Nigerian economy to hit $400bn by 2026 – Rewane

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has projected that the Nigerian economy would grow by 3.5 per cent by 2026, pushing the country’s gross domestic product to approximately $400bn.

He disclosed this at the Access Bank Customer Forum held in Lagos on Thursday.

 “The Nigerian economy will grow at 3.5 per cent (approximately $400bn). Nigeria is on track to becoming the second-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa,” Rewane said.

He added that the country’s foreign exchange auction system would become more efficient, with unencumbered foreign reserves reaching $20bn.

“There will be an efficient forex auction system, and unencumbered foreign reserves will hit $20bn,” he noted.

On inflation, Rewane projected that the rate would decline to 22 per cent by 2026, expecting the monetary policy rate to be reduced to 20 per cent annually, leading to a decline in the level of bad loans across the banking sector.

“We will see inflation drop to 22 per cent, and the MPR is likely to come down to 20 per cent, which will reduce bad loans,” he explained.

Despite those positive trends, Rewane warned that the naira would likely trade at N1,550 to the dollar in the parallel market, citing intervention funds, diaspora remittances, and exchange rate policies as key factors in the exchange rate alignment.

Rewane credited those improvements to intervention funds, diaspora remittances, and policies focused on exchange rate adjustments.

“These gains are driven by intervention funds, remittances, and adjustments to exchange rate policies,” he noted.

He added that total factor productivity would increase to 2.6 per cent by 2026, up from 2.4 per cent in 2024, while the country’s trade balance was expected to rise to $9.3bn from $8.42bn.

“Total factor productivity will increase to 2.6 per cent, and our trade balance will grow to $9.3bn,” he stated.

Rewane predicted that the price of petrol would stabilise at N900 per litre, with a steady supply guaranteed by production from the Dangote refinery and modular refineries.

“We expect petrol to stabilise at N900 per litre due to increased production from Dangote refinery and modular refineries,” he said.

Nigerian economy to hit $400bn by 2026 – Rewane (punchng.com)