Business
Nigerian, Portuguese Investors Meet Over Trade Ties
Nigerian and Portuguese Investors recently converged in Lisbon to explore new business and investment opportunities, as they seek to boost trade ties, The Tide reports.
Reports have it that the trade volume between the two countries currently stands at over 900 million Euros in favour of Nigeria.
Speaking at the “Nigeria Day Investment Forum’’ Amb. Ijeoma Bristol, Nigerian Ambassador to Portugal said that the imbalance could be addressed through investment in non oil sectors of the economy.
Bristol, who noted that a significant percentage of Portuguese gas comes from Nigerian export said that other areas with huge economic potentialities included the agriculture, health, energy and infrastructure sectors among others.
She said that reforms in the nation’s non oil sectors had made the areas more economically viable, while noting the various legal framework put in place to safeguard investment in the country.
The envoy who further stressed the cordial bilateral relations between both countries, said Nigeria was opened to a mutually beneficial partnership with Portugal.
Also speaking, Amb. Asalina Mamuno, the Director Trade and Investment at the Foreign Ministry said that Nigeria had one of the world ‘ fastest growing economies with its GDP being on the rise.
“It is important to note that since 2010, the GDP of Nigeria had been increasingly in ascending order, from 6.8 per cent to 7.5 per cent in 2012’’,
“It is envisaged that this sustainable growth would be transformed into economic development and I’ll continue in this direction beyond 2020,’’ Mamuno said.
She listed some of the incentive put in place to attract investment as capital allowances of up to 75 per cent for manufacturers and 66 per cent for other sectors.
Other incentives included tax relief for research and development, as well as amendment of company income tax.
In the same vein, Mr Pedro Hipolito, the President of the Nigeria-Portugal Friendship and Business Association, told
Reports say that Portuguese investors were interested in payment system, pharmaceuticals and construction among others.
Hipoliton, however, said that security challenges and other image problems were not peculiar to Nigeria alone.
According to him, Portugal also suffered economic crisIs in the past as a result security and other dynamics of the environment.
It would be recalled that 40 per cent of gas and 20 per cent of crude oilexports to Portugal comes from Nigeria.
Both countries established diplomatic relations in the 1970s.
Credit to Nigeria’s private sector rose to N83.26 trillion in June 2026 from N81.04 trillion in May, signifying a positive balance of N2.22 trillion month-on-month.
Year-on-year, the figure represents a nine per cent increase compared with the N76.13 trillion recorded in June 2025. The latest figures come as the CBN continues to balance efforts to control inflation with the need to support economic growth and expand credit to businesses.
The CBN data shows that credit to Nigeria’s private sector increased by approximately 2.74 per cent month-on-month between May and June 2026. Also, the CBN data noted that credit to the government fell slightly to N40.03 trillion from N40.38 trillion. Other assets, net, dropped to N10.76 trillion from N12.63 trillion.
The credit surge signifies sustained growth in lending to businesses and other private-sector borrowers during the month. The rise in private sector credit was recorded alongside an increase in net domestic credit, despite declines in credit to government and other assets.
Further analysis of the report says that compared with June 2025, private sector credit rose by about N7.13 trillion yea-on-year but net domestic credit increased by approximately N1.87 trillion during the month.
The CBN’s relatively tight monetary policy stance notwithstanding, more banks still loaded funds to the private sector within the period. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) held its 306th meeting on July 20 and 21.
The Committee reviewed recent developments in the global and domestic economies, assessed emerging risks to the outlook and considered their implications for monetary policy and retained all rates.
The Committee decided to retain the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5 per cent; the Standing Facilities Corridor around the MPR at +50/-450 basis points and retain the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for Deposit Money Banks at 45.00 per cent, Merchant Banks at 16.00 per cent, and non-TSA public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent.
The MPC decision means that credit extension in the private sector will likely continue to rise because of rising confidence in the sector and calls by stakeholders for banks to invest in the private scetor instead of government securities.
