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Tag: Nigeria’s economy

  • ‘Nuclear energy will boost Nigeria’s economy’

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Nigeria’s economy will develop on completion of its nuclear energy power plant, which will provide at least 4,000 megawatts (Mw) in the country.

    The firm, based in United States, in a study said Nuclear Energy Plant (NPP), which will be located in the eastern and other parts of Nigeria, will provide direct and indirect economic benefits to the citizens.

    It said opportunities abound in the areas of manufacturing of materials such as pumps, valves, pipes, tubes, insulating machines, pressure vessels, pressurizers, heat exchangers and others, adding that the idea will boost the economy.

    He said activities of suppliers of concrete and steel materials will be boosted, as they would create jobs for more people.

    It said: Nuclear Energy Plant will boost the activities of manufacturers of goods by acceding power for production. The construction of nuclear energy plant in India and Czech Republic has created jobs for the countries and Nigeria would not be an exception. Also, tax proceeds from the plant are used to build schools and provide other developmental projects in those countries, and Nigeria is expected to derived similar benefits.

    The firm said that nuclear energy plants in Czech Republic provides $6million for the economy annually to develop infrastructure in the country, stressing that Nigeria will get more revenue, in the vent that the plants are built by 2025.

    ‘’ Construction of nuclear energy plants  provides huge benefits to people  in  countries, where  they are built and this is  (added value) to those economies. Investing in nuclear projects stimulates cash flows to the regional and national budget that often surpass direct investments by a significant margin. The actual amount of investment depends directly on technologies involved. Nigeria will record similar gains, considering its population of over 170million people. ‘It added.

  • ERGP keeping Nigeria’s economy on track, says minister

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma has said the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), is improving state of the economy.

    In a statement, Udoma, who was speaking at the presentation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Regional Economic Outlook Report for Sub-Africa, said actions taken since the launch of the plan in early 2017 have helped to build buffers and appropriate measures to safeguard the economy from any external shocks.

    He recalled that following the collapse of crude oil prices from 2014, which culminated in the country’s economy sliding into recession in 2016, government developed a robust Medium-Term Plan – the ERGP, which was launched in early 2017, which focuses on five strategic areas namely macroeconomic stability, economic diversification and growth drivers, competitiveness, social inclusion and jobs, as well as governance and other enablers.

    The minister said the positive trends recorded in the country’s economic indicators since the launch of the ERGP indicate that the plan is working.

    He pointed out that the implementation of the various initiatives in the Plan resulted in moving the country’s economy out of recession to a positive growth path. “Our GDP grew from -1.6 per cent in 2016 to 1.5 per cent by the second quarter of this year, with the non-oil sector growing at 2.05 per cent – the highest growth in the sector since the fourth quarter of 2015”.

    He was confident that the country’s growth projection of 2.1 per cent by the end of the year will be realized. Noting that the IMF’s projection for Nigeria is 1.9 per cent this year, slightly lower than Nigeria’s projection, the Minister however pointed out that given Nigeria’s growth for 2017 which was only 0.8 per cent, even if Nigeria achieves the IMF projection of 1.9 per cent this year, it is a significant improvement on the 2017 numbers. The direction of movement in Nigeria is clearly very positive.

     

    “As you have seen, these actions that we have taken have helped us to build buffers and appropriate measures to safeguard us from any external shocks,” he stressed.

     

    Referring to the recent IMF Report which indicated that one of the downside risks to growth prospects in the sub-region is security, the Minister said the Buhari Administration had long listed tackling security as one of its three policy thrusts.

     

     

     

  • Bafarawa pays homage to Afenifere leaders

    …vows to transform Nigeria

     

     

    A Presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Attahiru Bafarawa Monday visited the leaders of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere in Akure, Ondo state capital.

    The former Sokoto State Governor vowed to overhaul the ailing Nigeria’s economy, if voted into power.

    Read Also:Bafarawa: I left N13bn in Sokoto State Government’s treasury

    According to him, Nigeria economic policies would be diversified in such a way that alternative sources of driving the economy shall be explored.

    The former governor said the Nigeria’s economy had been traumatised, stressing that it was only PDP that could correct the mistakes made by the ruling APC’s administration.

    He said, “When we come in power we are going to take our time to do the damage control, all our ideas is to correct where mistake had been done, we are not going to winch out anybody.

