Eight states record 32 projects worth $17.8b in Q1 2018, says NIPC

Shell supports Nigerian contractors with N472b loans

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), has said it recorded 32 projects in eight states worth over $17.8 billion investment inflows in the first quarter of 2018.It stated that this was against six projects in four states that received $6.38 billion in the first quarter of last year, as contained in its investments report for 2018 just released in Abuja.

The report was based only on investments announcement cited in its intelligence Newsletters published from January to March 2018.Speaking to journalists on the sources of the inflows yesterday in Abuja, Executive Secretary of NIPC, Yewande Sadiku, said the major source came from the United Kingdom (U.K.) with $59 million, followed by Nigeria with $212million, United States $2.3 million while China had $1.2 million.

Others are Switzerland with $847m while $262m came from other sources, as Sadiku also named Oil and Gas, Transport Construction, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Manufacturing and Solar Plants as mostly favoured sectors.

She noted that Lagos, Kano, Niger and Ogun states were identified as preferred investment destinations.NIPC Deputy-Director, Strategic Communications, Hajia Gana Wakil, said the council has concluded arrangements to host its first Investment Summit (DIS) in Nigeria by end of May.She said that the summit would bring together local and foreign investors with a view to further enlightening them on available business potentials in the country.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 290 Nigerian contractors have received loans worth N472 billion under the Shell Contractor Support Fund (SCSF).The scheme was set up by Shell companies in Nigeria to help vendors and suppliers in the oil and gas industry secure funds at reduced interest rates, relaxed collateral requirements and quicker processing time. Also, Shell Companies in Nigeria awarded contracts worth N230 billion to Nigerian contractors in 2017, representing 94 per cent of the total contracts last year.

Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), Osagie Okunbor, said the company was pleased to support Nigerian contractors to play greater roles in the oil and gas industry.

At the launch of the 2018 Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes in Lagos yesterday, Okunbor stated: “As pioneers in the industry, we have taken deliberate steps to award contracts to Nigerian vendors and worked with them to grow their capacity, cost efficiency and delivery timelines. “We, however, discovered that access to finance has been a challenge and the search for a solution led to the SCSF.”