by Yi Yimin
Chinese investments in Africa are starting to attract more media coverage and public attention in China. Last year, three incidents in particular sparked interest.
First, in June 2010 the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) agreed to invest US$500 million in Ethiopia’s US$1.75 billion Gibe III dam. The project will affect the Omo River, an international waterway, and the vulnerable ecosystems of Lake Turkana, upon which 300,000 residents of northern Kenya rely.
Then on October 15, supervisors at the Chinese-owned Collum mine in Zambia, southern Africa, shot and wounded at least 11 workers during a dispute – showing that Chinese investment in mining in Africa can create serious labour-relations issues, as well as environmental problems.
Finally, in November China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) and Ghana National Petroleum Corp joined forces to attempt to buy the US firm Kosmos Energy’s stake in the deepwater Jubilee offshore oil field in Ghana, west Africa. This deal did not go through, but commentators linked it to earlier reports that China would provide the country with US$13 billion in loans for oil and gas infrastructure, agricultural development and other construction.
These three types of projects: fossil fuels, mining and dams, are the main areas of Chinese investment in Africa, and the three cases reflect a number of characteristics and problems around Chinese aid and investment on the continent.
Usually, the difference between aid and investment is that aid is intended to provide humanitarian assistance or promote social and economic progress; unlike investment, there is little concern in aid about recovery of funds. Aid is also preferential – it is provided gratis to the recipient, or at a low rate of interest.
China invests and provides aid in a wide range of fields in Africa...but the most funding of all is for the construction of government buildings, dams and other infrastructure.
These are the “full-service aid projects” advocated by the Chinese government, where the project implementer is a Chinese firm and project loans are transferred directly from the Export and Import Bank of China (China EXIM Bank) to that firm rather than to the recipient nation, and equipment required is imported from China. These aid projects play an important role in helping Chinese firms expand overseas.
As for Chinese investment in Africa, fields include: agriculture; forestry; information and communications technology; industry; finance and healthcare. But most investment is concentrated in construction, energy and mining.
China has experimented with linking aid to economic development, both at home and abroad. In the controversial “Angola Model” – as resource-backed financing agreements are referred to by Chinese diplomats – the recipient nation uses its commodities, such as oil resources, to secure low-interest loans for projects.
This means the recipient nation can turn resources into cash when funds are short and develop its extractive industries. It also often secures China’s state-owned oil companies resource-development rights in the recipient nation.
However, it is not enough to focus only on economic development. For the citizens of the recipient nation, justice, participation and sustainability should be part of the planning process right from the start.
On balance it seems that China regards Africa primarily in terms of its resources and potential market – and prioritises those fields over aid, leading to some negative consequences for recipient nations. Prior research on the “resource curse” in countries such as Nigeria suggests that over-reliance on resource development for economic growth can produce some benefits for society, but can also gravely damage the local environment.
China hopes to use this commercial cooperation model to make aid projects more sustainable – but it risks putting Chinese firms in absolute control of projects, with potentially negative effects. Chinese companies may ultimately make the decisions about whether a project goes ahead, influencing policy and allowing the company risk-free entry to the recipient nation.
There is a risk that Chinese companies may apply “high-efficiency” methods overseas that, for example, leave farmers in a weak position – as has been the case in some agricultural investment models in China. The pursuit of profit has also led small private enterprises from China to become involved in illegal trades, in timber or ivory for example, to the detriment of the local environment.
In order to understand the environmental and social impacts of China’s investments in Africa, one should probably understand the impacts of Chinese investment at home in China, since many similar problems arise.
Thirty years of reform and opening up in China has led many – particularly those that have enjoyed the fruits of this process – to believe that economic growth will lead to development in other areas. That belief has been extended to overseas investment. But many others worry about the negative impacts of China’s breakneck growth: the destruction of China’s environment, the pillaging of resources and rising social injustice.
Importantly, within China there are also examples of loans and engineering projects being exchanged for resources contracts...
The Chinese government’s Western Development strategy, first implemented in 2000, led to domestic investors favouring the west of the country, which is rich in resources and contains huge market potential, but is economically backward compared to the east. However, the single-minded focus on developing resources – much like in Africa – has created negative environmental and social consequences.
Developing a country’s resources, of course, does not necessarily create problems – but if China has been unsuccessful in using policy and regulation to prevent the “resource curse” in its own western region, how can we trust investments in Africa will only have positive results?
Chinese energy investments in Africa mostly focus on oil. According to the 2009 Analysis of Chinese Oil Imports and Exports by Tian Churong, African oil producers, such as Angola, Sudan and Libya, exported 61.42 million tonnes of crude oil to China that year, accounting for 30.1% of China’s total crude imports.
Chinese investment in mining has also heated up in the last few years – private investment, in particular. Labour disputes in Zambia, mentioned in the previous part of this article, exposed private mining companies as only employing “temporary workers”, not paying welfare – and in the most prominent case, using relationships with the authorities to put down disputes, and firearms to deal with workers’ protests. Since Chinese firms often ignore civil society and requests for dialogue with NGOs, they miss out on opportunities to ease such conflicts and exacerbate the negative impacts of their investments.
Dam projects, another key area of investment, are hugely expensive – and can cause significant social and environmental impacts. NGOs like US-based International Rivers, authors of China’s Environmental Footprint in Africa, have expressed concerns about several dams on the continent either proposed or under construction by Chinese companies, including: the Bui Dam in Ghana, which will flood one quarter of the Bui National Park; Gabon’s Kongou Dam, which will have impacts on forests in the Ivindo National Park; Sudan’s Merowe Dam, where fluctuating water levels and sedimentation could have serious negative effects on aquatic ecosystems, water quality and public health; Ethiopia’s Gibe III Dam and Mozambique’s Mphanda Nkuwa Dam.
The environmental and social impacts of the Mphanda Nkuwa hydropower project in Mozambique are fairly typical. The project was first proposed in April 2006 and China Export-Import Bank pledged to finance it. Energy minister Salvador Namburete approved it in August 2010 and banks will finance 70% of the construction costs.
The proposal was met with concern from local environmental groups; some tried to lobby China Exim Bank to withhold their support for the project. Why? Because the Cahora Bassa dam, built in the 1970s, provides enough electricity for all of Mozambique, but its power is sold off to nearby South Africa – even the capital city, Maputo, has to purchase its electricity back from its neighbour.
Mozambique does not lack power, it lacks infrastructure, such as a power grid – over 80% of the country is not yet on the grid and less than 10% of the population use electricity. Most of the power from the US$2.3 billion dam would still be sold to South Africa. Moreover, the Zambezi Delta has for decades suffered erosion due to the Cahora Bassa Dam. An ecological restoration project is planned, but the Mphanda Nkuwa Dam will mean that the environment is doomed.
Many dams in Africa will have similar social and environmental impacts. Local residents often do not benefit from the electricity or economic development, but are displaced and lose their fishing or farming livelihoods. Since these projects often lack transparency and financing comes from overseas, it is hard for local NGOs to help protect the rights of residents.
Investment in dam-building on international rivers should be approached even more cautiously. This year and last, Kenyans took to the streets in protest against Chinese dam investment – opposing the US$500 million loan from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for Ethiopia’s Gibe III dam.
The main cause of deforestation in countries like Gabon, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo and Mozambique has been the illegal trade in timber. These countries often have good forest protection policies and laws, but NGOs who monitor forest protection and the timber trade say that these are not enforced, often due to corruption. Timber traders, some of whom are Chinese, often encourage locals to fell trees and the authorities do not have the resources to supervise.
For example, it is estimated that in 2005, 94% of all timber produced in Tanzania was logged illegally. Besides the environmental destruction, the rapid reduction in timber resources affects local people who relied on the forests for their livelihood. According to China Safari by Michel Beuret and Serge Michel, Chinese traders have been accused of trapping endangered animals while logging trees.
One problem highlighted by Chinese investment in Africa is that Chinese government policy only provides basic outlines, often without detailed regulations and standards for implementation – or openness and public participation in that process. Therefore, observers are unclear about the extent to which regulations are being carried out.
For example, China’s regulations on the management of overseas aid projects specifically state that there must be both a feasibility study and a technical study, which should have different emphases and be carried out by different parties. But there are no details on what those studies should contain; how important evaluation of social and environmental effects should be; or the standards for evaluation.
China itself was once a major recipient of aid and the country’s experiences are an important part of its overseas aid policy, especially when tackling difficult questions. How can international aid help with education, infrastructure, poverty alleviation and water safety? How to protect local economies as they open up? How to protect the interests of farmers? How can the environment be protected as the economy develops? Understanding China’s experience and discussing these questions can help to offset the negative impacts of investment.
It is only the on the basis of this open discussion that China can improve its policies on aid and investment in Africa.
http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4470
http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4471-China-probes-its-Africa-model-2-
August 31, 2011
South African tire makers under pressure from Chinese imports
In early September the Supreme Court in the city of Bloemfontein will hold the final hearing on an appeal regarding the dumping of Chinese tires in South Africa. If the decision goes its way, the local industry will be given the means of resisting something said to be injuring its viability.
September’s court hearing will likely be the final battle in a campaign that began six years ago when the South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) applied for International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa to instigate an anti-dumping investigation.
The SATMC, which represents the four multinational companies producing tires in the country – Apollo Tyres, Bridgestone, Continental and Goodyear – alleged tires originating in or imported from China were causing material injury to the South African tire manufacturing sector.
The commission claims to have examined “all known producers and exporters” of Chinese tires by means of questionnaire, and in June 2006 its preliminary determination reported that while manufacturers including Triangle, Aeolus, Shandong Chengshan, Giti, Kenda and Kumho were not dumping tires in South Africa, other exporters were indeed engaging in this practice.
It stated that the South African industry “is suffering material injury” and that there is “a causal link between the dumping of the subject product and the injury.” Yet 10 months later, after “considering all the comments from interested parties,” the commission decided that factors other than dumping, such as the volume of Chinese imports at non-dumping prices, were responsible for harming the local industry. The commission, therefore, recommended to South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry that the tire dumping investigation be terminated.
The SATMC appealed this decision, complaining the investigation team visiting China accepted figures provided by manufacturers without compiling proper audit reports. It claimed the commission displayed a “totally unsympathetic attitude” toward South African tire manufacturers. In June 2010, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the SATMC’s appeal and ordered the commission to conduct a fresh anti-dumping investigation within four months, using prices from a third country. Instead of complying, the commission took this ruling to the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein, and now the industry awaits the final hearing on Sept. 7.
Recently, Apollo Tyres chairman and managing director Onkar Kanwar said “government inaction on the large scale import of tires into South Africa is taking a toll on the tire manufacturing industry.” The cost in terms of rand, pounds or dollars is difficult to calculate, however South Africa’s Mail & Guardian notes that out of an estimated annual replacement tire market of seven million units, in 2010 Chinese imports account for 1.69 million, or approximately 24%. Seven years earlier only 35,000 tires were imported from China and the total amount of imported tires entering South Africa was less than half the 2010 figure of 55%.
... it is clear that September’s decision is an important one for the country’s tiremakers.
Tire Review
September’s court hearing will likely be the final battle in a campaign that began six years ago when the South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC) applied for International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa to instigate an anti-dumping investigation.
The SATMC, which represents the four multinational companies producing tires in the country – Apollo Tyres, Bridgestone, Continental and Goodyear – alleged tires originating in or imported from China were causing material injury to the South African tire manufacturing sector.
The commission claims to have examined “all known producers and exporters” of Chinese tires by means of questionnaire, and in June 2006 its preliminary determination reported that while manufacturers including Triangle, Aeolus, Shandong Chengshan, Giti, Kenda and Kumho were not dumping tires in South Africa, other exporters were indeed engaging in this practice.
It stated that the South African industry “is suffering material injury” and that there is “a causal link between the dumping of the subject product and the injury.” Yet 10 months later, after “considering all the comments from interested parties,” the commission decided that factors other than dumping, such as the volume of Chinese imports at non-dumping prices, were responsible for harming the local industry. The commission, therefore, recommended to South Africa’s Minister of Trade and Industry that the tire dumping investigation be terminated.
The SATMC appealed this decision, complaining the investigation team visiting China accepted figures provided by manufacturers without compiling proper audit reports. It claimed the commission displayed a “totally unsympathetic attitude” toward South African tire manufacturers. In June 2010, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the SATMC’s appeal and ordered the commission to conduct a fresh anti-dumping investigation within four months, using prices from a third country. Instead of complying, the commission took this ruling to the Supreme Court in Bloemfontein, and now the industry awaits the final hearing on Sept. 7.
Recently, Apollo Tyres chairman and managing director Onkar Kanwar said “government inaction on the large scale import of tires into South Africa is taking a toll on the tire manufacturing industry.” The cost in terms of rand, pounds or dollars is difficult to calculate, however South Africa’s Mail & Guardian notes that out of an estimated annual replacement tire market of seven million units, in 2010 Chinese imports account for 1.69 million, or approximately 24%. Seven years earlier only 35,000 tires were imported from China and the total amount of imported tires entering South Africa was less than half the 2010 figure of 55%.
... it is clear that September’s decision is an important one for the country’s tiremakers.
Tire Review
Uganda tea exporters protest Kenya tea permit charges
Uganda is planning to lodge a complaint against Kenya at the East African Community headquarters over what it terms unfair trade practices. The landlocked country is against the introduction of a plant-health certificate requirement for its tea exports via Mombasa port.
According to the Uganda Tea Association (UTA), exporters are charged $5.3 for every truckload of tea as Plant Import Permit (PIP) by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) at the Malaba border post.
Daisy Eresu, senior agricultural officer and head of the tea unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, said Ugandan tea was a finished product that met good manufacturing practices and packaging. “If it were a raw product, you would say, yes. We are therefore wondering what’s happening,” she said.
Over 90 per cent of Ugandan tea is sold through the tea auction market in Mombasa. The country is the second largest producer and exporter of tea in the East African region
Kephis is of the view that it has to issue a phytosanitary certificate for re-export of Ugandan tea in line with international standards.
“Uganda exporters feel that re-export charges should be made directly to the one re-exporting from Kenya, because at this stage, Ugandans have sold off the tea, and it is no longer theirs, but belongs to another party in Kenya,” UTA chairman Vinod Vadera, told The EastAfrican at a recent tea convention held in Mombasa.
Ugandan tea exporters are also in talks with the government to remove value added tax from locally sold tea in order to improve local consumption and safeguard its increasing tea yields, which forecasts say will in future fall should the latest climate change predictions come to pass.
Tea exports have steadily increased from 33 million kilogrammes in 2005 to 53 million kg in 2010, according to the UTA.
