The Nation Newspaper

Tag: china

  • China’s demand for Nigeria’s cassava to boost output

    Nigeria’s cassava output is set to increase as a result of rising demand by China for cassava products used in food and pharmaceuticals and as a bio-fuel, according to the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association (NCGA).

    The NCGA plans to increase output to 200 million tons yearly on five million hectares (12 million acres) by the end of 2021, using a new growing technique and a crop variety that yields an average of 40 tons a hectare, its President Segun Adewunmi has said.

    The variety now commonly used produces about 30 tons per hectare.

    “Chinese firms are demanding  Nigeria’s cassava pellets and we are positioning ourselves to meet this demand in the next three years. For instance, we just got an import request from China and other countries for 10 million tons of cassava chips.” Adewunmi told an international medium, Bloomberg.

    Nigeria is the world’s leading grower of cassava, producing 57.6 million metric tons in 2017, exporting about 3.2 million tons yearly and earning a record $136 million in 2013.

    About 60 percent of global exports of cassava products goes to China, after it overtook the European Union (EU) in 2007 as the leading importer of the source of animal feed, ethanol, industrial starch and syrup used in sweeteners, according to the World Bank.

    Oil-dependent Nigeria is seeking to diversify its sources of export income after a plunge in crude prices from 2014 triggered the country’s worst economic contraction in 25 years in 2016. About 70 percent of global cassava exports are in the form of pellets and chips used for animal feed, while the rest are shipped as starch, syrup for food and pharmaceuticals. Japan,

    Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the U.S. and the Philippines are among the major importers of cassava products including industrial starch and flour.

    In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, cassava is produced mainly by small-holder farmers using rudimentary implements, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

  • China lashes U.S over tariffs threat

    China has threatened to match the U.S with instant measures when tariffs take effect on Friday and lashes Donald Trump of threatening the world with tariffs.

    The U. S. is “opening fire” on the world with its tariffs threat, China insisted on Thursday but that Beijing would ramp up the rhetoric in a bitter trade dispute.

    The Trump administration’s tariffs on 34 billion dollars of Chinese imports are due to go into effect at 0401 GMT on Friday, which is just after midday in Beijing.

    U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the trade conflict with tariffs on as much as 450 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods if China retaliates, with the row roiling financial markets including stocks, currencies and the global trade of commodities from soybeans to coal.

     

     

  • Grants from China should be tied to projects, says Forum

    The Abuja Forum Series on China-Africa Cooperation yesterday advised that grants from Chinese Government should be tied to projects.

    It said that there should be better bi-lateral arrangements to enhance military capabilities in Africa.

    It also said China can assist Africa by sponsoring investment that can steer poverty reduction and rural development.

    These are some of the highlights in the communiqué of the first conference of the Abuja Forum Series with the theme “New Era for China-Africa Cooperation: Partnership for Peace, Security and Development”.

    The conference was jointly organised by the Gusau Institute (GI), Nigeria and the Centre for Nigerian Studies at the Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU), China.

    The communiqué highlighted some of the recommendations of the conference including the need for a memorandum of understanding between Chinese and Nigerian universities to promote capacity building.

    The Forum said: “Money and grants from China should be tied to projects not as loans, so as to reduce corruption and promote accountability.

    “China does not have a Defence Pact with any African country: therefore, rather than having military cooperation extending to arms sales only, there should be better bi-lateral arrangements to enhance military capabilities in Africa.

    “China’s successful activities in the Gulf of Aden should be extended to the Gulf of Guinea to assist Africa in securing more of her coastline.”

    The Forum also suggested ways on how to facilitate industrialization in Africa.

    It added: “There is a need for Africa to meaningfully engage China by leveraging the opportunities in industrialisation.

    “There is a need to strengthen policies on research and development to drive industrialisation in Africa.

    “Africa’s economic reform should accommodate industrialisation and it should seek experience and guidance from other countries, the way China did with Singapore when establishing the Suzhou industrial park.

