DG NCSP Visits Two Chinese Companies, Backs Their Expansion Plans

The Director-General of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership (NCSP), Joseph Tegbe, has paid working visits to two major Chinese enterprises operating in Nigeria, Golden Diamond Limited and Choice International Group (CIG) as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral trade and industrial cooperation between Nigeria and China.

At Golden Diamond Limited, a manufacturing firm active in Nigeria since 2002, the DG toured the company’s facilities and was briefed on its ambitious multisector expansion plan. Currently focused on household and sanitary materials, Golden Diamond is set to diversify into Industrial Manufacturing (tiles, sanitary wares, electrical appliances, tableware), Agriculture (sweet potatoes, peanuts, tobacco leaves), Mining (lithium, tin ore, mica sheets, titanium), Alternative Energy (solar panels, inverters, batteries) and Real Estate Development (smart estates, shopping malls, and 5-star hotels).

The company’s investment as at date totals $500m with an additional $100m planned for the expansion. The DG commended the company’s longstanding contribution to Nigeria’s economy and reiterated NCSP’s support for their expansion plan.

At Choice International Group (CIG), manufacturers of the GAC automobile brand, the DG was briefed on a transformative $1.2 billion automotive project in collaboration with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC). The initiative involves the establishment of a cutting-edge vehicle production facility in Nigeria, designed to transition from Semi Knocked Down (SKD) assembly to Completely Knocked Down (CKD) assembly, and eventually to full-scale local manufacturing.

The transformative initiative involves a substantial investment of 1.2billion dollars, with a projected return of $20 billion over a five-year period. In the long run, the project is expected to contribute up to 10% to Nigeria’s envisioned trillion-dollar economy. The DG expressed strong support for the initiative, describing it as a landmark in Nigeria-China industrial collaboration that will boost local manufacturing, drive technology transfer, and create thousands of skilled jobs.

“These two initiatives are significant pillars in the new era of industrial growth and economic transformation Nigeria envisions. They align perfectly with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and underscore the value of our strategic partnership with China,” Tegbe noted.

The NCSP reaffirmed its commitment to facilitating mutually-beneficial partnerships that deliver shared prosperity, industrial capacity, and sustainable development.