Post by Trade facilitator on Jul 25, 2011 6:48:14 GMT 1
TO block leakages and ensure that the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) is fully implemented to encourage exports, the Ministry of Trade and Investment is set to review the scheme.
The EEG is a vital incentive required for the stimulation of export-oriented activities that will lead to significant growth of the non-oil export sector of the economy.
The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, disclosed this yesterday at a briefing in Lagos to unveil the activities of the ministry.
He also said the ministry would float a Diaspora Fund soon to unlock available capital for investment in critical sectors of the economy.
"We are going to do a comprehensive review of the EEG. The policy is good for export, but is not being fully implemented as it is supposed to be.
"We have to ensure all leakages are removed. We would be reviewing it (EEG) with all stakeholders such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
"It is not enough to say I am exporting and when you export, we have to see that such money that accrue from the export is actually brought back into the country," he said.
The EEG has been prone to abuses – a development that initially necessitated the suspension of the scheme, until it was reintroduced on January 1, 2005 through a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular.
Aganga said the Commerce and Industry ministry had been "enlarged, refocused and rebranded so that it could play its proper role of driving the nation’s economy."
He said the Diaspora Fund would be inaugurated in September this year "after all the approvals are in place."
Aganga noted that the ministry would focus on investments, sources of funds and the creation of a conducive environment for industrial growth, adding that there was enough capital within and outside the country to drive the required double-digit growth.
"We have so many Nigerians in the Diaspora. The economies of many countries were built based on investments from people living abroad. We are in the process of structuring a fund, which we hope to put in place sometime in September when all the approvals are in place. That fund will be targeting those in the Diaspora.
"They will come in, bring their money and invest. According to the World Bank, in 2009, about $18.6billion was remitted to this country by Nigerians in the Diaspora. If we take half of that, and channel it the right way into the country, we will have enough capital to invest in this country. That is just focusing only on what you already have," he said.
The minister said that the ministry was working with key stakeholders to create a conducive environment for investment in the country, adding that the laws and policies guiding investments must be investor-friendly.
"We have commenced a review of all the laws and policies. However, most of our laws are friendly, just that investors are not even aware of these laws and policies. We want to make sure that we do not just review them, but that we also have them in a form that is easily accessible to both local and international investors," the minister noted.
Aganga said the ministry would also operate the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was created partly because of investments
Source: www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/business/12973-investment-ministry-to-review-export-expansion-grant.html
To know more about processing Export Expansion Grant ( EEG ) in Nigeria contact:
Ismail AbdulAzeez
www.ismailabdulazeez.com
08023050835 , 07033632285.
The EEG is a vital incentive required for the stimulation of export-oriented activities that will lead to significant growth of the non-oil export sector of the economy.
The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, disclosed this yesterday at a briefing in Lagos to unveil the activities of the ministry.
He also said the ministry would float a Diaspora Fund soon to unlock available capital for investment in critical sectors of the economy.
"We are going to do a comprehensive review of the EEG. The policy is good for export, but is not being fully implemented as it is supposed to be.
"We have to ensure all leakages are removed. We would be reviewing it (EEG) with all stakeholders such as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
"It is not enough to say I am exporting and when you export, we have to see that such money that accrue from the export is actually brought back into the country," he said.
The EEG has been prone to abuses – a development that initially necessitated the suspension of the scheme, until it was reintroduced on January 1, 2005 through a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular.
Aganga said the Commerce and Industry ministry had been "enlarged, refocused and rebranded so that it could play its proper role of driving the nation’s economy."
He said the Diaspora Fund would be inaugurated in September this year "after all the approvals are in place."
Aganga noted that the ministry would focus on investments, sources of funds and the creation of a conducive environment for industrial growth, adding that there was enough capital within and outside the country to drive the required double-digit growth.
"We have so many Nigerians in the Diaspora. The economies of many countries were built based on investments from people living abroad. We are in the process of structuring a fund, which we hope to put in place sometime in September when all the approvals are in place. That fund will be targeting those in the Diaspora.
"They will come in, bring their money and invest. According to the World Bank, in 2009, about $18.6billion was remitted to this country by Nigerians in the Diaspora. If we take half of that, and channel it the right way into the country, we will have enough capital to invest in this country. That is just focusing only on what you already have," he said.
The minister said that the ministry was working with key stakeholders to create a conducive environment for investment in the country, adding that the laws and policies guiding investments must be investor-friendly.
"We have commenced a review of all the laws and policies. However, most of our laws are friendly, just that investors are not even aware of these laws and policies. We want to make sure that we do not just review them, but that we also have them in a form that is easily accessible to both local and international investors," the minister noted.
Aganga said the ministry would also operate the Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was created partly because of investments
Source: www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/business/12973-investment-ministry-to-review-export-expansion-grant.html
To know more about processing Export Expansion Grant ( EEG ) in Nigeria contact:
Ismail AbdulAzeez
www.ismailabdulazeez.com
08023050835 , 07033632285.
