Again, Experts Seek Diversification of Nigeria’s Economy
Thursday, 13 November 2014 20:02
Written by ADE OGIDAN
Nigeria Guardian
FOR the umpteenth time, experts have challenged the Federal Government to effectively diversify the nation’s economy, especially with the sliding fortunes of oil prices at the international market.
Specifically, the experts, who spoke at the FBN’s fourth yearly investor’s conference in Lagos on Tuesday, called for a paradigm shift to industrialisation, under a regime of infrastructural upgrade and business-friendly monetary policy.
An International expert on strategy, globalization and emerging markets, Professor Anil Gupta, urged Nigeria to embrace the manufacturing sector and rise above its present celebratory tag of fastest ‘emerging’ economy.
In his paper titled: “The rise of Nigeria and the task ahead”, under the conference theme of “Lifting the lid on emerging Nigeria”, said Nigeria, which is the fastest growing economy second to China, has a number of factors that have placed it in a favourable position for further growth, but needed to look away from the fleeting success and focus on developing its manufacturing sector among other development index deficits.
“Size matters, and is a foundation to building a strong manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is what China and India did and it is what Nigeria will have to do” he said, adding that young people are huge assets to any country.
According to Gupta, beside the nation’s size which, if put into efficient use, can boost manufacturing, it can also boost research and development, as he explained how the country can handle the “too big to ignore” tag which comes with the elevated position the country finds itself after the rebasing.
“Nigeria is now the number one destination for foreign investors in Africa but still faced by some challenges such as insurgency, which is a serious issue and is becoming one of the central issues facing the country” he said.
He also identified power, falling commodity prices, oil theft, and the significant challenges of infrastructure deficit
He called for, as priority, the building of physical infrastructure, which is essential for the success of the manufacturing sector.
Also speaking at the event, Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company, said there is an infrastructure gap in every respect. “We need revenue. If we don’t have, then we need to borrow. As a borrower, Nigeria is more disciplined than as a non-borrower.” he said.
Rewane added that the falling oil prices, which may be seen as a major challenge for the country, might actually be a blessing in disguise, as the nation fares better when she is revenue challenged than when financially comfortable.
According to him, there is a fiscal shortfall, which has led to revenue shortfall. “Reserves have all come down. The excess crude oil account is down to $1.4 billion. Nigeria has always done better when revenues were low than when we were comfortable”.
He stressed that “there is a global shift in currency values, let’s accept the reality,” but added that dollar strengthening does not mean naira weakening.
He said that as the prices of oil have fallen; subsidy should come down sharply, which should also enable the government to invest more in infrastructure.
Over the last three years, FBN Capital Limited has explored key aspects of Nigeria’s economic evolution as it transitions from a frontier to an emerging economy through an annual investor conference.
The focus of this year’s conference addressed how Nigeria can capitalise on the recent GDP rebasing which has propelled it to the position of the largest economy in Africa, and also looked to shine the spotlight on previously under-represented fast-growing sectors of the economy which the recent rebasing has brought into focus.
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| Federal Republic of Nigeria Min. of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. |
Written by ADE OGIDAN
Nigeria Guardian
FOR the umpteenth time, experts have challenged the Federal Government to effectively diversify the nation’s economy, especially with the sliding fortunes of oil prices at the international market.
Specifically, the experts, who spoke at the FBN’s fourth yearly investor’s conference in Lagos on Tuesday, called for a paradigm shift to industrialisation, under a regime of infrastructural upgrade and business-friendly monetary policy.
An International expert on strategy, globalization and emerging markets, Professor Anil Gupta, urged Nigeria to embrace the manufacturing sector and rise above its present celebratory tag of fastest ‘emerging’ economy.
In his paper titled: “The rise of Nigeria and the task ahead”, under the conference theme of “Lifting the lid on emerging Nigeria”, said Nigeria, which is the fastest growing economy second to China, has a number of factors that have placed it in a favourable position for further growth, but needed to look away from the fleeting success and focus on developing its manufacturing sector among other development index deficits.
“Size matters, and is a foundation to building a strong manufacturing sector. Manufacturing is what China and India did and it is what Nigeria will have to do” he said, adding that young people are huge assets to any country.
According to Gupta, beside the nation’s size which, if put into efficient use, can boost manufacturing, it can also boost research and development, as he explained how the country can handle the “too big to ignore” tag which comes with the elevated position the country finds itself after the rebasing.
“Nigeria is now the number one destination for foreign investors in Africa but still faced by some challenges such as insurgency, which is a serious issue and is becoming one of the central issues facing the country” he said.
He also identified power, falling commodity prices, oil theft, and the significant challenges of infrastructure deficit
He called for, as priority, the building of physical infrastructure, which is essential for the success of the manufacturing sector.
Also speaking at the event, Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company, said there is an infrastructure gap in every respect. “We need revenue. If we don’t have, then we need to borrow. As a borrower, Nigeria is more disciplined than as a non-borrower.” he said.
Rewane added that the falling oil prices, which may be seen as a major challenge for the country, might actually be a blessing in disguise, as the nation fares better when she is revenue challenged than when financially comfortable.
According to him, there is a fiscal shortfall, which has led to revenue shortfall. “Reserves have all come down. The excess crude oil account is down to $1.4 billion. Nigeria has always done better when revenues were low than when we were comfortable”.
He stressed that “there is a global shift in currency values, let’s accept the reality,” but added that dollar strengthening does not mean naira weakening.
He said that as the prices of oil have fallen; subsidy should come down sharply, which should also enable the government to invest more in infrastructure.
Over the last three years, FBN Capital Limited has explored key aspects of Nigeria’s economic evolution as it transitions from a frontier to an emerging economy through an annual investor conference.
The focus of this year’s conference addressed how Nigeria can capitalise on the recent GDP rebasing which has propelled it to the position of the largest economy in Africa, and also looked to shine the spotlight on previously under-represented fast-growing sectors of the economy which the recent rebasing has brought into focus.
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