Emerging players news roundup

General News
How the South co-operates with Africa
A recent publication by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the ‘Economic Development in Africa Report 2010’ traces Africa’s trade relations with Southern partners. It discusses what these partnerships are and what they mean for AfricaRead More

Africa is open for business: Zuma
Africa can no longer be viewed only as a destination for development aid – the continent is open for business, South African President Jacob Zuma told global business leaders in Toronto on the eve of the G8 and G20 SummitsRead More

G8 and G20 News
FACTBOX-G20 leaders and their problems gather in Toronto Read More

G-20 Summit: Does the developing world hold the key to building a stronger global economy?
The world’s economic centre of gravity is changing. Global GDP growth over the last decade owes more to the developing world than to high--income economies. If these trends continue, by 2030 developing countries will account for nearly 60% of world GDP on a purchasing- -power parity basis, according to OECD calculations. The G-20 summit in Toronto is an opportunity for world leaders to decide how they want to approach these new developments. The tangible signs of shifting wealth are widespread. In 2009 China became the leading trading partner of Brazil, India and South Africa. The Indian multinational Tata is now the second most active investor in sub- -Saharan Africa. Over 40% of the world’s researchers are now based in Asia. And by 2009, developing countries were holding US$5.4tln in foreign currency reserves, nearly twice as much the amount held by rich countries.Read More

Inviting Africans to G8 meeting "is just window-dressing"
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper invited seven African countries to attend this year‚s Group of Eight (G8) summit to be held in his country on Jun. 25-26. They are: South Africa, Malawi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Nigeria, Algeria, and Egypt. Dr Francis Ikome, director of the African and southern African programme at the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), is sceptical about Africa being represented at the G8. "Since NEPAD‚s launch it has become a trend among the industrialised countries to invite African countries to summits like those of the G8. "Many promises are usually made but the real delivery always falls far short of the promises. The important question here is if these countries will be able to make submissions. This is a meeting of industrialised, Western countries. I believe African countries have been invited for window-dressing purposes.Read More

G8 makes 'cautious' aid pledge
Protests were held in Toronto against the G8 and G20 summits over a variety of issues. Rich countries have shied away from making bold aid pledges at the G8 summit, mindful of their own tight budgets and past broken promises. They pledged $5bn in aid over five years to reduce deaths among mothers and their newborns in Africa, at the summit in Toronto. The amount is nowhere near the ambitious promise from five years ago to double aid by up to $50 billion by 2010 Read More

THE G-20 TORONTO SUMMIT DECLARATION: June 26 – 27, 2010 Read More

G8 Muskoka Declaration: Recovery and New BeginningsRead More

China in Africa
Malawi: Beijing preferred to Taiwan
The decision by the Government of Malawi to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan have proved to be costly. It has lead to the total abandonment of a fertilizer factory project, that could have contributed to affordable fertilizers, and the Government is losing out on the economic gainsRead More

China solar company 'shines' on World Cup
China did not qualify for the World Cup, but the country is still making an appearance in South Africa. An ambitious Chinese solar company, the country's first World Cup sponsor, has placed advertising in all the stadiums in a bid to give its brand a worldwide boost.Yingli Green Energy Co.'s sponsorship deal allows it to show its logo of Yingli Solar, in Chinese and English, on electronic perimeter-boards at all 64 games of the World Cup. The Yingli slogan appears for 30 seconds at a time, totaling 8 minutes in each game. Yingli also has right to showcase its solar products near the stadiumsRead More

First Bank Eyes Equity Stake in Chinese Bank
First Bank of Nigeria Plc will record another milestone with the opening of its representative office in Beijing, China, making it the first Nigerian bank to establish an office offering financial services to Chinese, African and other customers in the Far EastRead More

Agony as N7.5 billion road caves in
The recently completed Igando-Iyana Iba-LASU Road project, which is said to have cost the government about N7.5billion, had collapsed, almost severing the road into two. Built by EECC, a Chinese Construction Company, currently handling several projects in the state, had left many commuters stranded. But locals have expressed anger about the quality of the construction, with one of them blaming the failure of the road on “a bad job done by the construction companyRead More