However, domestic consumption has continued to decline from 2.7 million kg in 2007 to 1.1 million kg in 2010.
The East African
According to the Uganda Tea Association (UTA), exporters are charged $5.3 for every truckload of tea as Plant Import Permit (PIP) by the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (Kephis) at the Malaba border post.
Daisy Eresu, senior agricultural officer and head of the tea unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, said Ugandan tea was a finished product that met good manufacturing practices and packaging. “If it were a raw product, you would say, yes. We are therefore wondering what’s happening,” she said.
Over 90 per cent of Ugandan tea is sold through the tea auction market in Mombasa. The country is the second largest producer and exporter of tea in the East African region
Kephis is of the view that it has to issue a phytosanitary certificate for re-export of Ugandan tea in line with international standards.
“Uganda exporters feel that re-export charges should be made directly to the one re-exporting from Kenya, because at this stage, Ugandans have sold off the tea, and it is no longer theirs, but belongs to another party in Kenya,” UTA chairman Vinod Vadera, told The EastAfrican at a recent tea convention held in Mombasa.
Ugandan tea exporters are also in talks with the government to remove value added tax from locally sold tea in order to improve local consumption and safeguard its increasing tea yields, which forecasts say will in future fall should the latest climate change predictions come to pass.
Tea exports have steadily increased from 33 million kilogrammes in 2005 to 53 million kg in 2010, according to the UTA.
However, domestic consumption has continued to decline from 2.7 million kg in 2007 to 1.1 million kg in 2010.
The East African
Elecricity crisis in East Africa slows cross border trade
A spot check in some key border posts shows that it is taking twice as long to move goods between East African Community member states due to power outages.
The Tanzanian assistant Customs officer at the border, Jasper Kiwelu, says the power crisis has hampered the ability of clearing and forwarding agents to submit pre-arrival documents of goods thereby creating delays. The pre-arrival system requires clearance agents to submit online or print the documents prior to the arrival of consignments.
At the Malaba border post between Kenya and Uganda, the situation is even more critical. The queues stretched for three kilometres as the trucks waited clearance.
The chairman of the Malaba branch of the Uganda Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association, Geofrey Baluku, says the situation is made worse by the lack of stand-by generators.
The manager of the Uganda Revenue Authority in charge of the Eastern Region, Geoffrey Balamaga, said, "Power rationing is a problem, but we also have to put into consideration the fact that the physical infrastructure cannot support the current traffic on the roads."
According to Mr Balamanga, the Malaba weighbridge, which was built in the late 1950s, cannot handle two truckloads at the same time, making Malaba inefficient in handling the growing cross-border trade.
The East African
The Tanzanian assistant Customs officer at the border, Jasper Kiwelu, says the power crisis has hampered the ability of clearing and forwarding agents to submit pre-arrival documents of goods thereby creating delays. The pre-arrival system requires clearance agents to submit online or print the documents prior to the arrival of consignments.
At the Malaba border post between Kenya and Uganda, the situation is even more critical. The queues stretched for three kilometres as the trucks waited clearance.
The chairman of the Malaba branch of the Uganda Clearing and Forwarding Agents Association, Geofrey Baluku, says the situation is made worse by the lack of stand-by generators.
The manager of the Uganda Revenue Authority in charge of the Eastern Region, Geoffrey Balamaga, said, "Power rationing is a problem, but we also have to put into consideration the fact that the physical infrastructure cannot support the current traffic on the roads."
According to Mr Balamanga, the Malaba weighbridge, which was built in the late 1950s, cannot handle two truckloads at the same time, making Malaba inefficient in handling the growing cross-border trade.
The East African
Senegal's new maritime taxes
It has been reported that two new taxes on maritime traffic became applicable from 15 August 2011 for a transitional period. Both taxes will be collected by the Agence Nationale des Affaires Maritime (National Agency of Maritime Affairs or ANAM).
The first tax is a fixed sum of FCFA 2,295,850.00 (Euros 3,500.00) which will be charged for each vessel trading in Senegalese ports. The tax will not be levied against vessels calling for repairs or technical operations.
The vessel's agents will be required to pay 50% of the tax before vessel's arrival and the remaining 50% within 30 days after she sails.
The second tax will relate to both imported and exported cargoes and will be calculated on the basis of one standard rate of FCFA 200.00 per ton (Euros 0.3049). It will not apply to staple products such as rice, food oils, sugar, cereals, garlic, potatoes, onions and milk or to exported fruit and vegetables.
Payment of this tax will be required before the cargo is delivered or collected.
UK Pandi
The first tax is a fixed sum of FCFA 2,295,850.00 (Euros 3,500.00) which will be charged for each vessel trading in Senegalese ports. The tax will not be levied against vessels calling for repairs or technical operations.
The vessel's agents will be required to pay 50% of the tax before vessel's arrival and the remaining 50% within 30 days after she sails.
The second tax will relate to both imported and exported cargoes and will be calculated on the basis of one standard rate of FCFA 200.00 per ton (Euros 0.3049). It will not apply to staple products such as rice, food oils, sugar, cereals, garlic, potatoes, onions and milk or to exported fruit and vegetables.
Payment of this tax will be required before the cargo is delivered or collected.
UK Pandi
Japan funds Tanzania-Rwanda bridge
by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
Japan has agreed with Tanzania to finance a grant worth 1.86 billion yen ($24.2 million) for the construction of a bridge linking the east African country with its neighbour Rwanda to help boost trade.
Japan will also provide Tanzania with an additional 37 million yen ($481,426) towards a feasibility study for a project aimed at easing road traffic congestion in the country's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
East Africa's second-largest economy -- one of Africa's biggest per capita aid recipients -- increased infrastructure spending in its 2011/12 budget by 85 percent to 2.78 trillion Tanzanian shillings ($1.71 billion).
Construction of the Rusumo international bridge and one-stop border facilities between Tanzania and Rwanda is expected to be completed within two years, said Tanzania's Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo.
"Construction of the Rusumo international bridge to replace the existing one built some 40 years ago, will enhance regional integration and facilitate increased trade between Tanzania and Rwanda," said Mkulo. ($1 = 76.855 Japanese Yen) ($1 = 1622.500 Tanzanian Shillings)
Reuters
Japan has agreed with Tanzania to finance a grant worth 1.86 billion yen ($24.2 million) for the construction of a bridge linking the east African country with its neighbour Rwanda to help boost trade.
Japan will also provide Tanzania with an additional 37 million yen ($481,426) towards a feasibility study for a project aimed at easing road traffic congestion in the country's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.
East Africa's second-largest economy -- one of Africa's biggest per capita aid recipients -- increased infrastructure spending in its 2011/12 budget by 85 percent to 2.78 trillion Tanzanian shillings ($1.71 billion).
Construction of the Rusumo international bridge and one-stop border facilities between Tanzania and Rwanda is expected to be completed within two years, said Tanzania's Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo.
"Construction of the Rusumo international bridge to replace the existing one built some 40 years ago, will enhance regional integration and facilitate increased trade between Tanzania and Rwanda," said Mkulo. ($1 = 76.855 Japanese Yen) ($1 = 1622.500 Tanzanian Shillings)
Reuters
August 30, 2011
Oil companies ready to jockey for position in new Libya
by Tim Lister
International oil companies are jockeying for advantage in the new Libya, buoyed by news that damage to the energy infrastructure appears to be slight. But they remain anxious about a lack of security and are holding off sending workers back into the country.
National Transitional Council officials report little damage to oil export terminals in eastern Libya (at Ras Lanuf and El Brega) and have appealed to employees to return to work. The two terminals handle the bulk of oil exports pumped from the Sirte basin. But the rebels have also begun to use, with help from Qatar, a terminal at Tobruk.
The NTC official in charge of oil and the economy, Ali Tarhouni, told Reuters news agency August 25 that he expects production can reach 500,000 to 600,000 barrels per day within a few weeks, and return to the prewar level of 1.6 million within a year.
Some industry analysts believe that is optimistic. Sources at Italian oil company Eni (the largest producer in Libya) forecast production at 750,000 barrels by sometime early next year. Energy consultants Wood Mackenzie estimate it will take three years for production to recover to the prewar level. But that would depend on the prompt return of foreign workers.
In a recent report, Wood Mackenzie estimated "six months will be required for NOC (Libya's state-owned oil firm) staff, international companies and foreign workers to return and re-establish supply lines and assess and repair damaged infrastructure."
Libya has always relied on foreign expertise to exploit its oil, but expatriate workers may be reluctant to return before the violence -- and the threat of abduction -- abates. The waters off Tripoli, where heavy gunbattles continued August 25, contain important fields like the Bahr Essalam. But in the east, too, there are still pockets of fighters loyal to deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi and there are ongoing clashes.
The worst scenario for the NTC -- and the oil companies -- is a prolonged campaign of sabotage by opponents of Libya's new rulers. Wood McKenzie noted that Gadhafi supporters sabotaged the pumping station that moved oil from the Sarir and Messia fields early in the conflict and said: "Libya's oil fields are located in the vast, remote Saharan desert, making them impossible to defend from attack." Other analysts point out that only now, after a prolonged insurgency, is Iraq's oil output recovering to pre-invasion levels.
Rehabilitating the oil industry is one of the NTC's priorities because oil has provided 95% of the state's export revenue. While Libya's new rulers will benefit from the release of the old regime's assets and international aid, they need a predictable revenue stream.
A short journey across the Mediterranean, Libya is the ideal source for southern Europe, with its plentiful reserves of "light sweet" crude, a high-quality oil. Some European refiners are not equipped to process "sour" crude, industry experts said, and that has intensified competition for other sources (mainly Nigerian) of high-quality oil in the absence of Libyan exports.
However unpredictable the current situation, European oil companies are gearing up for battle. The major players from there before the uprising began were Italy's Eni, Total of France and Repsol. British giant BP is also trying to get a larger slice of Libyan exploration projects. It concluded a $900 million deal with the Gadhafi regime three years ago to explore for gas. Other players include OMV of Austria and Marathon. China, through its state-owned CNPC, had begun exploring off the Libyan coast to help feed its insatiable appetite for Africa's mineral wealth but recently terminated several contracts because of the unrest.
Eni has been lobbying hard to retain its dominant role, concerned that Total may get preferential treatment from the new government because of France's leading role in the military campaign to oust Gadhafi. Company officials said Eni has been in regular contact with the rebels since April and CEO Paolo Scaroni predicted a "positive future for Eni in Libya."
Some NTC officials have suggested that those states most heavily involved in the conflict against the Gadhafi regime -- which include Britain, France and Qatar -- will have an advantage when it comes to reconstruction projects. Other states -- like Russia, Brazil and China -- that opposed action against the Gadhafi regime may find it an uphill battle with Libya's new rulers.
CNN
International oil companies are jockeying for advantage in the new Libya, buoyed by news that damage to the energy infrastructure appears to be slight. But they remain anxious about a lack of security and are holding off sending workers back into the country.
National Transitional Council officials report little damage to oil export terminals in eastern Libya (at Ras Lanuf and El Brega) and have appealed to employees to return to work. The two terminals handle the bulk of oil exports pumped from the Sirte basin. But the rebels have also begun to use, with help from Qatar, a terminal at Tobruk.
The NTC official in charge of oil and the economy, Ali Tarhouni, told Reuters news agency August 25 that he expects production can reach 500,000 to 600,000 barrels per day within a few weeks, and return to the prewar level of 1.6 million within a year.
Some industry analysts believe that is optimistic. Sources at Italian oil company Eni (the largest producer in Libya) forecast production at 750,000 barrels by sometime early next year. Energy consultants Wood Mackenzie estimate it will take three years for production to recover to the prewar level. But that would depend on the prompt return of foreign workers.
In a recent report, Wood Mackenzie estimated "six months will be required for NOC (Libya's state-owned oil firm) staff, international companies and foreign workers to return and re-establish supply lines and assess and repair damaged infrastructure."
Libya has always relied on foreign expertise to exploit its oil, but expatriate workers may be reluctant to return before the violence -- and the threat of abduction -- abates. The waters off Tripoli, where heavy gunbattles continued August 25, contain important fields like the Bahr Essalam. But in the east, too, there are still pockets of fighters loyal to deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi and there are ongoing clashes.
The worst scenario for the NTC -- and the oil companies -- is a prolonged campaign of sabotage by opponents of Libya's new rulers. Wood McKenzie noted that Gadhafi supporters sabotaged the pumping station that moved oil from the Sarir and Messia fields early in the conflict and said: "Libya's oil fields are located in the vast, remote Saharan desert, making them impossible to defend from attack." Other analysts point out that only now, after a prolonged insurgency, is Iraq's oil output recovering to pre-invasion levels.
Rehabilitating the oil industry is one of the NTC's priorities because oil has provided 95% of the state's export revenue. While Libya's new rulers will benefit from the release of the old regime's assets and international aid, they need a predictable revenue stream.
A short journey across the Mediterranean, Libya is the ideal source for southern Europe, with its plentiful reserves of "light sweet" crude, a high-quality oil. Some European refiners are not equipped to process "sour" crude, industry experts said, and that has intensified competition for other sources (mainly Nigerian) of high-quality oil in the absence of Libyan exports.
However unpredictable the current situation, European oil companies are gearing up for battle. The major players from there before the uprising began were Italy's Eni, Total of France and Repsol. British giant BP is also trying to get a larger slice of Libyan exploration projects. It concluded a $900 million deal with the Gadhafi regime three years ago to explore for gas. Other players include OMV of Austria and Marathon. China, through its state-owned CNPC, had begun exploring off the Libyan coast to help feed its insatiable appetite for Africa's mineral wealth but recently terminated several contracts because of the unrest.
Eni has been lobbying hard to retain its dominant role, concerned that Total may get preferential treatment from the new government because of France's leading role in the military campaign to oust Gadhafi. Company officials said Eni has been in regular contact with the rebels since April and CEO Paolo Scaroni predicted a "positive future for Eni in Libya."
Some NTC officials have suggested that those states most heavily involved in the conflict against the Gadhafi regime -- which include Britain, France and Qatar -- will have an advantage when it comes to reconstruction projects. Other states -- like Russia, Brazil and China -- that opposed action against the Gadhafi regime may find it an uphill battle with Libya's new rulers.
CNN
Kenya tells providers to turn off counterfeit mobile phones
The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has directed mobile phone service providers to switch off all counterfeit handsets from their networks in an attempt to stem a flood of Chinese counterfeit phones.
As in many other African countries, counterfeit mobile handsets have for years flooded the Kenya, which is east Africa's largest telecom market. The phones being targeted to be switched off by operators are those whose international mobile equivalent identity (IMEI) are not recognizable by networks.
