In spite of the huge infrastructure gap and security challenges in
the country, activities in the Nigerian manufacturing sector have continued to
grow, attracting huge foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows by global
multinational brands. In the same vein, the country’s foreign reserves since
the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, assumed office
have continued to inch up, rising to $39.401 billion by Friday last week from
$36.809 billion on June 2 when he took over at the CBN. The country’s reserves
are also expected to rise to the mid-forties by the end of the year, a CBN
source informed THISDAY yesterday. THISDAY investigations revealed that there
have been increased FDI inflows, with Indorama leading the pack with a $1.2
billion investment in a fertiliser plant in Onne, Rivers State; Procter &
Gamble’s (P&G) $250 million consumer goods plant in Ogun State; as well as
SAB Miller’s $100 million brewery at Onitsha, Anambra State. Shortly after
Nigeria’s rebased GDP figures, which catapulted the country from the second
spot to the number one position as Africa’s largest economy, Unilever, which
had long ago halted its investment drive in Nigeria also expressed its
readiness to expand its production in the country with a fresh investment of
about $150 million. The Nigerian growth model is consumer-led accounting for
Africa’s largest market with about 170 million people and a growing middle
class, representing more than 23 per cent of the population.
Thisday Newspaper
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