rating for Tanzania is not likely to be assigned any time soon.

    “More Nigerian bank ratings will be coming out later this year. We are working on a number of corporates in the region,” Reuss said.

    Borrowers in frontier markets such as Africa have turned to capital markets as aid funding dries up and monetary easing across the western world keeps interest rates low.

    A flood of new issues from sub-Saharan Africa in the past couple of years includes a recent debut dollar bond from Nigerian bank Diamond Bank, First Bank of Nigeria is holding a bond road show this week, according to Thomson Reuters service IFR.

    These bonds follow sovereign dollar debt issuance from Nigeria, which analysts say helped to familiarise investors with the West African economy. Kenya issued a well-received $2 billion bond last month, its first in international markets.

    “We are reaching out to Kenya. “On the back of a very successful sovereign bond, a benchmark has been set,”Reuss said, referring to plans to discuss ratings with local banks and corporates in the East African country.

    Tanzania, which also said it plans to launch a debut Eurobond, has not yet gained a rating. “Time and time again, the government has made announcements, time and time again those plans were delayed,” Reuss said, adding that any ratings timescale was difficult to predict “because of the many delays that we have seen so far.”

  • Defending naira hasn’t been easy, says Emefiele

    Defending naira hasn’t been easy, says Emefiele

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has listed some of the challenges it is facing defending the naira. CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said at  the Annual Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos that the naira/dollar exchange rate has been under pressure over the last couple of months.

    He said in the days leading up to last month’s Meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the interbank rate closed at N173 to the dollar, and at the Bureau De Change, it was N176 to the dollar. But, he said, the CBN managed to keep the official Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) rate at slightly above N160 to the dollar.

    In explaining the difficulties in managing exchange rate stability, the CBN boss raised a poser: “What then can a Central Bank do to react to such a situation of falling reserves and pressurised exchange rates? One course of action would be to continue to deplete the foreign exchange reserves in trying to keep the official rate at a stable level. But there are several difficulties with this option.”

    Firstly, he said regardless of its critical nature in an import-dependent country such asNigeria, the exchange rate operates like any other ‘price’ in the market.

    The dollar/naira exchange rate is simply the ‘price’ of dollars in naira. The forces of demand and supply, he said, determine its movement. “When demand rises, the price rises. When supply falls, the price also rises as well. In recent times, Nigeria has faced a perfect storm of simultaneous dwindling supply of dollars and rise in demand. Both forces have led to a rise in the price of dollars, that is, significant reduction in supply of dollars to the market, even with constant output of crude oil production,” he said.

    The other global factor, which has significantly reduced the supply of dollars in the market, is related to the end of Quantitative Easing by the U.S Federal Reserve. At the height of the programme, the Federal Reserve was supplying a total of about $85 billion into the United States (U.S) economy on a monthly basis, through asset purchases. This programme came to an end in October this year, thereby significantly reducing the supply of U.S dollars in the global economy.

    The third difficulty, which has contributed to the continuing depletion of Nigeria’s foreign reserves, and its capacity to defend the naira is that the combination of a fall in oil prices and the end of the Quantitative Easing programme by the U.S Federal Reserve have led to a depreciation of most currencies in the world against the dollar.

    Emefiele said an analysis of the year-on-year change in the exchange rate of 26 Emerging Market countries (including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Turkey, Mexico, and Nigeria) indicates that their currencies have depreciated by about 8.1 per cent on average against the dollar.

    Also, he said the current U.S-led sanctions against Russia for its alleged role in the ongoing Ukrainian crisis do not appear to be abating anytime soon. More also, current negotiations between Western powers and Iran could end in a deal that may open up Iranian oil supply lines to more parts of the global economy, a development that is likely to depress prices even further.

    He explained that it was on the basis of these analyses and realities, the CBN reached the decision that it would be sub-optimal to indefinitely continue to deplete the country’s foreign reserves in defending the naira.