Counterfeit handsets from China are being sold cheaply, flooding markets in Africa and coming close to putting genuine handsets manufacturers out of business. Over the past two years, Chinese Embassy officials in the region have tried to help African governments including Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria counter the influx of counterfeit electronic products.
The move by CCK to block counterfeit handsets from being used in Kenya is expected to affect more than 4 million people currently believed to be using the handsets. Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecom operator claims there are nearly 1 million devices with non-recognized IMEI on its network. If the CCK's move works, it is expected to have a ripple effect in the region with more countries adopting similar measures.
Nokia and Samsung have been hardest hit by counterfeit products in Africa. Most pirates have targeted them because of their brand popularity in the region.
The Ugandan, Kenyan and Zambian markets as well as other markets in east and west Africa are flooded with a wide range of cheap mobile handsets from China bearing Nokia's name. For example, the Nokia E70i, E99i and E89i branded, double SIM card handsets are made in China under the Nokia brand name but without Nokia feature and tones and Nokia confirmation numbers to verify authenticity.
Through the Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenyan government early this year seized a container full of fake Nokia products at a port destined for the Kenyan market.
In Zambia, Samsung Southern Africa is testing the efficacy of an anti-counterfeit squad. The squad consists of Samsung officials, police, an Intellectual Property Unity, partners and authorized dealers. It conducts random inspections of outlets that sell electronic products to ensure that Samsung products in stock are genuine. If successful, the initiative is expected to expand to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Mali.
Chinese embassies in the region have moved to aggressively crack down on companies and people importing counterfeit electronic products from China. Chinese officials said in February this year that the Chinese government will start inspecting all ports in China and monitor goods from the production end to prevent counterfeit electronic products from being exported to Africa, claiming China's reputation was being damaged.
Zou Xiaoming, an economic counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kampala, Uganda, recently told a media briefing that Chinese company officials or nationals caught exporting counterfeit electronic products to Africa faces a jail sentence of up to 20 years.
But according to a recent survey by GFK Retail and Technology, over the past year fake mobile phones on the Kenyan market, for instance, have grown by 9 percent.
Other studies have shown that counterfeit phones emit radio frequency radiation higher than what is internationally stipulated as safe for human exposure and therefore may be harmful to those who use them.
IDG
Tourists head back to Kenya
A record number tourists visited Kenya in the first six months of 2011, continuing a solid recovery after the country was hit by post-election violence in 2008 and the lingering effects of the global financial crisis.
Arrivals rose to 549,083, up 13.6 per cent from the same period last year. Tourism earned a record Sh74 billion ($802 million) last year, making it one of the country’s leading sources of foreign exchange.
Minister for Tourism Najib Balala told a news conference that estimated revenues for the first six months stood at Sh40.5 billion, up 32 per cent from Sh30.7 billion in the same period last year. He said the ministry was expecting 20 per cent growth in arrivals for the year as a whole.
In 2010, a record 1.1 million tourists visited the country, which is famed for its game parks and white Indian Ocean beaches, beating the previous high hit in 2007.
The ministry of Tourism said visitors from Britain led the way accounting for 14.3 per cent of arrivals, followed by the US at 9.3 per cent and then Italy, Germany and India, with the Asian country knocking France out of the top five.
Among the African markets that have grown as a tourist source market for Kenya include Uganda—whose arrivals increased 50 per cent to 22, 626. Others are South Africa and Tanzania.
The Standard
Arrivals rose to 549,083, up 13.6 per cent from the same period last year. Tourism earned a record Sh74 billion ($802 million) last year, making it one of the country’s leading sources of foreign exchange.
Minister for Tourism Najib Balala told a news conference that estimated revenues for the first six months stood at Sh40.5 billion, up 32 per cent from Sh30.7 billion in the same period last year. He said the ministry was expecting 20 per cent growth in arrivals for the year as a whole.
In 2010, a record 1.1 million tourists visited the country, which is famed for its game parks and white Indian Ocean beaches, beating the previous high hit in 2007.
The ministry of Tourism said visitors from Britain led the way accounting for 14.3 per cent of arrivals, followed by the US at 9.3 per cent and then Italy, Germany and India, with the Asian country knocking France out of the top five.
Among the African markets that have grown as a tourist source market for Kenya include Uganda—whose arrivals increased 50 per cent to 22, 626. Others are South Africa and Tanzania.
The Standard
30% of Ugandans use counterfeit phones
by Faridah Kulabako
Mr Kenneth Oyolla, the Nokia general manager for East and Southern Africa, said 30 per cent of all mobile phones sold in Uganda are counterfeits, compared to 10 per cent in Kenya. Nokia, he said losses about $15 million monthly in the Kenyan market while the figure is higher in Uganda and Tanzania.
The Kenyan government passed the anti-Counterfeit Law in June last year that provides for anyone caught selling counterfeits to pay three times the retail value of the device and up to five years in jail if implicated again.
Mr Oyolla said the passing of the law reduced trade in counterfeits in Kenya.
For instance , a genuine E71 costs $230 while the counterfeited one goes for about $50. Uganda’s anti-Counterfeit Bill was not passed into law after the 8th Parliament closed before the bill’s second reading.
The Monitor
Mr Kenneth Oyolla, the Nokia general manager for East and Southern Africa, said 30 per cent of all mobile phones sold in Uganda are counterfeits, compared to 10 per cent in Kenya. Nokia, he said losses about $15 million monthly in the Kenyan market while the figure is higher in Uganda and Tanzania.
The Kenyan government passed the anti-Counterfeit Law in June last year that provides for anyone caught selling counterfeits to pay three times the retail value of the device and up to five years in jail if implicated again.
Mr Oyolla said the passing of the law reduced trade in counterfeits in Kenya.
For instance , a genuine E71 costs $230 while the counterfeited one goes for about $50. Uganda’s anti-Counterfeit Bill was not passed into law after the 8th Parliament closed before the bill’s second reading.
The Monitor
IFC invests in Nigerian bank
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $29.6 million in Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank) , one of the top five lenders by assets in sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy, GT bank said on August 29.
The IFC acquired 284,697,017 new shares of GT Bank, which operates 183 branches in Africa's most populous nation and five banking subsidiaries across West Africa and the United Kingdom.
The lender in July said it had received an expression of interest from the private sector arm of the World Bank to acquire new shares of the bank by way of a placement and would seek shareholders approval for the transaction.
GT Bank completed a $500 million ten-year Eurobond in May to replace its maturing $350 million debt due next January. It also has a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Reuters
The IFC acquired 284,697,017 new shares of GT Bank, which operates 183 branches in Africa's most populous nation and five banking subsidiaries across West Africa and the United Kingdom.
The lender in July said it had received an expression of interest from the private sector arm of the World Bank to acquire new shares of the bank by way of a placement and would seek shareholders approval for the transaction.
GT Bank completed a $500 million ten-year Eurobond in May to replace its maturing $350 million debt due next January. It also has a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Reuters
New measures boost efficiency at Mombasa port
by Patrick Beja
The pace at which ships drop and pick up cargo has increased thanks to a number of measures affected in recent years at the port of Mombasa, officials now report.
Kenya
Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director, Gichiri Ndua, said container ship turnaround time (time taken by vessels to drop and pick cargo and leave the port) slightly improved to 4.2 days in the second quarter of 2011 from 4.3 days recorded in the corresponding period last year.
"The average container dwell time is now 6.1 days, against 13.1 days in 2008, reflecting an improvement of 114.8 per cent or 7 days," he said.
He was briefing Mombasa port stakeholders in Kampala, Uganda, where he led a delegation to the port’s transit market in the Great Lakes region. The Ugandan market constitutes about 70 per cent of the port’s transit market.
The transit market also recorded significant growth in traffic, with some 5.4 million tonnes handled last year, up from five million tonnes in 2009, representing a growth of eight per cent. Uganda registered a 6.3 per cent growth, with a total of 4.2 million tones passing through the port, compared to four million tonnes in 2009.
Last week, KPA received three Ship to Shore Gantry Cranes (STSs) from China, and a pilot boat and other equipment last week to beef up the current stock of equipment.
The Standard
The pace at which ships drop and pick up cargo has increased thanks to a number of measures affected in recent years at the port of Mombasa, officials now report.
Kenya
Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director, Gichiri Ndua, said container ship turnaround time (time taken by vessels to drop and pick cargo and leave the port) slightly improved to 4.2 days in the second quarter of 2011 from 4.3 days recorded in the corresponding period last year."The average container dwell time is now 6.1 days, against 13.1 days in 2008, reflecting an improvement of 114.8 per cent or 7 days," he said.
He was briefing Mombasa port stakeholders in Kampala, Uganda, where he led a delegation to the port’s transit market in the Great Lakes region. The Ugandan market constitutes about 70 per cent of the port’s transit market.
The transit market also recorded significant growth in traffic, with some 5.4 million tonnes handled last year, up from five million tonnes in 2009, representing a growth of eight per cent. Uganda registered a 6.3 per cent growth, with a total of 4.2 million tones passing through the port, compared to four million tonnes in 2009.
Last week, KPA received three Ship to Shore Gantry Cranes (STSs) from China, and a pilot boat and other equipment last week to beef up the current stock of equipment.
The Standard
South Africa may dehorn rhinos to stop poaching
South Africa is investigating dehorning its rhino population and stopping legal trophy hunts to fight a poaching crisis that has killed 279 animals this year, the environment minister said August 29.
Officials are considering putting a moratorium on rhino hunting to deal with abuses in the allocation of permits, which were issued to around 130 people last year and some 140 this year, Edna Molewa told reporters.
The ministry has also commissioned a study to look at the possibility of removing rhinos' horns, to deter poachers selling to the lucrative Asian blackmarket.
South Africa allows a limited number of legal hunts per year which are mostly of white rhinos, which number around 18,800, and allocates five permits per year for the critically endangered black rhino.
Legal trophy hunts drew 49 million rands ($6.9 million, 4.8 million euros) in revenue in 2009, said Molewa, speaking in Pretoria via a video link.
To address abuse of permits, officials are already planning to require provincial officials to supervise hunts and the collection of post-kill DNA samples.
But she said that any moratorium would not be within a year.
Molewa said her ministry is also commissioning a study into the viability of legalising the trade in rhino horn, which is internationally banned.
Poaching wiped out 333 rhinos last year in South Africa, up from 13 in 2007.
The army was deployed in April in the hard hit Kruger National Park, which has lost 169 rhinos this year, and armed soldiers have brought down poaching fatalities but have pushed hunters onto private reserves.
A poaching spike in 2008 was related to stories such as rhino horn being a cure for cancer as claimed by a Vietnamese cabinet minister, alongside increased demand from Asia with Vietnam a conduit, he said.
By end 2007, South Africa had conserved 35 percent of Africa's black rhino population, which now number around 2,200, and 93 percent of white rhinos.
The UN wildlife trade regulator this month called for stiffer penalties for poachers, with the price of a rhino horn per kilo fetching around $50,000.
AFP
Officials are considering putting a moratorium on rhino hunting to deal with abuses in the allocation of permits, which were issued to around 130 people last year and some 140 this year, Edna Molewa told reporters.
The ministry has also commissioned a study to look at the possibility of removing rhinos' horns, to deter poachers selling to the lucrative Asian blackmarket.
South Africa allows a limited number of legal hunts per year which are mostly of white rhinos, which number around 18,800, and allocates five permits per year for the critically endangered black rhino.
Legal trophy hunts drew 49 million rands ($6.9 million, 4.8 million euros) in revenue in 2009, said Molewa, speaking in Pretoria via a video link.
To address abuse of permits, officials are already planning to require provincial officials to supervise hunts and the collection of post-kill DNA samples.
But she said that any moratorium would not be within a year.
Molewa said her ministry is also commissioning a study into the viability of legalising the trade in rhino horn, which is internationally banned.
Poaching wiped out 333 rhinos last year in South Africa, up from 13 in 2007.
The army was deployed in April in the hard hit Kruger National Park, which has lost 169 rhinos this year, and armed soldiers have brought down poaching fatalities but have pushed hunters onto private reserves.
A poaching spike in 2008 was related to stories such as rhino horn being a cure for cancer as claimed by a Vietnamese cabinet minister, alongside increased demand from Asia with Vietnam a conduit, he said.
By end 2007, South Africa had conserved 35 percent of Africa's black rhino population, which now number around 2,200, and 93 percent of white rhinos.
The UN wildlife trade regulator this month called for stiffer penalties for poachers, with the price of a rhino horn per kilo fetching around $50,000.
AFP
August 26, 2011
China looks to protect its assets in a post-Gaddafi Libya
China is seeking to reaffirm its ties with Libya as it looks ahead to a future without Gaddafi, calling for its investments to be protected after rebels suggested they might freeze out countries that had not supported them.
"China's investment in Libya, especially its oil investment, is one aspect of mutual economic co-operation … and this co-operation is in the mutual interest of both the people of China and Libya," a commerce ministry official told reporters on August 23.
Wen Zhongliang, deputy head of the ministry's trade department, added: "We hope after a return to stability in Libya, Libya will continue to protect the interests and rights of Chinese investors and we hope to continue investment and economic co-operation."
His remarks came after an official at the Libyan rebel oil firm Agoco said: "We don't have a problem with western countries like the Italians, French and UK companies. But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil."
China abstained in the UN security council vote that authorised the Nato campaign, but then condemned the strikes and expressed "deep concern" about them. Despite that it has courted Libyan rebels, and praised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as a major political force in Libya and important dialogue partner. On August 22 a spokesman for the foreign ministry said China respected "the choice of the Libyan people" and hoped for a return to stability.
Last week, China's state news agency, Xinhua, said a rebel leader had urged Chinese enterprises to return. Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-president of the NTC, said it would honour all deals and contracts agreed with Gaddafi's government. Around 3% of China's crude oil imports came from Libya last year. According to Chinese media, around 75 companies were operating in Libya before the war, with 36,000 staff – who had to be evacuated in the largest such operation undertaken by China.
Yin Gang, an expert on the region at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, predicted that Beijing could develop stronger ties with a Libya under new leadership.
"After the civil war, which has destroyed a lot of infrastructure, Libya will face [the task of] reconstruction. China will make use of its advantages and competitiveness to get involved," he predicted.
Yin added: "China's share in Libya's natural resources was less than 1%, almost negligible, and I don't think it will increase in the future. The most important relationship between these two countries is not [about] oil at all, but labour and technology export."
The Guardian
"China's investment in Libya, especially its oil investment, is one aspect of mutual economic co-operation … and this co-operation is in the mutual interest of both the people of China and Libya," a commerce ministry official told reporters on August 23.
Wen Zhongliang, deputy head of the ministry's trade department, added: "We hope after a return to stability in Libya, Libya will continue to protect the interests and rights of Chinese investors and we hope to continue investment and economic co-operation."
His remarks came after an official at the Libyan rebel oil firm Agoco said: "We don't have a problem with western countries like the Italians, French and UK companies. But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil."
China abstained in the UN security council vote that authorised the Nato campaign, but then condemned the strikes and expressed "deep concern" about them. Despite that it has courted Libyan rebels, and praised the National Transitional Council (NTC) as a major political force in Libya and important dialogue partner. On August 22 a spokesman for the foreign ministry said China respected "the choice of the Libyan people" and hoped for a return to stability.
Last week, China's state news agency, Xinhua, said a rebel leader had urged Chinese enterprises to return. Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-president of the NTC, said it would honour all deals and contracts agreed with Gaddafi's government. Around 3% of China's crude oil imports came from Libya last year. According to Chinese media, around 75 companies were operating in Libya before the war, with 36,000 staff – who had to be evacuated in the largest such operation undertaken by China.
Yin Gang, an expert on the region at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, predicted that Beijing could develop stronger ties with a Libya under new leadership.
"After the civil war, which has destroyed a lot of infrastructure, Libya will face [the task of] reconstruction. China will make use of its advantages and competitiveness to get involved," he predicted.
Yin added: "China's share in Libya's natural resources was less than 1%, almost negligible, and I don't think it will increase in the future. The most important relationship between these two countries is not [about] oil at all, but labour and technology export."
The Guardian
What next for Libyan firms in Uganda?
by Siki Kigongo and Henry Mukasa
The fate of several Libyan investments in Uganda is still unknown after rebels fighting to topple Muammar Gaddafi’s four decade rule swept into Tripoli.
Libya’s investment arm, the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO) acquired several business interests in Uganda under the Gadafii administration.
The Libyan Africa Investment Portfolio has invested $375m (about sh900b) into Uganda’s agriculture, hotel, health, infrastructure, construction, food and finance sectors.
Most prominent of the businesses include the National Housing Corporation, uganda telecom, Soluble Coffee Plant, Tropical Bank, House of Dawda, Uganda Pharmaceuticals, Lake Victoria Hotel Entebbe and Tamoil.
Libya owns 99.69% of Tropical Bank formerly known as the Libya Arab Foreign Bank. However, when the UN slammed sanctions on Libya in February, the Bank of Uganda took over the operations of Tropical Bank in accordance with the sanctions.
The Libyans also own 49% in National Housing and Construction Corporation, with shares worth $21.1m in developing the housing projects at Lubowa housing estate and Naalya housing estate.
In 2007, Libya sealed a partnership with the Uganda Coffee Development Authority to construct an $11m Soluble Coffee Plant to add value to local coffee. In March 2009, the Government gave the Jinja national oil reserve to Tamoil.
Tamoil was supposed to construct the Kampala Oil Products Terminal and the $250m Eldoret-Kampala oil pipeline. Libya Africa Portfolio’s Green Com in March 2007 acquired a 51% in uganda telecom.
New Vision
Zimbabwe raises electricity tariffs 31%
Zimbabwe's electricity regulator has ordered a 31% tariff increase, in a move it said was meant to ensure the State-owned power utility ZESA's profitability, the authority said on Thursday.
The increase would see the average tariff going up to 9.3 c/kWh, from the current 7.5 c/kWh, with effect from September 1, the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission (ZERC) said in a statement.
ZESA, the country's sole power supplier, has often blamed low tariffs as one of the reasons behind erratic electricity supplies.
The southern African country currently generates less than 1 000 MW against demand of more than 2 000 MW, a situation that has held back the recovery of the key mining and manufacturing sectors.
Zimbabwe compliments local power generation with imports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zambia.
Reuters
The increase would see the average tariff going up to 9.3 c/kWh, from the current 7.5 c/kWh, with effect from September 1, the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission (ZERC) said in a statement.
ZESA, the country's sole power supplier, has often blamed low tariffs as one of the reasons behind erratic electricity supplies.
The southern African country currently generates less than 1 000 MW against demand of more than 2 000 MW, a situation that has held back the recovery of the key mining and manufacturing sectors.
Zimbabwe compliments local power generation with imports from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Zambia.
Reuters
Zimbabwe moves on local shareholding in foreign banks
Zimbabwe is considering not forcing foreign banks to sell majority stakes to locals as it is requiring mining companies to do under indigenisation legislation, the finance minister said August 23.
"Banks are different from mines, mines sit on capital, banks are conveyors of capital ... Naturally a different approach needs to be recognised..." Tendai Biti told journalists.
Under the country's empowerment laws, black Zimbabweans should acquire 51 percent of foreign businesses.
"What we have done is that we have made submissions to the ministry of indigenisation on agreement of a threshold, we have not agreed on a threshold," said Biti.
A state daily reported last week that Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere had given 13 foreign companies including mining firms and banks two weeks to submit plans to sell their majority shares to locals or risk nationalisation.
The new indigenisation law is strongly supported by veteran President Robert Mugabe but has created tensions within the unity government, with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai arguing that it will discourage investment.
Biti, an ally of Tsvangirai, said the government asked foreign banks to outline how they want to include locals in their share structure adding that a new position will be based on the current negotiations.
The minister said he met on Monday with representatives of Standard Bank, Barclays Bank and Stanbic Bank.
Central bank chief Gideon Gono has also warned against the taking over of foreign banks.
The indigenisation ministry has also put pressure on foreign banks to step up their investment in the country.
Kasukuwere has written to Stanbic, a Zimbabwean subsidiary of Standard Bank, telling it to invest up to $1 billion (700 million euros) in the Zimbabwean economy, Business Day newspaper reported.
AFP
"Banks are different from mines, mines sit on capital, banks are conveyors of capital ... Naturally a different approach needs to be recognised..." Tendai Biti told journalists.
Under the country's empowerment laws, black Zimbabweans should acquire 51 percent of foreign businesses.
"What we have done is that we have made submissions to the ministry of indigenisation on agreement of a threshold, we have not agreed on a threshold," said Biti.
A state daily reported last week that Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere had given 13 foreign companies including mining firms and banks two weeks to submit plans to sell their majority shares to locals or risk nationalisation.
The new indigenisation law is strongly supported by veteran President Robert Mugabe but has created tensions within the unity government, with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai arguing that it will discourage investment.
Biti, an ally of Tsvangirai, said the government asked foreign banks to outline how they want to include locals in their share structure adding that a new position will be based on the current negotiations.
The minister said he met on Monday with representatives of Standard Bank, Barclays Bank and Stanbic Bank.
Central bank chief Gideon Gono has also warned against the taking over of foreign banks.
The indigenisation ministry has also put pressure on foreign banks to step up their investment in the country.
Kasukuwere has written to Stanbic, a Zimbabwean subsidiary of Standard Bank, telling it to invest up to $1 billion (700 million euros) in the Zimbabwean economy, Business Day newspaper reported.
AFP
Zambia to build two new power plants
Zambia plans to build two new hydro power plants that are expected to add a total of 247 MW to the national grid and boost regional supply by 2016, a senior executive said on August 23.
Elisha Tsindikidzo, the chief executive officer of Zambia's Lunzua Power Authority said the project was estimated to cost $650-million, which will be raised through debt and equity financing.
The plant, the first large-scale electricity generator in northern Zambia, would supply power to the copper mines and was also expected to feed planned manganese mines, he said.
"It entails construction of two power stations with capacities of 96 MW and 151 MW and associated transmission lines," Tsindikidzo said.
Tsindikidzo said foreign investors were willing to fund the project because of the power deficit in southern Africa.
"We already mobilised commitments of interest for the financing and new equity partners should come on board by the end of this year," he said, without naming the investors.
Preliminary engineering work had already started and construction would begin by 2013, he said.
Zambia's peak electricity demand currently stands at about 1 580 MW against available generation of 1 401 MW, according to estimates by Zambia's energy regulator.
Reuters
Elisha Tsindikidzo, the chief executive officer of Zambia's Lunzua Power Authority said the project was estimated to cost $650-million, which will be raised through debt and equity financing.
The plant, the first large-scale electricity generator in northern Zambia, would supply power to the copper mines and was also expected to feed planned manganese mines, he said.
"It entails construction of two power stations with capacities of 96 MW and 151 MW and associated transmission lines," Tsindikidzo said.
Tsindikidzo said foreign investors were willing to fund the project because of the power deficit in southern Africa.
"We already mobilised commitments of interest for the financing and new equity partners should come on board by the end of this year," he said, without naming the investors.
Preliminary engineering work had already started and construction would begin by 2013, he said.
Zambia's peak electricity demand currently stands at about 1 580 MW against available generation of 1 401 MW, according to estimates by Zambia's energy regulator.
Reuters
Tusks from over 500 elephants seized in Zanzibar
Tanzanian officials have confiscated 1,041 elephant tusks they found hidden in sacks of dried fish at the Port of Zanzibar, authorities said on August 24. The island of Zanzibar is located in the Indian Ocean, about 22 miles off the coast of mainland Tanzania. Shipping documents for the container in which the elephant tusks were discovered show the destination as Malaysia.
Two suspects are in custody and are being questioned, Zanzibar police spokesman Mohammed Mhina said.
"Interpol officials from Dar es Salaam have arrived to investigate the incident," he said of the international police force.
The seizure comes as 27 wildlife law enforcement officials from 11 Southern African countries gather in Gaborone, Botswana this week for a training session on the prevention of illegal trade in wildlife given jointly by Interpol and the nonprofit International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"This seizure makes it clear that the ongoing Interpol wildlife enforcement training, which IFAW is supporting in Gabarone, is vital to saving elephants - particularly those elephants of the Congo Basin which are most threatened," said Kelvin Alie, IFAW's Wildlife Trade Programme director. "While we gather to discuss combating the ivory trade, elephants continue to be killed for their ivory."
... conservationists say they were "stunned" by news of the seizure.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, approved a complete ban on trade in ivory in 1989, following a decade of bloodshed when 700,000 elephants were slaughtered. But since then there have been numerous concerted efforts to re-open legal trade, and two legal sales of ivory approved by CITES.
"Many experts believe the battle for elephants must not only be fought in the forests or on the savannahs of Africa, or even in the ivory markets of the Far East, but in the corridors of power at CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species," said Travers. "Africa's elephants need action - and they need it now."
The elephant battles at CITES are truly something to behold. Elephant and ivory trade discussions are possibly the most divisive and contentious issues discussed by the 175 countries that have signed the treaty.
In 1999, CITES approved a legal export of 58 tonnes of ivory from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana to Japan.
In 2008, China joined Japan as an approved "ivory trading partner" in a decision that the United Kingdom government justified at the time as an attempt to satisfy demand and thus reduce poaching.
In 2009, the second CITES-approved shipment of 108 tonnes of ivory to China and Japan took place, despite an international outcry that such legal trade would surely only stimulate demand, and therefore increase poaching.
In 2010, Tanzania and Zambia both asked CITES for approval to sell their stockpiled ivory. However, a group of 23 African elephant range states, known as the African Elephant Coalition, prevented this from happening. More ivory trade proposals are predicted for future CITES meetings, which take place every three years.
Conservationists point out that elephant poaching levels now are rising. "Seizures of illegal ivory this year alone run into tens of thousands of kilos; and the price of illegal raw ivory in the Far East has risen exponentially," Travers said.
A recent report by the EU-funded Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants Programme (MIKE) reveals an upward trend in poaching across East, Southern and Central Africa.
"There are not enough elephants left on this planet to meet Asian demand for ivory," said Shelley Waterland, Born Free's wildlife trade expert.
"Enforcement efforts are essential, but so is reducing demand. A complete ban on any trade in ivory whatsoever must be the only way forward if we are to have any hope of saving elephants across their current range," Waterland said. "Many fragile populations will simply not survive for very much longer if this level of threat continues unabated."
China is now recognized by CITES as the single biggest consumer of illegal ivory. "With the growth in disposable income of Chinese citizens," Travers says, "many believe the demand will keep on rising."
As a matter of urgency, Born Free is calling for China's status as an approved ivory trading partner to be withdrawn.
The group says all countries should agree that future proposals to sell stockpiled ivory be abandoned.
The conservationists are calling on Interpol and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force to step up measures to infiltrate and destroy the organized criminal gangs that operate the poaching syndicates responsible for the current high level of illegal elephant poaching.
In addition, conservationists say money is needed to support law enforcement. "What elephant range states now need is the commitment of the international community to financially support these highly skilled and motivated trainees to be able to meet the task of protecting elephants and stop the legal trade in ivory which facilitates poaching and illegal trade," said Alie.
An African elephant trust fund for the implementation of an African Elephant Action Plan was launched last week at a meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, which manages the affairs of the agency between the tri-annual meetings.
CITES officials and conservationists are urging the international community to join the Netherlands, France and Germany in donating to the African Elephant Fund, which has a goal of $100 million over the next three years. The fund is intended to help pay for priority elephant conservation actions identified in the African Elephant Action Plan, which has been agreed by all 37 African elephant range states.
ENS Newswire
Two suspects are in custody and are being questioned, Zanzibar police spokesman Mohammed Mhina said.
"Interpol officials from Dar es Salaam have arrived to investigate the incident," he said of the international police force.
The seizure comes as 27 wildlife law enforcement officials from 11 Southern African countries gather in Gaborone, Botswana this week for a training session on the prevention of illegal trade in wildlife given jointly by Interpol and the nonprofit International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"This seizure makes it clear that the ongoing Interpol wildlife enforcement training, which IFAW is supporting in Gabarone, is vital to saving elephants - particularly those elephants of the Congo Basin which are most threatened," said Kelvin Alie, IFAW's Wildlife Trade Programme director. "While we gather to discuss combating the ivory trade, elephants continue to be killed for their ivory."
... conservationists say they were "stunned" by news of the seizure.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, CITES, approved a complete ban on trade in ivory in 1989, following a decade of bloodshed when 700,000 elephants were slaughtered. But since then there have been numerous concerted efforts to re-open legal trade, and two legal sales of ivory approved by CITES.
"Many experts believe the battle for elephants must not only be fought in the forests or on the savannahs of Africa, or even in the ivory markets of the Far East, but in the corridors of power at CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species," said Travers. "Africa's elephants need action - and they need it now."
The elephant battles at CITES are truly something to behold. Elephant and ivory trade discussions are possibly the most divisive and contentious issues discussed by the 175 countries that have signed the treaty.
In 1999, CITES approved a legal export of 58 tonnes of ivory from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana to Japan.