How a strong Yuan may affect Kenyan consumers
Kenyan consumers may be headed for a period of pricing turbulence as the economy adjusts to a much stronger Chinese currency whose peg to the dollar has been a key anchor against global inflationRead More

Ecological Destruction? ICBC Loan for an Africa Water Project Draws Controversy
Recently, it was said that ICBC has agreed to a US$400 million loan for Ethiopia's Gibe 3 Dam project. Some environmental groups believe that this project will affect the local environment. On June 26, the ICBC's Chief Risk Officer, Wei Guoxiong, accepted an exclusive interview with China Business News, and revealed that the ICBC "has yet to agree and is reviewing" the loan for the Gibe 3 Dam projectRead More

Tiny Mauritius lures China with talent, Africa know-how
Framed by jutting green mountains and the sparkling Indian Ocean, Chinese developers are building a new city in a corner of this island nation - one of China's latest forays into Africa, a region it's come to prize for abundant natural resources. But unlike in Nigeria, Angola or South Africa, the draw isn't oil or gold. It isn't even the sugar cane that still covers much of Mauritius' volcanic plateau. Instead, the resource advertised by this nation about the size of Rhode Island is similar to the one that established Hong Kong and Singapore as economic powerhouses by the 1990s - an educated workforce and a stable government offering low tax rates Read More

CHINA, ETHIOPIA VOW TO BUILD CLOSER MILITARY TIES
Senior Chinese and Ethiopian military officials pledged to establish closer relations between the two nation’s armed forces. The Chinese armed forces attached great importance to relations with the Ethiopian armed forces, said Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China, while meeting with Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ethiopia, Samora YenusRead More

Businesses Flourishing in Africa:Is China undermining African economies?
Africa has weathered the global financial meltdown and economic downturn better than expected, according to economic experts. According to a series of studies by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, business opportunities should continue to grow in Africa. Its recommendation was based on the recently published 2010 African Economic Outlook (AEO) report by the United Nations and a branch of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)Read More

Chinese baksheesh makes African deals trickier
Are there actually any special requirements about ebony going on the plane? I did some research after I got back, and got uniformly negative answers. One person with a lot of experience in Kenya told me that Kenyans are familiar with Chinese habits. As long as they can find some small point to make trouble over, the Chinese will give them "tips." Another Chinese businessman who has lived in Africa for many years said frankly that the problem had been caused by the Chinese themselves. Many Chinese businessmen depended on small-scale bribery to help solve problems at the start, which was quite effective. But by now, some Africans got so used to getting "tips" from the Chinese that if they don't receive them, they get upset Read More

India in Africa

India & Africa: Fashioning A New Economic Order
The global economy has reached a tipping point, triggered by both cyclical and structural factors. The debilitating economic slowdown has only hastened the process, creating in its wake a new international economic order wherein rapidly growing economies like India will be the growth drivers while regions such as Africa become the new sources of growth. In the new paradigm, the combined strengths of India and Africa can hardly be overstated.India has demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of shrinking global markets. Now, as the greenshoots of global recovery are being spotted, the economy is preparing to launch itself to a higher growth trajectory, evoking greater global interest in how the Indian government and industry handled the economic crisisRead More

India-US-EU initiative on Africa on cards
The G-20 summit in Toronto will see a unique initiative of India, the United States and the European Union working together with Africa to help it move forward on the development path. The new initiative has resulted from three-way discussions here between US and Indian officials and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), the industry body's president Rajan Bharti Mittal said at a media interaction Read More

U.S. AND INDIAN PERSPECTIVES ON AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT: BUSINESS PRACTICES Read More

13th Regional Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership in Namibia & Business Mission to Botswana
CII is organising 13th CII Exim Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership 2010 at Windhoek, Namibia from 12-13 July, 2010 and Business mission to Gaborone, Botswana from 15-16 July, 2010Read More

