Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria is planning tax incentives and improvements to infrastructure in order to attract foreign investors to the country's mining industry, Mines Minister Musa Sada said.

The government "will offer a three-year tax holiday to new companies," Sada told reporters in the capital, Abuja, today. They will also cut the capital gains tax to 10 percent, from 20 percent and companies' profit tax to 30 percent, from 35 percent, he said.

Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, has reserves of iron ore, gold and coal, among other minerals, according to the ministry's website. Foreign investment in the industry is part of the government's plan to boost revenue from other sources and cut its dependence on oil earnings.

Regulations on health, safety and the environmental impact of mining industries are being planned for next year, Sada said.

The West African nation is also planning to improve access roads to remote mines, he said.
--Editors: Emily Bowers, John Simpson.



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