    “We shall de-emphasize over dependence on oil and look towards, agriculture, tourism, mining and manufacturing as potential drivers of our economy”.

    On restructuring, Bafarawa promised to implement the 2014 national conference report saying “when we are talking on restructuring we are talking about development”.

    “We are going to laisse with the National Assembly and the judiciary to work on the outcome of past national conference and discourse, with a view to restructuring our nation to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the citizenry.

    “We shall strength the principles of separation of power and ensuring strict adherence to the rule of law,” he said.

    The former Sokoto state governor also promised to create enabling environment for efficient and sustained security within the shortest time if voted into power.

    Bafarawa however called on Nigerians to join in his vision towards rescuing Nigeria and placing her on a robust path of development.

  • LCCI: Nigeria’s economy still in doldrums

    THE Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI)  has said the economy is still in the doldrums.

    It said the latest report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing decline in the performance of the economy in the second quarter (Q2) of this year was a confirmation of the true state of the economy.

    LCCI Director-General Muda Yusuf, said with a population growth of three per cent and gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.5 per cent, there is a reason to worry about the wider implications of the  increasing level of poverty across the country.

    He said the positive performance of the service sector underscored its critical importance and prospects to the economy, stating that it contributed 54.64 per cent of GDP and 44.67per cent of total employment, besides being largely driven by indigenous players.

    He however lamented the poor performance of the manufacturing and agric sectors, despite the attention given to the agric sector by both the monetary and fiscal authorities. Yusuf said the decline in performance of the agricultural sector from three per cent in Q1 2018 to 1.19 per cent in Q2 could be attributed to recent security challenges, which affected many farming communities across the country.

    He said access to credit in the sector  is low due largely to the nature of risk inherent in the sector.

    With regards to manufacturing, Yusuf said: “The real sector is still grappling with serious productivity challenges arising from the constraint of infrastructure, particularly power and logistics. It is imperative, therefore, that there should be greater investment and policy focus on improving logistics and enhancing the power sector.”

    He said the manufacturing sector also slowed from 3.39 per cent in Q1  to 0.68 per cent in Q2 because of infrastructure deficit, logistic challenges, including the Apapa gridlock, access and cost of credit, weak purchasing power and multiple taxation.

    Recognising the huge contribution of the oil sector that accounts for over 87.91 per cent of foreign exchange (forex) earnings,  he said the dip was as a result of production related issues.

    The LCCI chief said to reverse the declining trend in the GDP, there is need to sustain the momentum in the implementation of the ease of doing business of the government,  saying that this would help to bring down the operational cost of investors. He called on the government at all levels to double their efforts to improve the state of infrastructure.

    He said the state of infrastructure has continued to take a toll on investment across all sectors, pointing out that the impact was more pronounced on manufacturing and the agric sector.

    Also, the Chairman, Policy Committee and former Chairman of Electrical Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Reginald Odiah, faulted the report which suggested that the country has exited recession. He said the economy is not completely out of recession, arguing that the saving grace is that more money is coming in from the oil sector.

    He said: “If you look closely at it most businesses have closed down, saying: “I am not seeing clear policy direction and political will to bring the country completely out of recession.’’

    The government is simply focusing attention on the 2019 general election. The truth is at the slightest mistake, the country would plunge back into deep recession.”

    Also, the former Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) consultant, Dr. John Isemede, wondered how NBS can suggest that Nigeria is out of recession with the first quarter growth as 1.95 per cent while the second quarter recorded 1.5 per cent.

    He said: “The Chamber noted that the trade sectors are still in negative territory even though there was a slight improvement as there was reduced contraction. This is indicative that the consumers are still under pressure due to weak purchasing power, which has been compounded by inflation, high cost of goods and services, low disposable income, delays in payment of salaries in the public sector, the continued naira exchange rate effect and high import duties on many consumer items”.

    He argued that the NBS figures clearly showed that the country is not out of recession and may likely go back into recession if the right recovery policies are not only put in place but also properly managed.

  • ‘Nigeria’s economy to grow more’

    Nigeria’s economy is expected to grow more slowly this year than previously forecast as investors hold off before elections in early 2019, a Reuters poll shown, while Kenyan growth is forecast at more than double the pace.

    In the poll taken in the past week, analysts and economists’ forecasts showed a median of 2.1 per cent growth for Nigeria, accelerating to 3.0 per cent next year.