    “The use of a Pre-emptive Peace and Security Approach (PPSA) to enhance infrastructural development, trade and security in Africa should be the core of China-Africa cooperation. As such, PPSA is vital for addressing the root causes of security threats through the provision of aid.”

    The Forum also made recommendations on how to achieve good governance in Africa and enhance security on the continent.

    It said: “The governance system in Nigeria should provide the right policies and incentives that will effectively drive the economy by attracting investment.

    “An African Renaissance could be achieved by focusing on active engagement with China so that Africa can gain optimal advantage.

    ”Africa should take advantage of China’s willingness to build training institutions as part of capacity building that stressed development of the mind as human growth, and not just provision of training without replicating the knowledge acquired.

    “Acquisition of technology to drive the process of enhancing security in Africa should be based on what China and Africa can offer and learn from each other.

    “Africa should engage China on how the country has been able to curb some of her security challenges.”

  • ‘Now I know why everything is made in China’

    Just back from a media trip to China, Steve Osuji captures the vitality of a country, its beautiful cities and the qualities that stand it out as an enigma among nations.

    CHINA is of course an old enigma. A vast enigma; a voluminous encyclopedia that holds the story of yesterday, today and most important, a bright red tomorrow. And the future of China is marked in red, blood red that runs with the vitality of a fresh water stream. A visit to China reveals this vital fact; China is alive and well, exuding a vitality that is at once measured and healthful.

    Now I know why nearly everything around me is made in China. The face cap I bought in the bustling Ladipo Market, Mushin, Lagos, which I wore with a jaunt on the streets of Beijing, I later learnt, is made in China. A much deflating experience. China makes you small, no matter how tall you may be.

    For six days from June 6 to 14, a handful of Nigerian editors were on a media trip to China. It was the second in the series supported by the Chinese Mission in Nigeria. It is part of the training and enlightenment promise of the current exco of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE.

    Shenzhen initiative: Our first port of call may be described as one of the 8th wonders of modern world and the showpiece of China’s return to market economy, transformation and openness. Barely four decades old, it is a highly-wired digital city bristling with energy and youthful creativity.

    It is the third largest city in China after Beijing and Shanghai but it is purpose-built to drive new technology and lead China into the new age. In Shenzhen, it would appear that high rises sprout by word of mouth command and spring speedily into and already clustered horizon. Just like in most other arts, the Chinese seem to have mastered the art of constructing tall buildings apparently with little effort. The 115-floor Ping and Finance Center in the heart of Shenzhen is supreme and imposing in a luscious and confounding cityscape. It is the second tallest in China and fourth in the world.

    It is said that more sky-scrappers were completed in Shenzhen in 2016 than in USA and Australia combined. Such is the wonder of this city which was set up as one of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in the Guangdong Province less than 40 years ago.

    Shenzhen is most notable for its hi-tech industrial park, which is integrated to its software park. Some of the multinationals native to it are Huawei, ZTE, BYD, Gionee and Oneplus, to name a few.

    Huawei Technologies Company Limited is one of our ports of call in Shenzhen. It is a wooded, serene colony with an artificial lake where ancient and modern lore seem to co-habit. Founded in 1987, a child of the cellphone age, it has about 170,000 staff worldwide. But the great news about this behemoth is that 80,000 employees own the bulk of it $40 billion shares while the humble founder, Ren Zhengfei has kept only a paltry 1.4 percent to himself.

    Spread across over 170 countries, Huawei is a leading telecommunications backbone provider globally, apart from its growing niche as a handset maker. However, it seems to be peering deep into the future and is already taking a strong position in tomorrow’s digital world. Jacques Yu, Huawei’s Senior Public Relations Manager, while showing us around, said the firm is already mastering the digital of all spectrums of life.

    For instance, he showed us the workings of a  new smart city and its ubiquitous hi-definition cameras; the new e-hospital and medicare, the e-city transport system, the e-airport, the e-oil pipelines system just to mention a few. In short the space between the clouds and your smartphone would be the new habitat of the new future. And make no mistake, Huawei, nay China is already foraging there in.

