LOME: A Chinese company executive kidnapped in Niger's north region of Agadez on Friday is now in the hands of Tuareg tribes and his life is not under threat, the Chinese embassy in Niger said on Saturday.

The hostage, identified as Zhang Guohua, was a deputy general manager of the Societe Des Mines D'Agelik, a uranium prospecting company floated in Niger by the China Nuclear Engineering & Construction (Group) Corporation.

Zhang was taken hostage in the region of Agadez, some 1,000 km north of the capital city Niamey, at about 3:40 pm local time (1440 GMT) on Friday. His local driver, interpreter and bodyguard were spared, the embassy said.