Buhari Lures Japanese Investors With High Investment Returns

• Buhari Lures Japanese Investors With High Investment Returns

President Mohammadu Buhari has urged Japan to invest heavily in Nigeria saying that Nigeria has high-income returns.

Buhari, who spoke at the third Preliminary section on; “Public-Private Business Dialogue” at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on Africa Development (TICAD7), in Yokohama, Japan, commended the relationship between Nigeria and Japan, he described the Asian country as “strategic partner” for Nigeria’s “socio-economic development”.

He described the timing of the forum as a case where investment meets opportunity; adding that the forum came at the right time when Nigeria was tackling challenges affecting the economy and that his administration had already set up procedures to diversify the economy.

The President further said that Nigeria as well as other African countries expects lots of investment opportunities from the forum, “considering the role of the foreign direct investment in all economies-developed and developing” nations.

He said, “The TICAD Forum is important to Nigeria in many respects. First, it coincides with the period when the country is faced with a number of challenges that affect our economy. Our government has put in place measures seeking to diversify the economy by developing agriculture, emphasising on manufacturing and addressing the energy and infrastructure deficit. With these, we shall be placing Nigeria on the path of rapid growth and sustainable development.

“Secondly, the Forum is coming at a time when our government is implementing home-grown and private sector-driven economic measures that are predicated on good governance, infrastructure and human capital development as well as business climate reform.

The President urged private investors to take advantage of the plan to implement “home-grown and private sector-driven economic measures that are predicated on good governance, infrastructure and human capital development as well as business climate reform.”

Assuring them of the highest returns on investment, he listed investment areas investors could tap into which including, power, renewable energy, petrochemicals, automobile, oil and gas, agribusiness, healthcare, maritime/shipping, textiles, agro processing and food processing,

He also said that the establishment of the Japan-Nigeria Business Facilitation Council, an initiative of the Japanese government, would be launched upon his return to the country.