Taiwan eyes Nigerian markets, seeks bilateral trade expansion

Taiwan has expressed interest in expanding trade relations with Nigeria, stating that the both countries can leverage on their strengths in bilateral exchange.

This was the crux of the 11 day visit which started on August 30 and ends today, September 9, tagged 2024 Taiwan Flagship Delegation organised by International Trade Administration of Taiwan and Taiwan External Trade Development Council in Lagos.

At the closing ceremony themed, Taiwan Technology Day, the over 10-man delegation, led by the Chairman, Taiwan External Trade Development Council, Mr. James Huang, reiterated that their visit aims to enhance the existing trade relationship between both countries and also a fact finding Mission.

He said that the delegation would on their return to Taiwan, inform the business community on the potential of Nigeria and encourage them to come and invest and become best Nigerian partners, not just selling goods to Nigeria.

Huang, a former Taiwan External Affairs Minister, noted that Taiwan is the leading country in terms of information technology, industries, electronics, manufacturing, technology transformation and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

He said that Taiwan companies produce more than 90 per cent of global chips, and expressed optimism over a bright future for better cooperation between Taiwan and African countries, particularly Nigeria.

“Taiwan is very strong in terms of petrochemical industries – all the way from upstream to downstream applications. So I think petrochemical industries, products and fine chemicals are areas that Nigeria and Taiwan can cooperate with each other.

“Other areas include machinery, machine tools, auto parts and consumer goods. I think there’s great potential for the two countries to work with each other. I firmly believe that ICT solutions, smart solutions, green energy solutions, those are the strengths of Taiwanese industries, and we have a great potential to work with each other.

“The trade volume is steadily growing, and we import a lot of natural resources and energy-related products from Nigeria. We export auto parts, machineries and consumer foods to Nigeria. So, we’ll get to see more industrial cooperation between our two countries so that we can achieve mutual benefits in a win-win situation,” he added.

Haung listed labour, land costs, and stable supply of electricity as major challenges to ease of doing business in Nigeria but stated that discussions were underway to improve them with the effort of the government.

Representative and Head of Mission of the Taipei Trade Office in Nigeria, Mr. Andy Yih-Ping Liu, said both countries have a lot to gain from each other in fostering trade.

He noted that Taiwan has been able to develop by leveraging its brain power as the nation has no natural resources but instead natural disasters, adding that their investment in technology and literacy has made them a manufacturing giant and one of the top countries globally.

Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Olusola Obadimu, said there are opportunities for both countries to tap from.

Their focus, he said, is to build bridges, play a role in industrial linkages, so Nigeria could grow and benefit from international trade.

He also said besides having 71 state and city chambers, NACCIMA has bilateral chambers and professional members whose objective is to help investors.

The delegation also visited the Asian Industrial Park initiated by Taiwanese companies and Dangote Refinery.

They included; Deputy Executive Director, Taiwan External Development Council, Mr. Woody Wang; Project Manager of the council, Mr. Macany Tsai; Mission Leader, Chia Hao Chiu and President, Toyota Tsusho (Taiwan) Company Limited, Issei Hata, among others.