Nigeria’s 2011 output level was around 2.45m bpd of oil and condensate, about 2.9% of global production, making it the world’s 12th-largest supplier that year. Estimates of proven reserves for natural gas vary from 180.5 tcf to 187 tcf, but these figures may well underestimate the country’s potential. Indeed Nigeria’s natural gas is even more abundant than its oil, but the country has so far…
Now four years on from the 2008 banking crisis, Nigeria’s financial sector is continuing to reap the benefits of the reforms that followed, with rapid growth in profitability and a significant decline in bad debt.The five biggest banks saw growth double this year. Their combined profits soared to $1.6bn, four times the $400m they achieved in 2005, according to Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, the CEO of Access…
As the country focuses on filling important gaps in transport and power infrastructure to improve the business environment in Nigeria, overcoming important shortfalls in the soft infrastructure will also be key to accelerating economic growth in the years to come. Having dropped 28 places in the World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Index to 127th out of 133 in 2009 – where it remains in 2011…
Following the August 2011 acquisition of three so-called bridge banks by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the federal government now finds itself the largest single owner of bank stock in the country. With foreign investors and mid-tier domestic banks having expressed interest in purchasing these formerly distressed assets, AMCON is currently weighing its sale options. Although…
While the economy of Nigeria remains largely cash-based, a concerted push is under way to reduce inefficient cash transactions. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), excessive currency in circulation has undermined its efforts to ensure price stability. Moreover, high costs associated with currency sorting, cash management, transport and frequent printing have also kept bank service fees…
As the two largest economies in West Africa, the relationship between Nigeria and Ghana is a crucial one for the region. Trade ties are particularly important, and Nigeria’s high levels of liquidity serve as an important source of capital for Ghana. However, a recent dispute between the two countries concerning the status of Nigerian traders in Ghana is a reminder of past bilateral tensions…
While Nigeria is the 14th-largest crude oil producer in the world and has the 10th-biggest proven reserves, the legacy of petrol subsidies has left a gaping hole in public finances. The partial lifting of these subsidies in January 2012 has given the government more room for manoeuvre, but dealing with the consequences of massive corruption in fuel imports and broaching the issue of further increases…
Unique to Africa, Nigeria’s federal system of government remains subject to frequent calls for modification. The colonial powers’ policy of “divide and rule” left an independent Nigeria as a country with disparate levels of economic, political, social and cultural development. As JP Mackintosh wrote in his book Nigerian Government and Politics, published in 1960, “The Nigerian federation…
The country is set to join the ranks of the leading oil producers in establishing a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) to manage the excess proceeds of its production in times of high pricing. Yet despite legislative progress in 2011, the initiative has been met with political uncertainty – not concerning its objectives as such, but rather the funding structure. A balance between state and federal interests…
While the banking sector is certainly sizeable in Nigeria, access to finance at the small end of the scale has only started to be addressed in a more structured way over the past decade. Although the number of microfinancial institutions (MFIs) has grown in recent years, with commercial banks joining donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the government in funding such schemes, progress…
