How to Access the Central Bank of Nigeria Non-oil Export Fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a guideline to access its Non-Oil Export Stimulation Facility (NESF). The fund was introduced to diversify the revenue base of the economy and to expedite the growth and development of the nation’s non-oil export sector.

This was disclosed in a document published on the apex bank’s website. The facility, according to the document, will help redress the declining export financing and reposition the sector to increase its contribution to economic
development.

Objectives of the CBN Non-oil Export Fund

* Improve access of exporters to concessionary finance to expand and diversify the non-oil export baskets;

* Attract new investments and encourage re-investments in value-added non-oil exports production and non-traditional exports;

* Shore up non-oil export sector productivity and create more jobs;

*Support export-oriented companies to upscale and expand their export operations as well as capabilities; and
* Broaden the scope of export financing instruments.

Who qualifies for the fund?

* Firms that are duly incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and have verifiable export off-take contract(s).

* Satisfactory credit reports from at least two Credit Bureaux in line with the provisions of CBN Circular BSD/DIR/GEN/CIR/04/014 dated April 30, 2010.

* All applications shall be in compliance with CBN circulars BSD/DIR/GEN/LAB/07/015 and
BSD/DIR/GENLAB/07/034 on “Prohibition of Loan Defaulters from Further Access to Credit Facilities in the Nigerian banking System” and “Guidelines for Processing Requests from DMBs to Extend New/Additional Credit Facilities to Loan Defaulters and AMCON Obligors” dated June 30, 2014 and October 10, 2014, respectively.

Eligible Transactions

* Export of goods processed or manufactured in Nigeria;

* Export of commodities and services, which are allowed under the laws of Nigeria and do not violate the principles of non-interest banking and finance;

* Imports of plant & machinery, spare parts, and packaging materials, required for export-oriented production that cannot be sourced locally;

* Resuscitation, expansion, modernization, and technology upgrade of non-oil export industries;

* Export value chain support services such as transportation, warehousing and
quality assurance infrastructure;

* Working capital/stocking facility; and

Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs)

* Non-Interest Banks (NIBs).
* Non-Interest Development Finance Institutions (NI-DFIs).

Features of the NESF

* Financing Limit Term financings under the Facility shall not exceed 70% of verifiable total cost of the project subject to a maximum of ₦5,000,000,000.00.

Tenor

The NESF shall have a tenor of up to 10 years and shall not exceed the 31st December 2027.

Working capital/stocking facility shall be for one year. Where applicable, the facility can be rolled-over twice on a reducing balance basis of 33.3% of the original amount.

Repayment

Repayments of principal and return shall be quarterly and in accordance with the agreed repayment schedule.

Moratorium

* Moratorium shall be project-specific and shall not exceed two (2) years.

* In case of construction, additional moratorium of up to one (1) year may be allowed, subject to approval by the CBN.

* Rates of Return: The Facility shall be granted at an all-inclusive rate of return of 9% per annum.

Application Procedures

A PFI shall submit an application to CBN on behalf of its customer in the prescribed format.

In the case of financing syndication, the lead bank shall submit an application on behalf of other banks. All correspondence with respect to the application shall be with the lead
bank.

Each request for a facility is to be accompanied by the following documents:
a) Written request from the project promoter to a PFI seeking financing under the NESF.

b) Completed application form.

c) Certified true copies of documents on business incorporation.

d) Three (3) years tax clearance certificate.

e) Audited statement of accounts for the last three (3) years (where applicable) or the most recent management account for companies less than three (3) years in
operations.

f) Feasibility study/ business plan of the project.

g) Relevant permits/ licenses/ approvals (where applicable).

h) Verifiable export orders/ contracts or other export agreement and arrangements/ commitments.

See details of the guidelines here

Importer of Record Services in Nigeria

Industrial Renaissance provides overseas companies and multinationals with a full importer of record services in Nigeria through which the team does the following:

• Carry out a full legal compliance assessment;
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• Prepare filings to the Nigerian Customs, tax authorities and other relevant government agencies;
• Pay the assessed import duties and taxes on clients’ behalf on the goods imported;
• Provide storage and warehousing services in Nigeria, if required by client;
• Provide all local support required to clear shipments;
• Perform the last-mile delivery to the end user in Nigeria.

