TheCable

Ahmed Kuru, managing director/CEO of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), says recession shoul not deter serious-minded investors from coming into Nigeria.

According to Kuru, “the slight challenge the Nigerian economy is faced with at the moment also makes it the right time for strategic investors with long-term interest in Nigeria to come in”.

He said recession, which the country slipped into last year, should not in any way deter serious-minded investors because the country would in no time come out of recession and be on the path to economic recovery.

He said with such strategic investment plan, reaping the full benefits of the investment was guaranteed because Nigeria no doubt remains one of the most promising economies in Africa, which explains why AMCON still receives a lot of proposals from investors who are desperate to invest in the country.

“We (AMCON) are inundated with proposals from different investors with different areas of interest in the economy because Nigeria has a growing and promising economy as far as investment opportunities are concerned,” Kuru said.

“It has to be for businesses and business owners that have long-term interest in Nigeria; long term objectives and long term strategy. Any investor without these characteristics may be overwhelmed as a result of the present situation of the economy, which is temporary to say the least.

“So as far as I am concerned, the present economic challenge is actually the right time to invest in Nigeria; a time to lay a solid foundation and then grow with the economy in no distant time.”

He expressed confidence that the efforts of present administration to fight corruption, provide infrastructure and strengthen institutions in the country should also reassure investors about the new opportunities in Nigeria.

For 2017, he said AMCON would continue to sustain its tempo of recoveries, which began last year, by strategically focusing on value-enhanced exits of its portfolios.

He said this would encompass continued negotiations and resolution of loans through cash recoveries, asset forfeitures through negotiation or enforcement; capital restructuring for short to mid-term exits as well as joint venture arrangements for asset operations and land development.

As the second largest land and real estate property owner in Nigeria, AMCON is also exploring the creation of a robust Real Estate Investment Trust Scheme (REITS) that would provide market-driven exit for AMCON’s real estate assets as well as additional capital market instruments for institutional investors such as the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and other interested parties.

With these opportunities, Kuru said AMCON had a bouquet of attractive assets that would appeal to different local and international investors.