Nigerian steel manufacturer saves economy N236bn

African Industries Group, Nigeria’s major private sector steel manufacturer, yesterday, said that it saves the country $650 million (about N236 billion) through import-substitution, by exporting finished steel from its plants to other African countries.


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The group also lamented the high cost of sea freight of steel products to other countries within the continent, calling on the port authorities and other relevant agencies to ease the bottleneck associated with exporting cargoes through the ports and reduce the various charges to acceptable level to make Nigerian goods competitive in the global market.

Group Managing Director, African Industries Group, Alok Gupta, revealed this in a presentation on ´Taking Nigerian Steel to the Global Map´ to government officials, banks, among other stakeholders in Lagos. He said his company has invested more than $1.1 billion in Nigeria with plans to invest more in upcoming projects.

He said: “All these efforts have resulted in huge saving of $650 million in foreign exchange to the country. We have been exporting between 150,000 – 200,000 metric tons of steel on annual basis to Ghana, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Morocco. However, our steel products had to compete with big producers from Ukraine, Russia, China and other developed countries.

“Our export of steel during the first nine months of this year has increased over three fold by weight and value compared to the whole of 2016. To put numbers on it – in 2017 for the first three quarters, our steel exports are almost $13.5 million compared to $4.1 million in 2016 and we are expecting an additional $12 million of steel exports in the final quarter of the year.

Overall, we expect over $25 million in the current year 2017. We are proud to achieve this milestone due to combined effort of our team and enabling environment created by domestic industrial policies.”

On export challenges, Gupta stated: “There are many challenges both on logistics and fiscal policy issues. Sea freight between Lagos and other West African countries is almost double of what it costs to bring the steel product from Ukraine or China. For example, sea freight from Ukraine to Ghana is $35-40 per metric tons while from Lagos to Ghana costs $65 per metric tons which is almost 50 percent more.

“We appeal to shipping companies operating in Nigeria to remove this abnormality and make a level playing field for us, if we really want Nigeria to emerge as global player in steel sector. We need our colleague, partner and workforce among port authorities and customs to ease the bottleneck associated with smooth flow of export cargoes through port, reduce the various charges to acceptable level so as to make Nigerian goods compatible in global market.”

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, lauded the company’s stride, saying that the federal government’s policy on privatization of the steel sector is working.

Fayemi who was represented by Mr. Ime Ekrikpo, Director, Steel and Non- Ferrous Metals, assured operators in the sector of right policy support and incentives aimed at taking the industry higher.

“Our key target in the mining industry is the steel and we will give them all the necessary support to begin to produce from iron ore,” he said.

Also Speaking, President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Frank Jacob, applauded the company’s export feat. “In spite of harsh operating environment, they are able to produce, export and earn foreign exchange for the country,” he said.

Meet the New CBN Deputy Governor Aishah Ahmad

Aishah Ahmad, 40, has been actively involved in banking at the top level for most part of the last 20 years, either as a banking executive or investment adviser on retail banking, wealth management, consulting and financial advisory.

Born October 26, 1977, Mrs. Ahmad, an indigene of Niger State, was, prior to her appointment, the Executive Director (Retail Banking) at Diamond Bank Plc.

She is the chairperson of the executive council of Women in Management, Business and Public Service, WIMBIZ, a Nigerian non-profit organisation, established in 2001, focused on addressing issues affecting the interest of women professionals in business, with particular attention on promoting leadership development and building capacities to engender growth.

Mrs. Ahmad’s appointment is expected to fill the void created by the exit of the former deputy governor in charge of Economic Policy, Sarah Alade, who retired from the Central Bank in March 2017 as the only woman in the top hierarchy of the apex bank.

Mrs. Ahmad’s professional banking experience traverses the NAL Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.

A member of the Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, CAIA Associations, Mrs. Ahmad was until her appointment in charge of the Consumer Banking Division at Diamond Bank Plc, covering the consumer banking, privilege banking, retail assets chains.

A holder of the Master of Science, MSc in Finance & Management from the Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom, Mrs. Ahmad, an accounting graduate from the University of Abuja, also has a Master of Business Administration, MBA in finance from the University of Lagos.

She is married to Abdallah Ahmad, a retired brigadier-general. They have two sons.

He appointment was announced by the presidency on Thursday. She is expected to assume duty as CBN deputy governor immediately after her confirmation by the Senate.

SHOCKING!!! Nigeria’s Economy To Shut Down, A Few Hours After Buhari’s Speech, As Top Businessmen Describe The Broadcast As EMPTY

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Nigerians have reacted with mixed feelings to President Muhammadu Buhari’s address to the nation on Monday, two days after he returned from a medical vacation in the United Kingdom, UK.

The speech which lasted only for 6 minutes, failed to address issues bordering on the Nigerian economy, which many have said was on the state of recovering, before Buhari’s dramatic arrival.

Many Businessmen, who spoke on Monday, described the President’s speech as “empty”, stating that Buhari’s refusal to address the issue of the economy in his speech, is a bad signal that the economy may return to its despicable state.

Recall, that the financial market operators and investors, both local and international, were waiting anxiously to take dramatic investment decisions, based on Buhari’s speech direction.

The wait was based on an assessment by Financial Experts, that the socio-political economy of the country has recorded significant progress in Buhari’s absence, which stands to be validated or reversed by his speech and subsequent decisions.

The foreign exchange market has witnessed changes that brought about the relative stability of the naira, and businesses are gradually rebounding with improved numbers, as reforms picked up before Buhari’s arrival.

At the weekend, the financial market that had long been in high gear, saw the Interbank’s overnight lending rate falling to an average of 12 percent, from 60 percent a week ago.

This was a result of the repayment of matured treasury bills, and a refund of excess cash deposited by banks to buy dollars, by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

CBN had sold $100 million at its special intervention auction in the foreign exchange market earlier in the week, less than the amount demanded by banks, leading to a refund of the excess deposits.

Consequently, the parallel market rate remained at N366 per dollar, while the interbank official rate remains below N306 per dollar, and the investors and exporters’ window priced the naira at N367 per dollar.

Also, the All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, rose by 1.66 percent at 36,920 points, after bargain hunters returned to take positions in the financial sector stocks.

Frontline economist, Bismarck Rewane, said everything was pegged on his broadcast today, which would be highly priced, as long as it is in a positive direction.

“Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has done a great job so far, Buhari only needs to sustain it, perhaps building more on it. By his speech today, we would need to get a new sense of direction in plugging leakages.

“The market is ready to respond, and it will be positive as long as the content of the speech is positive too. So, let the activities begin”, Rewane said.

The Managing Director of Afrinvest Securities Limited, Ayodeji Eboh, said the market was anxious to know the content of the broadcast, as investment decisions are always responsive to information and its meanings.