Direct investments in productive assets by foreign firms on local companies’ otherwise foreign direct investments (FDI) in Nigeria have reached a record N800 billion in January this year.
This comes as prominent corporations from the United States of America, Canada, The Netherlands and Turkey increased their investment stakes in the country, in a pace never seen before.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s figures for third quarter of last year showed that a total of $1.4 billion was injected into the economy through FDI while $4.6 billion came in through portfolio investments, with another $4.7 billion invested in the nation’s capital market.
The current inflows and investment commitments with different gestation periods focus on infrastructure development, construction of power plants for the enhancement of electricity generation, mining, healthcare, agriculture and agro-allied sectors of the Nigerian economy.
It would recalled that Dr Olusegun Aganga, minister of Trade and Investment had in late January reported that N8.5 trillion worth of Foreign Direct Investments have been attracted to the country.
According to Aganga, the investments are to be spread over five years and that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has put Nigeria’s foreign direct investment for 2012 at $8.9billion.
Stressing that Nigeria has become the most sought after investment destination in Africa, Aganga said the country currently exports 177 commodities to 103 countries, with the United States, Brazil, Netherlands, India and France topping the list.
The products, he said, included oil and solid minerals, raw hide, cocoa and by-products, sesame and cashew nuts, noting Lagos, Kano, Ondo, Ogun and Oyo as the top five exporting states.
Assuring that his ministry was doing more to attract more investments and increase export from Nigeria, he said that the recorded trade in Africa puts Algeria, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana as Nigeria’s biggest trading partners.
Aganga said: “Our foreign investment drive is bringing results with foreign investment commitments hitting 8.5 trillion naira and this is going to be for the next five years.”
“According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD, we attracted 8.9 billion dollars worth of foreign investments last year, the largest in Africa and this also makes us one of the best investment destinations in the world.
Only recently, Dr. Patrick Kormawa, regional director, United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO) Representative in Nigeria and to ECOWAS urged Nigeria to develop a foreign Direct Investment strategy that will facilitate the creation of jobs for the millions of unemployed in country.