A new report released by McKinsey, has revealed that out of 930 Chinese companies doing businesses in Nigeria, only about 317 are captured in official data of the government and tax gazette.
Coming from the new research report caption; ‘Lions on the move II: Realising the potential of Africa’s economies’, the global consulting firm, Mckinsey, observed that the 317 firms are documented by the Chinese ministry of commerce, the largest database of Chinese firms in Africa.
However, checks by Business Hilights at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are still ongoing, but some Nigerian business operators who partner with Chinese confided in our correspondent that it may be difficult to get a wholly owned Chinese firm because many of the Chinese who want to run away from certain classes of taxation in Nigeria usually hide under the cover of some Nigerians as company owners to do business.
Otherwise, whereas the company will resemble an indigenous company, everything about its business and operations are Chinese and Chinese controlled.
But according to Mckinsey’s findings, the report suggests that 65 percent of Chinese firms in Africa’s largest economy go uncounted.
The Chinese fronting firms total revenues come to $180 billion, an amount McKinsey predicts could either rise 38 percent to $250 billion by 2025 or more than double to $440 billion, using two different scenarios.
To Mckinsey further observed that despite the foray of Chinese corporates into Africa, only two countries have a clear cut strategy for the world’s second largest economy and Nigeria doesn’t make the cut. The two countries are South Africa and Ethiopia.
The report revealed that “Nigeria do not yet have the same level of engagement with China as Ethiopia and South Africa,” but was quick to note that “These three governments (Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania) recognise China’s importance, but they have yet to translate this recognition into an explicit China strategy”.