In 2008, China joined Japan as an approved "ivory trading partner" in a decision that the United Kingdom government justified at the time as an attempt to satisfy demand and thus reduce poaching.
In 2009, the second CITES-approved shipment of 108 tonnes of ivory to China and Japan took place, despite an international outcry that such legal trade would surely only stimulate demand, and therefore increase poaching.
In 2010, Tanzania and Zambia both asked CITES for approval to sell their stockpiled ivory. However, a group of 23 African elephant range states, known as the African Elephant Coalition, prevented this from happening. More ivory trade proposals are predicted for future CITES meetings, which take place every three years.
Conservationists point out that elephant poaching levels now are rising. "Seizures of illegal ivory this year alone run into tens of thousands of kilos; and the price of illegal raw ivory in the Far East has risen exponentially," Travers said.
A recent report by the EU-funded Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants Programme (MIKE) reveals an upward trend in poaching across East, Southern and Central Africa.
"There are not enough elephants left on this planet to meet Asian demand for ivory," said Shelley Waterland, Born Free's wildlife trade expert.
"Enforcement efforts are essential, but so is reducing demand. A complete ban on any trade in ivory whatsoever must be the only way forward if we are to have any hope of saving elephants across their current range," Waterland said. "Many fragile populations will simply not survive for very much longer if this level of threat continues unabated."
China is now recognized by CITES as the single biggest consumer of illegal ivory. "With the growth in disposable income of Chinese citizens," Travers says, "many believe the demand will keep on rising."
As a matter of urgency, Born Free is calling for China's status as an approved ivory trading partner to be withdrawn.
The group says all countries should agree that future proposals to sell stockpiled ivory be abandoned.
The conservationists are calling on Interpol and the Lusaka Agreement Task Force to step up measures to infiltrate and destroy the organized criminal gangs that operate the poaching syndicates responsible for the current high level of illegal elephant poaching.
In addition, conservationists say money is needed to support law enforcement. "What elephant range states now need is the commitment of the international community to financially support these highly skilled and motivated trainees to be able to meet the task of protecting elephants and stop the legal trade in ivory which facilitates poaching and illegal trade," said Alie.
An African elephant trust fund for the implementation of an African Elephant Action Plan was launched last week at a meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, which manages the affairs of the agency between the tri-annual meetings.
CITES officials and conservationists are urging the international community to join the Netherlands, France and Germany in donating to the African Elephant Fund, which has a goal of $100 million over the next three years. The fund is intended to help pay for priority elephant conservation actions identified in the African Elephant Action Plan, which has been agreed by all 37 African elephant range states.
ENS Newswire
Vietnam exports to Africa on the rise
Viet Nam exported US$2.6 billion worth of goods to Africa in the first seven months of this year, a surge of 172 per cent against the same period in 2010, according to the General Department of Customs.
The department said Africa was one of the few markets that Viet Nam saw a trade surplus, which has reached $1.88 billion so far this year.
Viet Nam's exports to South Africa rose six-fold against the same period last year to $1.5 billion. Exports to Senegal rose three-fold to $154 million; to Egypt, 36 per cent to $75 million, and to Ghana, 27 per cent to $124 million.
In the first seven months of this year, Vietnamese rice exports to Africa accounted for 25-30 per cent of the country's total annual rice exports. Senegal was the biggest rice importer by volume, with exports to the west African country totalling $143 million. It was followed by the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which imported rice worth $86 million and $56 million, respectively.
By the end of 2011, rice exports to Africa are expected to total 9.8 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 2 per cent.
Meanwhile, the export of goods such as garments, footwear, seafood, telephones and communication accessories have gained a firm foothold in the African market.
"Viet Nam's exports to the market will exceed $3 billion by the end of this year, a yearly rise of 80 per cent," said Ly Quoc Hung, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Africa-Western Asia-South Asia Department.
Vietnam News
The department said Africa was one of the few markets that Viet Nam saw a trade surplus, which has reached $1.88 billion so far this year.
Viet Nam's exports to South Africa rose six-fold against the same period last year to $1.5 billion. Exports to Senegal rose three-fold to $154 million; to Egypt, 36 per cent to $75 million, and to Ghana, 27 per cent to $124 million.
In the first seven months of this year, Vietnamese rice exports to Africa accounted for 25-30 per cent of the country's total annual rice exports. Senegal was the biggest rice importer by volume, with exports to the west African country totalling $143 million. It was followed by the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which imported rice worth $86 million and $56 million, respectively.
By the end of 2011, rice exports to Africa are expected to total 9.8 million tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 2 per cent.
Meanwhile, the export of goods such as garments, footwear, seafood, telephones and communication accessories have gained a firm foothold in the African market.
"Viet Nam's exports to the market will exceed $3 billion by the end of this year, a yearly rise of 80 per cent," said Ly Quoc Hung, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Africa-Western Asia-South Asia Department.
Vietnam News
Future bright for UAE-South Africa trade ties
There are strong and historical trading ties between the UAE and South Africa. In 2010, the total value of Dubai direct exports to the country was estimated at Dh219 million. The key export sectors include plastics and polyesters, facial tissues and sanitary paper towels, glass products, gold, chocolate and cocoa preparations, perfumes and cosmetics, and lubricants and base oils.
Khaleej Times
Khaleej Times
Ghana is South Africa's second largest West African export market
by Ekow Quandzie
Exports of goods and services from South Africa into Ghana have grown from about $138 million to $416 million in ten years.
Products such as vehicles, machinery, mechanical appliances; electrical equipment, base metals, aircraft, vessels & associated products have contributed to the increased exports to Ghana, SA government officials say. This makes Ghana the second largest export market for South African goods in West Africa after Nigeria.
“South African exports have grown from less than one billion rand (approximately $139 million) in 1998 to over 3 billion rand ($417 million) in 2008. We thank you, Mr President, for creating an opportunity for South African business people to invest in Ghana,” Mr. Zuma told President Mills in Cape Town today August 23, 2011.
Some of the South African companies which have invested in Ghana include MTN, Telkom, Standard Bank, Gold Fields, SABMiller, Woolworths, Engen, Hytec Engineering, Multichoice, Alliance Media, Steeldale, Stanbic Bank, Shoprite Checkers, Sherwood, Steers and South African Airways.
Ghanaweb
Exports of goods and services from South Africa into Ghana have grown from about $138 million to $416 million in ten years.
Products such as vehicles, machinery, mechanical appliances; electrical equipment, base metals, aircraft, vessels & associated products have contributed to the increased exports to Ghana, SA government officials say. This makes Ghana the second largest export market for South African goods in West Africa after Nigeria.
“South African exports have grown from less than one billion rand (approximately $139 million) in 1998 to over 3 billion rand ($417 million) in 2008. We thank you, Mr President, for creating an opportunity for South African business people to invest in Ghana,” Mr. Zuma told President Mills in Cape Town today August 23, 2011.
Some of the South African companies which have invested in Ghana include MTN, Telkom, Standard Bank, Gold Fields, SABMiller, Woolworths, Engen, Hytec Engineering, Multichoice, Alliance Media, Steeldale, Stanbic Bank, Shoprite Checkers, Sherwood, Steers and South African Airways.
Ghanaweb
August 23, 2011
1 Libya-Kenya trade deals likely to collapse
2 Why Chinese investment in Nigeria is weak
3 China becomes South Africa's biggest export destination
4 Pirate attacks surge in Gulf of Guinea
5 French company to expand Guinea port facilities
6 Tanzania suspends officials over wildlife smuggling
7 Somaliland in port deal with China businessmen
8 China's $15.7 million trade incentives to Rwanda
9 Rwanda: cross border trade surges
10 Baggage theft 'out of control' at South Africa's main airport
11 Mauritius trade deficit narrows
12 Nigeria markets Free Trade Zone in Lagos
13 Senegalese government may nationalize telecommunications company
2 Why Chinese investment in Nigeria is weak
3 China becomes South Africa's biggest export destination
4 Pirate attacks surge in Gulf of Guinea
5 French company to expand Guinea port facilities
6 Tanzania suspends officials over wildlife smuggling
7 Somaliland in port deal with China businessmen
8 China's $15.7 million trade incentives to Rwanda
9 Rwanda: cross border trade surges
10 Baggage theft 'out of control' at South Africa's main airport
11 Mauritius trade deficit narrows
12 Nigeria markets Free Trade Zone in Lagos
13 Senegalese government may nationalize telecommunications company
Libya-Kenya trade deals likely to collapse
by Lola Okulo
The fall of Libyan long time leader Muammar Gaddafi will be felt in Kenya's economy as certain projects initiated under his rule remain indefinitely on hold.
Key among them is the expansion of the Kenya Uganda pipeline that was to be undertaken by Libyan firm Tamoil East Africa. The agreement for the $300 million project was signed in 2007 after intense lobbying by the Libyan government which also pledged to finance over 70 per cent of the costs. Construction of the pipeline was to start in 2008 but has been delayed by various challenges among them a change in design for the project demanded by Uganda.
In a visit to Libya in 2007, President Mwai Kibaki signed a series of agreements aimed at enhancing trade and investements between the two countries. Among those agreed upon were establishment of direct air transport between Kenya and Libya and giving each other the status of most favoured nation in trade. The status would have accorded preferential treatment for trade and investments of the two countries as regards to custom duties and other tax charges. The direct flights which were aimed at increasing flow of tourists and trade flow are yet to be launched.
Prior to the war, Kenya was also eyeing concessional rate of petroleum products from Libya to cushion the country from a high oil import bill. Ocassionally, Gaddaffi would also invite Kenyan business leaders to the country, which now lies in jeopardy.
However, despite the now likely broken promises of increased investments in infrastructure and other trade enhancement projects by Gaddafi, the two main Libyan businesses in the Kenya-Oilibya and Laico Regency hotel have vowed it will be business as usual.
"There is no cause for concern because Oilibya belongs to the people of Libya and not to Gaddafi or his family. Governments come and go and whatever the changes that may be, they should not have any effect on our business," said Oilibya's Managing Director Rida Elamir.
Laico Regency's Public Relations Officer Jeniffer Wanza said the hotel's operations will be normal as it has been running well ever since the rebels and government forces started fighting for control of the country in February. The hotel is owned by Libya Africa Investment Company, which is run using state funds.
Nairobi Star
The fall of Libyan long time leader Muammar Gaddafi will be felt in Kenya's economy as certain projects initiated under his rule remain indefinitely on hold.
Key among them is the expansion of the Kenya Uganda pipeline that was to be undertaken by Libyan firm Tamoil East Africa. The agreement for the $300 million project was signed in 2007 after intense lobbying by the Libyan government which also pledged to finance over 70 per cent of the costs. Construction of the pipeline was to start in 2008 but has been delayed by various challenges among them a change in design for the project demanded by Uganda.
In a visit to Libya in 2007, President Mwai Kibaki signed a series of agreements aimed at enhancing trade and investements between the two countries. Among those agreed upon were establishment of direct air transport between Kenya and Libya and giving each other the status of most favoured nation in trade. The status would have accorded preferential treatment for trade and investments of the two countries as regards to custom duties and other tax charges. The direct flights which were aimed at increasing flow of tourists and trade flow are yet to be launched.
Prior to the war, Kenya was also eyeing concessional rate of petroleum products from Libya to cushion the country from a high oil import bill. Ocassionally, Gaddaffi would also invite Kenyan business leaders to the country, which now lies in jeopardy.
However, despite the now likely broken promises of increased investments in infrastructure and other trade enhancement projects by Gaddafi, the two main Libyan businesses in the Kenya-Oilibya and Laico Regency hotel have vowed it will be business as usual.
"There is no cause for concern because Oilibya belongs to the people of Libya and not to Gaddafi or his family. Governments come and go and whatever the changes that may be, they should not have any effect on our business," said Oilibya's Managing Director Rida Elamir.
Laico Regency's Public Relations Officer Jeniffer Wanza said the hotel's operations will be normal as it has been running well ever since the rebels and government forces started fighting for control of the country in February. The hotel is owned by Libya Africa Investment Company, which is run using state funds.
Nairobi Star
Why Chinese investment in Nigeria is weak
by John Campbell
Given that Nigeria has the second largest economy in Africa and that its population of almost 160 million includes one out of every four or five sub-Saharan Africans, the Chinese presence is relatively anemic. A press report of an exchange between Rong Yansong, the economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Abuja, and Samuel Ortom, the Nigerian minister for trade and investment, provides a window into some of the issues.
Yansong claimed that Chinese enterprises in Nigeria employ over forty thousand Nigerians. In a country as big as Nigeria, and where Chinese involvement is heavily in construction, this does not seem to be a large number. A long-standing Nigerian complaint is Chinese reluctance to use Nigerian labor, including the unskilled labor often required at construction sites in developing countries. Yansong appears to be responding to that complaint.
He also said that the value of trade and investment between China and Nigeria is now 8.2 billion dollars and could reach ten billion dollars by the end for the year. For comparison’s sake, the value of U.S.-Nigeria trade in 2010 was about 34.6 billion dollars and U.S. direct investment in Nigeria in 2009 was about five billion, mostly in the oil sector. Nigerians have long complained that the reality of Chinese investment in Nigeria does not match its rhetoric.
The Nigerians also regularly complain that the Chinese destroyed the Nigerian textile industry by flooding the domestic market with shoddy textiles, which often enter the country illegally with the connivance of Nigerian customs officials. In response, where it is possible, the Nigerian authorities have tried to tighten enforcement of various inspection regimes for imports.
In their conversation, the press reports that Yansong asked Minister Ortom to secure final Nigerian approval of a draft agreement on industrial inspection. In response, Ortom apparently assured Yansong that his ministry’s mandate is to ensure that Nigeria’s trade and investment environment is conducive for foreign investors. But the press does not report him as responding directly to Yansong’s request.
The Chinese are trying to develop their economic ties with Nigeria. But they must overcome the popular Nigerian perception that they are racist – hence their unwillingness to use African labor– and that they are predatory – hence the view that they destroyed the indigenous Nigerian textile industry. Chatham House has published a fascinating report on then-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s efforts to trade oil blocks for Chinese infrastructure construction – with a big off-the-top to finance his political ambitions. It all went to bits when Umaru Yar’Adua became president and annulled most (not all) of the contracts.
Council on Foreign Relations
Given that Nigeria has the second largest economy in Africa and that its population of almost 160 million includes one out of every four or five sub-Saharan Africans, the Chinese presence is relatively anemic. A press report of an exchange between Rong Yansong, the economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese embassy in Abuja, and Samuel Ortom, the Nigerian minister for trade and investment, provides a window into some of the issues.
