Most Populous Black Nation’s Power Sector, New Investment Hub –Report

Nigeria’s newly unbundled power sector has been described as an investment hub for willing investors. According to the global publishing research and consultancy firm, Oxford Business Group (OBG) in its recently published reports, the country’’s power sector is poised to play a major role in addressing the country’s long-standing electricity shortage.
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It also stated that the power sector would command major investment in comparison to oil and gas, banking, manufacturing among others.
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OBG’s Director Circulation and Communications,Ms. Stephanie Parker, said that the major part of the recent privatization of the country’s power sector would address its long-standing electricity shortage and this has been analysed and explored in the new report.
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The report, tagged : “Nigeria 2013” contains a contribution from President Goodluck Jonathan, together with a detailed, sector-by-sector guide for investors,including a wide range of interviews with leading political, economic and business representatives.
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Other contributors are the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala, the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast and the former president of Brazil and Honorary President of the Lula Institute Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
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OBG’s new report identifies the spotlight on Nigeria’s banking industry, providing wide-ranging coverage of the central bank’s efforts to improve the sector’s operating environment. Core industry players from four of Nigeria’s main banks lent their views in a roundtable on a range of topical issues, including the national drive to recover past losses through restructuring and the increasingly important role earmarked for consumer credit in generating economic growth.
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Parker also explained the impact of the research work by the group, saying, “The Report analysed the country’s bid to overhaul its oil production infrastructure that is seen as key to sustaining output and boosting downstream processing. It mulls the challenges facing Africa’s number one oil producer, while documenting new initiatives, such as plans to channel funds into deepwater reserves exploration”.
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The extensive research also peeked in detail at Nigeria’s rapidly-evolving ICT industry, which is one of the most dynamic on the continent. With growth in the mobile sector increasing and internet penetration on the rise, The Report: Nigeria 2013 considers the potential for expansion in segments such as online shopping.
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OBG’s new report further provides depth coverage of the development taking place in Oyo, where efforts to streamline procedures and improve infrastructure are garnering investor interest, particularly across the state’s agricultural sector.
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In the same vein,Regional Editor, Robert Tashima, noted that Nigeria has to answer critical question , such as the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), and heightened security risks in some areas.
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“However, we have also witnessed the country take important steps forward over the past twelve months, led by the long-awaited privatisation of the electricity network and a loosening of pension fund investment rules, which ought to increase trading activity on the stock exchange,” he said. “These, and other recent reforms, combined with the country’s long term-fundamentals, provide Nigeria with an encouraging outlook.”