- Following plans by United States retail giant, Walmart to enter Nigeria’s retail market, increasing greenfield investment from China, India and South Africa, foreign investments in Nigeria and other African countries are expected to reach $73.5 billion by the end of this year.
- A report by the African Economic Outlook (AEO) revealed that official remittances have increased six-fold since 2000 and are projected to reach $64.6 billion in 2015 with Egypt and Nigeria receiving the bulk of flows.
- The AEO is a product of collaborative work by three international partners: the African Development Bank (AFDB), the OECD Development Centre and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- Official remittances, the report added, remained the largest source of international financial flows to Africa, accounting for about 33 per cent of the total since 2010.
- Conversely, the report predicted that Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) will decline in 2015 to 54.9 billion, “and is projected to diminish further”.
“More than two-thirds of states in sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of which are low-income countries, will receive less aid in 2017 than in 2014. FDI is diversifying away from mineral resources into consumer goods and services and is increasingly targeting large urban centres in response to the needs of a rising middle class.
“African sovereign borrowing is increasing. Private external flows in the form of investment and remittances are driving growth in external finance. Despite significant improvements in tax revenue collection over the last decade, domestic resource mobilisation remains low. Public domestic finance in Africa has increased more than threefold in a decade from $157 billion in 2003 to $507 billion in 2013. Compared to 2012, total tax revenue in 2013 registered a slight decrease of about 1.5 per cent mainly on account of lower resource rents, “the report revealed.
Source: Thisday
Studies have shown that bringing in foreign business in the country will do more harm than good, especially a large outlet like Walmart that have no other intent, but to hijack business from small retail owners,owning to our insatiable craving for imported goods. Needless to state where the product are coming from.
This does not go in tandem, with what is happening in the federal level, in which the government is planning to reduce importation drastically.
Their soon to be competition shoprite are already doing it. Not relenting the taxes and part time jobs, that will be created, meanwhile all the money that is been made will be taken back to their country.
Who says we cant build the Walmart of our own, bring in goods from our own state like Aba and the likes.
Finally, i ask, Walmart coming to nigeria at whose expenses?