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Nigeria targets $17 billion from sale of TBS and other National Assets

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3 years ago

August 22, 2023

Nigeria targets $17 billion from sale of TBS and other national assets according to JP Morgan, the global investment bank, Nigeria is set to unlock $17 billion from asset sales to relieve the pressure on Nigeria’s Forex liquidity and external reserves.

JP Morgan, which put Nigeria’s external reserves at $3 billion as against the $18 billion figure provided by CBN, said that the country is at the initial stages of identifying assets for sale that may offer some medium-term cash palliative to the country.

The report said President Tinubu’s advisory council has recommended that the government sell its stakes in most joint venture oil and gas assets, which is expected to yield $17 billion to the country’s coffers.

“The authorities are in the initial stages of identifying assets for sale, which may provide some medium-term relief,” JP Morgan said. The country reportedly has N180 trillion trapped in dead or idle government assets as it intensifies its drive for cash. Over 70 assets captured in national assets Leadership reports that over 70 entities have been captured in a national asset register which aims to identify the country’s dead and idle assets.

The Ministry of Finance (MOFI) listed the assets and said it would help the country to unlock cash for the government. JP Morgan stated that the recently procured $3 billion loan by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) could help ease the FX liquidity squeeze in the country.

Morgan said: “We expect NNPC to sell the dollars to CBN and remit the naira proceeds to the government as upfront payments for oil revenues and taxes,” JP Morgan noted. “That being said, the large external financing needs of the private sector will sustain FX pressure,” it concluded.

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List of assets for sale in a previous report, the country had considered the sale of Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos as well as all the National Integrated Power Projects in Olorunsogo, Calabar II, Benin (located at Ihorbor), Omotosho II, and Geregu II plants. The federal government also planned to sell or concession all the hydropower plants across the country, including Oyan, Lower Usuma, Katsina-Ala, and Giri plants.

The report listed 25 federal government-owned assets spread across the country.

Some national assets such as NIPOST, Nigerian Hotels, and Lagos International Trade Fair.