    Zhuhai, a capitalist’s high ground: Between Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Macao and Hong-Kong is a well thought out and carefully choreographed strategic connection. And it is not just for the fact that they are contiguous business and economic powerhouses planted to drive China’s new great leap forward. There is a new marvel of a bridge connecting these four industrial and commercial bastions.

    The Hong-Kong – Zhuhai – Macao Bridge (HZMB) spans all of 55km; the longest in the world when it is opened soon. It runs across the Lingding Bay off the East China Sea. The bridge has two artificial islands and a 6.7km subsea immersed tunnel. HZMB has been described as civil engineering of the largest scale involving the most complex technologies and the most difficult construction challenges. It is a new model in civil engineering and project management and solely built by China Communications Construction Company Limited.

    From Shenzhen to Shanghai: This time, an ancient sprawling city but still on the shores of the East China Sea. Apart from being PRC’s second largest city, it boasts of other major landmarks. Apart from being the second tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower is considered to be a stand-alone city. With about 127 floors, it is home to a five-star hotel, grade A offices, observatory, banquet and conference centre among other facilities. The tower is described as a green smart cultural city.

    Also notable in Shanghai is the Free Trade Zone, which is home to world’s largest Automated Offshore container terminal. It is said to have handled about 37 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers in 2016. The port is automated to the point of being referred to as a ghost port. It was indeed rather spooky that hardly anyone is found on the expansive swath of container kingdom. Not the image we have of ports.

    We hopped on the speed train that shot like a bolt from Shanghai to Beijing, the administrative capital of PRC. The shambling megacity is 1800 km up north, near Mongolia; it’s the directional equivalence of traveling from Port-Harcourt to Damaturu. But the journey lasted only 4 and 1/2 hours with the bullet train speed reaching about 355 km per hour.

    A countryside view from a speed train: China’s idyllic countryside exposes a breathtaking agricultural splendor, lolling kilometers of greenhouses; and inter-weavings of bridges and neatly paved roads. Stretches of carefully manicured and pedicured farmlands; cut to careful measures and trees seemingly lined with architectural precision. What a splendor to behold. As you take in the vast scenery and the stretched horizon of mechanised agriculture, you notice a passionate nurturing of land and a sensuous engagement with mother earth. It’s part poetry part romance.

    The ancient city of Beijing is majestic in every respect as was fabled.  Like all the other cities we had visited, skyscrapers like giant mushrooms challenge the heavens to jiujitsu combat. Just that there is far more high-rise cover in this red heartland – closely-lined palisades of gigantic brick and mortar.

    But the beauty of Chinese cities is that they are not devoid of greens: several kilometres of tree-lined urbanity, grass, shrubs and roses. And these green panoramas are tended with the gentle caress of a mother to her child.

    Beijing is the seat of media and politics and a dollop of centuries old multi-national and cross cultural lore. But the media was of utmost interest to us. Media in China is a huge, monolithic state enterprise. It is a reinforcement of the supreme power of the media that the government keeps a firm control of the mega traditional media outlets of radio, television and print. China Daily is said to have a daily print run of about 60 million! China Central Television, CCTV is a sprawling media empire housed in an iconic 57-floor building called Big Trousers.

    Two years ago, CCTV rebranded its international networks under a new name, China Global Television Network, CGTN. It has broadcast centres in Washington DC, Nairobi and London and correspondents in nearly every country of the world.

    China Radio International also wafts from a massive high-rise that probably has no match around here. It has had Hausa service for over 50 years. According to Liu Cong, Controller of English Channel, they are undergoing a major consolidation which will see a merging of the radio and television services. There is also a drive towards new media and strong digital offerings.

    Our team also had an interaction with Xi Yanchun, Deputy Director-General of the Press Bureau, The State Council of Information Office who reiterated the policy of media for development and positivity.

    So why is nearly everything around today made in China? Well, my guess is that there is a positive kind of great leap forward happening in China today: markets and borders are being opened in measures and the entire 1.4 billion populace seems to march in one direction as dictated by a well-loved paternal government.

