Latest Edition: Emerging Powers News Round-Up

1. General

Nigeria may be Africa’s 1st BRIC, but not yet
South Africa, the largest economy in Africa, is eager for elevation to the coveted BRIC status of emerging markets, but investors say Nigeria is a more probable African contender, even if promotion for either is some way off. Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, at last month’s G20 meeting in South Korea, said South Africa had “applied” to join the four-member BRIC grouping of fast-growing emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China. Turkey, Mexico and Indonesia are typically the countries investors eye as an addition to the BRICs, which have grabbed an outsize slice of emerging market investment in recent years due to their scale, growth and impact on the global economy. But resource-rich Africa, boasting some of the fastest-growing countries in the world, has become a focus for investors looking for high returns over a longer time frame.
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Emerging markets the ones to watch
Investors have shown a tendency to snub those mature markets coming out of recession, suffering from a hangover of indebtedness and stimulus packages. Instead, they're turning to emerging markets, which have shown impressive levels of growth and, because of their dynamism, are probably set to drive global economic growth in the years ahead. This is the view of Dr Lyal White, director of the Centre for Dynamic Markets at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), who spoke at the recent GIBS Foresight 2011 Forum held on major trends that will shape business in the year ahead.
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Businesspeople from Mauritius to invest in tourism projects in Mozambique
Small Island Development, a company from Mauritius, has been awarded a public tender for tourist exploration of the Casuarina and Epidendron islands, in Mozambique’s Zambézia province, an official told Macauhub in Maputo. The source from the National Tourism Institute (Inatur) also said that the contract had been signed by Hermenegildo Mazuze Neves, director of the National Tourism Institute, and by Jack Francis, the representative in Mozambique of Small Island Development, and the Mauritius company plans to invest US$20 million in the project.
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2. China in Africa

China business in Africa breaking free of Beijing
Chinese businesses are enjoying increased autonomy and economic freedom to invest in Africa, analysts say, challenging diplomatic perceptions that Beijing is playing puppet master on the continent. With China's role in Africa the subject of considerable tension with the United States, the reality, according to financial experts, is that the sheer scale of Chinese interests makes overarching control impossible.
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China in Zambia: Jobs or exploitation?
At least 11 miners were allegedly shot by two Chinese managers during a protest about poor conditions in October. The long road leading up to the mine in the southern rural district of Sinazongwe is covered in black coal dust, but otherwise there is not a hint that the 21st Century has reached the area. And this is what has angered the miners. They feel that while the Chinese benefit from the mine and live comfortably, they remain in poverty often renting mud-walled huts lacking basic facilities. "The salaries are a problem - we get 500,000 kwacha ($100; £63) a month but our rentals cost about 100,000 kwacha ($20; £13)," says miner Ngula Simukuka, who has a wife and four children to support in nearby Sinazeze township.
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Chinese firm offers $100m deal for Aurora
Liquidator Enver Motala would not name the Chinese state-owned mining company that will buy 65 percent of Aurora Empowerment Systems for $100-million (R686-million), but said he was confident the deal would give the cash-strapped company a boost. The Chinese company also promised to employ embattled workers, who are owed bonuses for December 2009 and salaries from March to date. “These are people with a proven track record. They have indicated that they will preserve jobs by utilising the local workforce. They will bring on board their management staff, which we are happy with,” Motala said. Motala said the mining company was bigger than most operators in South Africa, with 20 operations in China. “They will introduce their technologically advanced equipment to the mining operations in South Africa so they can make the mines viable,” he said.
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Cameroon takes $743 mln China loan for water project
Cameroon secured a 366 billion CFA franc loan from the Export-Import Bank of China to fund a water distribution project, the government said on Wednesday. The programme will reach 2 million people in the capital city Yaounde and villages along the pipeline, marking a significant infrastructure boost for the central African state in which the United Nations says only half the 19.5 million population have access to clean water. The project should begin in January, Water and Energy Minister Michael Tomdio said on state radio.
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China can get generals to quit: WikiLeaks
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) holds the key to dismantling Zimbabwe’s ruling cabal and is likely to be influential in achieving elusive reforms to nudge hardline security chiefs to agree to political changes, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable. The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks, says German Ambassador to Zimbabwe Albrecht Conze told US ambassador Charles Ray that the PRC plays a significant role in Zimbabwe and that Western nations need to involve them more in cooperative activities wherever possible. In the December 2009 cable, Ray said Conze agreed with him that while China was unlikely to want to participate in pro-democracy programmes, economic stability was clearly in its interests.
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SA 'must improve trade relationship with China'
South Africa must address the "adverse characteristics" in its trading relationship with China and ensure that a relationship of "mutual benefit takes centre stage", said Jorge Maia, the head of research and information at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). While exports to China - SA's leading export destination since early last year - are dominated by a handful of raw materials, Chinese imports play a dominant role in almost all manufacturing subsectors in SA, according to an analysis of SA's trade patterns, which was released by the IDC this week.
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China, Germany pledge support for Malawi’s move to renewables
China and Germany have pledged to help Malawi explore solar and wind energy options in a bid to mitigate the Southern African country’s electricity deficit. Malawi depends on hydroelectricity generated at power stations on the Shire river and is grappling to meet the current electricity demand of over 300 MW. The country’s installed generation capacity is 287 MW. Natural Resources, Energy and Envi- ronment Minister Grain Malunga says that China has pledged to assist Malawi in embracing the use of solar energy on a bigger scale.
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China's dominance in Kenya worries Washington
This sign probably says it all; 'Bear with us today for a better tomorrow'. To most Kenyans using Thika Road, the sign by China's Wu Yi, Syno Hydro and China Overseas Enginering Corporation that are transforming the busy road to a super highway cannot be more than assuring. "The traffic jams are unbearable today but when you see what is coming up, there is no doubt about a better future," said Charles Wanjau, a user of the road. But not everybody is happy with the Chinese coming to Kenya.
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Chinese investors to put up tea factory in Tarime
More than 1,500 tea growers in Tarime district are expected to benefit from a tea processing plant to be built by Chinese investors in the district. The farmers are currently forced to trek long distances to Kenya to sell their cash crop due to lack of a reliable market. China has expressed its willingness to invest in the factory in the district through a private company, Chunlun Tea Group Company, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China (MOA). The company's owner, Fu Tianlong and Cao Haijun from the ministry, met with farmers' leaders recently in Tarime district and made preliminary talks about the investment.
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Vehicle assemblers queue to set up shop in Kenya
Global auto firms are increasingly looking to establish assembly plants in Kenya in a move that sets the stage for price realignments in a market that has remained in the hands of three players for decades. China’s State-owned manufacturer Foton Motor has announced plans to open a plant in Nairobi next year to produce light commercial vehicles, becoming the third auto dealer after Japan’s Toyota and India’s Tata to unveil such assemblies. The three auto dealers ship in built vehicles save for Toyota that assembles some of its pick-ups locally, a move that has denied them room to lower prices because of high freight and duty charges.
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Chinese to help steer Zambia's reconstruction drive
Zambia's plum development projects under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative has taken shape, setting off a welter of investments in real estate, construction and energy. It is early days yet, but going by the recent announcement of a master plan under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, in which Chinese companies are tipped to play a major role, Zambia is set to maintain the regional construction boom triggered by the building of stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa. The country's Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane says the government hopes the PPP initiative will grow the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by at least 10 percent within the next five years through increased investments.
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China, Namibia stress commitment to stronger relations
China and Nambia on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to building stronger bilateral relations at a meeting between Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang and Namibian Foreign Minister Utoni Nujoma, who is on a week-long visit to China. Li reviewed the sound growth of China-Namibia relations since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1990, citing solid progress of bilateral cooperation and deeper people-to-people friendship. China regarded Namibia as one of the most trustworthy friends and partners, Li said, pledging to make joint efforts with Namibia to boost bilateral relations.
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3. India In Africa