TRANSACTIONS THAT REQUIRE IMPORTER OF RECORD SERVICES IN NIGERIA

The following transactions require importer of record services in Nigeria:

• Shipping of consumer products, pharmaceutical products, industrial equipment, service parts, etc. to a Nigerian branch or representative office in Nigeria that is not registered for tax purposes in Nigeria;
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If your company doesn’t have a physical presence in the Nigeria, this can cause you many unwanted complications and expenses. Importer of Record services as provided by Industrial Renaissance Ltd. can offer representation as your company’s officially recognized legal entity in Nigeria.

For enquiries on Importer of Record Services in Nigeria, please, contact a member of our team directly, WhatsApp +234 818 701 9206, or email at invest@indusren.com.

The Nigerian Ports Authority has concluded plans to commence the dredging of Escravos Channel, Warri Port. The agency gave this indication on Tuesday when the Managing Director, NPA, Hadiza Usman, paid a courtesy call on the Olu of Warri, Ogiamen Ikenwoli II, in Warri, Delta State.

European Investment Bank in Nigeria

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK PLANS €700 MILLION INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA

Ms Isabelle Grunderbeeck, the Regional Representative for West Africa of European Investment Bank (EIB), says the bank plans to invest 700 million euros in some identified projects in Nigeria.

Grunderbeeck disclosed this at the bank’s interactive meeting with its clients and other stakeholders in Abuja on Tuesday.

She said that the planned investment was in addition to the fund already committed to the Nigerian economy.

“EIB is currently identifying new projects for a total amount of 700 million euros on top of the funds already committed.

“We finance large infrastructure project, and we are also important financier of climate, we are looking into the renewable energy sector of the economy,” she said.

The official said that the bank had so far invested 296 million Euros in Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria in the last eight years.

She said that the European Investment Bank in Nigeria had also invested 87 million euros in 65 companies through the investment funds.

“Since 2010, EIB disbursed 296 million euros under seven facilities signed with nine Nigerian banks and 210 million euros for 50 sub-projects disbursed to be on-lent in foreign currency.

“Average allocation amount per project was 4.5 million euros.

“It was spent on wholesale and retail trade, education, manufacturing, construction, transportation, accommodation, human health, information and communication, electricity and gas, agriculture, scientific and technical activities.

“In 2018, EIB disbursed 17 million euros equity participation in Development Bank of Nigeria funding intermediaries for on lending to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in local currency,” she said.

The EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Ketil Karlsen described the bank’s investment in Nigeria as valuable addition to the existing cooperation between the EU and Nigeria.

Karlsen said that Nigeria had the largest EIB investments in the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

“With development cooperation through policy dialogue and many efforts, the biggest investment bank in the world is engaging more decisively with Nigeria; this is a wonderful progress that we are seeing now.

“If you look at the figure and the continuous engagement of the bank in Nigeria and its increasing portfolio, Nigeria is number one country in the ACP that is having the bank’s support for private businesses.

“And we are doing this in order to find a lasting solution to the migration problem in the country; the bank is creating opportunity for the youth in the country to be engaged.

“The investment will help to address the challenge of migration and to provide long term solution to the irregular migration issue, this is the best opportunity,” he said.

Source: Todayng

ALSO READ: Nigeria: African Development Bank approves US$100 million for expansion of fertilizer production

European Investment Bank in Nigeria

NIGERIA: AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK APPROVES US$100 MILLION FOR EXPANSION OF FERTILIZER PRODUCTION

The African Development Bank has approved US$100 million senior loan to Nigerian firm, Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals Limited, to support the company’s plans to double its fertilizer production from 1.4 million tons of urea to 2.8 million tons per annum.

The Bank’s intervention follows a previous loan extended to Indorama Fertilizer in 2013 for the commissioning of another urea fertilizer plant with a production capacity of 1.4 million tons per annum. The completion and exploitation of that plant in 2016 helped turn Nigeria from a net fertilizer importer to a self-sufficient producer, and now a net exporter of fertilizer. In 2017, 700, 000 tons of urea were exported to West Africa and North and South American markets. Production from the new plant will predominantly target export markets.

The project will also address the problem of inadequate fertilizer utilization, which is considered one of the principal constraints to agricultural growth and development in Nigeria, and the entire African continent.

“This Project will build upon the success of Train-I in increasing the domestic supply of urea fertilizer in Nigeria, making it easily available and leading to cheaper prices for the Nigerian farmer,” said Abdu Mukhtar, Director for Industrial and Trade Development at the African Development Bank. “It will also help further address labor issues in a local region wracked by poverty, inequality and political tension by creating high paying technical jobs and will count towards climate change abatement by reducing amounts of flared gas.”

