Key View

• Inflationary pressures will increase in 2019 on the back of continued high food prices and increased demand-side pressures, fuelled by the planned 67.0% increase in the national minimum wage and a 50 basis point (bps) reduction in interest rates by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in March.
• However, the authorities will remain keen to

Key View

• Nigeria's health budget will continue to restrict the country's medical device market from reaching its growth potential.
• A reduction of funds allocated to capital expenditure in 2019 will hinder investment of capital equipment, including latest diagnostic imaging devices.
• Muhammudu Buhari's victory in the recent elections suggests

Key View

• We believe that the much anticipated signing of the National Automotive Industry Development Plan bill into law will considerably boost Nigeria’s underutilised domestic vehicle production capacity.
• Our 2019 vehicle production growth forecast for Nigeria remains one of the highest not only in the region but also globally at 21% compared

Key Views:

• Our core scenario of an election win for Abubakar with limited reforms would be moderately positive for the autos sector but would not address all the issues restricting its growth.
• Our least likely scenario of an Abubakar win and wide-ranging reforms would be needed for the biggest positive impact on the industry.
• A Buhari win

Key View

• The Nigerian medical device market will grow by 15.1% in 2019 and 18.7% in 2020 in local currency terms, driven by Nigeria’s economic recovery gaining momentum.
• Ongoing investment in healthcare will drive medical device import growth.
• Medical device exports will remain prone to sudden fluctuations as the overall level of exports is

IPO activity in Africa’s largest economy has struggled for momentum over the last decade in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, but thanks to a broader push by investors into Emerging Markets (EMs) in an attempt to diversify their portfolios and to take advantage of EM growth which compares favourably with Domestic Markets (DMs); and an

Key View: Nigerian credit growth is set to return to positive territory over the coming months as banks' appetite to lend increases on the back of improving asset quality and stimulatory measures from the Central Bank of Nigeria. We expect banks' lending to the government will also rise over the coming months although the net effect of this on

• We have revised down our growth forecasts for Nigeria's alcoholic drinks sector following the implementation of higher excise duties on beer, wine and spirits.
• In addition to passing on the duties to consumers, companies will also look to cut costs by refocusing production in other markets in West Africa, and by investing in local, cheaper

We remain sceptical of Nigeria's ability to stimulate domestic gas consumption growth over the short term, given the lack of investment in gas power capacity and the supporting infrastructure. The ambitious targets in the new National Gas Policy will not be met but greater transparency in the domestic market is an important step to encouraging much