Bank of Industry to be recapitalized by foreign investors

Bank of Industry boss, Evelyn Oputu

Bank of Industry to be recapitalized by foreign investors
Lawan Hamidu and Hauwa Noroh Ali, Abuja

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has directed the Minister of Finance and Central Bank Governor to ensure the full capitalization of the Bank of Industry (BOI) for the institution to fully realize its developmental mandate.

The President gave the directive in Abuja at the simultaneous inauguration of the bank’s office complex in Abuja and corporate office building in Lagos.

Jonathan stated the determination of his administration to open up the bank’s equity stressing that government alone could not meet the institution’s financial obligations.

He said the focus of the recapitalisation would be on foreign institutional investors to sustain the bank’s developmental mandate.

''And I have already directed the Minister of Finance and the CBN Governor to work with the Ministry of Trade and Investments to make sure that BOI is fully capitalised."

''We have no choice than to do that if our vision and hope that Nigeria will play big globally in the year 2020 will be realized”, he added.

''We need the bank that will be so dedicated to fund the industrial sector, especially agriculture.’’
President Jonathan further commended the management and staff of the bank for their industry and in particular, the diligent and timely completion of the two projects in a cost effective manner.

He assured that the Nigerian l Government would continue to support the bank to enable it play the pivotal roles in the industrialisation of the country.

Recapitalization but not the sale of shares

The Managing Director of the Bank, Ms. Evelyn Oputu, said that the bank's recapitalisation would not translate to selling its shares to the general public.

She said doing so would mean opening ownership of the bank to profit-minded individuals which, she added, would negate the mandate of bank as a developmental institution established to touch the lives of Nigerians.

Oputu said that the recapitalisation would enable the bank to partner with development institutions with similar objectives across the world to become shareholders.

She said the bank was currently capitalised with over N30 billion and had been able to generate over 1.2 million jobs in the last ten years of its existence.

She said the bank’s capitalisation target was about N10 billion with corresponding job creation of about 10 million.

Oputu also disclosed that since inception, the bank had approved 1435 loans and investments totaling N165.74 billion.

BOI’s beginnings
In his remarks, Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, commended the bank for the enviable feat it achieved in ten years.

Aganga disclosed that the two projects inaugurated by the President were executed from internally generated revenue without relying on the Federal Government.

The bank of industry t BOI was established in October 2001 by former President Olusegun Obasanjo with the mandate of providing financial assistance for the establishment of small, medium and large scale enterprises.
The bank also intervenes in areas of expansion, diversification and modernisation of ailing industries in the country.

The bank’s redesigned corporate office in Lagos was allocated to it in place of its former head office in Broad Street, Lagos, which collapsed after a fire incidence in March 2006

Ugo