Botswana opens export and investment office in Mumbai
Underlining the economic theme of his visit, Botswana's Vice President Mompati Merafhe inaugurated the office of his southern African country's investment and export authority here Friday. 'This is a clear demonstration of the excellent relations that Botswana enjoys with India, which are underpinned by mutual commitment to democracy, transparency and accountability,' Merafhe said on the occasion of the inauguration of Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (Bedia) Read More

Damco invests in the India-Africa trade lane
Freight forwarding and supply chain solutions major Damco is increasing its focus on the growing India-Africa trade lane. Damco has created a dedicated India-Africa trade lane team to offer innovative solutions for its customers who are moving cargo between these two markets Read More

India Loses to China in Africa-to-Kazakhstan-to-Venezuela Oil
Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora traveled to Nigeria, Angola, Uganda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela this year, leading a record number of delegations to gain oil for the world’s third-fastest-growing major economy. The flurry of visits is part of a new drive to find oil for India’s 1.2 billion people after losing out to China in at least $12.5 billion of contracts in the past year. India proposed a sovereign wealth fund to bid for reserves, told state-controlled Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and Oil India Ltd. to make a major acquisition each this year, and raised the amount they can spend without government approval to 50 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) Read More

TIKZN strengthening trade and investment ties with India
Representatives from Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal embarked on a preliminary mission to India earlier this year to attend the All India Association of Industries (AIAI) Global Summit on trade and investment and to follow-up on valuable leads in Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin and Chennai. During the first part of the mission, Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal attended the AIAI Conference in Mumbai and presented investment opportunities to attending delegates. A number of follow-up opportunities were also pursued and new leads generated with Mahindra & Mahindra, Yes Bank, First Rand India, the Confederation of Indian Industries, the All India Association of Industries and the Bombay Chamber of CommerceRead More

In Other Emerging News

Israelis Key to Central African Nations’ Development
On a barren, 60-acre tract of land overlooking the Gulf of Guinea, bulldozer operators turn the earth while sweaty construction workers take a lunch break in the shadow of an improvised Zim shipping container. Inside an air-conditioned trailer nearby, Tel Aviv native Zvi Blum sits at his desk under a colorful poster showing how Malabo’s evolving Centro Medico La Paz will look about a year from now. “This is going to be the best hospital in Africa. They’ve never seen anything like it before,” Blum says with obvious prideRead More

Zuma Nephew’s Oil Companies to Start Congo Exploration in 2012
Two companies owned by South African President Jacob Zuma’s nephew will in 2012 begin exploring two oil blocks in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that were previously contracted to Tullow Oil Plc, a company advisor said. Congo awarded blocks 1 and 2 in Lake Albert to Caprikat Ltd. and Foxwhelp Ltd., registered in the British Virgin Islands and owned by Khulubuse Zuma, according to a presidential decree published in Congo’s Journal Officiel June 22. Zuma is also chairman of Aurora Empowerment Systems Ltd., which is in the process of buying two gold mines in South Africa from Pamodzi Gold Ltd Read More

BRIC may expand to strengthen developing nations
Developing countries are trying to gain muscle to combat pressure from the industrialised nations. BRIC, the economic bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, is now seeking to rope in Mexico, South Africa and Indonesia as members to strengthen its voice, a senior government official has saidRead More

Chinese set to invest billions in Ireland
Call it the Celtic Dragon, but Chinese companies are set to invest billions in Ireland in an attempt to gain a foothold in Europe. Distressed countries such as Ireland and Greece are being targeted by the Chinese to begin a major expansion like what they did in Africa in recent decades. It begins next month when a group of Chinese investors hope to green light a $60 million investment in Athlone in Westmeath involving a "Chinese hub: of companiesRead More

