Multinationals firms are on the verge of stopping services in Nigeria, this was made known via a report from Cardinal Stones, a finance solutions company. High operating costs in 2024 have been identified as the leading cause for this mass emigration of multinationals, started the report.
The Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector is particularly hit by the high operating cost, which sees its services being impacted by foreign currency rates, commodities and goods costs, freight and shipping fees and inflating import fees.
The report also documented that the global moderation of commodity fees might not help the multinationals, critical devaluation of the Naira, showing a decline from N422/$ in June 2023 to N952/$ in December 2023 after the flotation done by the Central bank to the exchange rate of the country. The flotation aimed to standardize the country’s official exchange rate and exchange rates from alternative markets in a bid to resolve Forex scarcity.
Furthermore, the oppressive environment will force multinationals to improve and rebuild strategies to combat the losses and achieve cost efficiency. This could also cause a hike in diesel costs, further increasing energy costs that are projected to continue into 2024, except if the Naira appreciates.
