Your Companion

At a time no decent country would touch Nigeria with a long pole, much less taking interest in its economy, no thanks to a debt overhang of $35 billion ( since forgiven ), a rating as one of the most corrupt nations in the World (recently improved rating ); China waved off the risks and took the plunge. The first sign was the upsurge in the number and size of Chinese restaurants springing up at most unusual spots in major cities in the country. Next was China Town’, an unofficial export free zone, providing dump sites (markets) for cheap, but largely substandard textile products from Chinese factories. Before long and in the quest to expand its frontier of business in Nigeria , China moved from the backwaters of the informal sector, and literally invaded the economy, searching for trade and investment opportunities. The plunge has paid off. China in the last nine years has become a strategic player in the Nigerian economy. Placed side by side with new cr