Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu urged Saudi Arabia's government and businessmen to invest in his country, saying foreign capital can now go in and out freely.   

To facilitate the flow of foreign cash for investors, Tinubu said he has implemented changes in the West African nation since taking office in May, one of which is the elimination of restrictions on foreign exchange.

Speaking at the Nigeria-Saudi Investment Roundtable in Riyadh, Tinubu said Africa’s biggest economy and top oil producer was open for business.    

"When I took office, I declared the immediate commencement of bold and fundamental economic reforms," a statement from his office said. 

"I believe in the full application of free market economics. Your money will flow easily in and easily out.”

The new administration was also tackling red tape and corruption, he said.     

Saudi Arabia's Trade and Investment Minister, Kahlid El-Falih, said the Saudi investment community would make substantial new investment across several sectors of the Nigerian economy.

"The Minister of Commerce and I will be visiting Nigeria either before the end of this year or very early next year with a very large delegation of Saudi CEOs from all key sectors," he said.     

"We know you are ready for business, so we do not want to come to Nigeria for any exploratory discussion. We are coming for implementation. It is an action visit.

Numerous CEOs from various Saudi conglomerates with expertise in construction, finance, energy, healthcare, agriculture, mining, aviation, telecommunications and hospitality attended the meeting and presented Tinubu with business proposals.    

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )