BlackRock, one of the world’s top asset managers, announced it would liquidate its iShares exchange-traded funds (ETFs) worth $400 million over unprofitable business environments in Nigeria and Kenya, particularly the challenge of currency repatriation worsened by the naira devaluation.

iShares Frontiers, which invested millions of dollars in emerging market equities in Nigeria and Kenya over the years, fixed its last trading day for March 31, 2025, when the extended liquidation is anticipated to conclude.

“The board of directors of the company approved a proposal to liquidate the fund. In light of persistent liquidity challenges in certain frontier markets, including among other things, delays or limits on repatriation of local currency, the board determined that it is in the best interest of the fund and its shareholders for the fund to liquidate,” said iShares said in a recent statement.

The company said it was opting for an “extended liquidation” given the significance of the naira conversion on the liquidation, which cannot easily be predicted.

“Currency conversions, including conversion of Nigeria’s currency, the naira, will impact the timing of the fund’s liquidation. As a result, the fund will enter into an extended liquidation period,” BlackRock’s iShares stated. “After market close no earlier than August 12, 2024, but on a date as soon as practicable, the fund will cease trading and the creation and redemption of creation units.”

Already, the company has liquidated $5.2 million of its shares in Kenyan companies like Safaricom ($2.8 million), Equity Group ($1.5 million), and KCB Group ($885,000), which are quoted on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

The planned exit of BlackRock’s iShares was another dent in Nigeria’s economic scorecard as the one-year-old President Bola Tinubu’s administration grapples with Nigeria’s dwindling economic fortunes.

Diageo, the parent company of the Guinness brand, on Tuesday announced it was selling its controlling shares to a third-party venture called Tolaram after recording an over N61 billion loss in its financial year that ended March 31.

UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and tech giant Microsoft have also shut down their business operations in Nigeria.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to stop the continued exit of multinationals from Nigeria.

Mr Oyintiloye, who made the appeal during an interview with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo, Osun State, described the exit of the companies as worrisome and heartbreaking.

The APC chieftain appealed to the President to continue to do everything possible to improve on the economy to attract more investment into the country rather than exiting.

Mr Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, said that the continuous exit of multinationals from Nigeria, if not checked, could lead to reduction in foreign investment inflows.

The APC chieftain said the recent announcement by Kimberly-Clark, an American multinational and producer of baby products, Huggies, to exit the country was worrisome.

He said that GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, French pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited and Procter and Gamble, among others had stopped their operations fully or partially.

According to him, in 2023, Unilever stopped the production of its legendary OMO, Sunlight and Lux home and skin care brands to cut costs and concentrate on higher growth opportunities.

Mr Oyintiloye also said that multinational oil companies were also affected by the development.

“This includes influential oil mining multinationals such as Shell, ExxonMobil and ENI. These companies left mainly because of heightened insecurity in the Niger Delta and inability of the government to provide their counterpart funds to enable the joint venture agreements to explore and exploit new oilfields”, he said

Mr Oyintiloye, who said that the President was doing everything possible to stabilise the economy, said that there was an urgent need for government to address the challenging business environment cited by the companies.

He said that the inflationary pressure, lack of liquid foreign exchange, rising interest rates, electricity crisis, among others causing the exit of multinational companies must be quickly addressed.

Mr Oyintiloye, who is also a former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, added that the exit of the companies would not only result in job losses but also affects the country’s Gross Domestic Products.

He urged the President to put in place measures that would ensure availability of foreign exchange for companies.

Mr Oyintiloye also appealed to the President to restore Nigeria as a haven for multinationals and also empower the indigenous manufacturing industries

“There is no doubt that the President has been putting measures in place to revamp the economy, increasing foreign direct investment and also making local industries vibrant and competitive. But there is an urgent need to address challenges causing the exit of these multinationals. Government should create a more flexible, transparent foreign exchange policy to address scarcity issues, reduce inflationary trend which has reduced consumers’ demand and purchasing power, create tax breaks, review economic and fiscal policy. The government should also look at how to give incentives to some of the multinationals that are still operating in the country,” he said.

Mr Oyintiloye, however, expressed optimism that with the various policies put in place by the President to revamp the economy, Nigerians would soon “begin to smile.”

cactus1549:
Hmmm. God help us

cactus1549:
Hmmm. God help us

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and also a former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council,, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to stop the continued exit of multinationals from Nigeria.

Mr Oyintiloye said that the exit of the companies would not only result in job losses but also affects the country’s Gross Domestic Products and appealed to the President to restore Nigeria as a haven for multinationals and also empower the indigenous manufacturing industries

magoo10:
Meanwhile the confused president is busy doing dobale.When apc and their 1st class olodo is through destroying Nigeria everybody will go their way.