By Onu Okorie

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has called on Austrian investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s vast investment opportunities, stressing the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu have repositioned the country as an attractive destination for businesses seeking competitive returns.
Bagudu made the call on Tuesday while addressing the GPF Global Vienna Meeting in Vienna, Austria, through a video message on the theme, “Financing Africa’s Future: The Vienna Stock Exchange as a Gateway to European Capital Markets for African Government Projects.”
The minister described Nigeria as a proven market of choice, citing its large population and strong capacity to absorb investments.
“We are confident that Nigeria is a proven market of choice with strong absorptive capacity, with over 200 million people,” he said, urging Austrian companies, particularly technology-driven businesses, to explore opportunities in the Nigerian market.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Bagudu said the reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration were designed to enhance macroeconomic predictability and restore investors’ confidence by eliminating distortions in the economy, including those in the foreign exchange market.
He said the reforms had yielded significant gains within three years, adding that the establishment of a rule-based capital market had helped reposition the economy for increased investment.
Bagudu said Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment had stabilised, while the foreign exchange market had become more predictable.
“The forex market has stabilised, with free entry and exit. Foreign reserves have risen significantly to over $50 billion, providing over 11 months of import cover,” he said.
The minister also attributed the remarkable increase in revenues across the three tiers of government to the reforms, saying the development had created greater fiscal space for governments to provide essential services to citizens.
Making a case for stronger economic ties between Nigeria and Austria, Bagudu said the two countries shared demographic and comparative economic advantages that could create opportunities for increased investment and access to capital through the Austrian stock market.
He said Nigeria’s ambitious target of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030 had made the search for foreign capital increasingly important.
According to him, the country sees significant potential in the Austrian stock market as a channel for mobilising capital to finance investment in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Bagudu disclosed that the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, the Ministry of Finance and Austrian officials, in collaboration with the Austrian Stock Exchange, had established ESME Limited as a special purpose vehicle for financing investments in Nigeria.
He said ESME Limited has two representatives from the Ministry of Finance Incorporated and prominent Austrian businessmen on its board. The company, he explained, would issue bonds on the Vienna Stock Exchange to raise funds for investments by Austrian and other international companies in sectors including green technology, waste-to-energy, textiles, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and water.