The United Kingdom has urged Nigeria to expedite its economic reforms by addressing market-distorting practices linked to state-owned enterprises, which it says hinder trade and investment.
This call was made by Simon Manley, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation, during Nigeria’s Trade Policy Review in Geneva on Monday.
Manley praised Nigeria for its strides in economic reforms, highlighting the removal of fuel subsidies and monetary policy adjustments as bold and necessary steps.
However, he stressed that deeper and faster reforms were required to foster a business-friendly environment, particularly by tackling harmful practices in state-owned enterprises.
Citing a WTO Secretariat report, Manley revealed that as of 2022, around 40 state-owned enterprises were engaged in activities that stifled competition, particularly in the energy sector.
He described these practices as market-distorting and detrimental to private sector participation, urging Nigeria to act decisively to enhance trade and investment prospects.
Manley also pointed to challenges faced by British businesses operating in Nigeria, including harmful subsidies, forced technology transfers, discriminatory enforcement of competition laws, and overly complex regulatory frameworks.
He said, “there are concerns around the impact of state-owned enterprises on the business environment. As the Secretariat noted in its report, as of 2022 around 40 state-owned enterprises were operating in key sectors like energy.
These state-owned enterprises, to be honest, often employ market distorting practices and benefit from unfair competition in our view.
“Other concerns that British businesses investing in Nigeria have raised include examples of harmful subsidies, forced technology transfer, discriminatory enforcement of competition policy and of complex regulatory barriers. And we have indeed picked up on some of those issues and concerns in our Advanced Written Questions.
“So, we would encourage our Nigerian colleagues to address these harmful practices in order to boost investment, boost trade, improve its business environment and ultimately increase Nigerian prosperity.”
Manley emphasised the significance of the UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership, which seeks to reduce trade barriers and identify areas of mutual growth.
He also commended Nigeria’s increasing trade diversification, particularly in manufacturing and agriculture, and its infrastructure investments in energy, housing, and transport, which have contributed to economic growth.
