Okonjo-Iweala meets US investors over Nigerian economy

In pursuit of President Goodluck Jonathan’s focus on growing the economy by boosting investment and job creation in the country, the incoming minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has held a meeting with top financiers and key global investors.

Though she is yet to resume, sources close to the minister said the meetings, which held in New York and Washington DC, centred on exploring opportunities in different sectors of the Nigerian economy, especially with regard to financing important projects in the country.

Amongst those she has already met are George Soros as well as the heads of two of the biggest investment banks in the US - Citigroup CEO, Vikram Pandit; and CEO of JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon.

A source at the meeting said the discussions were both “positive and promising,” adding that the investors are “clearly interested in Nigeria and would invest under the right conditions and environment. But they also expressed concern about some aspects of the country’s financial and economic management.

“In particular, the financiers and investors would like to see a tighter approach to macroeconomic management including a better budgetary process, improvements in the investment climate, and greater transparency and rule of law in the country.”

There will also be follow up meetings in the weeks ahead, to further explore specific ideas and possible projects.

A recent report by Bloomberg said Nigeria’s dollar bond yields are at an all time low in comparison with European stocks because of the country’s low debt stock and “expectations (that) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a managing director at the World Bank, will help spur policy changes to encourage investment when she returns to the Cabinet.”
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