Economic Outlook: Nigeria’s business prospects for 2023 positive –Adedipe
The Chief Consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Limited, Dr Biodun Adedipe, has said that Nigeria’s economic prospects for 2023 will be positive amid its growing population.
Adedipe made the assertion while speaking at this year’s edition of the First Bank Plc’s Nigeria Economic Outlook tagged “A look ahead” which held via Zoom.
He stated that contrary to the recent projection by the World Bank Group that downgraded Nigeria’s growth prospects, the economy would expand in 2023.
According to him, inflation rate is expected to moderate, but still double digit on the expectation of 17.76 per cent while monetary policy normalisation could start as early as the second quarter (Q2) of 2023.
“In the last few years, the Nigerian economy has dampened but recovered in 2021. Also in the last 20 years, our population has been growing. However, this is a good prospect for business positioning and repositioning. Due to the fact that estimates tell us that over 200 million people live here, I am sure the census that will be done will show us how much population we have. But this is a good thing because India currently has an advantage over China in terms of production and one can see that their production output is helping their economy.
I also think this will be an advantage for us over our peers here in Africa. The outlook for business prospects looks good for us because foreign counterparts will come in, invest or trade with us especially after the 2023 elections”.
Adedipe noted that Nigeria has not been able to take advantage of the favourable crude oil price trend because of weak production and export in 2021 and 2022 which have been particularly bad.
“The resulting fiscal trouble is manifest in an inability to generate enough revenue to meet maturing obligations and a significant portion of revenue going into debt servicing and repayment obligations. It is obvious then where the solution to Nigeria’s fiscal woes lies is to produce/export more hydrocarbons (until non-oil revenue becomes strong enough to sustain fiscal needs) and courageously address the cost of governance,” he said.
Earlier in his opening remark, the Chief Executive Officer, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, said looking at 2022 in retrospect, a lot of developments around the world fiercely challenged whatever gains were made from the major recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 in 2021.
Adeduntan who was represented by the Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Ini Ebong, noted that these developments made 2022 a turbulent year for many businesses and nations as the global economy, for example, witnessed all-time high inflation rates and unabated increases in high costs of living and doing business.
He noted that in Nigeria, the rising monetary policy rates, increasing debt portfolio, volatile revenue from crude oil and brain drain due to talent emigration, amongst many other factors, have become a wake-up call for proper dimensioning of issues to drive fiscal and other policies that will be instrumental to ensuring the gains of previous years are sustained and that the economy wades through the seemingly consistent challenges.