of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, requires you to analyze Nigeria, as target destination for export and investment.

Nigeria FDI Analysis
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Nigeria FDI Analysis
Active investment – commercial presence
Does the government support active FDI? How? Laws, decrees, websites?
The Nigerian government has been open to active Foreign Direct Investment in virtually all the sectors of its economy, and it ensures that both the foreign and domestic investors are served equally in most respects. There are impressive numbers of reforms that range from the design of a competitive regime to the repeal of the tax and labor reforms, which are currently reshaping the environment for investment (“Promoting and facilitating investment in Nigeria | OECD READ edition,” 2016). The Nigerian laws on FDI established since 1995 have been friendly to the foreign investors since the government liberalized the laws on money repatriation and foreign ownership of Nigerian enterprises. The major laws significant to foreign investment include:
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Act 1995 CNIPC Act”)
The Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provision Act 1995 (“FEM Act”).
The Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990 (“CAMA”)
The National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion Act 1979 (“NOTAP”)
The Investment and Securities Act 1999 (“ISA”).
Immigration Act Cap I 1 LFN 2004
Chamber of commerce?
The Chamber of Commerce in Nigeria is distributed into the City/State, and Bilateral Chambers of Commerce and they all fall under one umbrella organization, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.

The organization provides the latest information on the different investment opportunities in the country to the prospective investors. The organization’s primary objective is to provide a conducive environment for the pursuit of trade, industry and the economic activities that may interest the private sector (“Promoting and facilitating investment in Nigeria | OECD READ edition,” 2016). The Chamber of Commerce has a mandate of promoting, protecting and development of all the issues affecting businesses. The organization brings together ideas that can promote the overall economic stability of Nigeria. It also provides a network that can be used for both international and business opportunities and contacts.
Free zones?
Since the formation of the first free trade zone (Calabar Free Trade Zone) in 1989, the Nigerian government has established more free zones for development around the country. Some of the completed and operational zones include Calabar, kano, Tinapa, Snake Island International, Maigatari Border, Ladol Logistics and the Airline services EPZ. However, those Free zones still under construction include the Abuja Tec. Village, Living Spring, and Brass LNG. The Licensing, regulation, monitoring and facilitation of investment in these Free zones is conducted by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, which was formed under the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Act 63 of 1992 (Moses, 2011). This law empowers the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority to accord all the requisite approvals and permits for operators in the zones.
Establishing companies by foreigners – available types and requirements (min. capital, local owner/manager, liability), establishment process (authorities, documentation, fees)
Registration of Companies in the country is conducted by the Corporate Affairs Commission, which was established under the companies and allied matters act 1990 (“PROCEDURE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA,” 2016).
The following agencies have the duty of controlling foreign participation in Nigeria:
The Immigration Department;
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission;
The National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion
The required documents that are submitted to the agencies as mentioned earlier seeking approval and reliefs on behalf of the investments include the Business Permits, residence and expatriate quota permits. Upon approval of the documents, the foreigner is handed an STR Visa, which upon arriving in Nigeria, he or she will be subjected to regularization and then given a work permit.
Are there any UAE companies operating already?
There exist UAE Companies in Nigeria, such as Etisalat, Mulk Holdings, Danube Building materials, Seven Seas Ship Chandeliers, and Khaitan Holdings.
Opinion of investors about speed & details of establishing process, government support, safety of their investment, etc.?
The country does not have an on-line business registration system; thus the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission has always maintained its information in a portal. It takes twelve procedures and forty-four days to establish a foreign-owned limited liability Company, which is slightly faster compared to other countries in the sub-Saharan Africa (“Promoting and facilitating investment in Nigeria | OECD READ edition,” 2016). The government has established One Stop Investment Center, which entails co-locating the relevant agencies to a central location to ensure more efficient and transparent investor service provision.
There are certain incentives and reliefs that the Nigerian government has designed to boost the investment opportunities in the country and they can only be offered to those foreign investors who qualify for those incentives (Uremadu, 2011). They include:
Tax relief, which is under the Companies Income Tax (Cit) Act, Cap 60 LFN, 1990.
Duty drawback and suspension scheme;
Pioneer status
