By Yinka Kolawole

India-Nigeria bilateral trade rose by 26 per cent to about $9 billion in 2025–26, from $7.13 billion recorded in 2024–25, as economic ties between both countries deepen beyond oil and commodities into manufacturing, healthcare, energy, technology and job creation.

The Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Abishek Singh, disclosed that more than 200 Indian companies currently operate in Nigeria and have created nearly 100,000 jobs, making Indian businesses the second-largest employers of Nigerians after the Federal Government.

The expanding corporate presence also signals a shift from an export-driven relationship towards local production. Indian companies are increasingly establishing manufacturing and production facilities in Nigeria across pharmaceuticals, power, construction, consumer goods, healthcare and other services. With healthcare is emerging as a major area of cooperation, India’s Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Vertika Rawat, said Indian pharmaceutical exports to Nigeria reached $315 million in 2024–25, with India accounting for about 40 per cent of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical imports and more than 90 per cent in some medicine categories.

She put Indian investment in pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria at about $4 billion, reflecting growing efforts to produce medicines locally rather than rely mainly on imported finished products. The trend is expected to support skilled employment, strengthen supply chains and improve domestic production capacity.

The economic relationship between both countries, which dates back more than six decades, was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2007. Political engagement has also intensified, with President Bola Tinubu visiting India for the G20 Summit in 2023 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting Nigeria in November 2024.

Beyond private investment, India has provided development assistance, concessional financing and technical training through its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme. The expanding partnership offers Nigeria access to Indian capital, technology and expertise to boost productive capacity. 

By Peter Egwuatu

HBM Nigeria Plc, formerly Lafarge Africa Plc, recorded a 57 per cent increase in profit after tax (PAT) to N208 billion in the first half of 2026 (H1’26), from N132.677 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

The cement manufacturer, in its financial results released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), also reported a 31 per cent increase in net sales during the period.

The growth was driven by an 11 per cent increase in sales volume, improved operational stability and greater distribution efficiency.

Operating profit rose by 51 per cent to N291 billion, compared with N192.270 billion in H1’25, while operating margin increased to 43 per cent from 37 per cent. Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, HBM Nigeria, Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, attributed the performance to disciplined cost management, operational efficiency and prudent financial management.

He said the company remained focused on improving supply reliability, strengthening its cost leadership position, driving innovation and accelerating sustainability initiatives.

Alade-Akinyemi disclosed that the company had commenced engineering design for its third production line at Calabar, a 3-million-tonne integrated cement facility. According to him, the project is progressing through the required development processes, with completion expected within 12 months after commencement of construction.

He said HBM Nigeria would continue to leverage the industrial and technical expertise of Huaxin Building Materials Ltd to improve efficiency and operational performance.

On the business outlook, Alade-Akinyemi said demand for cement remained positive, supported by infrastructure development, urbanisation and sustained activity in the construction sector. He said the company would focus on capturing further volume growth opportunities while maintaining cost discipline and operational excellence.

“With a resilient operating platform, a strong balance sheet and disciplined execution of strategic priorities, the company remains well positioned to create sustainable long-term value for shareholders and other stakeholders,” he said.

By Yinka Kolawole

Nigeria have warned that the high cost of credit and rising production expenses remain major threats to the recovery of the manufacturing sector, despite a renewed improvement in manufacturers’ confidence in the economy.

This was revealed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in its

Manufacturers’ CEOs Confidence Index (MCCI) for the second quarter of 2026 (Q2’26).

Manufacturers’ CEOs identified limited access to finance as their primary challenge, with two in every three executives citing commercial bank lending rates as a major disincentive to manufacturing productivity. They also described the volume of credit available to the sector as inadequate.

The manufacturers linked the high cost of borrowing directly to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monetary policy stance, particularly the Monetary Policy Rate

(MPR), which stood at 26.5 per cent during the quarter.

According to the manufacturers, the prevailing high-interest-rate regime had increased the cost of credit and, by extension, production costs, weakening manufacturers’ ability to expand output, invest and create jobs.

The report noted that although the MPR had been reduced and maintained at 26.5 per cent, the rate remained too high to support the financing needs of the real sector.

The manufacturers further noted that the limited flow of bank credit, combined with rising energy, distribution, shipping and raw material costs, continued to constrain productivity and capacity utilisation.

“Two in every three CEOs cited commercial bank lending rates as a disincentive to manufacturing productivity,” the report stated, stressing that the cost of credit directly influences production costs.

They also complained about frequent power outages, inadequate foreign exchange supply, high production costs, shortages of raw materials, multiple taxation and inadequate government infrastructure.

Despite reforms in the foreign exchange market and relative stability in the naira, about half of the manufacturers surveyed said improvements in foreign exchange sourcing had not translated into sufficient access to foreign exchange for their operations.

They argued that the situation continued to limit manufacturers’ ability to operate at full capacity, while also raising the cost of imported inputs and machinery.

Only 27 per cent of manufacturing executives considered government expenditure on infrastructure encouraging for manufacturing activity, reflecting concerns over the slow impact of public infrastructure investments on productivity.

The report further showed that manufacturers continued to face rising production, distribution and shipping costs during the quarter, even as sales volume recorded a modest improvement.

Despite the challenges, the report noted that manufacturers’ confidence rose by 3.4 points to 52.1 in Q2’26 from 48.7 in Q1’26, but the improvement was driven largely by expectations of better business conditions rather than a significant improvement in the actual operating environment.

Looking ahead, manufacturers were more optimistic about the third quarter, projecting business conditions at 55.6, employment at 55.2 and production conditions at 63 points.

Commenting, Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, said the projected improvement would depend largely on policy implementation and measures to ease the cost of doing business.

He called on CBN to reduce the MPR to below 20 per cent to unlock manufacturing growth, improve access to affordable credit, and give priority allocation of foreign exchange to manufacturers.

“Reducing financing and production costs was critical to converting the renewed confidence among manufacturers into actual increases in output, investment and employment,” he stressed.

Speaking on the specific government policies or economic developments that are driving the renewed optimism among manufacturers, with the MCCI showing manufacturing confidence at a 2-year high, Ajayi-Kadir stated: “What has happened in the past is that for two years we have witnessed a lull in terms of how confident manufacturers are. But what we are seeing now is that there’s a departure and it is based not on the experience of real improvement in their condition but in the expectation and that’s based on the fact that we believe that government will follow through on some of its reform measures that are beginning to stabilize the economy.

“For instance, the exchange rate, the tax reform has given hope that we are now going to have a tax system that supports productivity and actually incentivizes it. Even though we currently have a setback that the law is going to take a retroactive effect, we hope that this is resolved otherwise it will just wipe off the confidence that we have in that area.”