    That was a significant downgrade from the previous poll taken three months ago, which showed Africa’s largest economy expanding 2.6 per cent this year after a lacklustre 0.8 per cent in 2017.

    Chief Economist at Macroafricaintel, Rafiq Raji, said he expects the economy to slow in the next few quarters.

    He said: “Upcoming elections and the associated high-wire politics already underway would instigate caution on the part of economic stakeholders.

    “Business and investment decisions are thus likely to be postponed till after the 2019 elections.”

    Ahead next year’s election in which President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking re-election, some politicians from the ruling party have cross-carpeted.

    This comes at a tough time for the economy. Growth slowed in the first quarter of 2018 for the first time since the country pulled out of recession last year as the non-oil sector struggled.

    Fellow heavyweight South Africa also suffered its worst quarterly contraction in nine years, in a reminder to investors of the huge challenge President Cyril Ramaphosa faces to deliver long term economic growth.

  • CBN: how currency deal with China‘ll boost Nigeria’s economy

    SOME OF THE GAINS OF THE DEAL

    • Bigger export market to China
    • Naira to appreciate against U.S. dollar
    • Direct access to foreign exchange
    • More Chinese investments in Nigeria
    • More jobs as more factories are set up

    The Nigeria-China currency swap deal will not  stifle local companies and make the country a dumping ground for Chinese goods, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said yesterday.

    The 41 items banned since 2015 will not be valid for the swap exchange, the CBN said.

    CBN spokesnman Isaac Okorafor said: “The fear is unfounded and I’ll give you reasons.

    “The first one is that we are going to focus on exports to China. Also, remember that we already export cassava products to China as well as leather, hides and skin to China, amongst others.

    “So this deal will open further the export market to China.”

    ”Also, I want Nigerians to know that the items that will come in are not necessarily finished goods, so the issue of Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for China does not arise.

    “This is because the 41 items that had initially been banned from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market will still not qualify under the deal,” he said.

    The CBN recently signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the People’s Republic of China worth about N720 billion.

    On June 23, 2015, the CBN banned some items from accessing foreign exchange in the official foreign exchange market – to encourage local production of these items, conserve foreign reserves, resuscitate domestic industries and improve employment.

    Some of the items banned are: rice, cement, poultry, tinned fish, furniture, toothpicks, kitchen utensils, table wares, textiles, clothes, tomato pastes, soap and cosmetics.

    Also banned sre private jets, roofing sheets, metal boxes, wire rods, steel nails, security and razor nails, ceramic tiles, glass wares, cellophane, plastic and rubber products.

    With the currency swap, the Naira is expected to appreciate against the US dollar as the demand for dollars eases.

    “China accounts for a quarter or more of imports into Nigeria.

    “The exchange of currencies between the Nigerian Central Bank and the Chinese Central Bank will make it easier for our entrepreneurs to have direct access to foreign exchange in Renminbi,” Okorafor said, adding:

    “Before now, when importing necessary machinery or merchandise from China, you first exchange Naira for the dollar before changing it again to Renminbi and this puts pressure on the Naira.

    “Now what it means is that a large portion of the demand for dollar in Nigeria has been lifted off the back of the Naira and put directly on the Chinese Renminbi.

    “And so it is a positive development as it will enhance the value of the Naira and reduce our dependence on the dollar for imports.”

    Okorafor explained that the two central banks were still working on the exchange rates between the Naira and Renminbi.

    “As we speak, the modalities, the operational manual and the guidelines are being developed.

    “But I can assure you that the exchange rate will be such that it will be competitive, fair to all and will not hurt our local producers and importers,” he said.

    According to Okorafor, once everything has been fine-tuned, Nigerian entrepreneurs can access renminbi through the money deposit banks, using similar rules for the dollar.

    A clearing bank would be appointed for the transaction. Such a bankhe appointment was that the bank must have a branch in China, which some Nigerian banks already have.

    Okorafor said one of the advantages of the deal was that it would encourage Chinese companies to set up factories in Nigeria, which would lead to industrialisation and job creation.

    “Chinese investors are interested in setting up shop here. And that is because if they produce here, it will be better for them.

    “The cost of transportation, shipping, and all that will be eliminated.”

    “Also, when they do that, they are not going to employ only Chinese workers. A greater portion of the job opportunities in these plants will be filled up by Nigerians,” Okorafor said.