    The spirit is high and undistracted; the energy and momentum in China at the moment can march down any obstacle. One party, one politics, one leader, one religion (humanism), one goal, one mission. You would finagle with public treasury if you don’t love your head anymore because it would be taken down fast!

    China has found its strength and will lead the world for a long time. But that rascally little fellow called freedom will continue to rear his stubborn head from time to time – seeking to be, well, free. For instance, while Tiananmen Square may be tacitly off the limits and its memories rather made distant, one noticed that China’s young, pretty ladies don the most defiant short pants in public perhaps in an unspoken Tiananmen of dainty laps.

    It’s a vast enigma, China!

     

  • ‘Concrete policies required to drive industrialisation’

    Festus Mbisiogu, a China-based Nigerian businessman is also the Chief Executive Officer, Blue Diamond Logistics. In this interview with Omolara Akintoye, he speaks on the operating climate in the Middle East Asia vis-à-vis impact on trade and commerce, especially for foreigners among other related issues. Excerpts:

    Attraction for China

    Relocating to China is a different story all together. Chinese are very hard working people and highly enterprising. That explains why most blue chips companies are relocating to China. There is cheap labour in China and the country boasts of regular power supply which is lacking in Nigeria. And not only that, the steady power supply in China contributes a lot in the mad rush of multinational firms to set up their companies in that country. Due to high patronage, my company, Blue Diamond today has one of the best hotels in China and Dubai known as Blue Diamond Hotels where customers are accommodated until they are through with their business transactions. And just recently, the company opened a truck warehouse in New Jersey, United States to offer Africans and Nigerians similar opportunities.

    Initially, I was into importation until I began a partnership business with my distant brother, Charles Igwe, who resides in Dubai. While he controls the Blue Diamond in Dubai, I equally coordinate the activities of the company back home. Later, I decided to relocate to Hong Kong and China in 1996. Then, we discovered that most of our clients were relocating to China and Dubai. As a result of that mass movement, we decided to move along with them. We happened to be the first set of blacks to establish a shipping company in Dubai in 1992, and later, we established our Blue Diamond Hotels chain there in 2001.

    Hassles of relocation 

    When I moved to China, I realised that Nigerians went through hell for consular services. This is because the Nigerian Consulate was built far away from the commercial city of China, Guangzhou, where a huge number of Nigerians reside. Naturally, this posed a big problem for everyone, because over 80 per cent of Nigerians living in China reside in Guangzhou. I took a bold step of agitating and pleading with the federal government to establish a Consulate in Guangzhou. When former President Goodluck Jonathan came to Guangzhou, thankfully he announced that the government had heard our plea and will build us a Consulate in Guangzhou.

    Running an homegrown business

    I live in China where I do my business. Also, I have offices in Dubai and Nigeria. But l discovered that the rate of importing building materials in Nigeria from China is very high. Statistics also have shown that almost 80 percent of building materials used in Nigeria is imported from China and some of these materials can be manufactured here in Nigeria. So, it was the high rate of importation of building materials in Nigeria that motivated my coming home to site an industry. Another inspiring factor was the visit of the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, to China in 2011. During his visit, some selected Nigerian businessmen in China had a meeting with him. During the forum, Ortom pleaded with Nigerians in the Diaspora to repatriate their funds, promising that government will grant them a conducive environment. The governor also took time to educate Nigerians in China on the policies that government was introducing in the country in order to encourage industrialisation. Also, at the forum, he admitted that the issue of power was a major factor impeding industrialisation and he informed us that government was working towards improving power supply in the country. I was glad to hear that and to know also that the government of Nigeria was thinking how to create a conducive business environment. I was indeed encouraged by his presentation. That also made me to start thinking how to establish industries here in Nigeria and, today, l have finished building one known as Shanghai Engineering Works and Industrial Limited, located in Imo State.

