President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigeria is
currently strengthening its investment and economic ties with China because of
the exponential increase in the bilateral trade volume between the two
countries within the last few years.
He also said the bond between the pair was infirmed by China’s
involvement in the financing and construction of key infrastructural projects
in Nigeria.
Jonathan spoke at the closing ceremony of the Nigeria-China
Business Forum, organised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in
Beijing on Wednesday.
The event, which had over 300 Chinese investors, culminated in
the signing of no fewer than seven Memoranda of Understanding between Chinese
investors, the Bauchi State Government and private investors.
Jonathan said: “I want to specially commend the Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Investment for the spectacular work done in putting
together such a wonderful and world class event. I also want to thank investors
for their interest in Nigeria, which is now the number one investment
destination in Africa.
“The various MoUs signed between Chinese and Nigerian companies
will lead to stronger economic ties between the two countries. Nigeria and
China are the two largest economies in their respective regions. Since Nigeria
and China started diplomatic relations, the bilateral relations between the two
countries have continued to wax stronger as the years progressed.”
He added, “Nigeria and China have had strong economic ties in
trade and investment over the past years. At present, China and Nigeria has
annual bilateral trade exceeding $13billion. In 2002, the value of trade
between Nigeria and China was just $2billion.
He said the trade between Nigeria and China accounts for nearly
one third of the trade between China and West Africa, and this would continue
to grow bigger, indicating the importance of Nigeria to China in the regional
market.
In recognition of the strategic trade link between the two
countries, the Central Bank of Nigeria recently converted some portions of
Nigeria’s foreign reserve from the United States Dollars, to the Chinese Yuan.
Beyond trade, China has been instrumental to supporting Nigeria with financial
arrangement and investment in strategic infrastructural projects like rail,
road and free trade zones, among others.”
Jonathan stressed that the country’s current robust, stable
macro-economic environment had strategically positioned it as the preferred
investment destination in Africa and globally.
He said: “Nigeria is currently the preferred destination for
Chinese companies in Africa. Presently, more than 200 Chinese companies are
currently operating in Nigeria and they are doing very well. Nigeria is open
for business as we currently have some of the best incentives in the world for
investors to take advantage of. Our tax policies are quite robust and the
business environment we have in Nigeria is exceptional.”
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun
Aganga, said, “One of the major achievements of this forum is the big large
commitment by Chinese investors in terms of investing in key sectors of the
Nigerian economy. For example, the largest coal to power company in China is
interested in coming to invest in Nigeria.
“Also, many big companies who are into power generation and
transmission have indicated their interest in investing in Nigeria. In addition
to this, we have held discussions with China Development Bank in the area of
Small and Medium development. In fact, the momentum is very high in terms of
investors’ interest in Nigeria.”
The Nation
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