Enugu, Indonesia to stimulate cross-border investment, capital flow

Enugu state and the Indonesian government are set to stimulate greater trade and investment between Nigeria and the Southeast Asian country across key sectors such as agriculture, energy, power and transport.

As part of the efforts, the Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, is expected to give a keynote at the Nigerian Indonesian Trade and Investment Forum scheduled for Jakarta, Indonesia this month.

Both parties pursue mutual prosperity, capital flows and diversification of Indonesian industries into Enugu, the Enugu State Government said.

This was made known at a press conference organised by the Nigerian Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) in Lagos.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said the forthcoming forum themed, ‘Rediscovering Business Potential in Nigeria’, is aimed at exploring and stimulating greater trade and investment between Nigeria and the Asian country across key sectors.

Onyia said Enugu would benefit greatly from the forum, given the state’s abundant resources and potential.

He stressed that the state was poised to become Nigeria’s most remarkable success story driven by industrialisation and structural economic transformation, responsible public financial management, robust growth in trade and investment and sustainable and inclusive infrastructural development.

Onyia said Enugu is blessed with untapped natural gas reserves, noting that its vast natural gas reserves have imposed a responsibility on the state to drive the nation’s green economy transition.

“Enugu is one of the first states to attract investment in Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses and the state has the potential to be a leader in the clean industries of tomorrow,” he added.

He assured that the state was robustly de-risking the investment climate and addressing bottlenecks that undermine investment growth and profitability.

On her part, the Enugu State Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Adaora Chukwu, said the state’s partnership with the Indonesian government was based on the governor’s initiative to move the state from a $4.4 billion- to $30 billion-economy.

She expressed hope that Nigeria will gain and attract investment, industries and capital in the partnership, noting that for the Indonesian government, it will be a mutual prosperity effort, with Enugu State giving expertise in some areas.

The Director, Indonesia Trade Promotion Centre, Lagos, Hendro Jonathan Manurund, underscored the gains of economic collaborations between both parties.

The President of the Nigerian Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ishmael Balogun, noted that investments between Nigeria and Indonesia have grown from $2.6 billion in 2021 to $4.6 billion in 2022.

He, however, said both countries had the potential to do much more, hence the trade and investment forum billed for Jakarta in October.

“Areas of focus include but are not limited to manufacturing, renewable energy, power generation, infrastructure development, health, agriculture, transportation, mining, digital economy and much more.

“This will be followed by a government-to-government, government-to-business and business-to-business roundtable discussions to further foster sustainable collaborations and fruitful partnerships,” he said.

He added that the event in Indonesia would witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by participants to grow the economies of both countries.