Nigeria appears to be gaining more interest from foreign investors despite its continued instability, and the nation is moving forward with plans to sell power companies and curb government spending. The country’s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that increased terror attacks in the north had failed to deter foreign investment.
Recent visitors to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry included trade groups from Pakistan and Japan. Heads from Pakistan’s Metro Group of Companies and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. led the way to discuss further collaboration in areas like electronics, agriculture, and energy. February also saw General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt visiting with pledges to invest in power, health, and infrastructure within the West African country.
The Finance Minister said that many investors realized the terror attacks were located in one region, but potential financiers just wanted to be reassured that Nigeria had a strategy to combat the attacks. However, violence also riddles the oil-rich region of the Niger Delta and with companies like GE and Mitsubishi, this is still a concern. As the fifth-largest source of US oil imports, companies like Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total SA, and ENI operate JVs with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC). Oil accounts for more than 80% of the government revenue and 95% of foreign currency income.
US energy trade mission also visited Nigeria, led by deputy assistant secretary for African Affairs William Fitzgerald. He noted that the country had tremendous resources, but still lacked the ability to meet local power demand. Okonjo-Iweala said that Nigeria’s power sector has seen a large amount of corruption, but believes that businesses will be supportive of anything that the government does to disband the power authority.
One area that is currently underexploited was Nigeria’s potential for alternative energy, including biomass. Corporation Council on Africa VP Robert Perry said that many companies are looking for bankable projects. Partnerships between foreign companies and existing local firms could be on the horizon, but Nigeria’s plan of action still remains unknown.
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