Jonathan Eze
The Bank of Industry (BoI) has reaffirmed its commitment to attracting foreign investments into the country.
Indeed, the Development Finance Institution (DFI) pointed out the need to boost the confidence of foreign investors in the Nigerian economy while also providing access to capital for investments in a bid to create wealth and job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youths.
The Managing Director, BoI, Olukayode Pitan, while speaking at a meeting with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Nigeria, Fahad Obaid AlTaffag, in Lagos, said the bank was ready to support genuine foreign businesses that are willing to invest in Africa’s biggest market.
“So if you are thinking about bringing in companies to invest in the country, we will be willing to partner with you and give those companies the kind of facilities we have to support their investments.
“We know that we have a good relationship with your country. I understand you want to know what we do and how we can mutually cooperate for the benefit of the two countries. We are the leading DFI in Nigeria. We focus on many areas for development, but the major areas are emphasis of government, such as light manufacturing, oil and gas, creative industry, agric processing, technology and many more.”
He added that the bank just concluded a syndication trying to raise about $5 million to support industrial development in the country.
“We cover the whole industrial sector to ensure that Nigerian companies become competitive. We know that borrowing money between 20 and 30 per cent is a big drag on companies and most of the banks in Nigeria are not able to give long term facilities. We are able to grant loans between seven and 10 per cent per annum for 10 years,” he added.
In his response, the Ambassador said the meeting was to understand the mechanism at which the bank operates, while also seeking areas of cooperation where both countries could explore in the nearest future.
“We have many interested companies in the UAE who have been looking at the economic structure of Nigeria to arrive at a win-win situation with their partners in Nigeria. We are also looking at ways to access capital in the Nigerian market.
“We look forward to a very rewarding partnership. We want to also understand the way the bank deals with the private sector and the facilities provided to the SMEs through seed funds, micro finance and soft loans,” he said.
