Chinese investor's tale of his 26 years in Nigeria's economy

Sitting down with Mr. Liu Chang’an to listen to his story of surviving the Nigerian business terrain in the past quarter of a century, plus, leaves you with the inspiration that success doesn’t come easy.

Liu is so entrenched that a community he made an impact on in the course of his business in Ogun State made him a chief.

For that, most of his Nigerian associates know him as Chief Liu, an endorsement and acclaim among the local people he has lived with and done business with in the past 26 years.

At his supermarket in Oregun, Lagos, which mostly caters to the needs of the Chinese community, a particular Nigerian lady, Lilian, is in charge and has been in Liu’s employment for 15 years. The same applies to his driver, Fatai Shittu, a young man who has also worked with him for 25 years.

This Chinese businessman who arrived in Nigeria in the year 2000, beyond fully integrating into the system, has been a contributor to the economy of the country in various ways.

But what truly sets him apart is the tenacity to weather the Nigerian investment storms of uncertainties.

Liu has this forthright personality that makes him blend easily, and sitting down with him in his office for some time shows you that his years in Nigeria have made him a rallying point for his fellow Chinese people in business in Lagos.

As he told ACE Magazine the story of his journey, the chief executive officer of Huafei Longemont International Limited with arms in hospitality, restaurant, supermarket, importation, mining, and consulting, you need no emphasis that he has really been around.

“Starting in Nigeria wasn’t smooth, but it was easier then than now. It is just tenacity and the benefit of an old and familiar market that is keeping us in Nigeria today. Sometimes, after doing something for a time, some other attachments keep you going. It happens in business, also. Some social and non-monetary gains keep us in Nigeria because the business climate when we started was better than now. The exchange rate, for instance, was good and friendly, the cost of doing business was better and more encouraging than it is now. It is possible if we started in the conditions of today, we may not have lasted this long. But since Nigeria has become home to me, it gets difficult to uproot things overnight and go home,” Lu explained.

He narrated that the business his companies have been doing has been changing face and expanding over the years. While they started with trading, today, it is into hospitality – running some hotels in Victoria Island and Ikeja, operating a supermarket and a Chinese restaurant in Victoria Island and Ikeja.

Integrity and quality commitment

The latest additions to the group have been the Nigeria-China Service Centre at Oregun that handles consulting for Nigerians who want to do business in China and also Chinese who intend to explore the Nigerian market, making the two sides not fall into the wrong hands, but get the best. He said this concern has added so much value to genuine and sincere business between Nigeria and China, and helped in a great measure in building trust and ensuring that the quality of goods from China into the Nigerian market through them are not of questionable quality.

“The aspect of quality goods is our major concern. We don’t compromise it because we are a part of the Nigerian market. If we bring in substandard products, we are also the consumers, and that won’t work. We don’t allow that because if what we bring is not good, our clients will immediately locate us and complain. So far, we haven’t gotten complaints. Even when our company managed the China Town in Ojota, we carved an identity in sincerity for ourselves.”

Osun Free Trade Zone

After the Osun State government mooted the idea of a Free Trade Zone, Liu took another dive, expressed interest, and worked hard to attract Chinese investors, especially manufacturers that will bring their investments to the spot.

“Before the year gets to the last quarter, there must be the presence of some Chinese with interest in manufacturing in the zone setting up factories,” he assured.

“It is the latest concern we are pushing, and I am sure it will sail through as we keep advancing the arrangements with the state government to actaulise that aspiration. We have no fears as to the success of the plan because we have lots of investors in China who also know our vision and steadfastness in Nigeria. With the business in sight, we are sure to attract at least $3,000,000 value in the first phase of the investment drive.

We do this through our Nigeria-China Service Centre, our consultancy arm of the business group.”

Being a part of Nigeria

To demonstrate his affinity with Nigeria and Nigerians, Liu heads the Chinese Investors Association for Growth and Development (CIAGD), which, in about 2018, affiliated with the University of Lagos to set up the Institute of Nigeria China Development Studies, which is still functional.

The institute was in response to the challenge of former Vice Chancellor Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe to the group on the day the Confucius Institute of the university hosted its graduation and career talk. Working in partnership with the Confucius Institute, CIAGD, and the University of Lagos created the outfit.

It was at the event that led to the creation of this institute that CIAGD announced some scholarships in China to some outstanding students of the Confucius Institute under Liu’s leadership. It is such partnerships for the good of the local society where he belongs that have endeared him to Nigerians.

Friendly Nigeria-China relations

How else would you assess a foreign investor than by his attachment to his workers? One of them, Fatai and Lilian, have been consistently in Huafei’s employment roll for long years. These two are among over 70 of his affiliated companies that have employed over time

To these grassroots inclination to Nigeria, Liu said, “You know I have myself become a Nigerian to the extent that whenever I travel out of the country, I will be missing Nigeria and feel like coming back as soon as possible. That is why I have always advocated a cordial relationship between the Chinese community in Nigeria and the locals, especially in Lagos, for a better world and the shared benefits of our investment efforts.”

That longing for better friendship between the two inspired him to establish the Nigeria-China Times media, which consistently published in English and Chinese languages, bringing to public understanding the positives happening between the Chinese community and Nigeria and Chinese investors’ contributions to the Nigerian economy, rather than allowing a few and rare instances of misunderstanding to define the entire relationship.

Source: Africa China Economy