OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ONLY ONCE, SAYS NIGERIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER

By R.RAVICHANDRAN

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 (Bernama) -- Opportunity comes only once. That's the
message from Nigerian High Commissioner to Malaysia Peter J. E. Anegbeh to
Malaysian investors and the business community.

In making the remarks, Anegbeh said Malaysian businessmen should explore
business opportunities in this African "Land of Opportunities", which is home to
a population of more than 150 million people.

He said Malaysia should emulate China, which had participated in a big way
in Nigeria as well as Japan and South Korea which has notable presence in the
country's automotive industry.

Known as the "Giant of Africa", Nigeria is one of the fastest growing
economy in the world and continues to witness political and economic stability,
since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999.

The Goldman Sachs investment bank listed Nigeria as one of the Next
Eleven countries together with Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico,
Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey and Vietnam, as having great
potential to emerge as the world's largest economies in the 21st century.

" Malaysian investors and businessmen should avail themselves of the many
opportunities that is yet to tapped," he told Bernama in conjunction with
Nigeria's 49th independence anniversary on Oct 1.

Describing bilateral trade as solid and cordial, the High Commissioner said
two-way trade still favoured Malaysia but had grown by leeps and bounds from a
mere US$5 million in 2005 to US$50 million in 2008.

Malaysia's exports to Nigeria included electrical and electronic goods,
cars, fats and oils, chemical products, plastic, pharmaceutical products,
rubber, furniture and iron/steel products.

In return, it imported cocoa, aluminium, wood, organic chemicals,
fish and seafood from Nigeria.

Anegbeh said several Malaysian and Nigerian businessmen were exploring the
prospects of joint venture partnership in road construction, waste management,
water enginering, palm oil plantation and shipbuilding.

Backed by huge resources, including minerals, agriculture and human
resource, Nigeria's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth averaged about 8.8
per cent between 2000 and 2008.

The Nigerian government has put in place policies and programmes that
guarantee a free market economy, liberalised exchange control regulations and
allowed unrestricted movement of investment capital.

Opportunities also abound in Nigeria's oil and gas sector including
exploration and production, surveying, civil works, refining, petrochemicals,
natural gas pipeline, fertiliser and methonal plants.

Businessmen can also exploit and export bitumen, limestone, coal, tin,
columbite, gold, silver, lead, zinc, gypsum, glass sands, clays, asbestos,
graphite and iron ore.

Anegbeh also welcomed investments in the agriculture sector particularly
crop production, food processing, preservation of livestock and fisheries,
agricultural input supplies and machinery, exploitation of timber and wood
processing activities.

The country ranks 25th, globally, and first in Africa in farm output and the
agriculture sector accounts for about 42 cent of Nigeria's GDP and provides
employment to about 65 per cent of the working population.

In manufacturing, the Nigerian government welcomes investors to partake in
the building materials, engineering and transport, chemicals, electrical and
electronics and scientific instruments industry.

Gold processing, cement production, bottled mineral water, mini-sugar
production plants and processing of salt from sea water also offered tremendous
potential for Malayian investors.

Other areas opened for investment include Nigeria's tourism industry, power
sector, infrastructure development and telecommunications.

--BERNAMA