A Chinese electronics and technology firm that specialises in the manufacture of televisions, air conditioners, refrigerators and mobile phones, Hisense International, has said it will open a manufacturing plant in Nigeria in the next two years.The President, Hisense East and Africa, Mr. Alex Zhu, who said this in Lagos on Thursday, said the company considered the Nigerian market as critical to its growth in Africa, adding that it would not just engage in products marketing like other competing brands, but build a manufacturing plant that would create employment for over 1,000 Nigerians.Zhu, who said a delegation from the company would meet with some government officials soon, said Hisense was currently searching for the right location to build the plant.He added that the companys officials planned to visit the Lekki Free Trade Zone to see the opportunities available for locating a manufacturing plant there, while also considering another offer from its local partner.He said, "We understand there is a Free Trade Zone in Lekki, we want to visit the place to see what opportunities are available to us for building an industrial park. Our local partner, Airflow, also gave us another option because they already have a land where we can build the factory."The factory will not be our first in Africa because we have already built factories in South Africa, Egypt and Algeria. By the way, we just built a new factory in Uganda to power East Africa. We have the same plan for Nigeria but we need a very detail study of the market."Zhu, who did not disclose the cost of the proposed investment, noted that the Chinese company would not know how much the Nigerian project would cost until the project began.The factory, when completed, will employ 1,000 and serve the West African markets, according to him"For example, we have more than 1,000 local employees working in our manufacturing plant in Algeria with only 15 Chinese engineers. If we build a factory with the same capacity in Nigeria, we will be able to employ over 1,000 Nigerians," he explained.The Hisense boss, however, said the company had, in the meantime, partnered with an indigenous original equipment manufacturer, Airflow Engineering Works Limited, for the local assembly of its air-conditioners, refrigerators and freezers before the proposed factory would become operational.Commenting on the partnership, Zhu said, "Frankly speaking, Nigeria is a very difficult market and that is why we are looking for the right partners, so that we can get it right. We have chosen Airflow and we think it is the right partner for us in the long-term because we both have the same understanding of the market."The Managing Director, Airflow, Mr. Sola Giwa, said the Chinese investors were serious about the Nigerian factory project.
Click here to read full news..