  • Nigeria’s economy improving, says Buhari 

    …Says future is bright

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the nation’s economy is steadily improving, as he urged Nigerians to remain optimistic as the future of the country is bright.

    He spoke at a State dinner held Monday, in his honour by the Government of Jigawa State during his two-day working visit to the state.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, President Buhari called on Nigerians to continue to support his administration’s well thought-out economic policies.

    He said “The future is bright for Nigeria, as the economy has taken a turn for the better, our foreign reserves are almost twice the level we met, boosting investor confidence and stabilising the Naira, and inflation has declined consecutively for more than a year.

    “The Federal government released over N1 trillion for capital projects in 2016 and N1.5 trillion in 2017, figures that are unprecedented in Nigeria’s history,” the President said.

    Read Also:‘Nigeria’s economy is destination of choice’

    President Buhari listed the ‘Shuwarin overpass’ and ‘Dutse-Shuwarin-Kiyawa’ portion of the Kano – Maiduguri expressway as well as the ‘Dutse-Laraba highway extension as part of areas in which Jigawa State has benefited from the federal government’s commitment to infrastructural rejuvenation.

    He commended Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State for emulating his administration’s commitment to infrastructure development despite severely limited resources available to the State.

    The President also lauded the State government for subscribing to the Federal government’s renewable energy master plan by having the largest solar power investment portfolio in the country — the 330 megawatts joint solar power development station situated in Gwiwa Local Government of the State.

    Commending the success of the federal government’s Social Intervention Programme in Jigawa State, the President urged states that are yet to access the over N500 billion budgeted for the scheme due to “its stringent eligibility guidelines” to fully take advantage of the programme.

    He equally lauded Governor Badaru’s efforts as the head of the fertilizer supply and distribution programme which has resulted in “unprecedented availability of fertilizer to farmers at zero level.”

    The President told the governor: “Your Excellency, you have done well. You deserve the support of your people to keep it up.”

  • ‘One Belt, One Road policy can boost Nigeria’s economy’

    China has urged Nigeria to take advantage of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) policy, to fast-track its economic growth and national development.

    It said OBOR was mutually beneficial to both countries and – by providing better access to Chinese expertise – would aid Nigeria’s development of critical air, land, water and railway infrastructure.

    The Chinese spoke in Lagos at a symposium organised by the Nigeria-China Friendship Association (NICAF), in collaboration with the Confucius Institute (CI) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    The symposium featured NICAF’s representatives including, its Chairman Chief Jacob Wood; Former Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof Bola Akinterinwa; former Nigerian Ambassador to China, Amb. Sola Onadipe, and Mr. Alex Ekeanyanwu.

    The Confucius Institute was represented by Prof. Jongjing Wang, Prof. Chimdi Maduagu, Prof. Segun Awonusi, among others.

    OBOR, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was initiated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 and is a network of roads, railways, oil pipelines, power grids, ports and other infrastructural projects to boost commerce between China and the world.

    According to NICAF, the “special relationship” that has existed between Nigeria and China over the years makes it easy for Nigeria to naturally fall with the Belt and Road Scheme.

    It said the Nigeria-China relation,which was founded on a “win-win arrangement”, appeared to have drifted to “dependency” relationship.

    Wood explained that he saw a coloured television for the first time when he came to Nigeria in the 1970s and he “witnessed the construction of Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos when there was no single bridge in China.”

    He said this was a testimony that Nigeria was once ahead of China in terms of development.

    He noted that it was an attempt to address the anomaly in the Nigeria-China relations that the One Belt One Road Symposium was jointly organised by NICAF and CI.

    Prof Wang assured that China’s goal of international economic cooperation “is never to dominate any country but to pursue mutual progress on the basis of equality with other countries.”

    She added: “The purpose is to bring about shared economic prosperity and to promote political stability.

    Quoting the embassy of China in Nigeria, the forum stated that “China has made available huge credit for the development of infrastructure in Africa but Nigeria is not taking sufficient advantage of the generous offer.”

     

     

  • Nigeria’s economy on track, says CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said the economy has overcome its challenges and will continue to thrive because of the steps taken to achieve growth and stability.

    CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, who made this known at the  International Monetary Fund (IMF)-World Bank Spring meetings in Washington DC, United States, said negative predictions on the economy did not come to pass. The CBN, he said, had ensured that its steps on exchange rate stability and improved liquidity in the foreign exchange (forex) market were achieved.