Yansong claimed that Chinese enterprises in Nigeria employ over forty thousand Nigerians. In a country as big as Nigeria, and where Chinese involvement is heavily in construction, this does not seem to be a large number. A long-standing Nigerian complaint is Chinese reluctance to use Nigerian labor, including the unskilled labor often required at construction sites in developing countries. Yansong appears to be responding to that complaint.
He also said that the value of trade and investment between China and Nigeria is now 8.2 billion dollars and could reach ten billion dollars by the end for the year. For comparison’s sake, the value of U.S.-Nigeria trade in 2010 was about 34.6 billion dollars and U.S. direct investment in Nigeria in 2009 was about five billion, mostly in the oil sector. Nigerians have long complained that the reality of Chinese investment in Nigeria does not match its rhetoric.
The Nigerians also regularly complain that the Chinese destroyed the Nigerian textile industry by flooding the domestic market with shoddy textiles, which often enter the country illegally with the connivance of Nigerian customs officials. In response, where it is possible, the Nigerian authorities have tried to tighten enforcement of various inspection regimes for imports.
In their conversation, the press reports that Yansong asked Minister Ortom to secure final Nigerian approval of a draft agreement on industrial inspection. In response, Ortom apparently assured Yansong that his ministry’s mandate is to ensure that Nigeria’s trade and investment environment is conducive for foreign investors. But the press does not report him as responding directly to Yansong’s request.
The Chinese are trying to develop their economic ties with Nigeria. But they must overcome the popular Nigerian perception that they are racist – hence their unwillingness to use African labor– and that they are predatory – hence the view that they destroyed the indigenous Nigerian textile industry. Chatham House has published a fascinating report on then-president Olusegun Obasanjo’s efforts to trade oil blocks for Chinese infrastructure construction – with a big off-the-top to finance his political ambitions. It all went to bits when Umaru Yar’Adua became president and annulled most (not all) of the contracts.
Council on Foreign Relations
China becomes South Africa's biggest export destination
China became South Africa's top export destination at the end of 2010 due to strengthened bilateral trade links, according to South African ambassador Bheki Langa.
Investment between the two countries surged to nearly seven billion U.S. dollars at the end of last year, the ambassador said in a recent interview.
China Customs statistics show that trade between China and South Africa totaled 25.6 billion U.S. dollars throughout 2010. Imports from South Africa reached 14.8 billion U.S. dollars during the same period.
Langa said what South Africa exported to China were mainly primary products and they hope to export products with more added-value to the Chinese market in future. South Africa's abundant mineral resources will provide good opportunities for potential investors in China, he added.
South Africa has grown into a regional hub from where Chinese investors can go further into the continent. China and South Africa have become the largest two investors in Africa, according to the ambassador.
Xinhua
Investment between the two countries surged to nearly seven billion U.S. dollars at the end of last year, the ambassador said in a recent interview.
China Customs statistics show that trade between China and South Africa totaled 25.6 billion U.S. dollars throughout 2010. Imports from South Africa reached 14.8 billion U.S. dollars during the same period.
Langa said what South Africa exported to China were mainly primary products and they hope to export products with more added-value to the Chinese market in future. South Africa's abundant mineral resources will provide good opportunities for potential investors in China, he added.
South Africa has grown into a regional hub from where Chinese investors can go further into the continent. China and South Africa have become the largest two investors in Africa, according to the ambassador.
Xinhua
Pirate attacks surge in Gulf of Guinea
by Anne Look
Piracy attacks are escalating in the Gulf of Guinea, endangering the future of one of the world's emerging shipping hubs and highlighting the weak state of maritime security in West Africa.
The Gulf of Guinea stretches along a dozen West and Central African countries, including Nigeria and Angola, the continent's top oil producers.
Though waters off the coast of Somalia remain the uncontested epicenter of global piracy, the Gulf of Guinea has reported an alarming spike in attacks this year, particularly off the coast of Benin.
Raymond Gilpin, the director of the Center for Sustainable Economies at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said, "It's clear that the gang or gangs involved in this know exactly what they are looking for - oil tankers that are either anchored or moored in some form. The intent is to take over the vessel, direct it to a safe location and offload its cargo."
Armed robbery at sea is not new to the Gulf of Guinea, nor is the illegal sale of oil stolen from its waters in West African and European ports. Over the past six months, however, analysts say the attacks have become more systematic and the criminals, more organized.
Naval authorities say evidence suggests the pirates are from Nigeria.
Gilpin said their method of attack, particularly their use of violence, resembles that of criminals in the Niger Delta. Ships that are taken over, he said, also are often diverted to waters near the Nigerian border.
The International Maritime Bureau said 15 attacks were reported off the coast of Benin in the first half of this year, up from zero last year.
Gilpin said increased security in Nigerian waters could be behind the spike.
"The Nigerian navy in collaboration with a number of international partners have done a lot to shore up security in and around the Delta region. Crime looks for the soft underbelly, the weak link," he said. "Here in neighboring Benin, much thought had not been given to systematic maritime security and so anchored vessels are a lot more vulnerable off the coast of Benin than they would be in Nigeria."
Gilpin said most of the attacks are happening between 10 kilometers and 30 kilometers off the coast, meaning you could watch some of them happening with a good pair of binoculars.
While the U.S. and other Western nations actively patrol the waters off Somalia in search of pirates, West African navies are left to mind the Gulf of Guinea on their own. Analysts say many lack even the most basic tools to confront criminal activity, like radar equipment and patrol boats.
Economists say attacks in the region could have serious financial implications, including a spike in global oil prices. International shipping companies could face higher insurance premiums or might simply avoid the trade route altogether. West African consumers would then see increased costs for imported goods like rice and electronics.
Attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea are consistently underreported, particularly off the coast of Nigeria.
Kwesi Aning, head of research for the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Ghana, said every country has been hit.
"It is a much more widespread set of activities. They are trying to make us all think that piracy is about oil in the Gulf of Guinea," said Aning. "That is not true. It is also about narcotics. It's about small arms. It's about human trafficking. So some of us are looking it through our own lenses, what do we think as Africans that maritime security does for us."
Navies are all but nonexistent, he said, leaving overlapping criminal networks free to rob ships and move illicit goods through the gulf.
Analysts say piracy is a regional problem in need of a regional response, but so far there has been little progress. West African navies, they say, must become as proactive and transnational as the criminals they face.
VOA News
Piracy attacks are escalating in the Gulf of Guinea, endangering the future of one of the world's emerging shipping hubs and highlighting the weak state of maritime security in West Africa.
The Gulf of Guinea stretches along a dozen West and Central African countries, including Nigeria and Angola, the continent's top oil producers.
Though waters off the coast of Somalia remain the uncontested epicenter of global piracy, the Gulf of Guinea has reported an alarming spike in attacks this year, particularly off the coast of Benin.
Raymond Gilpin, the director of the Center for Sustainable Economies at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said, "It's clear that the gang or gangs involved in this know exactly what they are looking for - oil tankers that are either anchored or moored in some form. The intent is to take over the vessel, direct it to a safe location and offload its cargo."
Armed robbery at sea is not new to the Gulf of Guinea, nor is the illegal sale of oil stolen from its waters in West African and European ports. Over the past six months, however, analysts say the attacks have become more systematic and the criminals, more organized.
Naval authorities say evidence suggests the pirates are from Nigeria.
Gilpin said their method of attack, particularly their use of violence, resembles that of criminals in the Niger Delta. Ships that are taken over, he said, also are often diverted to waters near the Nigerian border.
The International Maritime Bureau said 15 attacks were reported off the coast of Benin in the first half of this year, up from zero last year.
Gilpin said increased security in Nigerian waters could be behind the spike.
"The Nigerian navy in collaboration with a number of international partners have done a lot to shore up security in and around the Delta region. Crime looks for the soft underbelly, the weak link," he said. "Here in neighboring Benin, much thought had not been given to systematic maritime security and so anchored vessels are a lot more vulnerable off the coast of Benin than they would be in Nigeria."
Gilpin said most of the attacks are happening between 10 kilometers and 30 kilometers off the coast, meaning you could watch some of them happening with a good pair of binoculars.
While the U.S. and other Western nations actively patrol the waters off Somalia in search of pirates, West African navies are left to mind the Gulf of Guinea on their own. Analysts say many lack even the most basic tools to confront criminal activity, like radar equipment and patrol boats.
Economists say attacks in the region could have serious financial implications, including a spike in global oil prices. International shipping companies could face higher insurance premiums or might simply avoid the trade route altogether. West African consumers would then see increased costs for imported goods like rice and electronics.
Attacks on ships in the Gulf of Guinea are consistently underreported, particularly off the coast of Nigeria.
Kwesi Aning, head of research for the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center in Ghana, said every country has been hit.
"It is a much more widespread set of activities. They are trying to make us all think that piracy is about oil in the Gulf of Guinea," said Aning. "That is not true. It is also about narcotics. It's about small arms. It's about human trafficking. So some of us are looking it through our own lenses, what do we think as Africans that maritime security does for us."
Navies are all but nonexistent, he said, leaving overlapping criminal networks free to rob ships and move illicit goods through the gulf.
Analysts say piracy is a regional problem in need of a regional response, but so far there has been little progress. West African navies, they say, must become as proactive and transnational as the criminals they face.
VOA News
French company to expand Guinea port facilities
by Ougna Camara
Bollore Group, a French company with interests in freight and transport, plans to spend 140 million euros ($200 million) at Guinea’s main port of Conakry to expand facilities and improve equipment by 2013, said Mamadouba Sankhon, director-general of the harbor.
The company will deepen an access channel to the harbor to 13.5 meters (44 feet) from the current 9.5 meters, and build two quays that will allow Conakry to handle large container ships, he said. Those ships currently use the port at Dakar, Senegal, for offloading, Sankhon said.
Bollore was awarded the contract for the Conakry port in March, two days after President Alpha Conde canceled a 2008 deal between the West African nation and NCT Necotrans Group unit Getma International, citing a “breach of dealer obligations.”
Bollore plans to build a dry port at Dubreka, 50 kilometers north of Conakry, Sankhon said.
Bloomberg
Bollore Group, a French company with interests in freight and transport, plans to spend 140 million euros ($200 million) at Guinea’s main port of Conakry to expand facilities and improve equipment by 2013, said Mamadouba Sankhon, director-general of the harbor.
The company will deepen an access channel to the harbor to 13.5 meters (44 feet) from the current 9.5 meters, and build two quays that will allow Conakry to handle large container ships, he said. Those ships currently use the port at Dakar, Senegal, for offloading, Sankhon said.
Bollore was awarded the contract for the Conakry port in March, two days after President Alpha Conde canceled a 2008 deal between the West African nation and NCT Necotrans Group unit Getma International, citing a “breach of dealer obligations.”
Bollore plans to build a dry port at Dubreka, 50 kilometers north of Conakry, Sankhon said.
Bloomberg
Tanzania suspends officials over wildlife smuggling
by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
Tanzania has suspended its director of wildlife and two other officials over the illegal export of more than 100 live animals and birds from the east African nation's game parks, a government minister said.
Natural Resources and Tourism Minister Ezekiel Maige told parliament the government had also banned all licensed exports of wildlife for a year pending an investigation and review of procedures.
Authorities allow game-hunting safaris and have licensed about 180 companies to engage in the export of live animals and birds.
Tourism, which fetched $1.28 billion last year for east Africa's second-largest economy, is the second biggest source of foreign exchange after gold exports for the country of 43 million people.
Parliamentarians had accused wildlife director Obeid Mbwangwa and two officials in his department of smuggling some of the animals they were supposed to protect, transporting giraffes, impalas, gazelles, hornbills and vultures valued at more than $100,000 aboard a military cargo plane from a Middle East country last November.
The 132 animals and birds were smuggled from an airport near Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, in the north of the country where there are several national parks.
Like other countries across sub-Saharan Africa endowed with wildlife, Tanzania has suffered from increased poaching in recent years as criminals kill elephants and rhinos for their tusks which are used for ornaments and in some medicines.
Rampant poaching in the Serengeti -- a sprawling park in north Tanzania famed for its sweeping plains and vistas of Africa's most spectacular wildebeest migration -- in the 1960s and 70s saw the population of black rhinos in the country plummet from over 1,000 to just 70, denting tourist arrivals.
Reuters
Somaliland in port deal with China businessmen
Somaliland has struck a deal with Chinese businessmen to extend its Berbera port as well as to build a refinery and new roads in the breakaway northern enclave, its president said.
Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo said Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not been formally recognised internationally, said the new deal would boost its economy and strengthen ties with Horn of Africa neighbours. He said details of the deal and how the projects will be funded would be disclosed soon.
The projects include the expansion of Berbera Port and pipelines for natural gas and fuel to Ethiopia. A refinery will also be built at the port, as well as a road linking Berbera to Wajale, a town on the Ethiopia-Somaliland border.
Somaliland is helping a global fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean which has turned busy shipping lanes off the coast of the conflict-wrecked state of Somalia into some of the world's most perilous waters.
Reuters
Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo said Somaliland, which declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not been formally recognised internationally, said the new deal would boost its economy and strengthen ties with Horn of Africa neighbours. He said details of the deal and how the projects will be funded would be disclosed soon.
The projects include the expansion of Berbera Port and pipelines for natural gas and fuel to Ethiopia. A refinery will also be built at the port, as well as a road linking Berbera to Wajale, a town on the Ethiopia-Somaliland border.
Somaliland is helping a global fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean which has turned busy shipping lanes off the coast of the conflict-wrecked state of Somalia into some of the world's most perilous waters.
Reuters
China's $15.7 million trade incentives to Rwanda
by Heather Murdock
China’s government will give Rwanda 100 million yuan ($15.7 million) in grants and loans to encourage economic development and trade with China, Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said.
The East African country will receive half the amount as a grant and the remaining 50 million yuan as a five-year, interest-free loan, Gao said August 18 in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Trade between the two countries doubled to $76.4 million in the first half from a year earlier, he said.
China also plans to build a government administrative building, a 25-kilometer (16-mile) road in Kigali and provide medical devices and pharmaceuticals to Rwanda, as well as providing support for exports to China, Gao said.
“On top of the 60 percent tariff-free treatment China already has granted to Rwandan exports to China, we will continue to help you to publicize and promote your products to the Chinese market,” he said.
Rwanda doubled the size of its economy in the nine years to 2010 as it recovers from a 1994 genocide in which 800,000 mainly ethnic Tutsis died.
Bloomberg
China’s government will give Rwanda 100 million yuan ($15.7 million) in grants and loans to encourage economic development and trade with China, Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng said.
The East African country will receive half the amount as a grant and the remaining 50 million yuan as a five-year, interest-free loan, Gao said August 18 in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Trade between the two countries doubled to $76.4 million in the first half from a year earlier, he said.
