Trade Africa

2012-10-17T21:14:00.000Z

1. Chinese traders in Malawi now officially confined to urban centers 2. South African movers and shakers for sale to foreign investors? 3. AGOA benefited Chinese apparel exporters in Africa more than African businesspeople 4. Zimbabwe imports US$8.2 billion goods, exports US$5,1 billion in 2012 5. Nigeria, Canada trade hits U.S.$3 billion 6. China's trade with Africa likely to surpass that with

Chinese traders in Malawi now officially confined to urban centers

2012-10-17T21:08:00.000Z

China's rising role in Africa is a subject of fevered discussion. Welcomed at the macro level, at the local level many African businesspeople are also deeply resentful at the competition by Chinese at even low levels of business in rural areas.The goods that African traders sell are increasingly from China anyway. It is one thing for African traders to travel to China to buy goods for resell back

South African movers and shakers for sale to foreign investors?

2012-10-17T21:07:00.004Z

Writing in South Africa's Business Day, Ron Derby is outraged at an Australian mining investment company's boast that it had put some politically well-connected local businessmen in its pockets, or rather on its board, because of their "strong commercial and government relationships." The Australian company even financed the acquisition of 26% of the equity by the well-connected but apparently

AGOA benefited Chinese apparel exporters in Africa more than African businesspeople

2012-10-17T21:07:00.001Z

According to a paper on the Eurasia Review, 'US trade policies inadvertently turned Africa into a temporary trade corridor for China.' How? In summary, they authors say that AGOA helped to achieve its aim of spurring the growth of U.S.-exporting African enterprises, especially clothes, from its inception to about 2004. From 2005, Chinese apparel exports to the U.S. no longer faced quotas as

Zimbabwe imports US$8.2 billion goods, exports US$5,1 billion in 2012

2012-10-17T21:06:00.007Z

Zimbabwe...trade deficit is forecast to reach US$2.,8 billion by the end of the year (2012), from total exports of US$5.1 billion against imports of US$8.2 billion. Sunday Mail

Nigeria, Canada trade hits U.S.$3 billion

2012-10-17T21:06:00.005Z

The trade volume between Nigeria and Canada has risen to $3 billion from $700 million in 2007, said the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs... Leadership Nigeria

China's trade with Africa likely to surpass that with U.S., EU in by 2015

2012-10-17T21:06:00.004Z

This according to a former Chinese vice-minister of commerce, Wei Jianguo. In 2012, China's trade with Africa will probably hit $220 billion, up 25 percent year-on-year. According to Wei, China's exports to Africa grew 22 percent in the first nine months this year, while imports jumped by 21.5 percent during the period. The Ministry of Commerce said that in 2011, China's trade with Africa hit

Trade between Switzerland and South Africa up 25% since 2007

2012-10-17T21:06:00.003Z

While Switzerland is ranked sixth when it comes to the value of foreign direct investment (FDI) in South Africa, according to the Swiss Embassy (South Africa), trade between the two countries had risen sharply in the last five years. South African Deputy Minister of International Relations, Marius Fransman, aid total trade between Switzerland and South Africa had risen by 25% since 2007, while

Madagascar to become a major cobalt, nickel exporter

2012-10-17T21:06:00.002Z

Canadian and South Korean mining investors are expected to invest about $5.5 billion into mining of cobalt in Madgascar. The Amabatovy mining project has ore deposits expected to last 30 years. It is expected to export an annual average of 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 5,600 tonnes of cobalt, all refined to 99.8 per cent. The refining will be done entirely in Madagascar. "For transparency

Turkey ups trade with Kenya

2012-10-10T13:57:00.007Z

Turkish officials said the country is working on doubling the value of its trade with the EAC. The Turkey-Kenya Joint Economic Commission set up in 2010 helped double the value of trade between the two countries $100 million in 2010 to $214 million in 2011 and is expected to double to $500 million this year.The number of Turkish companies investing in Kenya also rose from 20 in 2010 to 35 by the

Romanian shoe maker steps into Senegal to keep up with Chinese competition

2012-10-10T13:56:00.005Z

Senegal's domestic shoe manufacturers have been battling to stay afloat in the face of competition from China, including cheap knock-offs of traditional Senegalese shoe styles. Now comes news from Romania Insider that a Romanian shoe producer will relocate production to Senegal, where it plans to set up a mixed company with a local firm. Senegal's government will provide transport for the

Russian concerns to invest in Zimbabwe

2012-10-10T13:54:00.004Z

The scramble for Zimbabwe's vast but largely untapped minerals intensified this week with Russian clinching lucrative deals that analysts fear would see President Robert Mugabe's broke government mortgaging the resources. The southern African country is in dire need of foreign direct investment as investors have stayed away for the past decade citing Mugabe's alleged misrule.  Russian Industry

Nigeria, Britain pledge to double trade to $13 billion by 2014

2012-10-10T13:53:00.004Z

With current trade value standing at £4 billion ($6.4 billion), Nigeria and the United Kingdom have expressed optimism as both countries look to double their bilateral trade by 2014 to £8 billion ($13 billion) by 2014.To meet the trade target, Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and the United Kingdom Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable

Mobile phone penetration hits 98% in Ghana

2012-10-10T13:52:00.006Z

The total cellular/mobile voice subscriber base in Ghana as at August 2012 stood at 24,438,983, which is 98% of the Ghanaian population estimated at 25million, according to the National Communication Authority (NCA). But this does not necessarily mean over 24 million Ghanaians have mobile phone lines, because some individuals have more than one mobile line, while others do not have. Moreover,

Oil smuggling prejudices Nigerian economy but benefits neighbors

2012-10-10T13:51:00.006Z

Countless volumes have been written about the many problems that plague Nigeria's oil industry. The Nigerian people and economy simply do not get full value for their oil because of massive corruption, inefficiency and uncountable 'leakages' of the oil along the entire value chain.One of those leakages is unaccounted for oil that finds its way to other countries in West Africa, benefiting those

Zambia: minimum wage rise has unintended consequences

2012-10-10T13:51:00.002Z

In July, the Zimbabwean government decreed minimum wage increments across various economic sectors that saw pay packets go up as much as five-fold. This was obviously welcomed by groups such as domestic workers, whose minimum wage had been as low as $30 a month.Well-intended as the plan to ensure something approaching a living wage was, such big and sudden increases had to have many other

Multinational companies illicitly transfer $50 billion out of Africa annually

2012-10-10T13:50:00.003Z

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki and head of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa (African Union) to examine these issues said, "It's clear that part of this illicit flow comes from activities that are carried out by multi-national corporations," he said, explaining that the transfer of such large quantities of revenue must involve international corporations."The

'EPAs will entrench Africa's dependence on Europe'

2012-10-06T22:17:00.000Z

The negotiations between the European Union and African countries over concluding 'economic partnership agreements' keep dragging on, with no conclusion seemingly in sight. Peter M. Onumah, writing in the Ghanaian Chronicle, believes signing the EPAs would be no less than 'selling the continent back into slavery.' He argues, 'The partnership Europe has been touting substantially means

Angolan president's daughter increases share in Portugese internet service company

2012-10-06T22:16:00.005Z

There have been a number of recent articles about a relative reversal of fortune between Portugal and a number of its former colonies. Portugal, one of Europe's smaller economies, is also reeling from the effects of Europe's debt crisis. The economy is stagnant, jobs are increasingly hard to come by, state benefits are decreasing and many people are looking to emigrate, with booming former

Chinese shoe factory in Ethiopia pays wages 20% of indigenous companies

2012-10-06T22:16:00.004Z

China's explosive rise is bringing opportunity but also causing consternation. Chinese investors of all grades are all over Africa, but the feelings towards them are very mixed. Governments generally welcome them with open arms. Ordinary people generally welcome the inexpensive Chinese goods, but are often reported as not having warm and fuzzy feelings towards the Chinese themselves, for a whole

Relationship with China is a 'boon,' but Africa needs to also be on its guard

2012-10-06T22:16:00.002Z

Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo has made quite a name for herself by arguing against the aid model of economic interventions in Africa. She has now written an article countering the notion that China's growing economic enagement with Africa is exploitative, as implied by U.S secretary of state Hilary Clinton on a recent visit to Moyo's home country. "Despite all the scaremongering, China’s

Libya 2015 oil target of 2 million bpd depends on security situation

2012-10-06T22:16:00.001Z

Many people suspected the western world's 2011 bombing campaign in Libya was more about securing access to oil than to 'democracy and human rights.' While a lot of the country's infrastructure was destroyed in the several months of the unprecedented bombing that led to the ouster and death of strongman Muammar Gaddafi, the oil sector is back on its feet faster than expected. Reuters reports

Zambia approves $832 million Chinese copper project

2012-10-06T22:15:00.004Z

A unit of China Nonferrous Mining Corp has won Zambian approval to build a $832 million copper mine that will add 60,000 tonnes to the country's annual output of the metal, a company spokesman said on September 20. Zambia's environmental management agency, whose approval is required for all large infrastructure projects, has allowed NFC Africa Mining Corp to proceed to with its South East Ore

South Africa looks more to Africa for trade

2012-10-06T22:15:00.003Z

* Oil imports from Nigeria up almost five fold to 615,834 tonnes in March versus 127,376 tonnes in the same month in 2011, in large part because of western pressure for South Africa to reduce trade with Iran. South Africa almost halved oil imports from Iran between March and April 2012. .* Economic turmoil in Europe, South Africa's biggest trading partner, has also made South Africa see the need

Zambia's ties with China grow, but popular anti-Chinese resentment also persists

2012-10-06T22:15:00.002Z

Zambian president Michael Sata has been in power for a year now. As an opposition politician Sata had made populist statements strongly criticising about the labor and general business practices of increasingly influential Chinese investors. It was thought by some that as president he might seek to constrain Zambia's ties with China. Realpolitik made sure that did not happen. China has been the