Rullion's Blog

In spite of the huge opportunities in the parking space business in Lagos— Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre—investors still find that segment of economic activities unattractive and unprofitable for investment. As a commercial and large industrial city, Lagos does not have standard and well developed parking lots where car owners could leave their cars and collect same for a fee at the end of the day’s business. The situation is such that even Lagos Island which is the city’s central business district (CBD) is lacking in a standard parking space and, according to authorities of the state, plans by the government to develop malls, leisure parks and other recreational facilities as part of the Lagos Island redevelopment master plan presents immense opportunities for private sector investment in that part of the city.

Worsening insecurity in Nigeria has not deterred foreign investors from buying its assets, Citigroup’s (C.N) country head said last week, citing $1.1 billion worth of Eurobonds it had traded for three local lenders so far this year. But any spread of attacks further south or to the commercial hub of Lagos could start to put even established investors off, Omar Hafeez told Reuters in an interview. The Boko Haram attacks have killed hundreds this year, with the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls making world headlines in April and overshadowing the country’s rise to overtake South Africa as the continent’s top economy. Nigeria also faces polls in 2015 that are likely to be the most closely fought since the end of military rule in 1999, with many fearing political violence and rampant spending on patronage, as it usually happens in election cycles. “The investment community is very well informed ... Nigeria is a loan market and financial investors have been tapping into tre...

International construction companies may be suffering from the economic downturn in Europe and North America but investment has never been greater in Africa. In common with any time over the past three years, the port sector continues to attract massive investment. Rising trade volumes and growing economic confidence are driving growth, while also underpinning a renaissance in road and rail construction. 

An investment of at least N48.8tn ($300bn) is required over the next 30 years for housing construction costs alone in the country, the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, has said. Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi Eyakenyi stated this in a presentation on ‘Affordable housing finance: The role of government’, at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation’s Sixth Global Housing Finance Conference held in United States between May 28 and 29. The presentation was made available to our correspondent on Sunday. She said with a population of 167 million people, Nigeria remained one of the most rapidly urbanising countries in Africa, with rising housing needs.

  Effective implementation of real estate investment and mortgage financing will form the basis of discussion at a conference to be declared open by the Vice President Namadi Sambo in July. According to a statement by the convener of the conference, Mr. Seun Jegede, the aim is to create awareness and investment opportunities for real estate and mortgage finance companies and organisations in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He added that the conference, which is an initiative of Global Homes Magazine, UK, and Housing Circuit Magazine, Nigeria, would also empower investors to gain expert insight into new market trends in the real estate sector in  both countries, and share practical experience regarding global trends in real estate and mortgage financing. Jegede, who is publisher of Housing Circuit Magazine, Nigeria, added that the conference would also provide the platform for various stakeholders to network and build new business partnerships ...

For the building and construction industry in Nigeria, growth prospect is very high and expectation among industry players is that by 2020, the country, alongside India, will enjoy higher growth rates than notable nations like China, predicting that by 2021, the industry will triple its investment value. The contribution and impact of this industry to the economy cannot be neglected as it has become a veritable index when it comes to employment generation for both skilled and unskilled employment in Nigeria, and it is estimated that this industry contributes 3.2 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Solomon Ogunbusola, president, Federation of Construction Industries (FOCI), who gave these hints, pointed out, however, that despite these prospects, the state of the nation’s economy has somewhat overstretched members of the association as they task themselves to meet up with contracts awarded to them at various levels. He added that these members operate under ser...

Citing his government’s desire to encourage low income Lagos residents to own homes without much stress, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola on Monday flagged off the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS). Mr. Fashola said LagosHOMS is part of his administration's solution towards reducing the acute housing deficit in Lagos State. According to Fashola, "the economic realities had made house ownership almost impossible for most income earners". He went further to say, "for many years, our people have had to acquire houses, often times being required to pay cash once and for all, as if they were buying a shirt or a pair of shoes in a shop. This approach in part, explains why a large number of ordinary middle class and working people, cannot afford to acquire homes on the basis of their legitimate income derived from hard work. In Lagos, we are of the view that a home is not something you buy in one day, but over time in a way that your...