‘We’re ready for business’ — Emefiele woos foreign investors

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has urged investors to come to Nigeria.

Speaking to money market players at the London Stock Exchange, Emefiele said the nation’s return on investment (ROI) in all sectors are among the best in the world.

The forum was organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The governor, who drew intermittent applause from the gathering, summed up his message in one key sentence: “Nigeria is ready for business”.

He told the story of how Nigeria emerged from what was its worst recession in decades, revealing the ongoing reforms and the huge opportunities available to investors in several sectors.

Participants lauded CBN for its “ingenious” management of the foreign exchange market, which led to the recovery of the naira.

The apex bank was also commended for the reforms in the funding of agriculture, as demonstrated in the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) and the establishment of the highly successful investors and exporters window of the foreign exchange market.

Present at the occasion were Priti Patel, the British minister for international development; Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state and Kayode Fayemi, minister of solid minerals.

Others are Nikhil Rathi, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, Oscar Onyema, CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange; Patience Oniha, director-general of Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO), and Ik Chioke, Group CEO of Afrinvest.

Also at the occasion, the Nigerian banking sector report conducted by Afrinvest was launched.

The report showed that Nigerian banks remain resilient and profitable in spite of the headwinds emanating from the current economic situation in the country.

Part of the highlights of the occasion was the honour given to Emefiele to ring the opening bell for trading last Friday at the London Stock Exchange.