Blogs, Opinions, Reports, Advocacy and Events
Letter from Ethiopia
"It's better to kill us first," says Olikoro, a Mursi tribesman, naked apart from the piece of cloth slung over his shoulder. An AK-47 rests by his side. He is talking about the Gibe III dam, the latest in a series being built along the Omo River in south-western Ethiopia. In Addis Ababa, the capital, the dam is considered essential for progress. But in the Omo Valley, far downstream of the dam's planned location, people depend on the river that begins in Ethiopia's emerald highlands, dropping through steep gorges before twisting towards Lake Turkana on the border with Kenya. Fifteen tribal groups depend on the seasonal floods to nourish their crops of maize and sorghum, and to provide grazing for their cattle. Gibe III will affect half a million lives. "If the dam is built, we will die," is how Olikoro puts it Read More

Brazil and China in Africa: Challenges for Development Cooperation
IPC-IG provided insights to an international seminar held on 9 June in Brasilia to discuss recent trends in the emerging countries’ growing cooperation with Africa in various fronts. Participants highlighted perspectives for South-South Cooperation based on similar challenges and on development innovations coming from Brazil and China Read More

India africa development cooperation past present and future
A compilation of reports, e-books and articles on India Africa Development Cooperation Past, Present and Future Available Here

Iran vote shows China's Western drift
Jian Junbo argues that China as one of the five permanent members of the UNSC as well as a traditional friend of Iran, has acted unusually in casting its vote in favor of this fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran. He warns that If China veers too close to the West it might damage its national interests in the long run, since it needs to cast its net in international relations as wide as possible to rise and become a genuine global powerRead More

World Cup's economic effects hardly last in struggling South Africa
Around 50,000 Chinese fans went to South Africa to watch the World Cup, making them one of the larger national contingents despite their lack of a team to back. They are among the estimated 373,000 foreigners who are watching the matches, each staying, on average, for 18 days, watching five games and spending nearly $4,000. But despite the rosy future painted, it is safe to say that the World Cup merely brings the hosting nation borrowed prosperity. It's impractical for South Africa to seek rapid enhancement of national status and make epic achievements through World Cup, as China did with the Beijing Olympic GamesRead More

China and Western-Led Aid Structures in Cambodia (guest post)
Guest Blogger Kate Griffiths is completing her MSc degree in Geosciences at the University of Sydney in Australia. Kate recently completed fieldwork in Cambodia, and reports here on her research on Chinese and Western donors. Kate finds that the Chinese have been participating (a bit) in the donor forums. Two things are particularly interesting about this. First, as Kate points out, the World Bank (which commonly chairs donor forums in poor countries) is headed in Cambodia by someone who is himself Chinese. Second, the donor forum (Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum) is headed by the Government of Cambodia, not the World Bank. Might these help explain this unusual cooperation? Or is Cambodia a Chinese experiment, "crossing the river by feeling the stones?"Read More

India’s strategic advantage over China in Africa
India lacks the material capabilities and the profile to emulate or directly compete with China in Africa. At the same time, it cannot ignore Beijing’s formidable influence and areas where both actors’ interests are increasingly clashing. The solution could reside in a long-term exploration of specific sectors in which India’s relatively untapped added value can be transformed into a strategic advantage over ChinaRead More

Field Report: Fighting for Lake Turkana
For the people of northwestern Kenya, fighting to protect Lake Turkana from the Gibe 3 Dam is a fight for their lives and the future of their unique cultures. In a recent visit, by Terri Hathaway from International Rivers, to the region revealed that communities around the lake are saying no to the dam, and standing together to take action to protect the Lake Read More

Challenges of social progress for Brazil, India, South Africa
Governments from the South are assuming leading roles in decisions on global issues such as climate change, health governance, trade regimes, and water and food security. Complementing the new economic and geopolitical importance of the developing world is the rapid pace of South-South investment, cooperation and trade. Earlier this month, South African President Jacob Zuma, accompanied by what was described as the largest South African business delegation to visit any country, paid a visit to India. Bilateral trade rose to $7.5 billion last year, up from $1.3 billion in 2001, while investments are reported to hover around $9 billion. Meanwhile, bilateral trade between Brazil and India is expected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year, according to the Brazil-India Chamber of Commerce. However, these three large countries face enormous challenges of meeting the aspirations of their populations, many of whom are hungry and poorRead More

