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UK Court Of Appeal Rules Nigeria Liable for $70 Million Arbitration Award To Chinese Investor
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A recent ruling by the UK Court of Appeal has found Nigeria liable for a $70 million arbitration award in favor of Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese investor. The presiding judge, Julian Flaux, rejected Nigeria’s claims of state immunity to evade paying the fine.
The dispute dates back to 2010 when Zhongshan, through its Chinese parent company Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group Co Ltd, acquired rights to develop a free trade zone in Ogun state, Nigeria. Subsequently, Zhongshan established a Nigerian entity called Zhongfu International Investment (NIG) FZE to manage the project with the permission of the Ogun state government….CONTINUE READING
In 2016, tensions arose when the investor accused the state government of terminating its appointment abruptly and attempting to appoint a new manager for the free trade zone. Zhongfu then initiated an investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria under the China-Nigeria bilateral investment treaty.
The arbitrators ruled in favor of Zhongshan and awarded compensation of approximately $70 million to the Chinese company. In January 2022, Zhongshan sought enforcement of the arbitration award, leading Nigeria to claim state immunity. However, the high court judge Sara Cockerill rejected the claim, stating that Nigeria had abused the time frame for appealing arbitral awards.
The Court of Appeal, affirming Cockerill’s decision, found that Nigeria failed to comply with the time limit of two-and-a-half months to raise the issue of state immunity, waiting until three months after the deadline expired. The court also dismissed Nigeria’s appeal, stating that no point of general public importance required guidance from the court.
Despite the ruling, the court did not need to decide on Nigeria’s entitlement to state immunity before issuing an enforcement order. The judgement puts Nigeria on the hook for the $70 million arbitration award to the Chinese investor.
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