BY Adekunle Adekoya

WHEN last week telecoms giant, MTN Nigeria, signed a $3 billion (about N470 billion) syndicated loan deal involving 17 Nigerian and seven foreign banks, watchers of the ICT sector were delighted at the growing importance of the sector in terms of foreign direct investment.

Already, MTN Nigeria is market leader in the mobile voice segment of the telecoms market with about 44 per cent of market share. With substantial investment in broadband as well, through WACS, MTN Nigeria and Globacom, the second national operator control 62 per cent of the public terrestrial transmission infrastructure in Nigeria.

The success of MTN in Nigeria in just a little over a decade highlights the benefits to the Nigerian economy of the ending of apartheid and attainment of black majority rule in South Africa. To say that Nigeria spent money on the South African struggle may be an understatement; the country devoted colossal resources into the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa and may be reaping the fruits of her investments in the future of that country.

But not many people know that one of the big brands that first came to Nigeria, in broadcasting, is Mutichoice, which operates the pay TV, DSTv. John Ugbe, managing director of Multichoice Nigeria told newsmen recently that his company has “paid over N7.1 billion in value added tax and company tax since 1999 and our capital investment is in excess of N3.5 billion in broadcasting infrastructure and innovation services.

NCC Boss, Juwah and Minister of CommTech, Johnson

Some of the other big brands that recently berthed in Nigeria include Tiger Brands, which bought over the flour milling operations of Dangote Group. It has also bought substantial equity in UAC Foods, Nigeria’s only thriving foods company. Before Tiger Brands hopped in on the back of UAC Foods and Dangote Flour, brewing giant SAB Miller, the world’s second largest brewer bought Pabod Breweries in  Port Harcourt and Standard Breweries in Ibadan. Both are expected to be launch pads for its products expected to hit the Nigerian market soon.

Apart from South African beer, wines and other beverages from the rainbow country have flooded Nigerian markets. Hitherto, before 1999, wine lovers almost exclusively drank wines from Europe, but in the last few years, the sheer popularity of South African wines, especially from the Western Cape is amazing. Today, there are scores of Nigerian and South African firms who import and distribute South African wines and beverages.

One area in which relations between Nigeria and South Africa has helped redefine living is in the area of shopping. For long, the open market system has defined the shopping mode nationwide; supermarkets were few and offered little difference. But in no time, big shopping malls started springing up as operators like Shoprite, Game, and others came in. Today, their ranks have been swelled by the entrance of others like Spar, Woolworths, Mr Price, and others. There is no gainsaying the impact of these organized retailers on the Nigerian shopping habit as more of them spring up in the twons and cities, with growing patronage.

In the leisure and hospitality arena, the South Africans have been trying to spruce up things in Nigeria. A casual visitor to Johannesburg, South Africa cannot but notice the presence of a highly developed hotel and hospitality industry, with hotels and guest houses available just about any and everywhere. In Nigeria, from the late 90s and thence, major South African hotel groups have landed in Nigeria and helped raise the bar of hospitality service.

They include Sun International (Federal Palace), Tsogo Sun (Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel), Protea Group, which now has hotels in many states of the federation,  Legacy, and others. Of course, South African Airways was and is still the carrier that facilitates the comings and goings of people that make these businesses work. A joint venture between SAA and our defunct Nigerian Airways which would have helped grow our national carrier was abruptly terminated and propelled in another direction which eventually saw the death of the carrier.

As a result of apartheid, financial dealings between Nigeria and South African businessmen used to be routed through London, but since 1994, South African banks have opened shop here, and Nigerian banks there, too. Today, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, Rand Merchant Bank, NedBank (which was part of MTN’s $3bn deal) are operating in the country.

But it is obvious that the balance of trade, as things stand, is in the favour of South Africa. What are Nigerian businessmen doing to address the balance?