China’s Agricultural Development: Lessons for Africa?
In past decades, advice from international institutions on agricultural policies and development strategies was based heavily on support for free markets and minimal public intervention. But in many regions, particularly in Africa, these strategies did not lead to significant poverty reduction and improvements in agricultural productivity. China, on the other hand, was able to reduce hunger and poverty dramatically by applying both public interventions and market mechanisms. Among other lessons sub-Saharan African can take from China's development strategy, the paper suggests that rural infrastructure should be improved and investments made in agricultural research. (Photo credit: Bernard Pollack) In a paper published recently by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) , Shenggen Fan and the China-DAC Study Group on Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development outlined their views on how Africa could draw lessons from China’s development strategyRead More

Our Common Strategic Interests: Africa's Role in the Post-G8 World
African countries are playing a more strategic role in international affairs. Global players that understand this and develop greater diplomatic and trade relations with African states will be greatly advantaged. For many countries, particularly those that have framed their relations with Africa largely in humanitarian terms, this will require an uncomfortable shift in public and policy perceptions. Without this shift, many of Africa's traditional partners, especially in Europe and North America, will lose global influence and trade advantages to the emerging powers in Asia, Africa and South AmericaRead More

Are Chinese corrupting Africa?
A 23 June article in the Shanghai newspaper Dongfang Zaobao, circulated on the Minjian China mailing list (an English version is available here), describes how the journalist was told at a Kenyan airport that ebony statues could not be carried in hand luggage, then waived through despite this obviously spurious infraction after paying a couple of dollars. A friend of the author’s, a Chinese resident of Africa, subsequently put it to him that it was Chinese businessmen who introduced this sort of petty corruption, or indeed extortion, by bringing with them the habit of paying off officials whom they wanted to get something done, until finally this payment came to be expected from them Read More

Podcasts
China in Africa: The Failure of the West in Africa
For 50 years the West, led by the United States, has pumped over half-a-trillion dollars in aid and development assistance into Africa.All that money has done very little to address the grinding poverty that continues to cripple so many across the continent.Now, the Chinese have arrived with a completely different worldview. This podcast explores the vast differences that separate Western aid from Chinese investment in Africa Listen here

China in Africa: The Sino-African Revolution
In this edition of the China Talking Points "China in Africa" podcast, host Eric Olander speaks with South African blogger Charlie Pistorius of www.toseque.com about his prediction of the coming Sino-African revolution. Pistorius contends that China's massive investment across the continent is neither good nor bad per say but is certainly not worthy of the condemnation bestowed upon Beijing by certain Western critics. Charges that Beijing employs certain "colonial" tactics and encourages corruption is nothing short of hypocritical when viewed in the context of European policies in Africa, according to Pistorius. Specifically, in the areas of oil production and how the Chinese allocate their investments in Africa, he contends the critics have it all wrongListen here

China in Africa: The Chinese in Kinshasa
In this edition of the China Talking Points "China in Africa" podcast, host Eric Olander speaks with Kinshasa-native and veteran Congolese television producer Tunga "Mimi" Mbia about the remarkable growth of the city's Chinese community.Just five years ago, the Chinese presence in Kinshasa was insignificant.Today, tens of thousands of new immigrants reside in the capital where they have opened small businesses, work on the major construction projects and are assimilating themselves into daily Congolese life with unprecedented speed.Yet despite their impressive numbers, the Chinese are now part of a complex matrix of Kinois race relations that offers both promise and peril Listen here

China in Africa: Behind the "Negative Narrative"
The China Talking Points "China in Africa" podcast hosted by Eric Olander. This week's guest is change.org editor Te-Ping Chen who discusses the "negative narrative" in the Western media associated with China's engagement of Africa Listen Here

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Sanusha Naidu is research director of Fahamu’s Emerging powers in Africa programme.
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.