    Support for SMEs

    It is the duty of every government to provide conducive environment so as to enable business to thrive. But the issue of poor power supply remains critical. Most small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) have folded up while some have relocated to other neighbouring countries like Ghana where there is constant power supply. They do that because they do not have the resources to provide constant power supply for themselves and still take care of other pressing needs of the company. So, they will either crumble or relocate to neighbouring countries where there is steady power supply. There is also high interest rate; insecurity and some other government policies in the country which are not favourable to industrialists. These, however, have affected the growth of industrialisation in the country. The interest rate in Nigeria is too high. In China, the interest rate is in single digit, which means it is between one and nine percent. The essence of this is to encourage industrialisation in that country. Chinese government recently said that in 2020, 40 percent of people living in China would be multimillionaires because four or five out of every 10 families are into industrialisation. Besides the low interest rate, the government provides accessibility to where the factories are sited; they clear the roads for those who want to build industries and are always there to assist. When the Chinese government discovers that you are doing well, they will give you loan and tax you to export those products. So, because of these facilities available there, it makes men and women to be creative, always thinking of what to produce. So, Nigerian government should lower the interest rate, at least, to single digit because when it is 15 percent and above, it will be difficult for such a business to survive. The Bank of Industry cannot do it all alone because the essence of banks in any nation is to assist businesses to thrive. Government should also work on security issues because some Nigerians in the Diaspora are afraid of the killings going on in the northern part of the country and no serious-minded businessman will want to invest in such area.

    Success formula

    I tried as much as possible to guard against anything that would hinder me from achieving my desired goals in life. First and foremost, I avoided living a reckless life; I tried as much as possible to be honest and sincere to the people that come in contact with me on daily basis. This, in no small measure helped in putting me where I am today. It has to do with disciplining yourself and having a constructive mind on where you want to be and what you want to achieve, focus on it and success will be yours .I never allow anything to distract me, not even women while I was climbing the ladder of success. I was focused and determined to conquer poverty and its attendant devils. Discipline, honesty and determination brought me to where I am today. I discovered my calling very early in life and followed it up. I’m into logistics and I tell you, I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I do my logistics business with a lot of passion and I take the business so seriously which has led to my success today. If you must succeed in life, you must learn to cherish anything you are doing for a living. Whatever you are doing today is a calling to you, and if you put all your energies into it, you will never lack.

    For me, looking back from where I started and where I am today, I have no cause to regret the path I have followed in life.

    Foray into nongovernmental organisation

    My foray into nongovernmental organisation was when some Nigerian businessmen in China wanted to bring some investors in Nigeria. Their Chinese partners rejected the proposal because they said Nigeria lacks steady power supply and that their operations would be grounded. I felt touched and therefore decided that I was going to do everything possible within my powers to encourage government and private sector participation in giving Nigerians sustainable power supply. My organisation’s involvement in the nation’s power sector was part of efforts towards complementing government programmes in the sector in the task of achieving efficient and steady power supply in the country, while leveraging on my connections in China and across the world. That was when I set up Good Governance Initiative to advocate uninterrupted power supply in the country.

    Giving back to the society

    Giving back to the society is very benefiting. Apart from just doing business in China, I have in many capacities given back to my society, by sourcing and linking foreign investors with both government and private enterprises in Nigeria. Recently, I brought over 15 Chinese investors, known as the One-Belt, One -Road Management Company, OBOR accompanied by Nigeria’s Ambassador to China. OBOR is one of the companies the Chinese government uses to execute projects across China. I’m not only doing my business in China, I’m also involved in wooing investors to Nigeria to ensure that some of the good things in China are brought home to Nigeria. I also run Uzotex Foundation, through which I have been able to sink boreholes and provide overhead tanks, in addition to generators to several communities in Ideato South Local Government as part of my ‘Water for All’ initiative. Also through this foundation, a modern hospital was built and commissioned.

     

     

  • Healthcare company seeks partnership with African firms

    Fast rising American healthcare company Izzycare says it is seeking partnership with African institutions as it set sights on improving healthy living ‘that comes with a reward’ across the continent.

    The firm developed an app based consultations which will give enrollees an unlimited access to teams of high level doctors, psychologists and wellness coaches with their services costing only $10 for adults and $5 for teenagers and babies getting a free pass if parents are enrollees.