    Speaking further, the CBN boss said in addition to the decision to allow some flexibility in the dollar/naira exchange rate, the bank has also taken other associated policy actions that are in line with its mandate for price and financial system stability.

    “As we know, one of the bank’s major mandates is to ensure price stability and we believe that without complementary policy actions, developments in the foreign exchange market would reverse the fragile gains we have recorded recently in our fight against inflation,” he said.

    Emefiele said the decision to tighten monetary policy is to moderate the expected inflationary pressures that may result from exchange rate pass through to domestic prices, and ensure that inflation expectations are well anchored.

    Also, the decision to raise the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) is expected to increase capital inflows into the country, which should improve accretion to reserves while the increase in Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) will reduce the amount of excess liquidity available for speculative and arbitrage activities and moderate the pressure in the foreign exchange market.

    He said the new value of the naira naturally provides a critical opportunity for entrepreneurs to take steps toward replacing costly imports with cheaper locally made goods and services.

  • ‘Foreign reserves lost $1.96b in November’

    Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown that official reserves decreased by $1.96 billion last month to $36.8 billion. The decline, analysts at FBN Capital said, could be attributed to a fall in foreign exchange inflows following the sharp decline in the price of crude oil and the exit of some offshore portfolio investors at a time when demand was little changed.

    Head, African Markets at FBN Capital, Olubunmi Ashaolu said the bi-weekly sales of foreign exchange at the CBN’s retail Dutch auction system (RDAS) declined by $700 million from the previous month to $2.29 billion

    However, this merely reflects the CBN circular excluding specific import transactions (such as electronics, finished goods and generators) from the RDAS window. Authorised dealers were thereby driven to source these transactions for their customers on the interbank market.

    At current levels, he said Nigeria’s external reserves are sufficient to provide cover for 8.2 months of merchandise imports. However, once services are included, the ratio drops to 5.6 months.

    A cursory look at the sectoral utilisation of foreign exchange in second quarter of thus year showed that the oil and gas sector accounted for 32 per cent of the total.

    This consisted largely of petroleum products, for which the import bill should have since declined sharply. As a rough guide, the spot price of Bonny Light averaged as much as $112/barrel in the quarter compared with about $70/barrel currently.

    He said: “Looking further ahead, the bill would be reduced by deregulation of the fuel price and the resulting increase in domestic refining capacity.

    “One area where notable progress has been made is the agric sector as significant investments have been made to expand domestic production of rice. In our view, the Federal Government should deepen its transformation agenda based on backward integration to reduce Nigeria’s hearty appetite for imports.”

    The CBN said the decrease was driven largely by the increased funding of the foreign exchange market in the face of intense pressure on the naira and the need to maintain stability.

    It added that the pressure on external reserves was deemed to be consistent with the seasonal annual payment of dividends to foreign investors.

  • Will N213b cash stabilise power?

    Will N213b cash stabilise power?

    In collaboration with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other stakeholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has instituted the N213 billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF). The facility will be used to settle legacy gas debts in the power sector. The financial leverage is expected to result in improved power supply, reports COLLINS NWEZE .

    For the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stable power supply is essential for its key intervention projects to succeed. But theinability of the power companies to improve electricity supply is a clog in the exercise.

    To CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, the challenge faced by power sector reforms can be linked to unattractive pricing of domestic gas and legacy debts that are inhibiting  investment in gas supply and infrastructure.

    Also, affecting positive feed back on the reforms are anomalies in the tariff regime that does not allow the true cost of supplying electricity to be known as well as difficulties across the value chain in addressing capacity issues primarily due to a shortfall in revenues.

    He admitted that aside these hitches, the power sector reform is successfully being implemented with most of the milestones fully achieved. Presently, generation and distribution in the electricity industry is being managed by the private sector while the transmission network is government owned, under a management contract.

    For him, the observed challenges are interconnected with the unexpectedly large revenue shortfalls in the industry, which needed to be fixed.  That made the CBN boss to institute the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) where N213 billion has been mapped out to settle legacy gas debts and shortfalls in revenue for operators to boost power supply.