Fertilizer production support is well aligned with regional and national priorities, as well as the Bank’s assistance strategy in Nigeria, and is an important step towards the Bank’s goal of radically transforming Africa’s agriculture sector and making the continent self-sufficient in food.

Despite a large population of farmers, Nigeria spends at least US$6 billion per year on food imports. A contributing factor to low domestic crop yields is low consumption levels of fertilizer in Nigeria-and indeed Africa as a whole, which averages only 10-15% of global levels.

The project supports the medium term economic recovery and growth plan of the Government of Nigeria and the Bank’s regional strategy to link regional markets in West Africa. 20% of the urea exports will be made to South Africa and West Africa (Cote D’Ivoire & Senegal). Regional integration will be further strengthened by the export of increased agriculture production in Nigeria.

The Indorama Eleme Complex has been a success story of public private partnerships in Nigeria, with several benefits including import substitution of raw materials to over 450 downstream industries; increased crop yields of over 30%; training of 200,000 farmers on the proper use of fertilizers expected to reach 2 million by 2021; creation of 50,000 jobs, and an annual contribution of US$2 billion to Nigeria’s GDP. The estimated US$1.1 billion cost of the Project is to be financed with equity of US$100 million and debt finance of US$1billion which will be provided by development finance institutions. All the financiers have now provided their final Board approvals for the project.

SOURCE: African Development Bank

Importer of Record (IOR) in Nigeria

IMPORTER OF RECORD (IOR) IN NIGERIA

Importer of Record in Nigeria (IOR) is the entity that assumes the responsibility for legally importing goods into the Nigerian territory, paying duties, tariffs, and fees, and ensuring they are properly valued and documented.

Industrial Renaissance provides a comprehensive range of importer of record services in Nigeria and freight forwarding solutions to ensure your exports to Nigeria are successfully managed – from ordering to storage, delivery and waste management. We will manage the entire process to get your exports delivered to the actual recipient, meaning you save cost and time in organizing exports to Nigeria.

WHO IS AN IMPORTER OF RECORD (IOR) IN NIGERIA?

An importer of record (IOR) in Nigeria is an entity whose responsibility is to:

• Carry out a full legal compliance assessment of the cargoes sought to be imported into Nigeria;
• Identify import permits, licenses or compliance requirements in Nigeria;
• Obtain necessary documentation, import licenses and permits as required;
• Prepare filings to the Nigerian Customs, tax authorities and other relevant government agencies;
• Pay the assessed import duties and taxes on the exporter’s behalf on the goods imported into Nigeria;
• Provide storage and warehousing services in Nigeria, if required by the client;
• Provide all local support required to clear shipments;
• Perform the last-mile delivery to the end user in Nigeria.

Industrial Renaissance Ltd is an importer of record (IOR) in Nigeria (the largest market in Africa), for enquires contact a member of the Industrial Renaissance team directly, WhatsApp +234 818 701 9206, or email at invest@indusren.com.

The President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Monday disclosed that the company would invest US$450m in agriculture development in Niger State, Nigeria over the next three years. Dangote, who made this known during the 2017 Niger State Investment Summit in Minna, said the funds would be used in establishing a large scale rice processing mill to process over 200,000 metric tonnes of paddy rice. He said that a state-of-the-art fully integrated sugar refining industry would also be established.

“The Dangote Group is committed to invest around US$450m over the three next years to establish a large scale rice processing mill for out growers. Our company is also establishing a state of the art fully integrated sugar industry involving the development of over 30,000 hectares of sugar cane plantation and the production of about 500, 000 metric tonnes of refined sugar. We are very excited about these investments and look forward to kick-starting this mutually beneficial partnership with the government and good people of Niger State,” he said.

Dangote, who was represented by Alhaji Mansur Ahmed, noted that the company also planned to invest over US$1bn in agricultural production and processing of selected commodities like sugar, rice and tomatoes across the country.
According to him, Niger has become the destination of choice for investment in the agricultural sector given its rich and vast arable land. He said that the company was poised to leverage on that toward a virile agriculture based economy.

Dangote said that the group would also continue to engage governments at the federal and state levels where there was great potential to explore investment opportunities. The Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, Mrs Ramatu Yardua said the aim of the summit was to market the state as an investment destination in agriculture considering its enormous potential which was largely untapped.

