By Babajide Komolafe

Nigeria Export Import Bank (Nexim) said it would require about N250 billion capital base to effectively perform its role of promoting exports in order to diversify the nation’s economy.

Meanwhile the Bill to amend the Nexim Bank Act  has passed the first reading in the House of Representatives, while the second reading will come up next week.

Speaking in Agbara Ogun State during an oversight inspection visit to Belloxxi Biscuits by  members of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Managing Director/Chief  Executive, Nexim Bank, Mr. Robberts Orya said that Beloxxi Biscuits is a green field company supported by the Bank in its efforts to encourage production for exportation. He said Beloxxi was supported by  Nexim Bank  with $3 million loan as seed capital, and its biscuit has today grown to became the largest biscuit manufacturer in sub-saharan Africa, employing over 1000 people.

“What industrialist in Nigeria needs is long term funding at low cost. And I think that is what is required from us to jump start our industrialisation. So we need long term funding, and I believe Nexim is in a vantage position to give those kinds of funds and do more than what we have done in Beloxxi”, Orya said.

He said that the Bank however needs more capital to play provide such long term funding. “If we have to look at the prospect of trade growth in Africa and in Nigeria looking at the size of the economy, if the bank has N200 billion to N250 billion, it can make a lot of impact.

When you look at the size of our economy and some of the non-oil sectors that we have not even scratched that will just be a drop but it will still be a step forward if we are able to get between N200 billion and N250 billion in capitalisation”.

He said the bank is however also making efforts to access funding from the international export agencies. “We have two shareholders, the CBN and Federal Ministry of Finance Incorporated, but apart from getting equity contribution from these two shareholders, we also use our own balance sheet, on the basis of the sovereign guarantee of the federal government of Nigeria, to access commercial credit lines from other Exim banks in the world.