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REAL SECTOR WATCH BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
Monday 02 July 2018
Dangote, Aarti, African Industries, Honeywell pump N4.63trn into economy in 5 years ...year-on-year investment drops by 17.2% ODINAKA ANUDU
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igerian manufacturers pumped N4.3 trillion into the Nigerian economy between 2013 and 2017, according to the latest data from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). The investments were in the form of new plants, machineries, equipment, land, vehicles, buildings and furniture. Firms that have consistently invested into the country’s economy include: Dangote Group, African Industries Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Honeywell, Aarti Steel, BUA Group and FrieslandCampina WAMCO, among many others. The data also show that manufacturers invested N508.98 billion in the whole of 2017 as against N614.55 billion recorded in 2016, signifying N105.57 billion or 17.2 percent year-on-year drop. Nigeria’s manufacturers expanded investments in 2017 despite slow recovery of the economy. Aarti Steel Nigeria Limited, a Nigerian steelmaker, completed a cold-rolled mill in Ota, Ogun State, with a capacity to produce 120,000 tonnes of products per annum last year. “We are confident in Nigeria and we just set up a cold-rolled plant in March. It is now fully stabilised and is producing already. It is a big investment and it will also be good for the Nigerian economy,” Aniket Singal, Aarti Group’s vice chairman, told Real Sector Watch in Lagos. The steel maker spent roughly N11 billion to complete the mill, expected to serve the downstream steel makers in Nigeria using
L-R: Sylvanus Nsofor, Nigerian ambassador to United States and Olamilekan Adelana, managing director, Zenith Carex Intl. Limited at a business-tobusiness matchmaking meeting organised by Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce at Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Washington DC, USA on June 21.
cold-rolled steel products for the production of home appliances, roofing sheets, metal furniture and filling cabinets, tables and chairs, among others. Unilever Nigeria, a Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) firm, in 2017, opened its Blue Band factory at Agbara Industrial Estate, Ogun State, which is the latest addition to investments the company has made in Nigeria. Dangote Group consistently raised its stakes in the economy through aggressive expansion in sugar plantations, rice production, cement, flour and pasta making, among others, in 2017. Dangote Group has been pumping close to $2 billion into sugar plantations since 2014 to tap into opportunities in the industry currently enjoyed by Brazil, which
is responsible for most of sugar imports into Nigeria. Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Group, signed a $700 million pact with Nasarawa State government for the purpose of setting up sugar projects. Flour Mills, which is one of the most diversified Nigerian conglomerates, has also been pumping billions in sugar, oil palm, flour and feeds, among others. Flour Mills has been investing over $300 million in its sugar projects in Sunti, Niger State, since 2014. Beta Glass, subsidiary of Frigoglass Industries Limited, set up three furnaces exceeding 600 tons of produced glass containers per day in 2016. Through its United Cement Company of Nigeria (UniCem), Lafarge has been pumping $565
million into the economy to add 2.5 million metric tonnes (mt) capacity cement plant in Mfamosing, Calabar, Cross River State. Honeywell Flour Mills Plc spent N64 billion on an integrated processing facility in Ogun State. PZ Wilmar has invested over N65 billion in developing oil palm plantations and palm oil mills in Cross River State. The company is investing in over 26,000 hectares of land in the state. Similarly, Presco Plc, one of the leading palm oil producers in Nigeria, has so far invested N75 billion into oil palm plantations and palm oil mills. On December 1 last year, Kellogg’s and Tolaram Nigeria Limited commissioned a N6 billion naira factory, with a capacity to produce 10,000 metric tonnes of cereals per year. In June 2017, dairy maker FrieslandCampina WAMCO commissioned a milk collection plant in Saki, Oyo State, with a capacity to hold 12,000 litres of raw milk daily and 4.32 million litres annually. Also in June, Procter & Gamble, largest American non-oil investor in Nigeria, commissioned a new production line for its Always brand in Agbara, Ogun State, south-west Nigeria. On August 30 last year, vice president Yemi Osinbajo commissioned a 60,000 metric tonnes per annum Edo State Fertilizer Plant, Auchi. On the same day, BUA commissioned its second cement plant located at Obu, Okpella, Edo State. BUA has invested $2 billion dollars in the Nigerian cement industry with capacities in excess of over 8 million tons per annum within nine years of existence.