Yardua said that agriculture was key to moving the country out of recession, adding that the state was committed to creating a conducive and enabling environment for would be investors.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Cross River Government says it is constructing a N7 billion cocoa processing plant in Ikom, Ikom Local Government Area of the state to boost cocoa production. The Governor of the state, Prof. Ben Ayade, said this in Abuja on Monday in an interview with journalists in Abuja, on the sidelines of the First International Cocoa Summit organised by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment.

The governor, represented by Mr Oscar Ofuka, his Special Adviser on Cocoa Development, said the move was also to add value to cocao, being massively produced in the state. Ayade said the state government had planted over 5,000 hectares of cocoa in its cocoa estate, adding that it was formulating a policy that would mandate 70 per cent local consumption of cocoa in the state.

He said that the government was also supporting local cocoa farmers in the state to boost production, to enable them to overtake other states in cocoa production.
‘’We are already trying to make it a policy that, school children in the state will be fed with cocoa related products. We have achieved so much on cocoa production. ‘’Before now, cocoa was relegated to the background. We have been able to raise nursery to expand our cocoa farms. We have government cocoa estate with about 5,000 hectares planted already. The state government has made it as a policy to open new cocoa farms across the state. We have been exporting cocoa all this while but now, government has come up with a policy that will encourage local consumption of about 70 per cent of the cocoa produced in the state. This is to ensure that jobs are created. Cross River is the second largest producer of cocoa in the country with Ondo State as the largest producer but we want to overtake it,’’ Ayade said.

The governor, however, called on private investors and other relevant stakeholders to invest in cocoa production in the state, promising them of an enabling environment for their investments.

Source: The News Nigeria

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday in Auchi, Edo State inaugurated the Edo Fertilizer Plant and Chemical Company Limited. The plant, said to have the capacity to produce about 60,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer in a year, was revived through a public, private venture about 14 years after it was abandoned.

According to a statement from Government House, Benin City, Edo State, Mr. Osinbajo was accompanied to the ceremony in the state by the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, and Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah. He commended the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, for creating the enabling business environment for the revitalisation of the fertiliser plant.

Mr. Osinbajo expressed delight that 500 direct jobs had been created by the investment, stressing that much more employment opportunities would result from ancillary economic activities to be generated by the plant. “The President Buhari administration is committed to making it easy for investors to do business in the country,” he said. “We want to achieve this through the promotion of transparency and efficiency. We want every state to be involved in this drive and create the enabling environment for business to thrive in their domain.”

Mr. Osinbajo said fertiliser blending plants were being revitalised across Nigeria as a result of the presidential initiative to diversify the economy from crude oil, boost farming activities as well as develop the agriculture value chain. He said the government was trying to make fertiliser, which is a major farm input, easily available and accessible to farmers as improved access to inputs would significantly enhance agricultural activities in the country.

In his remarks, Governor Obaseki said the ceremony was a milestone, as the facility was never operated for a day after it was launched by the state government about 14 years ago. “The aim of revitalising this plant is to make the state self-sufficient in food production and enable farmers get fertilizer at affordable prices. We in Edo State are determined to make food available in the country,” he said. The governor said the facility would go a long way in providing fertiliser for farmers in neighbouring states such as Kogi, Delta, Ondo and Anambra, as it was the only blending plant in the region.

Mr. Obaseki commended the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative as well as the management of WACOT, a private firm, for partnering with the state government in revamping the plant. “This achievement is an open call to other investors to bring in new technology, create more jobs and expand our economic opportunities,” he said. The governor called on the Otaru of Auchi, the community where the plant is located, to ensure the protection of the facility against vandalism as it creates a large range of opportunities for businesses in the community and the state.

Also speaking, the Group Managing Director of WACOT, Rahul Savara, commended Mr. Osinbajo for commissioning the plant and Mr. Obaseki for fostering the partnership between the state and his company. He said the presidential Fertiliser initiative has made local production feasible and sustainable in the country, adding that the company would be made up of 95 per cent indigenous workers.

Speaking of the numerous benefits of having a fertiliser blending plant in the state, the state Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, said: “Many jobs will be created, it will boost business activities, farmers will no longer go through undue hardship before they get fertiliser to buy and productivity will increase. We are keying into the federal government policy to make fertilizer affordable and available in the country.”

In his remark, the Otaru of Auchi, Aliru Momoh, said the commissioning of the plant demonstrates Mr. Obaseki’s zeal to improve the economy as well as industrialise the state.“The governor brought in people to revamp this plant and told us at the palace that within three months, it will become functional, we thought it was a joke. But thanks to Allah that we are here to witness the commissioning of the plant,” the traditional ruler said.

Source: Premium Time