FG Targets N1.5tr Investment in Non-Oil Sector
- By Abimbola Tooki
- Published September 19th, 2011
- News
- Unrated
The federal government of Nigeria has received firm commitments of investments worth N1.52 trillion in the next one year from 20 companies in the non-oil Sector of the Nigerian economy. This is part of its efforts to get the nation’s industries back to work and encourage the development of new ones.
Dr. Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade and investment, stated this in commemoration of the first 100 days of President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja. Aganga also said that his ministry plans to work with these companies to realize their expansion programmes and to extend the survey to other companies.
Aganga also disclosed that about N34 billion of investment commitment was also secured from about 18 companies in the Agribusiness and Agro-industries sector at a meeting held with key players in Lagos. He said his ministry is working with the sector on a government policy that will lead to significant investments and create jobs in the next few months.
“In order to break into new investor groups to develop selected sectors, there are over 30 major investor meetings in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Australia which have produced firm investment commitments in the health, manufacturing, agriculture, oil and gas and mining sectors, among others, Aganga stated.” According to him, in the mining sector for instance, “we have a proposal that can lead to an investment of $100 million immediately, and $3 billion to $4 billion of investment in the short to medium term.
He said plans have been finalized to reactivate the Nigeria Australia Business council to act as a catalyst for trade and investment which will be launched during the commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to hold in Australia in October, this year.
Aganga also announced the creation of investment desks with Nigeria’s main embassies to act as facilitators and first point of contact and sources of information for investors. In addition, he said the ministry is working with the ministry of foreign affairs to develop a commercial objective for the country’s main embassies.
To ensure that the ministry and its parastatals buy into this new strategic direction in the next one month, the ministry will launch its interactive web portal to serve as an investment information corridor for prospective investors and to showcase the enormous investment potential of the country.
Meanwhile, the ministry of trade and investment has commenced a business and investment climate reform programme with support from the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Industrial Development Organization, European Union and the World Bank.
The reform programme covers relevant laws, policies, incentives, the use of free trade and economic zones, including areas identified by the world Economic Forum on Competitiveness, the World Bank and DFID in the survey on doing business in Nigeria. This will lead to an improvement in the country’s investment climate and competitiveness index.
Also the ministry is currently reviewing all trade bilateral and multilateral agreements to identify the opportunities, which have not been explored in the past.
Dr. Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade and investment, stated this in commemoration of the first 100 days of President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja. Aganga also said that his ministry plans to work with these companies to realize their expansion programmes and to extend the survey to other companies.
Aganga also disclosed that about N34 billion of investment commitment was also secured from about 18 companies in the Agribusiness and Agro-industries sector at a meeting held with key players in Lagos. He said his ministry is working with the sector on a government policy that will lead to significant investments and create jobs in the next few months.
“In order to break into new investor groups to develop selected sectors, there are over 30 major investor meetings in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Australia which have produced firm investment commitments in the health, manufacturing, agriculture, oil and gas and mining sectors, among others, Aganga stated.” According to him, in the mining sector for instance, “we have a proposal that can lead to an investment of $100 million immediately, and $3 billion to $4 billion of investment in the short to medium term.
He said plans have been finalized to reactivate the Nigeria Australia Business council to act as a catalyst for trade and investment which will be launched during the commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to hold in Australia in October, this year.
Aganga also announced the creation of investment desks with Nigeria’s main embassies to act as facilitators and first point of contact and sources of information for investors. In addition, he said the ministry is working with the ministry of foreign affairs to develop a commercial objective for the country’s main embassies.
To ensure that the ministry and its parastatals buy into this new strategic direction in the next one month, the ministry will launch its interactive web portal to serve as an investment information corridor for prospective investors and to showcase the enormous investment potential of the country.
Meanwhile, the ministry of trade and investment has commenced a business and investment climate reform programme with support from the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Industrial Development Organization, European Union and the World Bank.
The reform programme covers relevant laws, policies, incentives, the use of free trade and economic zones, including areas identified by the world Economic Forum on Competitiveness, the World Bank and DFID in the survey on doing business in Nigeria. This will lead to an improvement in the country’s investment climate and competitiveness index.
Also the ministry is currently reviewing all trade bilateral and multilateral agreements to identify the opportunities, which have not been explored in the past.
