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Analysis

Redirecting trade: New partnerships offer much potential for growth
OBG
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Western investors have not been the only ones to notice Nigeria’s resilient growth. While global demand has gradually rebalanced towards large emerging economies such as the BRICS, Nigeria’s trade patterns are shifting. The displacement of the US by India as Nigeria’s largest trading partner in the first quarter of 2012 (for the first time since 1964) is symbolic of a wider shift in trade.…

Analysis

At the centre: The role of bonds is shaping the sector in a number of ways
OBG
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A number of factors suggest Nigeria has all the makings for a vibrant bond market, one that has come a long way since its inception a decade ago. In the last few years a sustained downturn in equities has diverted investment towards money markets and fixed income instruments, while sovereign bond issuance has successfully established a yield curve since 2008. By the end of 2011 Nigeria’s 48 bonds…

Analysis

Black gold: The price of oil looks set to continue rising in the long term
OBG
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The fate of Nigeria’s economy has long been intertwined with the trajectory of its single-largest export: oil. As a result, the country is sensitive to the ups and downs of the global crude market, which can have significant repercussions on domestic growth and capital accumulation. Oil prices thus play a crucial role in underwriting both the short-term and long-term health of the local economy.…

Analysis

A fresh start: Officials are hoping to begin a new chapter in power production
OBG
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In terms of electricity production, Nigeria’s power sector faces many challenges. According to June 2012 remarks by Bart Nnaji, the former minister of power, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), which is being unbundled, had debts of N400bn ($2.56bn). With its own plants gas-fired, PHCN had been paying just 50% of what it owed for that gas to the international oil companies supplying…

Analysis

Mergers and acquisitions: Consolidation and divestment are set to boost competition
OBG
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The year 2012 has been a time of significant change for Nigeria’s insurance sector, as a majority of banks divest from their insurance subsidiaries and underwriters prepare for the transition to new regulations, such as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The entry of a number of foreign players will likely spur higher growth in the retail segment, while domestic underwriters…

Analysis

Energising the sector: Privatisation of the former state-owned power company begins
OBG
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In the second half of July 2012 hopefuls submitted technical and financial bids for 17 of the 18 companies formed from the state-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). With announcement of the preferred bidders for five out of six generation companies made in September 2012. An accumulated total of over $1bn had been offered for the power plants at Ughelli, Sapele, Geregu, Shiroro and Kanji.…

Analysis

Planning for the future: Reforms have improved both the quality and quantity of pensions
OBG
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Separated from other life insurance by the 2004 Pension Reform Act, group life policies have been the most successful product class driving penetration in recent years and now represent the largest pool of investment assets domestically. With the regulator, the Pensions Commission (PenCom), driving consolidation in the insurance sector in 2012, new rules on where pension funds can be invested will…

Analysis

Beyond the primary market: Envisioning a greater diversity of instruments
OBG
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A long slump in equities has spurred authorities and market participants to try to deepen and diversify types of market instruments in a more concerted fashion. A first milestone was reached in December 2011, when West Africa’s first exchange-traded fund (ETF) was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Succeeding in the exchange’s “five products in five years” strategy will be key…

Analysis

From waste to wealth: Bringing in the private sector to address shortcomings with waste management infrastructure
OBG
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As domestic migration and population growth increase the pressure on urban waste management infrastructure, Nigeria’s federal and state-level policymakers are increasingly turning towards the private sector to attract investment and management expertise. MOUNTING PROBLEM: Rapid urbanisation set off by the oil boom in the 1970s has outpaced the design and implementation of waste management…

Analysis

All’s well that ends dwell: Reducing bureaucracy is one of the targets for ports
OBG
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In 2011 Nigerian ports imported 660,000 containers, for a 10% increase year-on-year (y-o-y), and the country’s port capacity is set for a boost with the opening of a new $1.7bn facility. The port, in Lekki, in the Lagos Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), is expected to have an annual capacity of 2.5m twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on completion of the first phase in 2015. In addition to three container…