Business
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Dangote, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, Firstbank Group, MTN, Nigerian Breweries Plc, UAC Plc, top the list of 100 companies which have contributed to the development of Nigeria’s economy
THE federal government is getting set to celebrate companies which have huge investment portfolio in the Nigerian economy soon. The companies are among the top 100 companies in the country. Some of the top 10 companies in the list of 100 are Dangote Group, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, First Bank Group, MTN, Nigeria Breweries, UAC Plc, Julius Berger, Arik Air, among others. The companies have created high level of employment, generated revenues to government, displayed a keen sense of corporate social responsibility, CSR, and contributed to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
Although the full list of 100 companies has not yet been made public, Realnews gathered that well-known companies and not so known firms are in the list. Apart from the key players, other companies on the list include Shell Petroleum, Globacom, UBA, Zenith Bank, Elizade Industries, Nestle Foods, Chi Group, Dophin Foods, APN Terminal, Intels, etc.
A source close to the selection committee chaired by Jim Obazee said that the top 10 companies are the leading players in the strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy namely oil and gas, manufacturing, petrochemicals, telecommunications, construction, banking, food and beverages, aviation, agriculture, IT infrastructure, etc.
“The leading players have made tremendous contributions to the Nigerian economy inspite of all odds. There will be a video presentation of the leading companies during the awards ceremony” the source said, adding: “it’s still top secret”.
On Monday, November 17, Obazee had told journalists that his committee deployed international benchmark as set by the International Integrated Reporting Council in choosing the Top 100 companies in Nigeria. The companies would receive award from the federal government of Nigeria at a dinner to be hosted on December 1, by President Goodluck Jonathan in State House, Abuja.
Obazee had told journalists: “In our assessment of the top 100, we looked at the taxes paid over a period of time and that is why the federal inland revenue service is on the board. We also looked at the employment they are generating and have generated. We looked at the level of investment they have in Nigeria and then their contributions in terms of social responsibility. We wanted to see what they have on ground and we are also interested in how what they have on ground is of value in terms of the amount they spent.”
He said what the celebration portends to Nigeria was that the government of the day was finding a way to bring home to the citizens what value to be placed on non-financial information of the companies.
Obazee said there are so many financial commitments companies make to host countries in order to register their presence in such countries. This, he said, also draws other investors into the same environment and the business climate of such country begins to improve, adding that this has been the lot of Nigeria in recent time.
Olusegun Aganga, minister of trade and investment, who unveiled the Top 100 Companies Award last week, said the initiative was to encourage companies to do more and to celebrate the industrialisation focus of the Jonathan administration.
— Dec. 8, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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