SA, Nigeria launch investment council
26 February 2009
South Africa and Nigeria have launched a joint advisory council to promote and facilitate increased investment between the two continental powerhouses.
Speaking after a meeting of the South Africa-Nigeria Bi-National Commission in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday, Deputy President Baleka Mbete said the Joint Presidential Advisory Council on Investment would help create an environment that would encourage investment flows between the two countries.
This, she said, would "translate into jobs and the upliftment of communities in both our countries".
Mbete said trade and investment had grown exponentially since the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994 and the resumption of diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.
Nigeria contributes over 40% of West Africa's regional gross domestic product (GDP). Petroleum plays a major role in the Nigerian economy, accounting for around 40% of the country's GDP.
With its large population and abundant natural resources, Nigeria has become South Africa's most important trading partner on the continent. Bilateral trade grew from approximately R180-million in 1999 to almost R11-billion in 2007, with South Africa's imports from Nigeria dominated by crude oil (98% of imports).
Over the same period, a number of South African companies have become major players in almost all sectors of the Nigerian economy, the biggest investment being in telecommunications.
Other sectors of Nigeria's economy that South African firms are involved in are banking, property, retail, media, mining, construction, tourism, agriculture, entertainment, and fast food franchising.
These sectors still present a host of opportunities for South Africa, with competition in these markets still limited.
Source: BuaNews