    The CBN, he said, is collaborating with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Power and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to achieve the objective. Such feat, he said, would boost liquidity conditions in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and address hiccups that characterised the posts-privatisastion of the power sector of the economy.

    The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, said during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with stakeholders in Abuja, that the intervention was initiated to move the sector forward.

    She said: “In the last few weeks, the CBN, NERC and Federal Ministries of Petroleum as well as Power have been collaborating to develop lasting solution to the challenge of gas supply.”

    According to her, the interventions started with an increase in gas to power price to levels considered more commercial than before and at par with export parity. Gas transmission tariff for gas supplied to power was also increased to reflect commercial rates and enable private investment in infrastructure.

    The agreement was signed between the Federal Government and Generation and distribution companies, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), International Oil Companies (IOCs), and the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC), for the supply of gas in order to clear the hiccups.

     

    Debt settlement begins

    The CBN had last month, offset N36.9 billon legacy debt owed to gas suppliers by the power sector under the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) over the last few years.

    This debt settled through the CBN was part of the N213 billion intervention fund. While the N36.9 billion was disbursed to settle gas supplies, the balance will go to generation and distribution companies, to complement the revenue shortfall.

     

    The NEMSF in perspective

    According to the CBN, the NEMSF will be administered through deposit money banks and disbursed at the rate of 10 per cent per annum while the tenor shall not be more than 10 years.

    Also, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that complies with section 31 of CBN Act 2007 will serve as an intermediary between the banks and the electricity market players while the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shall reset the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) to ensure that it provides for the loan repayment including the costs of setting up and operating the NEMSF.

    The other power sector value chain players must also agree to specific service related commitments which include ensuring that gas suppliers commit to assured gas supply at higher volumes; generating companies (GENCOs) and Distribution Companies (DISCOs) must commit to utilising the funds for equipment/infrastructure acquisition, refurbishment and/or upgrade.

    The rule also include that all parties that are licensed by the NERC to operate in the electricity market should accept to be immediately bound by performance agreements signed with the relevant authorities including the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

    Specifically, all parties will also be subject to additional oversight mechanism to be developed by NERC and CBN to ensure business continuity and that all power sector players meet obligations that are critical for continued electricity supply.

     

    Bankers’ Committee speaks

    The Banker’s Committee had at its August meeting in Lagos agreed that leaving the gas supplying firms bugged down with the debt makes nonsense of huge funding already committed to the power projects. Local banks were estimated to have committed N320 billion out of the N400 billion realised from sale of PHCN assets by the Federal Government

    The Nation findings showed that many of the banks that raised huge capital to fund power projects are already counting loses because of poor cash flow arising from gas shortage. The lenders are now being more cautious in lending to power, until the gas challenge is resolved. A quick resolution is expected to revive the attractiveness of the subsector to the lenders and create room for fresh loans and improved profitability.

    The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Jibril Aku said the Committee resolved to  key into the legacy debt  settlement scheme that would enhance gas supply and boost power supply in the country. Aku said the banks will recover the fund from the MYTO deductions.

    He said the Bankers’ Committee is willing to support an initiative with government, where a SPV will be set up to provide loans to clear that debt and overtime, the loan will be recovered through MYTO tariff deduction. The CBN will play a key role in assisting the banks to do that.

    The Ecobank chief said the whole essence of the power transformation is to achieve efficiency and ability to improve power supply, which have been hindered by gas shortage. “Obviously, gas coming into the power stations would affect the revenue. Many of the operators have not raised their production capacity because of shortage of gas,” he said.

    He said the gas companies have always be agitating that this debt be paid, otherwise, they will not produce and will begin to accumulate new debts.

    He said the committee believes that most of the problems of gas-to- power would be resolved and Nigeria will begin to see a generating company that is inspired to increase the power generation.

    Already, the CBN has engaged the services of FBN Capital (Transaction Advisor), Meristem Securities (Fund Manager) and Detail Solicitors and Stream Sowers & Kohn (SSK) as legal team for the transactions.