“Our investments in the two cement lines in Edo State represent the largest non-oil and gas related investment in the whole of the South-Southern region of Nigeria. Our technology has the latest filtration with capacity of less than 10 milligram per normal cubic meter. We use natural gas, which is a very clean energy for both our kiln as well as the power plant in addition to having a very green environment,” said Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group, at the commissioning. In late November, FoodPro Limited commissioned its cashew processing factory in Ilorin, Kwara State. Manufacturers were hard hit by dollar crunch in 2016, resulting from a combination of global oil price slump and militancy in the Delta that cut production targets. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) claimed in 2016 that it lost 54 of its members whose firms went under owing to dollar crunch. Multiples of small-scale businesses were shut down, while firms such as Truworths and Clover left Nigeria. However, more liquidity in the foreign exchange market and the introduction of investors and SME windows eased dollar access for manufacturers as confirmed by Frank Jacobs, president of MAN The Nigerian economy exited recession in the second quarter of 2017 after suffering contraction for five consecutive quarters. The gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 percent growth in Q2 and 1.40 per cent in the third quarter of 2017 in real terms, signalling a gradual rebound for an economy earlier characterised by severe dollar crunch.
BASF, PSN launch ‘Young Female Pharmacist of the Year’ award
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A S F, w o r l d ’s l a r g e s t chemical company, has launched the 2018 ‘Young Female Pharmacist of the Year’ awards programme in partnership with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN). The programme is for BASF West Africa. This pioneering awards programme is a competitive process, open only to female pharmacists between the ages of 25 and 35 who are registered in Nigeria. Applicants can be drawn from manufacturing, academia and/or public research institutes and they may be nominated, or elect to apply themselves. Speaking at the inauguration of the awards programme with the committee saddled with the responsibility of validating and assessing the entries, Jean – Marc Ricca, managing director of BASF
West Africa, said, “This awards programme will serve as an incentive for innovation and scientific excellence in Nigeria, as we honour women who have shown exceptional commitment and have made extraordinary achievements in their scientific fields. In the same vein, we hope to contribute our own quota to the achievement of Sustainability Development Goals 4 and 5, which relate to quality education and gender equality respectively.” Sharmila Govind, head of human resources for Market Area Africa, applauded this initiative as one that speaks closely to the rewards and recognition scheme of BASF. According to her, “I am very excited about this because the topic of women in leadership is one close to my heart. With this kind of initiative, I hope we see more women step in to the limelight and grow in their careers.”
L-R: Sharmila Govind, BASF’s head of human resources for Africa; Mbang N. Femi-Oyewo, chairman of PSN’s selection committee; Ahmed I Yakasai, president, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria; Jean-Marc Ricca, managing director, BASF West Africa; Sithembiso Dlalisa, sales account manager, BASF West Africa and Sola Balogun, corporate communications & governmental relations manager for BASF West Africa at the inauguration of Young Female Pharmacist of the Year’ award in Lagos recently
Also present at the meeting was Ahmed Yakasai, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria. Yakasai expressed delight at this intervention from BASF and encouraged all the members of the societal body to make the most of this opportunity. He also implored BASF West Africa to make this an annual awards programme to ensure more opportunities and exposure for young female pharmacists. He requested the selection committee, led by Mbang Femi-Oyewo, former deputy vice chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University and fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN), to discharge its duties judiciously and present candidates the society will be proud of. The finalists will be announced and awards will be presented at the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria’s Annual Conference in October 2018.