SABMiller, 19 Other Factories to Complete $10bn Investments in Ogun

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SABMiller, the largest breweries in the world which were acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) a Brazilian-Belgian Group headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, currently leads 19 other firms in fresh investments worth over $10 billion expected to be completed in Ogun state this year, BusinessDay has learned.

Businessday reports that the fresh 20 companies which cut across key sectors of the economy, including agriculture, mining, and quarrying, production of fast moving consumer goods, banking and services, are expected to individually invest between $100 million and $2 billion in the State in the long run.

The fresh investments will be a follow-up to already established 140 companies whom, Governor Ibikunle Amosun said during the presentation of 2018 Budget before the State House of Assembly, had individually invested between a minimum of $200 million and in excess of $2 billion in some instances.

Speaking exclusively with BusinessDay in Abeokuta on Monday, Bimbo Ashiru, State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, declared that government had created a One-Stop-Shop that addresses investments related bottlenecks which hitherto were impeding quick access to industrial lands and land title documents as well as other documentation.

While explaining that State government had streamlined all efforts towards the provision of critical infrastructure as well as effective security mechanisms that protect investments, lives, and property within and outside designated industrial estates.

The Commissioner also stated that apart from huge investments in manufacturing and banking services, the number of all the State-based small and medium-scale enterprises had increased from 4,000 in the year 2011 to 25,000 in the year 2017, adding that the enabling environment provided by government as well as other economic incentives that fasten growth and development of the State economy.

He said, “We streamline all these things through our One-Stop-Shop. I am happy to tell you that over 140 companies have opened shops in Ogun state in the last seven years, and over 20 companies are waiting to be commissioned this year.

“SABMiller Intafact, they are the largest brewery in the world, they have been able to see that Ogun state is the home for them. We are central enough, we are Getaway to West African markets and we are Gateway to other Nigerian states in the country and if you are focused, you will get more investments.

“When we came in, we did enumeration and we found out that enterprises that were in Ogun state were 4,000 and when we later conducted the enumeration, the number had increased to 25,000 because through the business premises permits, we could see how industries are registering, how small businesses are registering. So, we have been able to do that and now, we are now generating between N6 and N7 billion and the target is N10 billion or more.”

Source: Businessday