Organized Private Sector Attributes 74% Drop in FDI to Monetary Policies

The Organized Private Sector, OPS, over the weekend, blamed the plunge in foreign investments inflow into the country in the first quarter of 2016 on government’s monetary policies.

Capital Economics Analysts had last week, reported that the flow of foreign capital into Nigeria was $711 million in the first quarter of 2016, a 74 per cent fall from 2015.

The OPS Chairman/ President of NACCIMA, Bassey Edem, who reacted to the development said: “We commend the government for encouraging the flow of FDI into the country through various trade visits and overtures to foreign countries.”

“However, all these efforts have not yielded the desired results due to government monetary policies which are currently not encouraging for investors.”

He said that for FDI to increase, government should encourage the ease of doing business by relaxing its stringent policies in selected sectors identified for high growth potential.

However, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, showed that FDI in Nigeria increased by $501.83 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.

It was averaging $1379.76 from 2007 until 2015, reaching an all time high of $3084.90 in the fourth quarter of 2012 and a record low of $501.83 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.