China also plans to build a government administrative building, a 25-kilometer (16-mile) road in Kigali and provide medical devices and pharmaceuticals to Rwanda, as well as providing support for exports to China, Gao said.
“On top of the 60 percent tariff-free treatment China already has granted to Rwandan exports to China, we will continue to help you to publicize and promote your products to the Chinese market,” he said.
Rwanda doubled the size of its economy in the nine years to 2010 as it recovers from a 1994 genocide in which 800,000 mainly ethnic Tutsis died.
Bloomberg
Rwanda: cross border trade surges
Rwanda's overlooked informal cross border trade fetched over Rwf 40m in a period of one year in both exports and imports indicating 2 percent and 20.2 per cent of the country's total imports and exports, respectively.
Head of Statistics department at Central Bank Viviane Mwitirehe, said that total informal trade with neighboring countries were dominated by food and livestock products representing 75.5 percent imports, 80.7percent exports and 77.1percent of total trade.
The informal cross border Trade(ICBT) captures transactions in goods along Rwanda's borders with neighboring countries that are not recorded in official customs data.
"This trade has thrived without much efforts from Government, this means that when we put clear strategies to develop this trade, we are very likely to see a bigger increase our trade volumes..."
The New Times
Head of Statistics department at Central Bank Viviane Mwitirehe, said that total informal trade with neighboring countries were dominated by food and livestock products representing 75.5 percent imports, 80.7percent exports and 77.1percent of total trade.
The informal cross border Trade(ICBT) captures transactions in goods along Rwanda's borders with neighboring countries that are not recorded in official customs data.
"This trade has thrived without much efforts from Government, this means that when we put clear strategies to develop this trade, we are very likely to see a bigger increase our trade volumes..."
The New Times
Baggage theft 'out of control' at South Africa's main airport
Baggage theft at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg was "out of control," prompting travellers to use alternatives to South African Airways, CEO Siza Mzimela said.
Pilferage at other airports in South Africa was also "very high," Mzimela told members of Parliament's tourism committee. Members of the committee wondered how the problem could persist after huge investment in baggage handling equipment. Mzimela told the committee that the airline suffered more reputational damage than other airlines from baggage theft at OR Tambo because so much of its capacity was concentrated there.
The airline's acting head of group corporate affairs, Dileseng Koetle, said that pilferage at OR Tambo was 0,6 per 1 000 -- double the average 0,3 rate at other airports in the world.
Mzimela said the problem had to be dealt with collectively instead of all involved -- including Airports Company SA (Acsa) -- pointing fingers at each other.
Acsa spokesperson Solomon Makgale said the company was working hard to curb baggage theft, which had declined over the past three years.
Mail and Guardian
Pilferage at other airports in South Africa was also "very high," Mzimela told members of Parliament's tourism committee. Members of the committee wondered how the problem could persist after huge investment in baggage handling equipment. Mzimela told the committee that the airline suffered more reputational damage than other airlines from baggage theft at OR Tambo because so much of its capacity was concentrated there.
The airline's acting head of group corporate affairs, Dileseng Koetle, said that pilferage at OR Tambo was 0,6 per 1 000 -- double the average 0,3 rate at other airports in the world.
Mzimela said the problem had to be dealt with collectively instead of all involved -- including Airports Company SA (Acsa) -- pointing fingers at each other.
Acsa spokesperson Solomon Makgale said the company was working hard to curb baggage theft, which had declined over the past three years.
Mail and Guardian
Mauritius trade deficit narrows
by Kamlesh Bhuckory
Mauritius’s trade deficit narrowed 13 percent in June compared with a year earlier as machinery imports declined, the Central Statistics Office said.
The shortfall fell to 4.78 billion rupees ($172 million) from 5.47 billion rupees, the Port Louis-based data agency said in a statement.
Imports dropped 4 percent to 11 billion rupees as shipments of machinery and transport equipment dropped 28 percent, while exports rose 3.9 percent to 6.2 billion rupees, it said.
The Indian Ocean island nation is a net importer of food and fuels, with India, China and South Africa as main suppliers, according to the agency. The U.K, France and the U.S. are the biggest buyers of its manufactured goods.
Bloomberg
Mauritius’s trade deficit narrowed 13 percent in June compared with a year earlier as machinery imports declined, the Central Statistics Office said.
The shortfall fell to 4.78 billion rupees ($172 million) from 5.47 billion rupees, the Port Louis-based data agency said in a statement.
Imports dropped 4 percent to 11 billion rupees as shipments of machinery and transport equipment dropped 28 percent, while exports rose 3.9 percent to 6.2 billion rupees, it said.
The Indian Ocean island nation is a net importer of food and fuels, with India, China and South Africa as main suppliers, according to the agency. The U.K, France and the U.S. are the biggest buyers of its manufactured goods.
Bloomberg
Nigeria markets Free Trade Zone in Lagos
by Joshua Bassey and Chuka Uroko
Close to 70 companies cutting different of the sectors of the economy have signaled strong interest to do business within the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) in Lagos...
Also known as the “New Lagos;” the corridor is arguably the fastest growing city in Africa, with huge construction projects, a seaport and airport projects...rica.
Though the corridor as a real estate corridor is not developing as fast as it is supposed to, many public and private real estate schemes have been developed and many more in progress. Experts in real estate say that this corridor offers huge opportunities for long term investors and homeowners.
For the state government, the current investment profile is mere scratching of the surface for an industrial, business and trade zone that offers multi-billion dollar investment opportunities in agriculture and agro-processing, clothing and textiles, construction and materials, electronics, food and beverages, forestry and paper, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, leisure and tourism, property, mining and metals, oil and gas among others.
... a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a Chinese consortium to jointly finance the establishment of $8 billion refinery within the trade zone. The deal is part of the $25 billion joint funding for the construction of three new refineries and a petrochemical plant with combined capacity of 885, 000 barrels per day. The other two are to be sited in Kogi and Bayelsa States.
The Chinese State Construction Engineering Corporation has pledged to assist in procuring funding on competitive terms to ensure that bona fide Chinese investors take up at least 25 percent of equity holding in the project. While the Chinese corporation will provide 80 percent of the capital, NNPC will be bridging the remaining 20 percent gap.
On its part, Lagos State as co-investor in the project is providing infrastructure including land, acces roads and adequate electricity supply. When completed, the Lagos refinery is expected to produce 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 500,000 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per annum.
In addition, the NNPC is also supporting the LFTZ by assisting with the arrangements for the supply of natural gas feedback for the manufacture of petrochemicals, fertilizer and other much desired industrial products. But the state government says boundless opportunities exist within the zones in many other sectors for exploitation, and many incentives to aid profit making by investors.
To further make the zone accessible, the state government has entered into public private partnership with Lekki Concession Company (LCC) which is presently undertaking the expansion and reconstruction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway for ease of access by road to the zone which sits on a total land of 16,500 hectares.
...the proposed Lekki International Airport is designed to facilitate access to the zone by air, as the state government is ready to partner with serious investors in the development of the various aspects of the airport. The airport is estimated to cost about $650 million, and is being designed to handle about 5 million passengers annually and a modular terminal for future expansion.
...available incentives for investors in the zone include one-stop approval of all permits, operating licenses and incorporation papers, 100 percent foreign ownership of investment and joint venture entities.
..100 percent repatriation of capital, profits and dividends out of Nigeria, non requirement of import or export licenses by enterprises operating within the zone, Customs duty-free and no quota restriction for all imported raw material products, machinery and equipment, consumer goods, as well as any other goods for investment projects in the zone.
...100 percent of finished products manufactured, assembled or produced in the zone can be sold into the Nigerian domestic market, as well as exemption from all taxes, customs duties and levies from the federal, Lagos State and local governments.
... goods manufactured in Nigeria are entitled to preferential tariffs in the EU, as Nigeria is a member country of the Lome convention.
Business Day
Nigeria to review free trade zone operations
The Nigerian government is set to carry out a comprehensive review and restructuring of the operations of the 24 licensed Free Trade Zones (FTZs) across the country, according to Trade and Investment Minister Olusegun Aganga.
''The objective is to make the FTZs functional and efficient and contribute meaningfully to the country’s drive towards economic growth and development,” the minister said.
Out of about 24 FTZs licensed by the Nigerian Government since 1992, less than 13 are currently operational.
Aganga said the proposed review was aimed at enhancing their capacity to create jobs, generate wealth and contribute significantly towards the nation’s economic growth and development.
FTZs are special industrial and commercial zones set up by the Nigerian Government to facilitate inflow of FDI, encourage the manufacturing of goods for export and boost technology transfer and job creation.
African Manager
Senegalese government may nationalize telecommunications company
President Abdoulaye Wade has apparently repeated his threat to renationalise Senegal’s national PTO Sonatel by buying out France Telecom’s (FT’s) 42.30% stake in the company. The government of Senegal currently owns 27.15% of the telco with the remaining 30.55% in the hands of employees and private individuals.
Wade also said the government intended to resume its original plan of using US-based Global Voice to monitor incoming calls and to apply a tax that would generate XOF60 billion (USD133.6 million) a year in revenue for various projects.
CommsUpdate reported in November 2010 that Wade had rescinded a government Decree passed in May that year that proposed a higher tax levy on incoming international calls to the country. At the time it was hoped the decision to veto plans to raise call taxes would bring the curtain down on a seven-month dispute between the national regulator the Agence de Regulation des Telecoms et Postes (ARTP) and Sonatel.
With the government looking to bolster its coffers, unions objected to an August decision to monitor incoming calls passed through the PTO, claiming it would hurt Sonatel’s business and put jobs at risk. In September the monitoring, designed to allow the state to calculate the nature of the taxes it could collect, was temporarily suspended. It seems that Wade has now rekindled the dispute.
Telegeography
Wade also said the government intended to resume its original plan of using US-based Global Voice to monitor incoming calls and to apply a tax that would generate XOF60 billion (USD133.6 million) a year in revenue for various projects.
CommsUpdate reported in November 2010 that Wade had rescinded a government Decree passed in May that year that proposed a higher tax levy on incoming international calls to the country. At the time it was hoped the decision to veto plans to raise call taxes would bring the curtain down on a seven-month dispute between the national regulator the Agence de Regulation des Telecoms et Postes (ARTP) and Sonatel.
With the government looking to bolster its coffers, unions objected to an August decision to monitor incoming calls passed through the PTO, claiming it would hurt Sonatel’s business and put jobs at risk. In September the monitoring, designed to allow the state to calculate the nature of the taxes it could collect, was temporarily suspended. It seems that Wade has now rekindled the dispute.
Telegeography
August 14, 2011
What the China-sponsored boom in Africa means for investors
by Mark Mobius
Africa, once called the lost continent, is beginning to demonstrate its potential. While the continent’s detractors point to poverty, corruption, AIDS and armed conflict, I am encouraged by another side of Africa that is gradually emerging: the development of capital markets, consumerism and technology.
In fact, I am keeping my eye on the key forces pushing and pulling China into Africa. China now has the world’s largest foreign reserves, exceeding $3 trillion, more than twice that of Japan. Up to now a large portion of these reserves have gone into U.S. government debt but increasingly China is finding it necessary to diversify those reserves given the precarious situation with the U.S. Dollar and U.S. government debt.
At the same time, China’s burgeoning economy is demanding more and more natural resources whether it is oil, copper, nickel or gold. Looking further into the future, the demands of China’s more sophisticated diets mean imports of food will have to increase as well.
In both areas, minerals and food, Africa has great promise. It is well known that Africa is rich in a wide variety of minerals from oil to copper. It’s bigger than China, India and the United States. More importantly, Africa has huge resources of water essential for bountiful harvests.
China’s attraction to Africa is clear, but Africa is also attracted to China. China is a developing country that has demonstrated a successful growth model. China also has the money to help build Africa’s urgent need for infrastructure.
In 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established to enhance economic and trade cooperation. Trade has expanded rapidly, moving from $12 million in 1950 to over $120 billion now.
China is now Africa’s largest trading partner. Visit any shopping center in any country in Africa and it is clear that China is flooding Africa with consumer goods as well as machinery, automobiles and electronics.
Yet, surprisingly, China has a trade deficit with Africa, importing more than it exports to the continent. 80 percent of Africa’s exports to China are raw materials such as oil, but increasingly, it is also manufactured and agricultural products such as Egyptian oranges, South African wines, and Tunisian olive oil. In order to promote that trade, China has set up bilateral trade agreements with 45 African countries, a number of which now have zero tariff preference with China.
In addition to trade, investment from China into Africa has also surged. In the six-year period ended 2009, China’s investment in 49 African countries increased from $490 million to $9.3 billion. China’s Development Bank has created a $1 billion fund to buy equity stakes in African companies and projects. There are plans for the fund to be expanded to $5 billion.
China is also promoting economic and trade zones in Zambia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia. So far over $600 million has been invested in such zones, creating more than 6,000 jobs.
As early as the 1970s, China was helping build infrastructure projects in Africa. Projects included the 1,860-kilometer Tanzania-Zambia railway line and the Cairo International Conference Center. But the number of projects have grown in recent years and the Chinese government has extended preferential loans amounting to over $10 billion to finance airports, housing and hydropower plants.
There’s another link that has emerged between the two. From 2000 to 2009, China canceled 312 debts of 35 African countries, totaling 19 billion yuan. That demonstrates China’s determination to help Africa develop.
With all this activity, China’s banks have followed. The China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China (BoC) and China Construction Bank (CCB) are all now active on the continent.
Tourism is growing as well, with over 300,000 Chinese tourists visiting Africa each year. African and Chinese airlines have established direct flights between the two.
All of this trade and investment is not without its problems. There have been scandals, corruption and disputes. Take for example, the Chinese infrastructure project in Algeria mired in a bribery scandal.
There is no denying, though, that capital markets in Africa are developing rapidly. We have been investing in South Africa for many years and its stock market is one of the world’s most sophisticated. In our frontier market funds, we have been active in countries such as Kenya, Ghana and Mauritius. Nigerian companies now constitute the largest portion of the $1 billion that we have in our frontier funds.
In the last year or so, I’ve traveled to Egypt, Angola, Morocco, Botswana, Ghana, Tunisia and South Africa to evaluate markets and search for attractive investment opportunities on the continent. We expect to expand even further in Africa and to invest in many more countries on the continent. For investors from China, or anywhere else for that matter, seeking high growth and new opportunities, the future is certainly in Africa.
CNBC
Africa, once called the lost continent, is beginning to demonstrate its potential. While the continent’s detractors point to poverty, corruption, AIDS and armed conflict, I am encouraged by another side of Africa that is gradually emerging: the development of capital markets, consumerism and technology.
In fact, I am keeping my eye on the key forces pushing and pulling China into Africa. China now has the world’s largest foreign reserves, exceeding $3 trillion, more than twice that of Japan. Up to now a large portion of these reserves have gone into U.S. government debt but increasingly China is finding it necessary to diversify those reserves given the precarious situation with the U.S. Dollar and U.S. government debt.
At the same time, China’s burgeoning economy is demanding more and more natural resources whether it is oil, copper, nickel or gold. Looking further into the future, the demands of China’s more sophisticated diets mean imports of food will have to increase as well.
In both areas, minerals and food, Africa has great promise. It is well known that Africa is rich in a wide variety of minerals from oil to copper. It’s bigger than China, India and the United States. More importantly, Africa has huge resources of water essential for bountiful harvests.
China’s attraction to Africa is clear, but Africa is also attracted to China. China is a developing country that has demonstrated a successful growth model. China also has the money to help build Africa’s urgent need for infrastructure.
In 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was established to enhance economic and trade cooperation. Trade has expanded rapidly, moving from $12 million in 1950 to over $120 billion now.
China is now Africa’s largest trading partner. Visit any shopping center in any country in Africa and it is clear that China is flooding Africa with consumer goods as well as machinery, automobiles and electronics.
Yet, surprisingly, China has a trade deficit with Africa, importing more than it exports to the continent. 80 percent of Africa’s exports to China are raw materials such as oil, but increasingly, it is also manufactured and agricultural products such as Egyptian oranges, South African wines, and Tunisian olive oil. In order to promote that trade, China has set up bilateral trade agreements with 45 African countries, a number of which now have zero tariff preference with China.
In addition to trade, investment from China into Africa has also surged. In the six-year period ended 2009, China’s investment in 49 African countries increased from $490 million to $9.3 billion. China’s Development Bank has created a $1 billion fund to buy equity stakes in African companies and projects. There are plans for the fund to be expanded to $5 billion.
China is also promoting economic and trade zones in Zambia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia. So far over $600 million has been invested in such zones, creating more than 6,000 jobs.
As early as the 1970s, China was helping build infrastructure projects in Africa. Projects included the 1,860-kilometer Tanzania-Zambia railway line and the Cairo International Conference Center. But the number of projects have grown in recent years and the Chinese government has extended preferential loans amounting to over $10 billion to finance airports, housing and hydropower plants.
There’s another link that has emerged between the two. From 2000 to 2009, China canceled 312 debts of 35 African countries, totaling 19 billion yuan. That demonstrates China’s determination to help Africa develop.
With all this activity, China’s banks have followed. The China Development Bank, Export-Import Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China (BoC) and China Construction Bank (CCB) are all now active on the continent.
Tourism is growing as well, with over 300,000 Chinese tourists visiting Africa each year. African and Chinese airlines have established direct flights between the two.
All of this trade and investment is not without its problems. There have been scandals, corruption and disputes. Take for example, the Chinese infrastructure project in Algeria mired in a bribery scandal.
There is no denying, though, that capital markets in Africa are developing rapidly. We have been investing in South Africa for many years and its stock market is one of the world’s most sophisticated. In our frontier market funds, we have been active in countries such as Kenya, Ghana and Mauritius. Nigerian companies now constitute the largest portion of the $1 billion that we have in our frontier funds.
In the last year or so, I’ve traveled to Egypt, Angola, Morocco, Botswana, Ghana, Tunisia and South Africa to evaluate markets and search for attractive investment opportunities on the continent. We expect to expand even further in Africa and to invest in many more countries on the continent. For investors from China, or anywhere else for that matter, seeking high growth and new opportunities, the future is certainly in Africa.
CNBC
Why India, China scent opportunity in Africa
by Teo Kermeliotis
In a series of reports, CNN's Marketplace Africa looks at China and India's growing involvement in Africa, and what that means for the continent's economic future.
China and India, Asia's two emerging powerhouses, have made no secret of their desire to engage with resource-rich Africa as they seek new economic partnerships to fuel their booming economies. With ties to the continent that already go back decades, the two Asian giants have been ratcheting up their investment push into Africa in recent years as they look to forge new trade routes and expand on existing alliances.
"They are seeing Africa as an opportunity, rather than a liability or a beggar," says Sven Grimm, the director of the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. "They're here to invest and to seek opportunities for their companies and the rationale inside that is that if we exploit these opportunities that will help Africa: whether it does, that's the question."
From drilling oil in Angola to building state-of-the-art hospitals in Congo and from selling furniture in South Africa's markets to erecting flamboyant football stadiums in Sierra Leone, China's deepening engagement with Africa has been rapidly shaping the continent's landscape -- as well as its efforts for economic development.
Already Africa's largest trade partner, China's economic cooperation with the continent has shot up in recent years -- two-way trade between the two surged to a record $114.8 billion last year, according to Chinese officials.
Linking aid, trade and investment, Beijing's business model in Africa involves building extensive infrastructure projects and granting loans in exchange for access to natural resources, trade opportunities and expansion into new markets.
Africa's imports and exports
But as China is cutting a swath through Africa, while grabbing headlines along the way, India is also moving to take a more central role in the continent.
Stepping from the shadow of its big Asian neighbor, New Delhi has lately started making decisive strides to extend its economic footprint on the continent. In May's landmark India-Africa Forum Summit, the second since 2008, India announced a $5 billion loans package to Africa as well as $700 million for new institutions and training programs.
Led by a vibrant private sector, India's bilateral trade with Africa has grown rapidly in recent years -- from around $1 billion in 2001 to about $50 billion last year, while the country's officials are now targeting a figure of $70 billion by 2015.
Like China, resource-hungry India is turning to Africa as it seeks to diversify its energy supplies in order to support its booming economy.
"Increasingly, Indian companies are re-discovering Africa as a resource area," says Mahajan. "What India has been finding as a challenge, as it's been growing rapidly, has been that domestic coal sources are not sufficient to meet its growth rates -- within the next five years, perhaps it will need to import more than 200 million tons of coal, so they are looking to diversify with presence in Africa, in Mozambique and other countries," he adds.
Apart from coal, which is India's main source of energy, India is also interested in oil. According to the International Energy Agency, India, which currently relies on the Middle East for two-thirds of its oil, will have to import 90% of its petroleum by 2025.
As a result, state-owned Indian oil companies have been active in countries like Nigeria and Sudan. Analysts, however, note that India is facing serious challenges in winning the oil battles against the wealthy, state-run Chinese energy giants.
"Head-on competition for natural resources, particularly oil and gas, hasn't really been too successful for India," says Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House.
"Its diamond and coal diplomacy has certainly been more successful," he adds, noting that India is also looking at accessing uranium across Africa for its civil nuclear program. "The re-opening of the Indian High Commission in Malawi and the opening of an Indian embassy in Namibia are indicative of that," says Vines.
Although raw materials remain at the forefront of both China and India's strategies in Africa, their interests extend beyond natural resources. For the two Asian behemoths, Africa, home to around one billion people, is a vast continent offering opportunities in a wide array of sectors -- manufacturing, telecommunications, services, and infrastructure.
Grimm says that both countries are trying to build on areas where they feel their strengths are.
India is keen to develop its expertise in information technology, medicine production and automobiles. Tata Group, India's leading investor in Africa with operations in 11 countries, last month opened a vehicle assembly plant in South Africa.
China's inroads in Africa are also about generating business. Grimm says the quest for raw materials is undoubtedly one of Beijing's drivers, but it's not the only one.
"It's also about exposing Chinese companies to the world markets and it's also about market access in Africa, finding new markets for Chinese products and upgrading Chinese production in that course or by that means -- it's an outlet for mass production and manufacturing," he says.
China and India's expanding partnerships with Africa could present the continent with a significant opportunity for growth and economic transformation if they are used wisely, analysts say.
Ultimately, they argue, it depends on the vision of African leaders and the strength of the continent's institutions to shape China and India's engagement for the benefit of African people.
"This is a marvelous opportunity where wise visionary leadership can extract better value to these countries to rid themselves of poverty and become middle income," says Vines. "Who knows how long this window lasts?"
CNN
In a series of reports, CNN's Marketplace Africa looks at China and India's growing involvement in Africa, and what that means for the continent's economic future.
China and India, Asia's two emerging powerhouses, have made no secret of their desire to engage with resource-rich Africa as they seek new economic partnerships to fuel their booming economies. With ties to the continent that already go back decades, the two Asian giants have been ratcheting up their investment push into Africa in recent years as they look to forge new trade routes and expand on existing alliances.
"They are seeing Africa as an opportunity, rather than a liability or a beggar," says Sven Grimm, the director of the Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. "They're here to invest and to seek opportunities for their companies and the rationale inside that is that if we exploit these opportunities that will help Africa: whether it does, that's the question."
From drilling oil in Angola to building state-of-the-art hospitals in Congo and from selling furniture in South Africa's markets to erecting flamboyant football stadiums in Sierra Leone, China's deepening engagement with Africa has been rapidly shaping the continent's landscape -- as well as its efforts for economic development.
Already Africa's largest trade partner, China's economic cooperation with the continent has shot up in recent years -- two-way trade between the two surged to a record $114.8 billion last year, according to Chinese officials.
Linking aid, trade and investment, Beijing's business model in Africa involves building extensive infrastructure projects and granting loans in exchange for access to natural resources, trade opportunities and expansion into new markets.
Africa's imports and exports
But as China is cutting a swath through Africa, while grabbing headlines along the way, India is also moving to take a more central role in the continent.
Stepping from the shadow of its big Asian neighbor, New Delhi has lately started making decisive strides to extend its economic footprint on the continent. In May's landmark India-Africa Forum Summit, the second since 2008, India announced a $5 billion loans package to Africa as well as $700 million for new institutions and training programs.
Led by a vibrant private sector, India's bilateral trade with Africa has grown rapidly in recent years -- from around $1 billion in 2001 to about $50 billion last year, while the country's officials are now targeting a figure of $70 billion by 2015.
Like China, resource-hungry India is turning to Africa as it seeks to diversify its energy supplies in order to support its booming economy.
"Increasingly, Indian companies are re-discovering Africa as a resource area," says Mahajan. "What India has been finding as a challenge, as it's been growing rapidly, has been that domestic coal sources are not sufficient to meet its growth rates -- within the next five years, perhaps it will need to import more than 200 million tons of coal, so they are looking to diversify with presence in Africa, in Mozambique and other countries," he adds.
Apart from coal, which is India's main source of energy, India is also interested in oil. According to the International Energy Agency, India, which currently relies on the Middle East for two-thirds of its oil, will have to import 90% of its petroleum by 2025.
As a result, state-owned Indian oil companies have been active in countries like Nigeria and Sudan. Analysts, however, note that India is facing serious challenges in winning the oil battles against the wealthy, state-run Chinese energy giants.
"Head-on competition for natural resources, particularly oil and gas, hasn't really been too successful for India," says Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House.
"Its diamond and coal diplomacy has certainly been more successful," he adds, noting that India is also looking at accessing uranium across Africa for its civil nuclear program. "The re-opening of the Indian High Commission in Malawi and the opening of an Indian embassy in Namibia are indicative of that," says Vines.
Although raw materials remain at the forefront of both China and India's strategies in Africa, their interests extend beyond natural resources. For the two Asian behemoths, Africa, home to around one billion people, is a vast continent offering opportunities in a wide array of sectors -- manufacturing, telecommunications, services, and infrastructure.
Grimm says that both countries are trying to build on areas where they feel their strengths are.
India is keen to develop its expertise in information technology, medicine production and automobiles. Tata Group, India's leading investor in Africa with operations in 11 countries, last month opened a vehicle assembly plant in South Africa.
China's inroads in Africa are also about generating business. Grimm says the quest for raw materials is undoubtedly one of Beijing's drivers, but it's not the only one.
"It's also about exposing Chinese companies to the world markets and it's also about market access in Africa, finding new markets for Chinese products and upgrading Chinese production in that course or by that means -- it's an outlet for mass production and manufacturing," he says.
China and India's expanding partnerships with Africa could present the continent with a significant opportunity for growth and economic transformation if they are used wisely, analysts say.
Ultimately, they argue, it depends on the vision of African leaders and the strength of the continent's institutions to shape China and India's engagement for the benefit of African people.
"This is a marvelous opportunity where wise visionary leadership can extract better value to these countries to rid themselves of poverty and become middle income," says Vines. "Who knows how long this window lasts?"
CNN
Benin growth to reach 7% on exports, farming
by Serge-David Zoueme
Benin’s economy will reach annual growth of 7 percent in three years because of investments in agricultural that are meant to increase exports, said President Thomas Boni Yayi.
Benin, Africa’s fourth-biggest cotton producer, will set up an agricultural bank to fund companies in the sector, Boni Yayi said in a televised speech from Natitingou, 645 kilometers (401 miles) from the commercial capital, Cotonou. He spoke on the 51st anniversary of Benin’s independence from France.
Higher output in agriculture may boost Benin’s economy by 3.8 percent in 2011, from 2.6 percent last year, the International Monetary Fund said July 21. Farming slowed in 2010 after heavy rains caused the worst flooding in 50 years, killing at least 46 people and leaving 150,000 homeless, according to the Interior Ministry.
The West African nation will look to neighboring Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as an export market for its goods, Boni Yayi said. A deal signed in 2006 with the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account for reforms at the port of Cotonou will “enhance transparency and transaction security,” he said.
Boni Yayi also pledged to improve the country’s roads and railways, as well as the energy, water and telecommunications sectors.
Bloomberg
Benin’s economy will reach annual growth of 7 percent in three years because of investments in agricultural that are meant to increase exports, said President Thomas Boni Yayi.
Benin, Africa’s fourth-biggest cotton producer, will set up an agricultural bank to fund companies in the sector, Boni Yayi said in a televised speech from Natitingou, 645 kilometers (401 miles) from the commercial capital, Cotonou. He spoke on the 51st anniversary of Benin’s independence from France.
Higher output in agriculture may boost Benin’s economy by 3.8 percent in 2011, from 2.6 percent last year, the International Monetary Fund said July 21. Farming slowed in 2010 after heavy rains caused the worst flooding in 50 years, killing at least 46 people and leaving 150,000 homeless, according to the Interior Ministry.
The West African nation will look to neighboring Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, as an export market for its goods, Boni Yayi said. A deal signed in 2006 with the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account for reforms at the port of Cotonou will “enhance transparency and transaction security,” he said.
Boni Yayi also pledged to improve the country’s roads and railways, as well as the energy, water and telecommunications sectors.
Bloomberg
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