Nigeria, Netherlands to increase investments in economic sectors

Nigeria, Netherlands to increase investments in economic sectors

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Netherlands is planning to increase its investment in strategic sectors of Nigeria’s economy, Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Johannes Maria, has said.
He said companies in the European country had shown interest in investing in Nigeria, noting that the volume of trade between the two countries last year was encouraging.

Maria, who was represented by the Head, Lagos Office, Embassy of Netherlands, Mr. Mitchel Deleen, spoke in Lagos at a business luncheon organised by the Nigeria-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce.

As part of the European country’s commitment to Nigeria, Maria stated that the Dutch government had set up the Dutch Withdrawal Fund to support upcoming Nigerian entrepreneurs.
The ambassador said the two countries would benefit immensely from the planned increased economic activities as more jobs would be created, among other benefits.

He said, “We want to move from doing trade to doing more investments. So, business is on the increase, there’s huge interest from Dutch companies doing business with Nigeria, there is interest from Nigeria companies doing business with the Netherlands. But what we now need to focus on is to see actually if we can get more Dutch investment in Nigeria.”

Maria identified the areas of focus to include agro business and urbanisation, among others
Underscoring the need for more investment, Maria stated that the 2014 trade volume between the two countries was €7b.

He added, “That’s a lot of money. Part of that is oil and refined product. That is market on its own.”
The envoy said, “So, what we are focusing on is actually on the agriculture, on horticulture, products like dairy but also vegetables, improve quality, improve system of delivery, improve the whole value chain. Another thing we are focusing on is infrastructure.”

The Chairman of Council, NNCC, Dr. Reginald Ihejiahi, said the organisation was established to encourage, facilitate and boost bilateral trade between Nigeria and Netherlands.
The former managing director of Fidelity Bank said, “Most people don’t know that Netherlands is frequently as the largest trade partner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, submitted that the relevance of banks in facilitating trade between nations was germane.

“So, we play that facilitation role by being a well-respected bank in area of trade processing. About three weeks ago, we are one of the winners of Straight Through Processing of Deutsche Bank.
“So, the customers you see here today are beneficiaries of our efficient trade processes.”
He said the successful election in Nigeria in 2015 was beginning to have positive impact as it has boosted the confidence of foreign investors.

The managing director noted that though there were more than 17 million registered Small and Medium Enterprises in the country, their mortality rate was alarming because some of the operators did not understand the business.

“But we have created specific product for them. We took time to understudy their businesses, train them and lend to them. It is no wonder therefore that the default rate in our SME business today is far below the regulatory limit,” Okonkwo maintained.