Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, the country
manager of the World Bank’s International
Finance Corp, said it plans a 25 per cent boost
in Nigeria investments to $2 billion by next
year, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Funds to be raised directly by the IFC or
mobilised from other sources will be targeted
at industries that offer competitive advantage
to the West African nation, Adegbie-Quaynor
said in an August 2 interview from Lagos,
Nigeria’s commercial capital. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in
May, that Africa’s most populous nation of
more than 160 million people needs $10
billion of infrastructure investment a year to
keep up with rising population and expanding
economy. “We are partnering with the Nigerian
Sovereign Investment Authority and also
looking at institutions to work with for
activities in banks, power, gas, transport
and agriculture,” she said. Power will be an
important industry for IFC investment “as it is identified as the largest constraint to private-
sector growth” in Nigeria, she added. The
Nigerian Sovereign Investment authority
manages the country’s sovereign-wealth fund. Nigeria needs $10 billion of infrastructure
investment a year, to keep up with rising
population and expanding economy, Finance
Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in May. The
country’s sovereign-wealth fund, set up in
October to invest savings made from the difference between budgeted oil prices
and actual market prices, also has a brief to
fund the country’s infrastructure needs. The economy is forecast by the government to
expand 6.5 percent this year. Nigeria needs
annual economic growth of 13 percent to
bring down unemployment, now at more than
25 percent, by 2020, according to the finance
ministry. Its currency, the naira, has declined 2.2 percent this year against the dollar while
the stock exchange index has advanced 37
percent. The country is selling majority stakes in power
plants and letting private investors acquire as
much as 60 percent of six transmission and
11 power-distribution companies created
from the former state-owned utility. The IFC signed an agreement with the
sovereign-wealth-fund authority last month
to cooperate in developing financial plans to
fund investments in target areas such
as power generation and distribution and gas-
to-power projects, through equity participation and selling debt, according to
Adegbie-Quaynor. The IFC is also targeting investments in
agriculture, Nigeria’s largest
employer, according to Adegbie-Quaynor. The
lender is working with the government to
identify ways to link producers to markets and
boost output, he said.
manager of the World Bank’s International
Finance Corp, said it plans a 25 per cent boost
in Nigeria investments to $2 billion by next
year, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Funds to be raised directly by the IFC or
mobilised from other sources will be targeted
at industries that offer competitive advantage
to the West African nation, Adegbie-Quaynor
said in an August 2 interview from Lagos,
Nigeria’s commercial capital. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in
May, that Africa’s most populous nation of
more than 160 million people needs $10
billion of infrastructure investment a year to
keep up with rising population and expanding
economy. “We are partnering with the Nigerian
Sovereign Investment Authority and also
looking at institutions to work with for
activities in banks, power, gas, transport
and agriculture,” she said. Power will be an
important industry for IFC investment “as it is identified as the largest constraint to private-
sector growth” in Nigeria, she added. The
Nigerian Sovereign Investment authority
manages the country’s sovereign-wealth fund. Nigeria needs $10 billion of infrastructure
investment a year, to keep up with rising
population and expanding economy, Finance
Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in May. The
country’s sovereign-wealth fund, set up in
October to invest savings made from the difference between budgeted oil prices
and actual market prices, also has a brief to
fund the country’s infrastructure needs. The economy is forecast by the government to
expand 6.5 percent this year. Nigeria needs
annual economic growth of 13 percent to
bring down unemployment, now at more than
25 percent, by 2020, according to the finance
ministry. Its currency, the naira, has declined 2.2 percent this year against the dollar while
the stock exchange index has advanced 37
percent. The country is selling majority stakes in power
plants and letting private investors acquire as
much as 60 percent of six transmission and
11 power-distribution companies created
from the former state-owned utility. The IFC signed an agreement with the
sovereign-wealth-fund authority last month
to cooperate in developing financial plans to
fund investments in target areas such
as power generation and distribution and gas-
to-power projects, through equity participation and selling debt, according to
Adegbie-Quaynor. The IFC is also targeting investments in
agriculture, Nigeria’s largest
employer, according to Adegbie-Quaynor. The
lender is working with the government to
identify ways to link producers to markets and
boost output, he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment