CBN Takes Nigeria’s Financial Markets Pitch to China
By Patience Ikpeme
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday held a roundtable in Beijing with Nigerian and Chinese business leaders to find ways of making it easier for money and investment to move between Nigeria and China.
The meeting, held at the Pan Pacific Beijing on 21 October 2026, was themed “Strengthening the Nigeria–China Financial Corridor.” It brought together businesses that operate in both countries. They shared their own experiences and discussed how banking links, payment systems and investment channels between the two economies could be improved.
The Governor of the CBN, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, was present. According to the CBN, he stressed the need to deal directly with businesses so that the bank can understand the opportunities and difficulties affecting financial activity between the two countries. The CBN said such feedback could help in its efforts to build deeper and more accessible financial markets in Nigeria.
The main part of the programme was a listening session in which participants spoke about what works and what does not when they do business across both countries.
Several problems were raised. Businesses spoke of the need for faster and more efficient ways of making payments across borders. They also called for stronger links between banks in Nigeria and China. Another suggestion was that more Nigerian banks should set up a presence in China, an idea participants said could bring clear benefits.
The CBN said these points were “considered” alongside wider chances to ease the flow of money and to improve access to financial services and investment opportunities in Nigeria. The statement did not say that any of the suggestions has been adopted, and it gave no timeline for action.
Participants were also given a presentation on Nigeria’s economic reforms, the improvement in the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, and new investment opportunities in its financial markets.
The Deputy Governor for Economic Policy at the CBN, Mr Philip Ikeazor, gave the opening remarks. He explained the aims of the meeting and spoke on the importance of turning stronger economic fundamentals into more investment and more developed financial markets. In simple terms, the bank wants the gains from the reforms to show up in real investment flowing into the country.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (retd), also addressed the gathering. Two business leaders spoke about their experience in the trade between both countries: Mr Festus Mbisiogu, Chairperson of Blue Diamond Group, and Chief Diana Chen, Chairperson of CIG Motors.
Mr Cardoso gave the closing remarks. He spoke on the need to turn the views gathered from businesses into a clearer picture of the financial and institutional issues that need attention.
The CBN said the views gathered would guide its continued talks with financial institutions and regulators. It said the focus would be on “practical areas for cooperation within the Bank’s mandate.” That wording suggests the CBN will act only on matters that fall within its own powers. Some of the ideas raised, such as Nigerian banks opening branches in China, would also depend on Chinese regulators and the banks themselves.
The roundtable is one part of a longer programme in China. The CBN said the visit also includes bilateral discussions with the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, and meetings with the leadership of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), one of the biggest banks in the world. It did not give details of those meetings or say what came out of them.
The programme will move to Guangzhou, where the CBN will hold a listening session with Nigerian business people living and working in China. The bank said the aim is “to better understand financial challenges and explore opportunities to strengthen remittance channels and facilitate investment in Nigeria.” Remittances are the money Nigerians abroad send home to relatives and businesses. The CBN did not give the date of the Guangzhou meeting.
The CBN described the Beijing meeting as part of a broader plan to deepen Nigeria’s financial relationships across Asia. It comes after the bank’s engagements in Singapore and at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand.
