** 14 States to Pilot Mortgage Refinance Company.
** FG raises $1.5 billion for emergency power transmission programme.

Obinna Chima

The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Thursday disclosed that the federal government had selected 14 states for the pilot phase of the proposed Mortgage Refinancing Company (MRC).

Okonjo-Iweala said this while delivering a lecture tagged: “A Century of the Nigerian Private Sector,” organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Lagos.

This was just as the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, maintained that “the best country to make money today on earth is Nigeria.”

Okonjo-Iweala stressed the need for a functional mortgage system, saying that by the end of November, President Goodluck Jonathan would launch the MRC.

The finance minister added: “The World Bank last week approved the $300 million liquidity facility for that. The objective for that is to use this as an instrument to drive the housing sector. We are doing this by taking 14 pilot states that have promised to make land
available.

“The states will provide certificate of occupancy in weeks, not months. They have to meet all these criteria in order to participate,” she explained.

Also, as part of efforts to address the difficulty faced by businesses in accessing finance in the country, the finance minister reiterated that the federal government would soon set up a development finance institution to wholesale money to commercial banks and specialised banks, in order to support the private sector.

She explained: “We will create this institution in the next 18 months. The African Development Bank (ADB) is putting in another $400 million into it. We are trying to raise the money to do it long-term and at reasonable interest rate so that we can bring down the cost of borrowing.

“When we get this, it will drive down the cost of finance. We are not going to dictate to banks how much they charge; we will simply put up a system that will provide enough resources for long-term financing. A lot of multilateral institutions are supporting us and this thing is going to happen. So give us 18 months.”

According to Okonjo-Iweala, with the successful sale of the power assets, the federal government had launched a private sector-driven
power market by selling off the power assets.

“We still have 11 power companies to sell through the National Integrated Power Projects, after we have disposed all those assets.

We are keeping transmission and on that transmission, an emergency programme to make sure we keep up the transmission has been launched. We are to raise $1.9 billion to get that moving so that even on that one, we have on our hand, we are not slacking.

"We have raised $1.5 billion of the $1.9 billion needed for emergency transmission. The African Development Bank has agreed to put in about $400 million into that emergency cash raising over the next three years, World Bank will put in $700 million and others are coming in to support us. Part of the money from the Eurobond is going into that,” she declared.

The finance minister insisted that corruption was not the biggest problem in doing business in the country.

According to Okonjo-Iweala: “Our revenues and gross domestic product growth that were so volatile in the past are no longer so. The economy is doing well, it is strong. We may experience cash flow problems from time to time, but that does not amount to an economy that is not strong.”

Continuing, Dangote expressed optimism that if the power investors adopt the right business models, the country’s GDP would grow by double digits.

“I can assure you that by 2016, Nigeria will be a net exporter of fertiliser. Today, I am also assuring you that by 2017, Nigeria will be a net exporter and we will supply most of the region’s demand for petroleum products.

“Dangote Cement will commission additional 10 million tones by mid-2014 to push Nigeria’s production to 38 million tones and we will invest $4.7 billion dollars over the next four years to ensure that cement supply stays ahead of the demand,” Dangote said. He however expressed concern that the textile sector was almost dead while a lot of small and medium scale enterprises were struggling despite numerous measures by government to support them.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/14-states-to-pilot-mortgage-refinance-company/160633/

While some people are busy bad-mouthing Nigeria, the likes of Dangote are busy making money in geometric progression.

One day is one day and the chickens will come home to roost.

Has he tried making money in other countries??

That Nigeria has been favorable for your investments doesn't mean there aren't other more favorable countries.

Anyway enjoy your money, to make money nor easy at all...

The most foremost reason it is easy to make money in nigeria is because of the collective greed of our government and citizens. A majority of investors don't come to nigeria because they see buisness or to create jobs, they come to expliot, to take their share of the bongo bongo land.

I used to know a british lady who worked with shell. When militancy and kidnapping was booming, i asked her if she felt safe, why has'nt she return to the u.k, she said she's not going anywhere. According to her, there is too much money in nigeria. She says the kind of money she has made in nigeria is something i've never seen. "My salary is now like something you get while on the dole".. She says at times it breaks her heart the avenues by which she gets the money but at last, the locals don't seem to care. All they want is their share, so why should i care when i'll someday be on my way back to the u.k.

Symphony007: The most foremost reason it is easy to make money in nigeria is because of the collective greed of our government and citizens. A majority of investors don't come to nigeria because they see buisness of to create jobs, they comes to expliot, to take their share of the bongo bongo land.

I used to know a british lady worked with shell. When militancy and kidnapping was booming, i asked her if she felt safe, why has'nt she return to the u.k, she said she's not going anywhere. According to her, there is too much money in nigeria. She says the kind of money she has made in nigeria is something i've never seen. "My salary is now like something you get while on the dole".. She says at times it breaks her heart the avenues by which she gets the money but at last, the locals don't seem to care. All they want is their share, so why should i care when i'll somedat be on my way back to the u.k.

well dangote and other local investors are actually spending their money in Nigeria,and these people still keep investing.
Your hypothesis is faulty and could breed laziness.

malc619: Has he tried making money in other countries??

That Nigeria has been favorable for your investments doesn't mean there aren't other more favorable countries.

Anyway enjoy your money, to make money nor easy at all...

Dangote being africa's foremost industrialist and entrepeneur with businesses in many african countries and asia, should have more knowledge about "favourable investment climate" than you.
Don't you think so?

Then, I'd rather DIE POOR AND WRETCHED PLUS ROT IN HELL!!!
AMEEEEN!!!

solomon111: well dangote and other local investors are actually spending their money in Nigeria,and these people still keep investing.
Your hypothesis is faulty and could breed laziness.

my hypothesis is faulty and could breed laziness? Hilarious...listen mister, what i said is an established fact that is killing this nation. For every one dollar investors put in nigeria, 100 dollars in stolen, and you call that a hypothesis, are the fact that thousand of barrels of oil are stolen everyday from nigeria hypothesis? Nigeria has a huge problem and investors know it and will keep capitalizing on it. Go and surf wikileaks and see the cable ann pickards, former shell boss sent to the u.s state department. Saying how she has infiltrated every level of the nigerian government, how foreigners are calling the shorts in the nigerian oil industry, and tell me if that's a hypothesis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKnfEU6nqlE

Entrepreneurship - Vision, by Aliko Dangote

Correct Mr Dangote

when you are bankrolling successive corrupt governments - because of you - Obj or Yaradua banned the importation of cement and yet your own prices never come down. please