The Federal Government (FG) has announced that Coca‑Cola plans to invest $1 billion in Nigeria to expand its production lines and overall business operations.
Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Publicity, in a statement posted on his X page, said the agreement was reached during a meeting between President Tinubu and John Murphy, the global Chief Executive Officer of Coca‑Cola, on Thursday.
Mr Ajayi further stated that the $1 billion investment will be spread over the next five years.
He noted that Coca‑Cola had made a similar commitment three years ago but was unable to fulfill it due to Nigeria’s challenging business environment at the time.
However, he said with the current administration’s ongoing reforms in tax and fiscal policies, the company is confident in moving forward with its investment plans.
The statement partly read: “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 stabilization 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.”
