Nigeria, US Trade Now $5.21bn

US Consul General Pierangelo Nigeria and the United States recorded 5.21 billion dollars bilateral trade between January and August this year.

The Consul General, US Consulate in Lagos, Ms Claire Pierangelo, disclosed this during the 2019 International Investment Conference on Wednesday in Lagos. The event, organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), was themed; ‘Promoting Investment, Connecting Businesses.’

Represented by Ms Christine Kelley, US Commercial Attache, Pierangelo said that the US saw a lot of opportunities in Nigeria, adding that 8.3 billion dollars was recorded as trade in 2018.

She commended Nigeria for improving in its ranking on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business index, saying it foresees more improvement in the economy. According to her, to sustain flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria, government should maintain an open dialogue with international bodies, improve its regulatory environment, policies and infrastructure.

She urged the business community to hold government accountable on some of its policies, saying that many US companies were affected by some of government’s policies. Pierangelo said that such policies sent a warning signal to many US investors, thus scaring them away from the country. According to her, policies such as 43 items on the banned lists and the dairy sector, is a concern to many investors.

Also, Dr Bongo Adi, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics and Business Intelligence, Lagos Business School (LBS), noted that Nigeria moving 39 place upward in the Ease of Doing Business ranking was impressive and its best since 2011.

He, however, said that attracting FDI had not matched the achievement, saying the country had about 9 billion dollars FDI inflow in 2011 which had dropped to less than 2 billion dollars in 2018. Adi said that government should work on policies and initiatives that would allow its improved ease of doing business ranking translate to increased FDI inflow. (NAN)