Nigeria targets fresh investments from 15 countries

The Nigeria Investment Gateway, in
conjunction with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and
the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, among
other agencies of government, are targeting fresh investments into the
country from about 15 other nations.

Some of the countries being targeted to
bring in fresh investments into Nigeria in the near future are the
United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, Brazil, South Africa, France,
Germany, Spain, Indonesia and China.

Speaking at an international symposium
in Abuja, which focused on investments in the country and had heads of
various government agencies in attendance, the Chairman, NIG, a UK-based
firm engaged in promoting Nigeria as an investment destination, Chidi
Umeano, said some of the countries were being asked to come and set up
factories in Nigeria.

He stated, “We are targeting 15
countries that we currently do business with the most, both in terms of
import and export, such as the United States, the UK, Thailand, Brazil,
South Africa, France, Germany, Spain, Indonesia and China.

“We are using this forum to invite them
to come into Nigeria to set up factories. We are asking them to come in
and transfer their knowledge to Nigerians. We also want them to come in
and show us what they are doing in order to boost our economy, as
thousands of jobs will be created.”

Umeano also stated that the symposium
was organised to internationalise Nigerian-based products and enable
local entrepreneurs to get access to foreign currency, adding that “this
is because we have products that can meet international standards.”

He said the NIG had entered into
partnerships with stakeholders across the globe to provide diverse
services through the execution of targeted interventions that showcased
Nigeria as the true financial giant of Africa.

On his part, the Director-General,
NOTAP, DanAzumi Ibrahim, stated that it was important to attract
investors who would invest in Nigeria in order to further cut down on
capital flight from the country.

He said the issue of capital flight and
repatriation of funds by some companies operating in the country were of
serious concern to the agency, adding that more than 90 per cent of the
technology that powered the Nigerian economy was imported.

“The implication is that huge funds leave the shores of this country in terms of technology import,” Ibrahim added.

He, however, noted that through the
application of thorough analytical process in the registration of
companies importing technology into Nigeria, NOTAP had been able to save
over N200bn for the country in the past few years.