    Co- founder Joswell Valdez says they are looking for mostly partnerships with systems already on the ground, hospitals and health maintenance organisations (HMOs)

    “We are serious about improving the healthcare of Africans in terms of accessibility to world class doctors and other health experts from the U.S.A, China, India or wherever, we will bring the patient and specialist together under one platform.” Valdez said.

    He also called on investors to take advantage of their ICO to invest in the firm saying they welcome both big institutions and individual investors to be part of the plan to move the continent’s healthcare forward.

    Observers say, this development is coming at a time when Nigerian healthcare is in need of a major boost considering how thousands of patients suffered a great deal during the recent joint health workers ( JOHESU ) strike which shut down hospitals for weeks.

  • UK regrets U.S. withdrawal from UN Human Rights Council

    The United Kingdom has expressed regret over the decision of the U.S. to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council.

    UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, in a statement by the United Kingdom Mission to the UN, said Britain wants to see a reformed council but would work for it from within.

    “The United States’ decision to withdraw from the Human Rights Council is regrettable.

    “We’ve made no secret of the fact that the UK wants to see reform of the Human Rights Council, but we are committed to working to strengthen the Council from within,’’ Johnson said.

    The U.S., while announcing its withdrawal, said the “Council has become an exercise in shameless hypocrisy – with many of the world’s worst human rights abuses going ignored and some of the world’s most serious offenders sitting on the council itself’’.

    It also said the council’s membership includes authoritarian governments with unambiguous and abhorrent human rights records, such as China, Cuba, and Venezuela.

    Read Also: Boko Haram: UN tasks Nigeria on stigmatisation of girls

    “And the council’s continued and well-documented bias against Israel is unconscionable.

    “Since its creation, the council has adopted more resolutions condemning Israel than against the rest of the world combined,’’ the U.S. said.

    The UK said, however, that the council was the best tool for the international community to address global impunity.

    “Britain’s support for the Human Rights Council remains steadfast.

    “It is the best tool the international community has to address impunity in an imperfect world and to advance many of our international goals.

    “That’s why we will continue to support and champion it,’’ Johnson said.

  • China vows fast response to U.S tariffs

    China will respond quickly to protect itself if the United States hurts its interests with fresh trade tariffs, a foreign ministry spokesman has said.

    The warning from Beijing comes as the U.S prepares to levy new tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese imports, the BBC reports.

    On Thursday, U.S officials met at the White House to trim the original list of 1,300 categories to about 800.

    Duties on foreign steel and aluminium, announced in March, have already gone into effect.

    Those tariffs have already prompted Europe, Mexico, Canada and China to introduce or announce plans for counter-measures in retaliation.

    The move threw the G7 meeting last weekend into disarray, with U.S President, Donald Trump, retracting his endorsement of the joint statement and lashing out at host Canada.

    The U.S said its tariffs on Chinese goods come in response to what it categorises as theft of intellectual property.

     

  • Nigeria, China sign MoU on minerals’ exploration

    THE Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the East China Meteorological Institute on solid minerals exploration.

    Acting Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bwari, said the country cannot afford all the funding required for exploration and data in the sector.

    He said though the country had earlier signed some MoUs, it is calling for more.

    Speaking in Abuja at the MoU signing ceremony, he said: “This is a very important MoU, considering how important exploration and data is to the mining sector; this is the area we have been lagging behind and we intend to give attention to it. Because of the cost of exploration, government cannot do it alone and that is why we have been having discussions with other mining countries to assist Nigeria in the area of exploration.

    “This is an addition to the MoUs we have been having with other countries; we have an MoU with the Shandong Province, with the Ministry of Land Resources in China, the government of Morocco, the government of South Africa and we welcome more of these MoUs particularly when it has to do with exploration.”

    Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) Director-General, Alex Nwegbu said the Federal Government last year advertised for exploration, which it intended to fund but realised that it was too expensive and time consuming, a reason it invited competent stakeholders to partner.

