Conference Holds In America Next YearSINCE 2008 when the Nigeria Development and Finance Forum (NDFF) conference (a Nigerian investment market stimulating forum) was first held in the United Kingdom, its organiser ' Financial Nigeria International Limited ' has been compelled to embrace the responsibility of leading critical debate sessions necessary to know the true nature of the country's investment environment.Perhaps, the edition was meant to test its acceptability but the excitement generated and the impact it has had on the market, has imposed a new but enormous mandate on Jide Akintunde and his team, who cannot afford to discontinue the conference.Apart from the maiden edition, NDFF conference has held twice (2009 and 2012). If the previous editions were successful, the recent one was more. The two-day conference had Nigerians in different parts of Europe and other parts of the world, especially America, pouring into London to discuss Nigerian issues and advise government accordingly. A large chuck of foreigners, who expressed confidence that Nigeria could be the next global investment hub if its challenges were properly managed, also joined the debate.But Mr. Akintunde, director of NDFF, said the organisers have more important 'business' than to celebrate past success. 'After holding another successful conference, the organisers of the annual Nigerian policy and investment outlook briefings are looking to expand their frontiers to America in 2013,' he declared.Over 250 delegates and 15 speakers as well as Nigerian and oversea media representatives gathered at Guoman Tower Hotel in Central London for the event. Top official of policy-making and regulatory institutions, such the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Export-Import Bank were on hand to make presentations and respond to curious questions on the viability of the investment market, especially as it relates to the Transformation Agenda of the present administration.Justifying the essence of the conference, Akintunde said: 'Nigerians living abroad have been making very important contributions to economic development of Nigeria. Last year, total remittances (to Nigeria) exceeded $11 billion. Nigerians in the Diaspora are role models in their families and communities; inspiring young people to embrace education, hard work and selfless-giving.'NDFF is hosted in London this year just as it will, from 2013, hold in other financial capitals of the world with large Nigerian population, to recognise the contributions of Nigerians in Diaspora who deserve regular briefings on the state-of-the-country.'In an earlier chat on the matter, he said: 'We have always seen the need to integrate the migrant community with domestic policy landscape. They deserve regular briefing on what is going on in the country. Where this is not done, the void would be filled somehow. The exposure of Nigerians abroad to the foreign media means they might have distorted reality of what is happening in the country. This can discourage their inclination to want to invest in the country or return to contribute to the development process.'A few people in the current administration were in the Diaspora until recently. There is always a need to tap their global networks and employ their skills in governance, market regulation and leading businesses. There is a huge appetite for the NDFF. I think our invitation to the government to support NDFF is preaching to a convert. Already, ideas to enable Nigerians abroad to vote during presidential elections has been muted, and it looks like the administration of President Jonathan will move the agenda forward in next election.'The conference's first plenary session had Head of Research for Africa of Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, who spoke on Nigeria and Comparative Analysis of Sub Saharan Africa's (SSA) Frontier Emerging Markets. According to Ms Khan, by 2030, Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be $977 billion. This would be 32 per cent higher than that of South Africa, the current biggest economy in Africa.'In less than two decades from now, the size of the Nigerian economy would be more than three times the size of the Angola's GDP. By then, Angola ' the second largest oil exporter in Africa after Nigeria ' would have become SSA's third largest economy. The other fastest-growing frontier economies of Africa ' Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia ' would each become less than 30 per cent of Nigeria's GDP,' she continuedEven before 2030, a simulation by Standard Chartered Bank presented by Khan, shows that if the country's GDP is properly rebased, Nigeria will overtake South Africa's economy as early as 2018. This is brightened by the fact that Nigeria is the biggest growth economy in Africa on the back of a large population with prospect of becoming the fourth world largest, only behind India, China and the United States by 2050.Much of the growth anticipated in favour of Nigeria will be led by the non-oil sector. In this area, Nigerian Import'Export Bank (Nexim Bank), one of the conference sponsors, said it has ratcheted up its funding and advisory services.In his presentation, Managing Director/CEO of the bank, Mr. Robert Orya, spoke on several incentives Nigeria has put in place to encourage foreign investors. He pointed out that 100 per cent of foreign ownership of businesses in Nigeria was allowed, thereby making Nigeria one of the most liberal economies in the world, in terms of capital control.Development for International Department Trade Advisor to the Federal Government and Lead Consultant to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Ken Ife, mounted the podium to refocus the direction of discussion before it began to sound pro-government.He agreed that Nigeria offered adequate market, considering its demography, and other potentials that would sustain any volume of investment. He also admitted that its economy would exceed South Africa's if the informal sector were properly drafted into the GPD computation. He, however, lamented that the country, whose borders were among the worst business hostile in the world, was losing billions of dollars to trade barriers yearly.Disclosing that it costs $5,000 to convey a container of goods from Tema Terminal in Ghana to Lagos while similar container coming to the destination from Europe costs $2,500. Ife said Nigeria might never get its economy on the right path if trade is not simplified in tandem with global best practices.'Recently, I found out that there are 26 check points between Seme Border and Lagos in the day time; the figure doubles in the night. And World Trade Organisation (WTO) says such points should not be more than three. You spend more money and time when checkpoints are too many. In a recent survey, Nigeria ranked 148th in trade-cross-border performance. We cannot achieve anything meaningful unless we address trade barriers. The country currently loses $25b yearly to trade barriers,' he continued.Ife spoke expertly and with passion. He laid out some pragmatic steps the Nigerian governments (at national and sub-national levels) should take in collaboration with development partners to educate policymakers and support businesses to tap the export market.Chairman, Opportunity Nigeria, and past Chairman of the Nigerian British Chambers of Commerce, UK Chapter, Mr. Peter Walker, also believed Nigeria would need to seriously address trade barriers to position the economy for sustainable growth.Ife's presentation triggered thought-provoking questions and contributions from delegates. They raised concerns about the quality of the robust population Khan said, in her presentation, would drive the economy in the future. They charged the government to address the poor state of public education facilities, fix infrastructure, tackle insecurity and fight corruption in a manner that sends a positive signal to the international market.While the Nigerian delegates were emotional and grouchy about the government's perennial failure to address populist needs over the years, foreigners sincerely wanted to know if there were safety nets and investor guarantees on the part of the government.The second plenary session of the conference featured a keynote speech by Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu. His speech was contributed to and debated by a three-man panel. The Panelists were Managing Director, OpenSpacesCompliance Consultants, UK, Adeyemi Johnson; Partner, Clifford Chance, London (M&A Corporate Practice), Kem Ihenacho and Head of Asset Management, CardinalStone Partners, Mohammed Gruba.Moghalu gave assurance to the global audience that Nigerian banks were strong and stable enough to fund genuine investment across range.Shadrack Madlion, a Kaduna-based farmer and expert on agriculture and environment, highlighted the immense endowment of Nigeria in arable land and favourable climatic condition to grow several food and cash crops for local consumption as well as export. He noted that every community in the country was blessed with one form of agricultural resource or the other that remained untapped. He spoke with other renowned experts during the third plenary.Co-chair of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund, Amina Salihu, who spoke at the gala night, lamented that the country remained backward in all socio-political indicators. She charged the Nigerians in Diaspora to begin to play active role in the development of the country's economy through investment. She, however, said there were huge opportunities in the country with high returns despite reported socio-political risks.A major highlight of NDFF 2012 conference was the photo exhibition by Nigeria's veteran photographer, Baba Shettima, who exhibited over 50 photographs dating back to pre-Independence era.
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