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Frail growth may hit global investors on Brexit referendum

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Fresh indications have emerged on Wednesday that global investors may incur losses as fears of protection, nationalism and a retreat of globalisation is likely to trail the Brexit’s referendum billed to hold on Thursday.

As such, the Brexit vote will not be an open-and-shut case regardless of the outcome. But, broader worries about global trade, frail growth and dwindling investment returns have festered since the banking shock of 2007/08 and have mounted this year.

So, with current status in the global market, vote on Britain’s future in the European Union (EU), would affect business activity as the world commerce is amplified by the precarious state of the global economy and its inability to absorb any left-field political shocks.

Stalling trade growth has already led the world economy to the brink of recession for the second time in a decade; with growth now hovering just above the 2.0 to 2.5 per cent level, most economists say is needed to keep per capita world output stable.

The three-month averages for growth of world trade volumes through March this year have turned negative compared with the prior three months, according to the Dutch government statistics body widely cited as the arbiter of global trade data.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, as a member of the British Commonwealth has strong ties with Britain. And as a member of the British Commonwealth, after South Africa, Nigeria is Britain’s second largest trading partner in Africa, with £6 billion (about N2.4 trillion or $8.52 billion) in bilateral trade volume.

Speaking on the development, Mr Bimbo Afolayan, former chairman of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK , said that the Nigerian community was evenly divided on the Brexit. He said those against the Brexit are of the view that several European laws protect vulnerable people, ethnic minorities and migrant communities.

 

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