What have been the effects of the Central Bank of Nigeria's forex restrictions on the steel sector?

Since June last year, there have been a lot of changes in this country, especially with the drop in crude oil price. So, the new government is really trying to stabilise the economy, even though there are a lot of challenges. So, the CBN banned 41 items from accessing forex and iron rod is part of it. That policy has tremendously helped our industry. Before, importers had advantage in terms of production cost. But because Nigeria does nit have the right infrastructure yet, people felt importing these items were cheaper.

Today, power is not stable and transportation cost is high because of the bad roads. So, the policy to encourage made-in-Nigeria products is a positive one and I am very grateful to the CBN. It is having good impact on our industry and in the long-run it would help the economy to develop. The CBN policy has succeeded in making foreign goods more expensive and local production more competitive.

The bulk of the raw materials we use are actually scraps, but there are others which are not available locally. These have to be imported and because they are not available locally, the restrictions by the CBN do not affect them. So, generally government policies, even though the ministers are not yet on ground, we almost have a clear picture of where the government is headed. They are desirous of encouraging local production so as to drive the diversification of the Nigerian economy.

The country does not want to fully rely on crude oil again as it used to be in the past and it is a good direction. I believe the Nigerian economy would continue to grow, that is why I have confidence to invest more in the country. So, the CBN policy on forex restriction has been very beneficial to local steel producers.

So, has there been high demand for your products since the policy was introduced?

Right now, the purchasing power is weak in the country and there is a general lull in the market. Right now, because of the low demand in the country, we decided to reduce our level of production. But demand for steel is seasonal and we know that once we get to that period, demand would naturally pick up.


But do you think the local steel producers alone can meet all the demands for steel products in the country considering huge infrastructure deficit we have here?

Definitely, we can. This is because supply is more than demand. In terms of quality, presently made-in-Nigeria products are of higher quality. We have the Standards Organisation of Nigeria that enforces standards in the country and our products are very competitive with the imported goods. So, local steel producers can comfortably meet the demands in the Nigerian steel market. But we are expanding and by April next year we would inaugurate our Aba plant. We are building the biggest steel factory in West Africa, to be located in Aba. So, capacity-wise, we are more than capable to meet the local steel demand. We really want to do a lot in this industry. Presently, we are recycling scrap iron, but in the future, we are going to begin to mine iron ore. Nigeria has iron ore in Kogi and in Nasarawa states. The qualities of the products we produce speak for itself. We have the Standards Organisation of Nigeria's certification.



What is the estimated cost of your ongoing factory project at Aba?

Our total cost for the project covers about $120 million. It is an industrial complex and we have it cited in Obehi-Asa. So, if we are investing this amount of money in an economy, we surely don't look like a company that is running away soon. The factory will not only produce rod, but other steel products. By the time the factory commences operation, we should be producing about one million tonnes annually.



We believe we might have exhausted Nigeria's market at that time and we have to export these to other West African countries. Like we stated earlier, when the plant is completed, it would be the biggest steel factory in the sub-region and with the economies of scale, we should be able to produce cheaper for countries in the sub-region. So, we are also targeting exportation to other neighboring countries in ECOWAS. There are lots of transactions within the West African economies which we intend to dominate next year. But firstly, we need to dominate Nigeria. Once we have flooded the Nigerian market with enough products, we would naturally look for external markets. So, we are here to stay. If we don't have confidence in the system, we would bring that amount of money into this system
I see so many opportunities in Nigeria because if it is the most import country in Africa with the highest population. As you can see, Africa is the next future and Nigeria is the leader of this continent. Secondly, this country is developing rapidly. Last year, Nigeria overtook South Africa to become the largest economy in the continent with its size of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Also, Nigeria has a lot of young population which was the strength of China then. That was the power that pushed the Chinese economy. More importantly, Nigeria's young population is eager to work and learn. These factors are very important in determining where we invest.

Let me further use China as an example. Before 1978, China was a poor country. But the government then decided to focus on economic development and that helped to rapidly grow the economy. Since then, China has been welcoming investors from all parts of the world. The western countries were then encouraged to take their capital and technology to China. They employed a lot of Chinese and in the process transferred their knowledge, skills and technology to those Chinese employees.

Today, Chinese businessmen are investing outside. Nigeria has a lot of similarities with China and the future is bright for Nigeria. I believe China yesterday is Nigeria's future. I don't think Nigeria's vision of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world is a dream, it can happen. So, that is why we have so much confidence in this country. Also, for the Aba factory, we are not limiting it to iron rods.

We are including other products into our production line. We believe that the federal government would carry out its automobile policy that would require the manufacturing of these vehicles in the country and some of the steel materials they are going to require are going to be needed here. We use scrap as our raw materials, but in no time we may not see scraps to pick from the streets of Nigeria. We are forward thinking so that when we clear all the scraps from Lagos we would still be in business. That was what informed our future plan of going into mining of iron ore.

