- Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc plans to speculate as much as $1 billion over the subsequent 4 years in an enlargement and restructuring drive.
- The funding is a great addition to President Bola Tinubu’s reform efforts.
- Flour Mills will make investments no less than $500 million in its sugar operations in Niger state to scale manufacturing to greater than 400,000 tons a yr from the present 1000 tons.
Flour Mills of Nigeria enlargement
Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, the nation’s greatest milling firm, plans to speculate as much as $1 billion over the subsequent 4 years in an enlargement and restructuring drive after its majority shareholder provided to denationalise it.
This vital funding will give attention to boosting manufacturing capability and exploring new markets throughout Africa whereas leveraging the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA). In keeping with the corporate’s Chairman, John Coumantaros, this new funding is about doubling funding in Nigeria.
The funding is a great addition to President Bola Tinubu’s reform efforts when some corporations like Unilever Plc and Diageo Plc are lowering their publicity or exiting the West African nation. Since ascending to energy in Might 2023, President Tinubu has unleashed a flurry of reforms, from floating the naira to firming down on gas subsidies, to make the nation extra interesting to traders and rescue it from the brink of fiscal disaster.
Flour Mills will make investments no less than $500 million in its sugar operations in Niger state to scale manufacturing to greater than 400,000 tons a yr, from the present 1000 tons, in line with Coumantaros. A further $100 million will go to constructing a cassava-processing manufacturing unit to halt cassava starch imports into the nation, with its breakfast cereal providing additionally being expanded.
The 64-year-old milling firm will likely be restructured after Excelsior Transport Firm Ltd. final month provided to purchase out minorities at 70 nairas a share.
Coumantaros stated it intends to restructure its greater than 22 items into 5 corporations. “We wish to have the ability to entice companions — technical and monetary companions — to assist us develop our sugar operations and our meals enterprise. We have now loads of formidable plans for funding and enlargement.”
Learn Additionally: Nigeria’s commerce exercise dips in September as rising inflationary stress bites
Inside funding
“The requirement for capital goes to be very, very giant. And, after all, we will likely be backing most of that,” he stated. “However while you develop, you possibly can’t do every part your self. It’s essential invite these specialists of the perfect within the discipline to assist you and help you and produce a few of that technical experience so we will develop extra enterprise, extra jobs right here within the nation.”
The corporate additionally appears to be like to broaden throughout Africa, beginning in West Africa, leveraging on the African Continental Free Commerce Space — the biggest single market by space because the formation of the World Commerce Group.
“With the inception of the AfCFTA, we strongly consider that we shouldn’t simply be trying on the Nigerian market,” the chairman stated. “Our dream is to have a pan-African meals enterprise headquartered in Nigeria. We’ll use the AfCFTA to broaden our footprint into these areas.”
Coumantaros sees the corporate relisting after its repositionings.
“It’s our aspiration that we come again,” and “we listing in Nigeria, maybe a twin itemizing as a pan-African meals enterprise or a pan-African agro-allied enterprise,” he stated. “We consider there’s a important function for the Nigerian Inventory Alternate to play in our future, however we have to reorganize, retool, recapitalize, refocus in order that we’re in that place.”
