Nigeria: Guinness Nigeria Plc denies plans to shut down operations over foreign exchange crisis

A leading brewery company, Guinness Nigeria Plc, has reacted to reports in some quarters of the media that it was planning to shut down its operations over the foreign exchange (FX) crisis in the country, the Business Post Nigeria reported on August 16.

Though it acknowledged that the forex liquidity squeeze in Nigeria was affecting business operations in the country, it was not planning to leave because of that.

In a statement on August 16, the beer maker said it would remain in Nigeria, which is unarguably its biggest market in Africa, and find its way around the FX shortages the nation was battling with.

Read the full statement below:

The attention of the management of Guinness Nigeria Plc has been drawn to reports published by some blogs and online media platforms, which wrongfully claimed that the company may be shutting down operations in Nigeria allegedly due to the impact of some reported forex losses in recent times.

It is important to clarify that this publication and the sensational headlines being circulated by these blogs and online media platforms is baseless and misleading as Guinness Nigeria at no time, put out this erroneous communication nor shared any statement that can lead to such inaccurate conclusions.

The management of Guinness Nigeria Plc. will like to categorically state that Guinness Nigeria has no plans to shut down its operations in Nigeria, contrary to orchestrated false allegations making the rounds.

We find the claims misleading and mischievous. The current FX shortages being experienced in the country is a challenge that Guinness Nigeria is trying to navigate, just like every other organization. As a company, we remain strong, stable and will continue to deliver value to our esteemed shareholders, meeting the needs of our dear consumers, while providing opportunities to our valued employees.

Guinness Nigeria strongly believes in the resilience of the Nigerian economy and we look forward to a recovery on the back of the measures being taken by the government. We remain fiercely committed to Nigeria and to having a positive impact on those around us, including our consumers, communities and the environment as we have done over the past seventy-three years of operations in Nigeria.

17 August, 2023