* Lead a dialogue with Foreign Ambassadors, Governors, President of Chamber of Commerce on Nigeria's economic and Investment Agenda, examining issues pertinent to Foreign Direct Investment opportunities and challenges in Nigeria.
* Have Interactive session that will feature global business leaders to discuss conditions precedent to formation of business partnership in an emerging economy like Nigeria.
* Highlight on the positive relations of the Nigeria Chamber of commerce and its foreign counterparts and look at ways to improve upon the bilateral relationship to bring in better Investment into our economy.
INVESTMENT DIPLOMACY
To show various ways of seeing and interpreting the world neighboring and far-off nations alike on why Nigeria is a preferred Investment destination in sub-Saharan Africa.
Investment Opportunities in Nigeria
The agricultural potential of Nigeria is barely being tapped and this explains the inability of the country to meet the ever increasing demand for agricultural produce. Although the agricultural sector remains a dominant employer of labour, serious investment is needed across the board to enhance production and increase the contribution of the sector to GDP. Investment is required in the following priority activities:
(a) Crop production to achieve food security and to provide industrial raw materials. Potentials exist for the following crops:
Cereals: Maize, rice, sorghum, corn, millet, wheat.
Root crops: Cassava, yam, ginger, potato, coco yam.
Legumes: Soya beans, groundnuts, cowpeas.
Fruits: Mango, banana, oranges, guava, papaw, pineapple.
Vegetables: Cabbage, green pepper, carrots, lettuce, spice, onions, melons.
Tree crops: Oil palm, cocoa, rubber, coconut, kola nut, coffee, she nuts, beniseed, cotton, cashew nut, sugar cane.
Others:
Commercial growing of flowers and ornamentals and experimental orchards for more temperate fruits-apples, grape vines and pears have been successfully established in the high plateau regions.
(b) Food processing and preservation involving industries that will use agricultural produce as raw materials.
(c) Livestock and Fisheries production which possess great potentials for development. Grazing lands are abundant, facilities for animal feed production are plentiful, and the in-land rivers, lakes and coastal creeks are sufficient to augment ocean fishery resources.
(d) Agricultural inputs supplies and machinery, water resources development especially for flood control infrastructure and irrigation.
(e) Commodity trading and transportation.
(f) Development and fabrication of appropriate small-scale mechanized technologies for on-farm processing and secondary processing of agricultural produce.
(g) Exploitation of timber and wood processing activities. A wide range of wood resources abound.
AVERAGE ANNUAL (1990-1998) OUTPUT OF MAJOR AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES IN NIGERIA, CROP PRODUCTION (‘000 TONES)
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These are widely used in food and beverage sub-sectors like flour mills, breweries, chemical, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, wood products and industrial starch.
Investment Opportunities in AGRICULTURE
Foreign and domestic investors are being encouraged through improved fiscal incentives in the Nigeria oil and gas sector. In the Upstream and Downstream sectors, the following are some of the areas where there are pressing needs for investors.
(A) UPSTREAM ACTIVITIES
(i) Petroleum Exploration and Exploitation.
(ii) Search for development of local substitute for such items as Medium pressure valve, pumps, shallow drilling equipment, Drilling mud, bits fittings, drilling cements etc.
(iii) Manufacturing of consumable materials in exploration such as explosives, detonators, steel castings, magnetic tapes etc.
(iv) Other areas in the services sector of the upstream are:
1. Construction and Installation
2. Maintenance
3. Pipelining
4. Well Services and
5. Transportation Support Services.
(B) DOWNSTREAM ACTIVITIES:
(i) Domestic Production and marketing of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
(ii) Manufacturing of LPG cylinders, valves and regulators, installation of filing plants, Retail distribution and development of simple, flexible and much less expensive gas burner to encourage the use of gas instead of wood and other fuels.
(iii) Establishment of processing plants and industries for:
- The production of refined mineral oil, petroleum jelly and grease.
- The manufacture of bituminous based water/damp-proof building materials such as roofing sheets, floor tiles, rubber products, tarpaulin. Building of asphalt storage, packaging and blending plants to handle the product for export.
(iv) Establishment of chemical industries such as distillation units for the production of naphtha and other special boiling point solvents used in plant and other food processing industries.