Why the choice of Aba for the location of the industry?

Some of the reasons why we went to Aba are top secret that I can't disclose now. But I can give you one of the reasons. The land we acquired, it took us less than one month to get the Certificate of Occupancy. When we are talking about space, I don't think we can get that amount of space somewhere else. The land factory in Aba sits on over 100 hectares of land and I am not sure we can get that amount of land.

I pray the Lord blind the eye of the jihadists so that he will not bring one policy to disorganized your work like the did to bath Nnaji with his POWER PLANTS

which kind information be this na.
d company no get name

d person no get name

no source to take chopulate dis yam.

badnature:
I pray the Lord blind the eye of the jihadists so that he will not bring one policy to disorganized your work like the did to bath Nnaji with his POWER PLANTS

Iseeee! Amen o! The evil eyes are just too red and jealous but this time God will protect His own. Before they tinker with any policies are make plans to destroy this good plan they must die with their families after protracted diseases that will keep them on assignment and drain their resources!

badnature:
I pray the Lord blind the eye of the jihadists so that he will not bring one policy to disorganized your work like the did to bath Nnaji with his POWER PLANTS

and frustrate their south wasted slaves who obviously wont be happy with it.

badnature:
I pray the Lord blind the eye of the jihadists so that he will not bring one policy to disorganized your work like the did to bath Nnaji with his POWER PLANTS

Emeka offor frustrated barth nnaji and not anyone else

You people surely don't HV eyes to see the spirit realm.
I am from the water.
I also have air spirit and I must tell you that anything that will make Igbo's united economically will shake our kingdom.
Their star as a tribe is so bright that it blinds us.
They r a giant.
That righteous man sends giant angels to guard Nidigbo because of what they r destined to be.
We see the giant angels n get annoyed!

In the spirit realm it has been seen that in the period of waning of the religion of that righteous man up there, that the Igbo's, Ijaws, Itsekiris n Urhobos shall team up n work together n cause a shaking revival in Europe.

This though will be spearheaded by Nidigbo.


It is destined that there will be a major shaking that will make them go back home.
And so we cannot allow Igbo go home cos they will then become an economic giant.

From here they shall spring up n become so great that with their funds they will shake Europe with the message of that righteous man up there.

We must do everything to keep them scattered in other parts of this country so that they will loose focus n never achieve what has been purported for them.

What's the name of the company

Good one.

The ground is being prepared for the East to move into her rightful place.

Haters can't stop this. They no reach.

obua:
What's the name of the company

name is not important,
what is important is that it has been sited in Aba.

NakedEve:
You people surely don't HV eyes to see the spirit realm.
I am from the water.
I also have air spirit and I must tell you that anything that will make Igbo's united economically will shake our kingdom.
Their star as a tribe is so bright that it blinds us.
They r a giant.
That righteous man sends giant angels to guard Nidigbo because of what they r destined to be.
We see the giant angels n get annoyed!

In the spirit realm it has been seen that in the period of waning of the religion of that righteous man up there, that the Igbo's, Ijaws, Itsekiris n Urhobos shall team up n work together n cause a shaking revival in Europe.

This though will be spearheaded by Nidigbo.


It is destined that there will be a major shaking that will make them go back home.
And so we cannot allow Igbo go home cos they will then become an economic giant.

From here they shall spring up n become so great that with their funds they will shake Europe with the message of that righteous man up there.

We must do everything to keep them scattered in other parts of this country so that they will loose focus n never achieve what has been purported for them.

Hahaha... yorubatic.. ds must be you o...

Op, wey the pics of the place now?

More of this... on the long run, the SE would be the biggest beneficiary of the latest austerity measures by CBN.

NakedEve:
You people surely don't HV eyes to see the spirit realm.
I am from the water.
I also have air spirit and I must tell you that anything that will make Igbo's united economically will shake our kingdom.
Their star as a tribe is so bright that it blinds us.
They r a giant.
That righteous man sends giant angels to guard Nidigbo because of what they r destined to be.
We see the giant angels n get annoyed!

In the spirit realm it has been seen that in the period of waning of the religion of that righteous man up there, that the Igbo's, Ijaws, Itsekiris n Urhobos shall team up n work together n cause a shaking revival in Europe.

This though will be spearheaded by Nidigbo.


It is destined that there will be a major shaking that will make them go back home.
And so we cannot allow Igbo go home cos they will then become an economic giant.

From here they shall spring up n become so great that with their funds they will shake Europe with the message of that righteous man up there.

We must do everything to keep them scattered in other parts of this country so that they will loose focus n never achieve what has been purported for them.

How can I locate your kimgdom