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Nigeria woos local firms to boost manufacturing as coronavirus disrupt imports

Published 19/05/2020, 22:19

By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA, May 19 (Reuters) - Nigeria is wooing local companies
to boost manufacturing and food production in the West African
country, the central bank said, after the novel coronavirus
disrupted imports and created large financing needs.
The coronavirus outbreak and an oil price plunge have
intensified headwinds for Nigeria, which relies on imports for
consumption, triggering a historic decline in growth and large
financing needs.
The government expects the economy to shrink by 3.4% this
year as measures to slow the spread of the virus create
bottlenecks for manufacturers, struggling to boost output in a
nation without a strong productive base.
Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele urged domestic
companies to support efforts to grow the economy, he told chief
executives of conglomerates operating in Nigeria at a virtual
meeting over the weekend.
Emefiele said the bank was willing to provide hard currency
for imports of machinery and raw materials that cannot be
sourced at home, he said in a statement.
Nigeria is facing dollar shortages worsened by the oil price
crash that has weakened the naira currency. Emefiele said
Nigeria's reserves of about $37 billion were robust enough to
support the economy and the bank would not stop dividend
repatriation.
Offshore investors have yet to get dollars to repatriate
funds since last month's lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of
the virus. The bank has said it wants to ensure an orderly exit
of investors. It added it would prioritise strategic imports or service
obligations for dollars to galvanise local manufacturing.
President Muhammadu Buhari has been trying to diversify the
economy away from oil by boosting the non-oil sector.

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