Economy: Nigeria can overtake Germany, UK by 2050, PwC projects

It is not all gloom for the Nigerian economy, as PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has predicted that it can be among the top 10 world economies by 2050.

According to Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Andrew Nevin, with projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $$6.4 trillion, the nation’s economy could surpass those of Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Saudi Arabia, by 2050.
He spoke at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI-PwC organised stakeholders forum on the state of the economy, tagged “Nigeria: Looking beyond oil”.

Nevin said Nigeria was the largest economy in Africa and 22nd globally, but that to achieve this ranking however, diversification from the economic over dependence on crude oil was required.

“Nigeria’s intrinsic potentialities lie beyond oil; harnessing these potentialities has become an imperative, given the expectations of lower for longer oil prices. Based on recent trends, our report reviews the impact of low oil prices on key economic indicators and the real sector through an industry survey,” he said.

He however noted that the transition to a non-oil economy would not be an easy task.

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According to him, based on a 2016 PwC interview of foreign companies across Nigeria, four concerns stood out as challenges with the business environment: corruption, inadequate infrastructure, low skill levels, and macroeconomic uncertainty.

He also said: “Improving tax collection and administration have become imperative for achieving national growth objectives. Nigeria is a low-taxed economy compared to its peer; in addition, challenges with arbitrary exemptions and enforcement have further constrained tax receipts. The framework for tax exemptions should be reviewed and approvals targeted at growth inducing sectors as government improves collection.

“Efficiency in government spending has to improve; there is room for substantial savings in capital outlays and operating expenditure across the three tiers of government. In addition, the government needs to be deliberate about increasing fiscal savings through a higher accretion to the Sovereign Wealth Fund which has investment objectives of diversification and improving long term economic prospects”, he said.

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