The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, Abubakar Jimoh, has said the bank has positioned itself to attract and sustain investments into the economy after realising that investments are key in economic growth.
Speaking during the 2018 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) conference, he said the lender will continue to invest in infrastructure to enhance economic development.
He spoke on the theme: “Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through Ease of Doing Business”.
Jimoh said: “It is necessary for the government and private sector to ensure infrastructure and guidelines policy for the business is streamlined with international standards to ensure that people that want to get to business, to ensure that investors are able to do their transactions, and establish their investments in a timely way”.
He said Coronation merchant bank’s major task is to work with investors as they don’t want them to lose money when they come in, adding that they have gone on a lot of roadshows – locally and internationally- to tell investors that this is what and where they need to invest their money.
On whether the Nigerian market is competitive enough for foreign investments, he asserts that every country attracts FDI.
His words: “Remember there is risk everywhere. In some economies, what investors tell you is that you need to pay premium for the risks they are taking and Nigeria has the biggest population in Africa almost 200 million, and that is a number that no investor can ignore.
“The other thing, infrastructure, that is to support is fully ready and it’s one that can be debated. Overtime infrastructure is ready. What we have now will definitely support the kind of investment the country needs. Also opportunity for investors is not at the level we are now, It’s an opportunity for investors to come in, put the infrastructure that is needed in place to ensure that we know what we are doing.”
On backwards movement in ease of doing business ranking though score increases, the CEO said he believes things are going to get better as it takes time for infrastructure and things put in place to take effect.
“l think overtime, we have seen that the efforts of government and the Central Bank of Nigeria are yielding results, so if you see in the area of transportation, the impact of railway and others will be able to take effect. People will be able to move their goods ,using the rails from the ports to the farthest part of the country. That will have impact on the cost of goods as they are able to move from one location to the other and that will help the ease of doing business ranking”,he added.
Jimoh said Coronation Merchant Bank as a group value intellectual development, developing leaders and ensuring that things are done with the global standards which is what CFA stands for, hence the need for partnership between the lender and the group.
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