A temporal study of the responsiveness of foreign private investment to exchange rate in Nigeria, 1981 – 2018

This study examined the response of foreign private investment flows to fluctuations in foreign exchange rates in Nigeria. The empirical analysis was conducted using ordinary least square Multiple Regression on E-view 10 Econometric model for the period 1981 to 2018. Preliminary analysis was carried out with Jarque Bera normality test and Johnson’s transformation test to confirm normal distribution of data and the transformation is effective. A negative relationship between foreign exchange fluctuation and foreign private investment is found. Also, that Bank lending interest rate, market capitalization, external debts and trade openness have a significant effect on the foreign private capital flows in Nigeria while foreign exchange rate fluctuation does not significantly affect private investment. From the findings of the study, we recommend i) That policymakers in Nigeria should seek and implement appropriate exchange rate that will boost foreign private investment; ii) Ensure enlarge trade relationship by allowing international organizations and citizens of other countries access to the financial market in the domestic economy; iii) They should discourage external borrowing to significantly reduce debt service burden.

The Norm Entrepreneurs of the 1950s and 1960s

In the post-World War II period, business leaders, bankers, and their lawyers decided it was their time to write the rules of the global economy. They felt that the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (in 1951) and of the Suez Canal (in 1956), together with increasing state economic intervention all around the world, warranted a call for action. They formed a coalition to enable and safeguard a world of free enterprise; promoting and protecting foreign private investment was a top priority. This chapter examines who these norm entrepreneurs were, their networks, and how they captured the space of international investment law to advance their world-making project. As individuals and through professional associations, they imagined quite detailed institutions and standards for this legal field. They discussed foreign investor rights, indirect expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, the internationalization of contracts, reliance, the inadequacy of local remedies, and the crucial role of international arbitration.

Financial Integration and Growth Volatility Nexus: The Nigeria Experience

This paper examined empirically financial integration impact on Nigeria economic growth volatility. Specifically, it identified some of the major key variables through which financial integration influence growth volatility in Nigeria. Three research hypotheses were stated from which an empirical model was formulated to link the influence of financial integration using economic output as explained variable and degree of openness, foreign private investment, exchange rate foreign debt as explanatory variables over the period of 1987– 2019. Multiple regression analysis was employed to estimate the relevant variables. In addition, we tested for stationarity and determined long run association between the variables of the models. The work also reconciled the disequilibrium which exists in the short and long run relationships of the variables in the models. The result showed a non-significant degree of openness but positively associated with gross domestic product. Foreign private investment was strongly and statistically significant to gross domestic product. It was therefore recommended that for Nigeria financial sector services to take substantial benefits of broad participation in globalization, the provision of sound macroeconomic policy framework with high degree of certainty of the future of investment is needed.

Effect of Foreign Private Investment on the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

This study sought to examine the effect of foreign private investment on the development of small and medium scale enterprises (SME’s) in Nigeria. The study adopted a longitudinal research design which made the use of secondary data imperative. The study employed data on the foreign private investments and development of SMEs in Nigeria covering 1991-2018. The variables used are Net Foreign direct investment, Net Foreign Portfolio investment, percentage of foreign direct investment in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and development of SMEs in Nigeria. The technique adopted in this study is multiple regressions to test the hypotheses. E-view econometric software 3:1 was used for the analysis. The result revealed that the value of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) have a negative relationship with the development of SME’s and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the percentage of gross domestic product and exchange rate have a negative and significant impact on the development of SME’s in Nigeria. It was recommended among others that government should increase its funding of small and medium scale enterprises, SME’s should be encouraged to go on public offer to expand the scope of funds, the exchange rate must be strengthened to encourage SME’s to attract funds and the needs to stabilized the economy to discourage divestment.

TRADE OPENNESS AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN NIGERIA

This study examines the relationship between trade openness and unemployment rate in Nigeria from 1980 to 2018. The study utilized the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) technique and the result of the study shows that trade openness had negative and significant impact on unemployment rate in Nigeria. The implication of this result is that trade openness provides employment opportunities, which reduces the unemployment rate in Nigeria. Thus, the study concludes that trade openness is a significant determinant of unemployment in Nigeria. The study recommends the need for conscious economic policies that would promote foreign private investment, capable of enhancing aggregate volume of investment in the country and contribute to employment generation in the Nigeria. Finally, government needs to explore new marketing areas for foreign investors which would also contribute to employment generation.

Honduras drug claims compound COVID-19 concerns

Subject Corruption claims and COVID-19. Significance The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 30 charged Honduras’s former police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla Valladares with drug conspiracy and weapons offences. A statement on the charges notes allegations that the illegal activities were carried out on behalf of President Juan Orlando Hernandez and his brother, Juan Antonio. Long-running allegations are fuelling popular distrust of the Hernandez administration, particularly in the context of mounting concerns over corruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts US aid and financing to Honduras will continue as long as no US criminal investigations are launched into Hernandez himself. Honduras’s support for US migrant deportations may ensure that no such investigations begin while Hernandez is in office. Frequent scandals will deter foreign private investment until serious efforts are made to root out high-level corruption. Any large protests that might take place as lockdown eases would pose a COVID-19 contagion risk, increasing the chances of a second wave.

The Impact of Exchange Rate on Foreign Private Investment in Nigeria

The study examined the impact of exchange rate on foreign private investment using quarterly time series date from Nigeria for the period 2007 to 2017. Foreign private investment in the study was disaggregated into foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment in order to ascertain their separate reactions to changes in the exchange rate of the naira against the US dollars. The empirical analysis was based on the VAR estimation procedure using three lagged periods adopted on the basis of various lag order selection criteria. The empirical result revealed that devaluation/depreciation of the naira adversely affects foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment in Nigeria. Increased in the size of the domestic market and development of the financial sector were found to stimulate foreign private investment while high inflation rate in the domestic economy discourages foreign private investment in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommended among others that the Central Bank of Nigeria should continue to initiate more proactive policy intervention policies to stabilize the exchange rate of the naira in order to stimulate more foreign private investment in Nigeria.