Latest edition: emerging powers news roundup

1. General

Ethiopia land lease risks displacement: report
Ethiopia's leasing of vast swathes of arable land to foreign and state-owned firms risks adding to the millions of people already requiring food aid in the drought-struck region, a US based think-tank warned on Friday. Some 200,000 people are at risk of being displaced from land-grabbing, with at least 350,000 hectares of land leased since 2008 in south-west Ethiopia alone, according to the Oakland Institute. "The impact is going to be terrible, because we can't expect this kind of development to benefit the local population," said Oakland's policy director Frederic Mousseau.
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2. China in Africa

Uganda blocks Chinese loan over procurement concerns
As wariness about China's investments in Africa grows, allegations of procurement flaws and overpricing has moved the Ugandan government to block a US$74 million loan from the Import and Export Bank of China (EXIM) meant for a digital migration project. The loan process has been halted even though the Ugandan and Chinese governments had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Keith Muhakanizi, the deputy secretary to the Ugandan treasury, made the announcement last week and has thus far given no indication that the loan process would be restarted.
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African Minerals Inks US$1.5 Bln Deal with China’s Shandong Steel
A US$1.5 billion agreement was signed between African Minerals and China’s Shandong Steel and Iron Group (SSIG), the world’s ninth largest steel producer, bringing the a long-awaited deal to a close. According to the agreement, SSIG will fund US$1.5 billion in three phases to acquire a 25 percent stake in African Minerals’ Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone. The investment will grant SSIG the right to purchase 25 percent of Tonkolili’s future production at market value. In addition, SSIG will buy up to 10 million tons of iron ore in three phases, with discounts in each phase ranging from zero to 15 percent.
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China to give $14 million in aid to Africa
China will provide about $14 million in humanitarian assistance to drought affected areas in the Horn of Africa, including more than $7 million to Ethiopia, the Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia said earlier this week. The Chinese government is also holding consultations with concerned parties of the United Nations to provide humanitarian assistance to Somalia, Ambassador Gu Xiaojie said during a news conference on Tuesday at the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.
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Bank of China launches Yuan cash business in Zambia
Bank of China Ltd. the country’s fourth-largest lender by assets, said Tuesday it launched yuan cash business services in Zambia with the aim of boosting economic ties between China and Africa. The bank’s branch in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, provides yuan services such as deposit-taking, lending and remittances as part of measures to provide financial services catering to Chinese companies that are trying to move into African markets.
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China proposes $5b equity investments in Africa
The Chinese Government has unveiled plans to invest about $5 billion dollars in private equity fund in Africa, substantial part of which may be targeted at shares of some Nigerian enterprises. The Vice President of the China-Africa Development Fund, Hu Zhirong, said when he led a six-man delegation on a courtesy visit to the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ms. Bolanle Onagoruwa in Abuja, that the private equity fund would be administered by the China-Africa Development Fund.
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SA, China strengthen cultural ties
China plans to set up a cultural centre in South Africa to promote artistic and cultural exchanges between the two countries, visiting Chinese Vice Minister of Culture Zhao Shaohua said this week. Shaohua made the announcement shortly before signing a programme of cooperation with acting Arts and Culture Minister Tokyo Sexwale in Pretoria on Tuesday.
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3. India in Africa

India to send food aid to famine-hit Somalia
Taking advantage of the bulging food stocks in its godowns, India is getting ready to send emergency food aid to famine-hit Somalia. An announcement is expected to be made over the next few days. The government is working on a plan to give grain to the World Food Programme (( WFP)) for distribution in Somalia, where three new regions have just been declared famine-hit by the UN. Out of a population of roughly 7.5 million, the UN says 3.2 million Somalis are in need of immediate lifesaving assistance. An estimate said about 29,000 children under the age of 5 had died in Somalia.
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Essar to invest up to $4bn in Zimbabwe steel plant
Indian conglomerate Essar plans to spend up to $4-billion constructing a plant to process iron ore from Zimbabwe's Mwanesi resource within the next five years, Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube said on Wednesday. This would be the largest single foreign investment into Zimbabwe's troubled economy and would equal about two-thirds of the country's estimated GDP. Ncube said the plant would process 25-million tons of low grade ore annually and create 500 jobs in a country with an unemployment rate of more than 85%. It is the latest drive by investors from emerging market giant India into Africa.
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4. In Other Emerging Powers News

R2.4bn Swaziland loan conditional on reforms – Gordhan
South Africa approved a R2.4-billion loan to neighbouring Swaziland, but Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday that the loan was conditional on certain reforms. The Swazi government would have to comply with a number of financial, governance and political reforms to receive the loan, he told journalists in Pretoria. In line with the agreement, the loan would be paid in three tranches, with the first payment set for this month, a second in October and the last for February next year.
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5. Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

Brazil, India and South Africa Must Do More to Be Powers: View
Much attention has justifiably focused on Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- the so-called BRICS -- as a group of economically rising countries that could play a growing role in stabilizing their regions and helping the West promote a rules-based international system. Unfortunately, these nations don’t share the same interests and values, and are unlikely to act collectively. Three of the five -- India, Brazil and South Africa -- often don’t seem to demonstrate the awareness that international leadership comes with responsibilities as well as privileges.
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Swazi Kings and Greek Titans: Implications for Regionalism
The Swazi situation is linked to the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) cuts, fiscal mismanagement and the King’s personal spending habits. As far back as 2008 difficulties were anticipated for several members of SACU, including Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland. This should have signalled worries for countries such as Swaziland, since the SACU revenue pool had already shown an estimated 9 billion Emalangeni shortfall for the year-end to March 2009. SACU receipts comprise up to 60% of Swaziland’s annual revenue. According to recent reports, South Africa might also have to finance other SACU member states, including Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana, since our state would have to assume responsibility for the deficit in the SACU revenue pool.
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"Germany blames Chinese land buys for Africa drought": Really?
Today here at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC, I spoke by phone with a German reporter who wanted to interview someone about the statement this morning by the German government's Africa adviser Guenter Nooke who allegedly blamed Chinese land buys for the drought in the Horn of Africa.
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DRC Debates: Is China's Sicomines Project Good or Bad for the Congo?
On May 27, 2011 I attended a very interesting day-long "debate" in Brussels focused solely on the famous China-Congo "deal of the century". This package deal was originally a $9 billion package combining a copper mining investment ($3+ billion) and two $3 billion commodity-backed infrastructure credits. (The second credit was deleted under pressure from the IMF). The Brussels conference was organized as a "day of study" by an impressive group of young men affiliated with the two biggest Belgian trade unions, 11.11.11 (the consortium of Flemish NGOs), the movement intal (International Action for Liberation), and two Belgian think tanks.
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