    “About a year ago, we were here and the story was different. If you recall, the Nigerian economy was going through one of its worst situations. Inflation was high, the foreign exchange market was in turmoil and the economy was in recession. Also, we faced a crunchy foreign exchange scarcity and everybody swooped on Nigeria. Our reserves were down and the whole situation was ominous. I can recall that at that time we knew what we were doing and everybody was saying we were wrong, but we waited for the time to play out,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “I am happy to report that time has proved that we were right and they were wrong about our economy. We have our reserves strong, over $47 billion, inflation has gone down to 13.34 per cent, foreign exchange market is now very stable and growth has taken off, we are out of recession.”

    According to Okorafor, it is all positive news. “We needed to underscore this top say that yes, we were right, we knew our economy and we have done what was then wrong, which we believed is the right thing. We are happy to report that everything we have done proved to be right and we will continue to do that,”he said.

    He said the CBN has continued to fund the real sector more vigorously as the issue of productivity is very important. “We have launched the new Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme, which will also support production by small and medium enterprises. We have launched the Accelerated Agriculture Development Scheme, which will further boost employment, especially youth employment. We know we are on the right track, we’ll continue to build up reserves,” he said.

    Okorafor said the CBN has maintained stability in the foreign exchange market for the past nine months.

    “Industrial production has improved because we have steadily supplied the manufacturing sector with foreign exchange for their raw materials and machinery so we are happy that this year not a negative mention has been said about Nigeria, it is left for them to admit that we were right and they were wrong,” he said

    The CBN, he said, has achieved a considerable level of exchange stability. “The investors and exporters window since it was launched has continued to bring in a lot of foreign exchange and of stability is a relative thing. We have achieved stability in a significant way and we are working towards a time when all the sectors of the market converge at one point. As time goes on, we will see it play out as we promised last year,” he said.

    On suggestion by the World Bank that the CBN should tighten the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), Okorafor said: “As the governor said, it is the opinion of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that will determine where the rates will be. We will look at the needs of the economy and continue to see how the rates will be adjusted. Members of the MPC will look at the sectors of the economy and adjustments will be done accordingly.”

  • Nigeria’s economy to grow by 2.1 per cent, says IMF

    Nigeria’s economy which grew by 0.8 per cent in 2017 will end this year, with a 2.1 per cent growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted.

    It, however, projected a slow down to 1.9 per cent growth next year, in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) Report launched in Washington DC, United States where the annual World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings are ongoing.

    The IMF advised oil-dependent economies, including Nigeria’s to intensify economic diversification as the global body foresees the crash of crude oil prices in the near future.

    “Some low-income countries like Mozambique and Nigeria have experienced financial stress or deteriorating loan quality in recent years as growth has moderated and corporate balance sheets have weakened.

    “Further deterioration in loan quality would impair credit intermediation and ability of the banking sector to support growth, which would raise the risk of cost recapitalisation and severely burden the already strained public finances,’’ the IMF said.

    The IMF Director of Research, Mr Maurice Obstfeld at a news conference yesterday said that global economy would grow by 3.9 per cent in 2018.

    Obstfeld said the forecast was borne out of the continued strong performance in the Euro area, Japan, China and the United States.

    “Despite the good near-term news, longer-term prospects are more sobering. Advanced economies are far facing aging population, falling rates of labour force and low productivity growth.

    “Emerging and developing economies present a diverse picture.  Many of these countries need to diversify their economies to boost future growth and resilience,’’ he said.

    According to Obstfeld, global financial conditions remained loose, despite the approach of higher monetary policy interest rates and enabling a further buildup of asset-market vulnerabilities.

    He said the recent escalating tension over trade (United States vs China) presented a growing risk for global financial stability.

    “The prospect of trade restrictions and counter-restrictions threatens to undermine confidence and derail global growth prematurely.

    “While some governments are pursuing substantial economic reforms, trade disputes risk diverting others from the constructive steps they would need to take now to improve and secure growth prospects,’’ he said.

    The IMF encouraged each national government to advance growth by resolving issues of climate change, infectious diseases, cyber-security, corporate taxation and corruption, among others.

    The global financial body said “each national government can do much on its own to promote stronger, more resilient and more inclusive growth,” saying   global interdependence will only continue to grow; and that “unless countries face it in a spirit of collaboration- not conflict – the world economy cannot prosper.”