By Temitope Ajayi
Anyone who genuinely seeks the progress of his/her country should be excited that a major multinational company announced a new investment to expand business operations, regardless of the size of the investment.
At the meeting with President Bola Tinubu yesterday, the global leadership of Coca-Cola led by Mr. John Murphy made a commitment to invest fresh $ 1 billion in Nigeria over the next 5 years. The reaction from some people was that the company made a similar promise in 2021.
Yes, the company made a similar promise three years ago. But it couldn’t fulfill it because of the challenging business environment prevailing in Nigeria then which the current administration is now addressing with ongoing tax and fiscal policy reform.
As the company’s spokesperson said, while the company made the commitment in 2021, it was also hit by excise taxes, which made the company pause the investment.
“Our investment pledges are always predicated on a predictable and stable environment. The $1 billion pledge has now been renewed based on the stable environment, which has been promised through the Tinubu government economic stabilisation plan.”
The Coca-Cola Company and its local partner, Nigeria Bottling Company, have already invested $1.5 billion in Nigeria over the space of 10 years.
Coca-Cola, through the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company/NBC, has huge footprints in Nigeria with 8 production plants, 11 depots across the country, and 58 business territories, employing thousands of people directly and indirectly.
