Economic growth: AMCON acquired N 3.14mbad loans 'MD

DETERMINED to remove the clog in the wheel of the country's economic progress, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) has said that the agency has acquired a total of 9,000 bad loans valued at N3.14 trillion.The agency, which said its intervention was more in the financial service sector, noted that for the economy to grow there is need for the banking industry to continue to lend to the real sector of the economy.The AMCON Managing Director, Mr Mustafa Chike-Obi, gave these remarks in his presentation, on Monday, at the opening of the three-day FirstBank of Nigeria capital investors conference in Lagos.The forum had in attendance several captain of industries, foreign multinational and foreign rating agencies and the investing community.Chike-Obi, who took time to disabuse the mind of both local and international investors that the naira was never devalued, noted that 200 companies took 80 per cent of the total non-performing loans even as the agency was committed to recouping all the money expended.'AMCON's intervention contrary to opinion is the cheapest compared to other method which the government would have used and this would have resulted into loss of fund by depositors whom the government is out to protect at all times.'We planned to recover 70 per cent of the money but so far we have only done 15 per cent of the fund sunk into the sinking funds. We are in discussion with the borrowers and we plan to restructure the loans which have been very complex and unique,' he said.He said the agency in its quest to help turn around the economy, only received N10 billion, N5 billion and N5 billion from the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) respectively.Speaking on the capital market, the AMCON managing director said that following the small number in the volume of traded equities, it would be wrong to say that the market was sliding, noting that the market ought to be trading at a volume in excess of over N100 million.Chike-Obi, who claimed that companies quoted in the market were under-valued considering their operations, explained that for the long term investors, this was the best time for them to invest in the market even as they need to have a five- year view on their investments.
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