Economy influencers say every effort should be made available to make the real sector the spinning wheel of economic progress that is greased by business-friendly environment, institutional reforms, better regulation and effective synchronisation of fiscal and monetary policies.
The Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Muda Yusuf, the keynote revolver at this year’ National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents confab centred on “Promoting Bankable Investments Portfolio for Insurance and Pension Sectors,” said the the nation’ real sector was struggling and in dire need of injection of long term funds to rejuvenate.
Yusuf said rejuvenation would continue to be dashed in the real sector if the high risk environment is not doused with a good measure of de-risk policies to boost investors confidence and fund managers participation.
“Investors participation has been weak in the real economy in recent years. About 5% of foreign capital flows to Nigeria went into real sector between January and June 2020, indicating poor investment sentiment towards the sector. The real sector needs to be totally de-risked to be able to attract adequate quantum of private capital from PFAs, insurance companies,” he stated.
LCCI chieftain said the uncharted terrain has made it difficult for funds to stream into the sector and the slim chance of creating a fund vehicle fit to earn pension assets deployment, while the deposit money banks have put their lending life span at three year peak, because “fund managers often complain that projects in the real economy are not bankable” with short term lending.
Dr. Yusuf said funds make a diagonal pass over the real sector because of vulnerability to external shocks, foreign volatility, infrastructure deficit, tough operating environment, regulatory summersaults, policy uncertainty, low purchasing power and weak economic growth.
The confab chairman Mr. Austin Enajemo-Isire, said the real sector rejuvenation needs fund intervention from Pension Fund Association operators but with in built safety net to reach sectors like manufacturing, agriculture and aviation. He therefore, called on stakeholders to review the pension law to accommodate investment instruments for fund managers and the real sector to participate in more than is available now.
Also, the chairman, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, called on government at all levels to support and patronise insurance market to achieve adequate return on investment and capital adequacy ratio. For the practitioners, he said they should come to the point where they begin to deflate sharp practices.