Passive (portfolio) investment
Does the government support Passive FDI? How? Laws, decrees, websites?
The Nigerian government has been open to passive Foreign Direct Investment is virtually all the sectors of its economy, and it ensures that both the foreign and domestic investors are served equally in most respects (Uremadu, 2011).
Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Act
The Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act.
Stock exchange
The Nigerian stock exchange is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is the main body tasked with surveillance over the exchange, and it ensures that there are no malpractices within the exchange system. The transactions conducted in the stock market are usually guided by certain legislations that have been established by the Nigerian government. They include:
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Decree, 1995
The Companies and Allied Matters Decree 1990
The Foreign Exchange (Miscellaneous Provisions ) Decree, 1995
The Investments and Securities Decree No. 45, 1999
Passive Foreign Direct Investment plays has an extraordinary role in the economy of Nigeria. The Nigerian Capital market provides a vital lubricant, which is a major factor in turning the wheel of the Nigerian economy. Not only does it create funds used in investment, but also efficiently allocates the created funds to good projects that give good returns to the owners. Approximately 60% share of the FDI usually goes to the oil industry and the country has always been losing its international market shares in most of its traditional exports. On the other hand, the macroeconomic variables of Nigeria have been unimpressive since the composite price index has risen by more 40% and the value of the Naira to the Dollar is still very high (“Nigeria – Openness to and Restriction on Foreign Investment | export.gov,” 2016). The macroeconomic variables usually determine the value of the stocks and thus the Nigerian government needs to put more emphasis on rectifying their macroeconomic variables.
Banks
Foreign Direct Investment is also supported by Nigeria’s ever-growing banking sector. The Foreign investors and Banks are permitted to establish their banking investments in Nigeria provided they meet the minimum capital requirement and accept to comply with the regulatory requirements laid by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Moreover, the foreign investors are allowed to invest in the existing Nigerian banks, but no single foreign investor should possess more share than the main Nigerian individual or institutional shareholder. Moreover, the aggregate shareholding of foreign investors should not be more than 10 percent of the total capital on the banking institution (Moses, 2011). However, the BOFIA provisions maintain that when share acquisition results to a change of ownership or control of the bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria will have to approve the move for any investor, whether local or foreign.
Any UAE investment already in Nigeria
There are no passive investment Companies in Nigeria that originate from the UAE.
Opinion of investors about investment process, government support, and safety of their investment
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) Act stipulates that any foreign person, whether Company or Individual can participate and invest in any business within Nigeria other than those businesses in the negative list (“PROCEDURE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA,” 2016). However, the biggest stockbroker challenge in Nigeria is the low liquidity and participation in the market. Although the stockbrokers and the regulators have tried so hard to come up with new products such as the Exchange Traded Funds, buying remains very low. Moreover, Nigeria lacks Fair and Equitable Treatment that should be accorded to the investors. This is usually very important in promotion of FDI, since it should be contained in the investment laws of the hosting nation so as to address the legitimate expectations of the foreign investors and brings in some principles of good faith, integrity and guarantees against repudiation of justice (“Nigeria – Openness to and Restriction on Foreign Investment | export.gov”, 2016). The government should strengthen the standards of protection that are granted to the investors and amend the legal investment regime so as to send a positive signal to the foreign investors that the country provides an enabling and safe investment framework.

References
Nigeria – Openness to and Restriction on Foreign Investment | export.gov. (2016). Export.gov. Retrieved 18 November 2016, from https://www.export.gov/article?id=Nigeria-Openness-to-foreign-investmentNACCIMA – Home. (2016). Naccima.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016, from http://www.naccima.com/
Promoting and facilitating investment in Nigeria | OECD READ edition. (2016). OECD iLibrary. Retrieved 18 November 2016, from http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/finance-and-investment/oecd-investment-policy-reviews-nigeria-2015/promoting-and-facilitating-investment-in-nigeria_9789264208407-6-en#page2PROCEDURE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN NIGERIA. (2016). Legalnaija.com. Retrieved 18 November 2016, from http://www.legalnaija.com/2013/09/foreign-investment-in-nigeria.htmlUremadu, S.O (2011) Foreign Direct Investment, Liquidity and Real Country Growth: Evidence from Nigeria. International Review of Business Research Papers. 7 (3) 170 – 193
Moses, E. C. (2011). Oil and nonoil FDI and economic growth in Nigeria. Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS), 2(4), 333-343.