Hinduja Group, a multibillion-dollar transnational conglomerate owned by the Indian billionaire Hinduja family, has announced plans to invest billions of dollars in Nigeria’s auto industry.
This groundbreaking pledge was unveiled by Prakash Hinduja, the chairman and CEO of Hinduja Group, during discussions with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in New Delhi ahead of the G20 summit.
Hinduja Group, renowned for its extensive presence across eleven sectors, including automotive, oil and specialty chemicals, banking and finance, IT and ITeS, cybersecurity, healthcare, trading, infrastructure project development, media and entertainment, power, and real estate, boasts an impressive total asset portfolio exceeding $100 billion.
This major investment announcement comes as Nigeria actively seeks to establish trade and investment ties with India, which is currently ranked as the world’s sixth-largest economy with a GDP of $3.38 trillion in 2022.
Tinubu, while addressing the importance of this initiative, stated: “We are here for business. I am here to personally assure our friends and investors that there is no bottleneck that I will not break to help them invest in Nigeria.”
Hinduja expressed his confidence in Tinubu’s leadership, stating: “We believe in you as a leader who has done this before. You know what the challenges are. You know how to fix them. We will invest billions of dollars under your leadership because we see you are already addressing the systemic problems.”
He further announced his readiness to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government, emphasizing their immediate intent, particularly regarding bus and automobile manufacturing in Nigeria.
The Hinduja family, whose wealth is estimated at £35 billion ($43.7 billion) as of May 2023, making them the richest family in the United Kingdom for the fifth consecutive year, derives the majority of their fortune from their diversified conglomerate.
However, Hinduja expressed some concerns about bureaucratic hurdles, noting: “I have had paperwork stalled in Nigerian bureaucracy for over one year, especially in FCT, but I knew that you would be purpose-driven in this endeavor, and God will help you to turn Nigeria’s rich promise into a rich reality for all its citizens.” He concluded with relief at the president’s promise to remove bottlenecks in the country.
This landmark investment by Hinduja Group marks a significant step toward bolstering Nigeria’s auto industry and strengthening economic ties between Nigeria and India. It is expected to have a profound impact on both nations’ economies, paving the way for further collaboration in the future.
