Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said Wednesday night that Nigeria
welcomes China to make more investments to help Nigeria develop industrial sector.
Delivering a speech at a banquet in the capital Abuja in honor of
Chinese President Hu Jintao, Obasanjo spoke highly of China's policy of
establishing industries in Nigeria rather than whole sale exportation of
finished products.
The Nigerian government and people "salute the bold steps taken by
Chinese investors in some vital sectors of Nigerian economy, particularly in the
productive and in frastructural sectors," he said.
"China's success story .. is a result of the fiscal prudence, shrewd
economic management and aggressive productive economic policies," he added.
Obasanjo said with Nigeria's external debt to the Paris Club paid
off, Nigeria has put in place a number of incentives to attract foreign
investors to work on it rich natural resources with its vibrant human resources.
President Obasanjo stressed that Nigeria's investment climate has
been improved a lot as its rating has been raised to BB by the world financial
experts.
He promised that Nigeria is "very safe for the investment" in
productive ventures that will further bring handsome returns and enrich the
capabilities of both the Chinese and Nigerian peoples.
Hu Yuji, head of the commercial office of the General Consulate of
the P.R. China in Lagos, told Xinhua that China has in the past few years
invested more than 30 million U.S. dollars in setting up some 30 wholly-owned,
joint-venture and co-management enterprises in Nigeria.
Kaiyuan International Co., Ltd., set up two years ago with an
investment of 6 million dollars, is China's first factory in Nigeria producing
air condition machines which sell well in Nigeria.
According to Hu Yuji, Chinese-made motorcycles have occupied
90percent of Nigeria's market.