Taiwan seeks to strengthen business relationship with Nigeria

Taiwan with a population of about 24 million people and GDP of $791.6 billion is seeking to deepen trade relationship with Nigeria especially in areas of petrochemical industries, agriculture, auto parts, machine tools and consumer goods.

Taiwan, less endowed with natural resources like Nigeria is a leading country globally in information technology and Artificial Intelligence.

James Huang, Chairman of Taiwan External Trade Development Council, who led a 10-man Taiwanese trade delegation to Nigeria told BusinessDay last weekend in Lagos that their aim was to promote and boost the already trade relationship between both countries.

Trade volume between Taiwan and Nigeria was $500 m in 2023 from $1 billion in 2021. Taiwan imports agricultural products from Nigeria for its food processing industries but in 2023 imports from Nigeria matched Taiwan’s demand.

Speaking on areas both countries can cooperate, James Huang who was at ‘Taiwan Technology Day’ in Lagos to mark the end of the delegation visit to Nigeria said Nigeria is biggest oil producer in Africa and Taiwan, apart from its ICT, semi conductor industries, is very strong in terms of petrochemical industries, all the way from down and upstreams applications.

“Petrochemical industries are certainly areas Taiwan and Nigeria can cooperate with each other. There are also great potential for two countries to co-operate in other areas such as machine tools, auto parts and consumer goods”, he said.

Huang, a former Taiwan External Affairs Minister, noted that “Taiwan is the leading country in terms of information technology, industries, and we are the most critical country when it comes to electronic manufacturing, information, and technology transformation. And we are also the most critical country when it comes to Artificial Intelligence (AI) because Taiwan companies produce more than 90 per cent of global computer servers and data centres. So, I see a very, very bright future for better cooperation between Taiwan and African countries, particularly Nigeria”.

Huang alongside his team who visited the $20 billion Dangote Refinery and noted the scale of investment said “their mission was to return to Taiwan and inform Taiwan business community the potential of Nigeria and encourage them to come and invest and to be the best partner of Nigeria and not just sell goods to Nigeria”.

Andy Yih-Ping Liu, Representative and Head of Mission of the Taipei Trade Office in Nigeria, who spoke at the Taiwan Technology Day said Nigeria and Taiwan have a lot to gain from each other in fostering trade.

Andy Yih-Ping Liu said Taiwan invests much in education as well as research and development, which has helped its industrial growth and development.

Olusola Obadimu, Director-General, Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) said there are opportunities for both countries to tap from, stating that economic challenges in the country are investment opportunities.