Managing Director/Chief Executive, Fidelity Bank
PLC, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo has identified the recent
foreign exchange restrictions placed on importation of 41
items as one of the many non-oil investment opportunities
in the economy.
He stated this during a presentation titled, “Beyond Oil
& Gas: Emerging Business Opportunities in Nigeria”,
at the Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce Breakfast
Meeting held in Lagos.
Okonwko noted that despite pressure points in the
economy, Nigeria’s economic fundamental remains strong,
adding that, “, The convergence of social, political and
economic factors are generating great expectations,
opportunities and uncertainty in the Nigerian
macroeconomic environment”.
He said the decline in crude oil prices, resulting to fallen
revenue, as well as, the other problems in the oil and gas
sector, has prompted a quest for alternative investment
opportunities beyond the oil and gas sector.
“But Nigeria’s strong growth reserves are opening new
prospects”, he said. These growth prospects, he noted
include, “The 60 percent of Nigeria’s arable land yet to
be cultivated as well as the country’s population of over
170 million people, which is youthful and provide a huge
potential demand and pool of skills. It also provides huge
internal market for consumption and expenditure growth.”
He added that in addition to these, the series of reforms
implemented by government in recent times, in a bid to
transform the economy has created investment
opportunities in key sectors of the economy, namely
agriculture, health, education, Information
Communication Technology and Manufacturing.
For example, he said, “CBN has continued to apply
administrative and capital control measures in containing
the pressure on the Naira.
On June 23, 2015, the CBN released a circular that
expanded the list of imported goods and services that are
excluded from accessing foreign exchange (forex) at the
Nigerian Interbank Foreign Exchange Market
(IFEM).
“Also, on November 6, 2014, the CBN had excluded six
items: electronics, finished products, information
technology, generators, telecommunication equipment, and
invisible transactions from the retail Dutch Auction
System (RDAS). The funding of the six items was
transferred to the interbank forex market.
“These, and other measures, are to ensure stability of the
forex market and the efficient utilisation of forex, and in
the process, conserve foreign reserves, encourage local
production of the items, and enhance employment
generation in the long run. This presents huge opportunity
for local investors to seek out capital and strategic
alliances to exploit the import-substitution opportunities
presented by this policy,” Okonkwo said.
He noted that in the manufacturing sector, “This opens
up huge investment opportunities across the ‘banned’ items.
The recent gains in electric power generation and the
pragmatic determination of government to facilitate
improvement in the generation, transmission, and
distribution of electric power should enhance the sector’s
capacity utilization. High costs of factors of production,
ostensibly exacerbated by the naira devaluation, should
help in the establishment and growth of local
manufacturing.”
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