    He said: “We have known over the years that we are short in terms of valuable credible data on the mineral resources we have, so the Federal Government is embarking on a very ambitious program of generating data to bridge the gap of what is required for investors to show sufficient interest in the sector, the Federal Government has done the airborne, has done a lot of geological mapping but this is not enough, investors require more than that.

    “Last year, the ministry advertised for exploration and this is to be funded by the government but we realised that exploration is very expensive and time consuming and that the Federal Government cannot do it alone and therefore we want to invite competent stakeholders who will assist government in generating this geoscience data.”

  • CBN: how currency deal with China‘ll boost Nigeria’s economy

    SOME OF THE GAINS OF THE DEAL

    • Bigger export market to China
    • Naira to appreciate against U.S. dollar
    • Direct access to foreign exchange
    • More Chinese investments in Nigeria
    • More jobs as more factories are set up

    The Nigeria-China currency swap deal will not  stifle local companies and make the country a dumping ground for Chinese goods, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said yesterday.

    The 41 items banned since 2015 will not be valid for the swap exchange, the CBN said.

    CBN spokesnman Isaac Okorafor said: “The fear is unfounded and I’ll give you reasons.

    “The first one is that we are going to focus on exports to China. Also, remember that we already export cassava products to China as well as leather, hides and skin to China, amongst others.

    “So this deal will open further the export market to China.”

    ”Also, I want Nigerians to know that the items that will come in are not necessarily finished goods, so the issue of Nigeria becoming a dumping ground for China does not arise.

    “This is because the 41 items that had initially been banned from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market will still not qualify under the deal,” he said.

    The CBN recently signed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the People’s Republic of China worth about N720 billion.

    On June 23, 2015, the CBN banned some items from accessing foreign exchange in the official foreign exchange market – to encourage local production of these items, conserve foreign reserves, resuscitate domestic industries and improve employment.

    Some of the items banned are: rice, cement, poultry, tinned fish, furniture, toothpicks, kitchen utensils, table wares, textiles, clothes, tomato pastes, soap and cosmetics.

    Also banned sre private jets, roofing sheets, metal boxes, wire rods, steel nails, security and razor nails, ceramic tiles, glass wares, cellophane, plastic and rubber products.

    With the currency swap, the Naira is expected to appreciate against the US dollar as the demand for dollars eases.

    “China accounts for a quarter or more of imports into Nigeria.

    “The exchange of currencies between the Nigerian Central Bank and the Chinese Central Bank will make it easier for our entrepreneurs to have direct access to foreign exchange in Renminbi,” Okorafor said, adding:

    “Before now, when importing necessary machinery or merchandise from China, you first exchange Naira for the dollar before changing it again to Renminbi and this puts pressure on the Naira.

    “Now what it means is that a large portion of the demand for dollar in Nigeria has been lifted off the back of the Naira and put directly on the Chinese Renminbi.

    “And so it is a positive development as it will enhance the value of the Naira and reduce our dependence on the dollar for imports.”

    Okorafor explained that the two central banks were still working on the exchange rates between the Naira and Renminbi.

    “As we speak, the modalities, the operational manual and the guidelines are being developed.

    “But I can assure you that the exchange rate will be such that it will be competitive, fair to all and will not hurt our local producers and importers,” he said.

    According to Okorafor, once everything has been fine-tuned, Nigerian entrepreneurs can access renminbi through the money deposit banks, using similar rules for the dollar.

    A clearing bank would be appointed for the transaction. Such a bankhe appointment was that the bank must have a branch in China, which some Nigerian banks already have.

    Okorafor said one of the advantages of the deal was that it would encourage Chinese companies to set up factories in Nigeria, which would lead to industrialisation and job creation.

    “Chinese investors are interested in setting up shop here. And that is because if they produce here, it will be better for them.

    “The cost of transportation, shipping, and all that will be eliminated.”

    “Also, when they do that, they are not going to employ only Chinese workers. A greater portion of the job opportunities in these plants will be filled up by Nigerians,” Okorafor said.