Golden opportunities

"Chinese business owners in Africa should always treat local workers no different to Chinese workers," he says. "We train the local workers hand in hand. Now the local workers in my construction company and textile factory are able to master the same techniques as our Chinese employees."

Hu wanted to put something more back into African society following his success on the continent. In 1998 he helped to construct four of Nigeria's best-equipped schools with fluorescent lights, electric fans and wooden shutters. Each can take up to 3,000 students.

"I set up a construction company then because I was thinking of doing something for Nigeria," he says. "As I had been a teacher in China before, I felt education was quite important to help local people to build a knowledge-based future. Thus I invested and spent one-and-a-half years building four schools."

To commend Hu's contribution to the local community, he was made chieftain of a part of Lagos in 2001, an event unprecedented in Nigeria's history.

Being a chieftain gives Hu certain privileges: He has the power to command a 100-strong armed police guard whose wages are paid by the city council of Lagos.

"In addition, the police don't have the jurisdiction to arrest me because I have a permanent right to be granted a pardon," Hu says.

The biggest reward however is the respect the position commands and the access to the Nigerian president it gives him. He is also a special counselor for the current president and honorary chairman of the China-Africa Business Council, an organization focused on promoting business cooperation between China and Africa.

"I use my special identity frequently to gain more rights and benefits for my employees, and for both private and state-owned Chinese enterprises in Nigeria and its neighboring countries," Hu says.

Hu has assisted many Chinese companies to gain a foothold in the Nigerian market, among them China Civil Engineering Construction Corp, which he helped to get a contract with the Transportation Department of Nigeria to modernize the country's railway system at a cost of $1.49 billion.

The contract is a 156-kilometer double track railway connecting Lagos and Ibadan, designed to allow trains to travel at 150 kilometers an hour. The project is set to take 36 months to complete.

Today, more than 38,000 Chinese people live in Nigeria, including a group who moved from Hong Kong in the 1950s. They include employees from large state-owned enterprises such as China National Petroleum Corp and China Railway Construction Corp, as well as private enterprises.

Having spent much time doing business in Africa, Hu realized the need for business information in Chinese about West Africa and this prompted him to invest $1 million into launching the West Africa United Business Weekly in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Liberia in 2005.

The newspaper also contains a page of English news selected from China's Xinhua News Agency. Hu and the editorial board are planning to add more English and French language pages to attract a wider readership this year. With a circulation of 56,000 per week and more than 27 staff members, it is the biggest Chinese language newspaper in West Africa.

"Since my family and children have long been living in Nigeria, I have spent most of my time in Africa," Hu says. "I will send my children back to Shanghai for a Chinese education this year, then I will continue to pursue my Africa dream in this amazing land."

Contact the writer at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn