The Nigerian government has unveiled the “deal room”, a new initiative which aims to serve as a centralised platform for investors with a showcase of 65 bankable projects totalling $78.5bn.

The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, by a delegation led by Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, and Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Projects to be highlighted by the deal room include those in oil and gas, power, transport and maritime, industry, manufacturing and mining, agriculture and agro-processing, technology, health and urban services.

Bid to woo investors

The delegates also highlighted progress they said has been made in the country’s economic reform agenda. A presentation from the ministry of finance highlighted 4.43% GDP growth and a fall in headline inflation to 15.39% from 23.14% in 2025. Growth in foreign reserves and federal allocations to Nigeria’s states were also detailed. Recent upgrades by the Big Three rating agencies were hailed.

Ministry of finance delegates also highlighted a diversification drive which has seen a rise in receipts from the non-oil sector and stable oil production figures, which they said has made the country more resilient to fluctuations in oil prices and geopolitical shocks.

A presentation from the CBN was led by deputy governor Phillip Keazor, who highlighted the country’s recent banking recapitalisation, a rise in forex reserves to $58.81bn, and an exchange rate convergence which he said has shrunk the gap between the parallel and official foreign exchange markets to less than 2%.

The government says its vision is to “maintain economic stability through disciplined monetary, fiscal and FX policies, expand capital markets as reform credibility continues, mobilise long term domestic and private capital for infrastructure and productivity and partner with investors to finance Nigeria’s next phase of job-rich growth.”

Five reform priorities

In his comments during the interactive session, Taiwo Oyedele listed five critical policy reform decisions to expect from the government.

The first he identified as “agric reforms, because one of the drivers of inflation is food.”

The next is power, because, he said, “you cannot power a trillion-dollar economy in darkness. We are dealing with issues around transmission and how do we drive efficiency”

Number three on the list is inflation, with the minister informing his audience that there is “a dedicated focus on what we must do, particularly from the fiscal side, to rein in inflation.”

The fourth reform plank from the fiscal side is the streamlining of regulations “for regulatory efficiency.”

Number five, he said, is the need for credible and transparent data which will be published regularly on the ministry’s website.

“It will be accessible and it will be credible,” he said.

In his own comments, Olayemi Cardoso said the CBN is committed to getting inflation down to single digits in the medium term.

“Our medium-term target is to bring it down to a single digit because inflation is probably the biggest tax on the poor.”

Source: Africabusiness