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NAC signs MoU with Wesbank SA to finance Nigeria assembled vehicles purchase

By BusinessNews Staff on October 19, 2014

Prospective buyers of motor vehicles assembled in Nigeria would now have financial backing from WesBank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited of South Africa.
This stems from a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Wesbank signed recently with the National Automotive Council (NAC) of Nigeria, to offer vehicle finance to retail and corporate purchasers. The agreement aims to stimulate the sale of locally assembled vehicles in Nigeria.

The MoU was signed in Johannesburg, South Africa, this week, by the Director General, National Automotive Council (NAC), Mr. Aminu Jalal, who headed NAC Management team comprising Mr. Luqman Mamudu (Director Policy and Planning) and Mr. Waheed Odetoro (Director Industrial Infrastructure). Chief Executive Officer of WesBank, Mr. Chris De Kork signed on behalf of his company in the presence of other WesBank management team.
Jalal said the Nigerian government recently approved the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) to attract investments from vehicle manufacturers globally and grow the supply of locally-manufactured vehicles.

He explained that the agreement would allow WesBank to work closely with NAC to develop vehicle financing solutions specifically for those vehicles built in Nigeria with the aim of making them readily affordable for the average Nigerian car user.

“We are delighted that the Nigerian government and NAC have chosen WesBank as their partner of choice. Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa and this is an excellent opportunity to grow our footprint on the continent, in line with the FirstRand strategy”, said Chris de Kock, CEO of WesBank.

WesBank is already successfully represented in other African markets including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia. The move to Nigeria will extend its reach to the northern parts of the continent, presenting an opportunity to participate in some of the larger African economies where, over time, vehicles sales are expected to experience substantial growth.

“We believe that we have the required experience and expertise to operate successfully in developing countries given our own experience in South Africa over the last 50 years,” he said.

Our ability to find innovative solutions and to develop country specific products and processes we think will be well-received by the Nigerian automotive market and its buyers. It is also our hope that in due time, this venture could become the biggest market for WesBank in Sub-Saharan Africa outside of South Africa”, he said.

WesBank is South Africa’s market leader in vehicle and asset finance. This position has been achieved through successful partnerships with leading manufacturers, offering finance to consumers for both locally-manufactured and imported models.

The NAC DG recently said the Council was packaging a Vehicle Financing Scheme which would make Nigerian assembled vehicles easily affordable on convenient payment terms spread over a period of about four years at a very low interest rate. The scheme is also intended to assist vehicle assembly plants in Nigeria to gain high volume within a very short time so as to facilitate local components development.

WesBank focuses on providing secured finance to the retail and corporate markets, as well as related services such as insurance, fleet management and full maintenance rental. WesBank is the partner of choice for over 60 leading international brands in fields such as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), insurance providers and oil companies. WesBank is a global company with successful operations throughout Africa as well as the UK.

[This Day]

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