The industrialisation drive of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has continued to receive a boost with the visit of a Chinese investment delegation to explore area of bilateral relationship with the state government and business community.

The delegation mainly constituted by industrialists and manufacturers from the Shangdong Province is led by the Provincial Director of Small and Medium Enterprises Administration Mr Wang Wei Chen.

The visit was part of efforts by the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP), to stimulate economic and industrial activities in the state by providing a platform for nexus between the foreign and local investors and industrialists.

The delegation was made up of 10 industrialists with interests in automobile, mining, tyre manufacture, water treatment and electronics.

At a stakeholders meeting which included small and medium scale entrepreneurs, businessmen and youth business groups in the state, the chairman of AKICORP, Dr Elijah Akpan stated that the visit of the delegation was meant to expose the industrial potentials of the state to China, an emerging world economic power.

Akpan explained that the state industrial sector is undergoing a fundamental restructuring from public sector leadership to private sector control under the Public-Private partnership Initiative of the state government with most of the state owned companies already restructured and privatised.

The state, he said also boost of a robust GDP estimated in 2013 at $13.704 billion, an economy larger than that of 30 African countries while it has a vibrant middle class entrepenuers, a literate workforce and availability of adequate infrastructural investment in transportation.

“Massive investments have been made in building new roads and rehabilitating old ones. In the past eight years over 300 state and federal roads spanning approximately 1.200km have either been built or fixed by the state government. Our compact size demands that we develop our state as an integrated city served with modern infrastructure.

“The state has a modern international airport with a world class hanger and MRO facility, a seaport and an industrial city at Ibaka are being built to boost oil and gas and other related industries and much more. We have become part of Nigeria’s gateway to the countries of Central Africa like Cameroun, Gabon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Congo,” he explained.

He further stated that in addition to the provision of land for industrial investment, new industries in the state also enjoy a three year tax holiday to enable them recoup part of their investment while the availability off a ready market makes investment in the area attractive.

While lauding the state government for efforts made so far to boost industrialisation in the area Wei Chen said that the availability of enablers in the state would make investment an easy and successful one for them adding that they are committed not only in building business partnerships but also in transferring technology from China to the state.

He explained that his region with a population of one million people, boasts of an annual GDP of more than $50 billion with an estimated 10,000 companies operating in the region.

“Our products and technology are comparable with that of Europe and America and we are exporting those products to more than 40 countries around the world. So we believe that our coming will improve the well being of people in Akwa Ibom and Shangdong,” he said.



http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/chinese-investment-delegation-storms-a-ibom-for-bilateral-talks/224174/