(v) Establishment of industries for processing Linear Alkyl Benzene, Carbon Black and Polypropylene.
(vi) Development of Phase II (Phase III to join later) of Nigeria’s Petrochemical Programmed.
(vii) Participation in all phases of the Nigeria Gas Industry development programmed from exploration, gathering, production and processing to transmission.
(viii) Establishment of small scale industries to produce chemicals and Solvents, for example Chlorinated methane, Formaldehyde, Acetylene, etc., from natural gas.
(ix) Refining: One condition for purchasing Nigerian Crude Oil is the ownership of an efficient refinery. The shelter which the domestic petroleum products market enjoys, almost completely seals the prospects and viability of privately financed refinery for locally consumed petroleum products. However, opportunities exist for the construction of a refinery in bonded premises with adequate export facilities for dedication to the export market. Companies with the technological know-how can undertake turn-around maintenance of refineries. Refineries consume a lot of chemicals and utilize a broad range of spare parts. There is tremendous scope for small scale joint venture manufacturing concerns with foreign technical partners. Such ventures can start warehousing arrangements that will ensure continuity of supply at competitive prices. Other investment opportunities contingent upon refining and Ancillary activities are the manufacture of special products such as:
- Industrial and food grade solvents
- Insecticides
- Cosmetics
- Mineral Oil, petroleum jelly grease
- Bituminous-based water/damp-proof building materials such as floor tiles, rubber products, tarpaulin, etc., and
- Asphalt storage, packaging and blending plants to handle products for export and local use. Export of refined products surplus also exists as an opportunity in refining.
(x) Products Marketing: Petroleum Product Marketing would seem sealed with hardly any opportunity except by way of establishing an independent marketing outfit or aspiring to establish dealership with the marketers.
While indeed those opportunities remain viable, far more challenging opportunities may be explored in the areas of product transportation, by road and coastal tankers.
Associated with products distribution and marketing is a chain of manufacturing and maintenance business such as lubricating oil reprocessing, LPG bottles and accessories, oil cans reconditioning, etc.
The nations pipeline and depot network consists of 3,001km of pipeline of varying sizes as well as sixteen (16) storage depots. These pipelines and networks traverse the length and breath of the country. The system therefore must be maintained in a healthy state for effective and efficient distribution of products.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT IN THE SOLID MINERALS SECTOR
Nigeria is endowed with numerous mineral resources. Recent policy reforms have brought the solid minerals sector to the fore. The emphasis is on encouraging massive foreign investors’ participation in this sector.
PROFILE OF SOLID MINERALS DEPOSITS IN NIGERIA
TALC
An estimated reserve of over 100 million tones of talc has been obtained in Niger, Osun, Kogi, Kwara, Ogun, Taraba and Kaduna States. There are only two medium size talc processing plants currently operating in Nigeria and both are located in Niger State. The color of the Nigerian talc varies from white through milky-white to gray. The talc industry represents one of the most versatile sectors of the industrial minerals of the world. The exploitation of the vast talc deposits in Nigeria would therefore satisfy not only local demands but also that of the international markets as well.
IRON ORE
There are over 3 billion tones of iron ore found in kogi, Enugu, Niger, Zamfara and Kaduna States. Iron is currently being mined at Itakpe (Kogi State), which is more or less at the center of the region of crystalline iron deposits. The large deposit of oolitic iron ores of Kogi and Enugu States are yet to be fully explored. Itakpe iron ore is being beneficiated to 67% Fe. To feed Aladja and Ajaokuta Steel complexes. Besides there are three in-land rolling mills at Oshogbo, Jos and Katsina in addition to some privately owned rolling mills in Lagos and Kano.
GOLD
There are proven reserves of both alluvial and primary deposits of gold with proven reserves in the shiest belt covering the western half of Nigeria. At present exploitation of alluvial deposits is being carried out mostly by artisan miners in a few places in the country. A number of primary deposits, which are sufficiently big for large scale mechanized mining, have been identified in the northwest and southwest parts of the county. Private investors are invited to stake concessions on these primary deposits. It is interesting to note that the primary deposits are of relatively high grade and at shallow depth. Production costs will easily be as low as about $50 per ounce.