NIGERIA – Hyundai Engineering Company Limited said on Tuesday that it was on the verge of setting up a car plant in Nigeria.
The South Korean firm also said it would invest in the rehabilitation of the country’s petroleum refineries.
President/Chief Executive Officer of Hyundai Engineering, Mr Chang Hag Kim, stated these during a visit to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), at the State House, Abuja.
Buhari, while welcoming the proposal, promised that the Federal Government would give the appropriate support necessary to enable Hyundai realise its plans for Nigeria.
He also informed the CEO that Nigeria was focused on achieving energy security for the country.
“The goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in the supply of petroleum products within the next three years.”
A statement by his media aide, Mr Femi Adesina, after the meeting, quoted Buhari as saying, “We will collaborate and support to make the investment a reality,” said Buhari.
Hag Kim told Buhari that his firm was ready to invest in the Nigerian economy. “We have been building refineries worldwide.”
“We have the biggest refinery in South Korea, with capacity to process 650, 000 barrels per.
We are also in Venezuela, Iraq, and many other places. We will be glad to contribute our quota in Nigeria,” the CEO stated.
The Hyundai Motor Group is comprised of the Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967, along with its 32.8% owned subsidiary, Kia Motors, and its 100% owned luxury subsidiary Genesis Motor.
It is the third largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and employs about 75,000 people worldwide.
It operates the world’s largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea.
The facility has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5,000 dealerships and showrooms spread across the globe.