     

    What the banks are doing

    Global infrastructure giant General Electric and Standard Bank recently had a $350 million infrastructure financing agreement for Africa. In a statement, the bank said the partnership seeks to provide affordable access to power infrastructure to augment traditional large scale grid capacity development. The partnership will target Nigeria, Angola, Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana. Others are Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Financing activity will center on project finance, equipment finance, trade finance and advisory.

    Speaking at a ceremony to announce the partnership, President and CEO of GE Africa Jay Ireland said the partnership comes at the right time when there are concerted efforts to boost access to energy across the continent. He said partnerships of this nature would certainly support efforts by respective governments in finding captive power solutions to meet the growing demand for alternative fuels.

    Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Mrs. Sola David-Borha said the bank was committed to partnerships of this nature that help energize the sector. She said the power challenges identified in the focus countries for this partnership were opportunities for growth through sustainable investment. She also disclosed that through the partnership, financing will also be available for off-grid solutions that rely on cleaner fuels such as biomass and biogas across Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Likewise, the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) said it has so far extended $700 million, about N113 billion, in funding to different investors towards the acquisition of power assets in Nigeria’s recently privatised power sector. The bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Phillips Oduoza said: “It is a growth sector we are playing very big” said Oduoza.

    Another lender, Ecobank Nigeria said it will invest $25 billion in five years to help solve Nigeria’s power sector crisis. Ecobank Country Head, Power & Energy, Olufunke Jones said the investment is in line with its policy to support the growth and development of the power sector in Nigeria.

    She said it has played a major role on the buy-side of the power sector privatisation exercise by providing financial advisory services, lead arranger role,  acquisitioning financing and guarantees to DISCOS, GENCOS and National Integrated Power Plants (NIPP).

    She said: “Nigeria has one of the largest gaps between demand and supply for electricity. To bridge this gap the country requires a combination of favorable government policies, private sector participation and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as transparency and persistent monitoring that will guarantee an improved business environment”.

    Zenith Bank Plc said it expects to increase loans to the privatised power companies. The lender said loans to the power sector may rise to 10 per cent of the bank’s loan book by year-end, up from 4.3 per cent in the third quarter and 1.3 per cent at the end of June, last year. The value of Zenith Bank’s loans to power companies was about N40 billion after the handovers.

    Zenith Bank gave loans to companies including Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company both in Lagos State. “As we review the companies and we see viable propositions, yes we will” expand loans to the industry, the bank said.

    Nigeria, in its development objective to rank amongst the top 20 economies of the world by the year 2020, targets an ambitious 40,000 Megawatts (Mw) of electricity generation, which represents more than half of the current installed capacity on the African continent.

    With a population surpassing over 170 million, its current maximum electricity generation capacity – approximately 4,500 Mw – is inadequate to meet demand estimated at 10,000 Mw. Achieving this target, analysts said, depends on how successful the NEMSF project turns out based on supports from banks and other stakeholders.

  • Infrastructure deficit threatens Africa

    Infrastructure deficit threatens Africa

    Economist and former Chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Jim O’Neill, has said Africa needs to bridge the infrastructure investment deficit in the continent.

    He spoke during the African Finance Corporation (AFC) conference on infrastructure held in Lagos.

    O’Neill said infrastructure in general has been estimated to have the potential to add an average of two per cent to Africa’s economic growth rate over the next decade as investment is brought to bear to bridge the deficit.

    He said Africa’s future depends on its policy makers doing the right thing. “That is working to create better governance, reducing crime, fighting corruption and delivering improved infrastructure. Infrastructure development is both a defining challenge and a standout investment opportunity for Africa and investors around the world,” he said.

    He said Nigeria is growing at seven per cent despite poor access to power; decent power could boost economic growth to 10 to 12 per cent adding that there is no reason why the country should not become one of the G20.

    The conference attracted more than 500 leading thinkers from government, academia, business and finance, fuelled energetic debate on both the opportunities and the challenges of the African infrastructure landscape.