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Nigeria’s manufacturing sector records 88.2% increase in capital imports

Published

1 year ago

November 18, 2023

During the first half of the year ending June 30, 2023 (H1’23), there was an 88.17% year-on-year increase in capital inflow into Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that investment in the sector increased from $457.66 million in H1’22 to $861.17 million in H1’23.

Additionally, the data demonstrates that during the six months, the manufacturing sector’s share of total capital inflow increased by 25.08 percentage points, from 14.73% in H1’22 to 39.81% in H1’23. In H1’23, the total amount of capital imported was $2.163 billion.

The sector’s inflow rose 136.2% on a quarter-over-quarter basis in Q2’23, reaching $605.04 million from $256.12 million in Q1’22. In Q2 2023; this also accounted for 58.73% of all capital imports.

According to the sectoral breakdown, the manufacturing sector saw the largest inflow during that time, coming in second with $499.14 million, followed by the banking sector.

Economic and investment strategist, Ayorinde Akinloye commented on the development, expressing surprise at the increase in capital flowing into the manufacturing sector and claiming it was more of an anomaly.

He stated, “I don’t think there’s a broad economic explanation for what happened. It is likely a situation whereby a major piece of equipment was imported into the sector. You will recall that sometime in 2018, Aliko Dangote imported one piece of equipment for his refinery, which boosted imported capital and foreign trade at that time. That may be what also happened in this case.”

Akinloye, however, said that the fact that the surge seen during the period was an outlier would make it difficult to sustain the trend as we advance.

“The economic fundamentals that should aid improvement in capital importation through production and manufacturing are not there. Foreign exchange (forex) remains a problem; the business operating environment also remains quite difficult,” he said.

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Egypt’s November inflation drops to 25.5%, near 2-year low

Published

11 hours ago

December 11, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to figures released Tuesday by statistics agency CAPMAS, Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate fell more than anticipated to 25.5% in November, the lowest level since December 2022.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused international investors to pull billions of dollars out of Egyptian treasury markets, inflation started to rise sharply in early 2022.

In September 2023, headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0%. It dropped to 26.5% by October 2024.

In a Reuters survey last month, 15 economists’ consensus prediction was for annual inflation to gradually decline to 26.4%.

According to CAPMAS statistics, headline inflation decreased from 1.1% in October to 0.5% in November every month.

Compared to October, when they fell 1.1%, food costs fell 2.8% over the month, making them 23.3% more than they were a year ago.

An increase in the money supply has been a major contributor to inflation. According to central bank data, Egypt’s M2 money supply increased by 29.54% in October compared to the same month last year.

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Nigeria creates N20bn consumer credit fund for domestic automakers

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an attempt to increase demand for cars built domestically, the Nigerian government has established a N20 billion consumer credit facility programme.

The goal of the programme, which is run by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (Credicorp), is to keep customer interest rates to single digit.

The fund aims to remove obstacles that consumers face when purchasing cars on credit, according to Credicorp Managing Director/CEO Engr. Uzoma Nwagba, who spoke at the official launch/agreement signing between Credicorp and the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in Abuja.

Nwagba said that the credit economy contributed to the creation of jobs and wealth for Nigerians as well as to the enhancement of residents’ quality of life.

According to him, the government is dedicated to helping the industry in order to guarantee its expansion and survival. According to him, the N20 billion fund was only the start, and if the initial support proves effective, the government intends to create a larger fund.

Earlier, Mr. Joseph Osanipin, the Director General of NADDC, stated that the industry’s expansion depends on the demand side of the car market being improved.

According to Osanipin, credit programs enable consumers to acquire brand-new cars of their choosing, but in the majority of prosperous nations, people do not pay cash for cars and other autos.

According to him, the program, which covers all types of autos such cars, vans, tricycles, and motorbikes, is available to all Nigerians and involves automakers that produce or assemble their goods entirely domestically.