Delhi to set up 19 training institutes in Africa
A foreign trade institute in Uganda and a diamond centre in Botswana are among the 19 training institutes that India will set up across Africa in the next two years. The two sides have finalised the location of the institutes ahead of India’s second continent-level summit with Africa next year. They are part of the commitment that followed the first India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008. The training institutes, envisaged in the 2008 Delhi Declaration, were unveiled in the joint action plan India and the African Union (AU) launched in March this year. But it was only last week that the AU conveyed to the Indian side the final list of locations where these training institutes, Gurjit Singh, joint secretary in charge of East and South Africa in the external affairs ministry, said.
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State-run, private Indian firms tie up for Africa projects
The state-run Engineering Projects India (EPI) Saturday signed an agreement with Universal Empire Infrastructures Limited (UEIL) to secure high value infrastructure development projects in Africa and South Asia. 'Indian private and public enterprises are joining hands as they eye business opportunities, and also to compete against China's rapid forays in infrastructure development projects, in Africa and South Asian countries,' the company said in a statement. The tie-up, signed in the presence of Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, will ensure that the combined strength will help them against stiff competition, it added.
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India-Africa ties in 'transformational phase
India's ties with Africa are in a 'transformational phase' and its efforts are radically different from what any other country is doing in the vast and quickly changing continent, a senior official said here. The Indian government's challenge was to convert warm political relations with the 53-nation continent into productive economic ties, he said. 'A successful foreign policy has to transform political ties into a modern functional one,' said Gurjit Singh, joint secretary (East and Southern Africa) in the ministry of external affairs (MEA).
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Strengthening Zim– India relations will catapult growth
As the global economic balance of power shifts from the West to the East, it is becoming increasingly evident that we are living through the tail end of half a millennium of Western supremacy. Consequently, Zimbabwe must perfect the art of benefiting from India, one of Asia's emerging giants and a country that may become its most important trading partner.
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4. In Other Emerging Powers News

Angola, SA cement ties
South Africa is hoping that next week's state visit by Angolan president José Eduardo Dos Santos will cement political and economic ties between the two countries which suffered under Thabo Mbeki's rule but have re-engaged under President Jacob Zuma. Dos Santos, travelling with a delegation of ministers, is due on Monday and will meet Zuma during his three-day stay. South Africa's trade and industry department and Business Unity South Africa have organised a business round table to discuss investment opportunities in Angola.
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SA, Angola sign energy deal in historic visit
South Africa and oil-producing Angola took a step away from decades of friction on Tuesday by signing an energy deal during the first state visit of Angola's long-standing leader to the regional economic power. South Africa is looking for new sources of oil to help power the continent's leading economy and has eyed Angola – Africa's second-biggest oil producer – as a potential new supplier. On a first visit to South Africa during his three-decade rule, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said he was open to new forms of cooperation.
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Tanzania plans $2 bln hydro plant with Brazil
Tanzania is planning with Brazil to build a power plant estimated to cost $2 billion that could transform east Africa's second largest economy into a net exporter of electricity, a senior official said on Wednesday. Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe and other officials held talks with their Brazilian counterparts in Sao Paolo in September on the construction of the proposed 2,100 megawatt (MW) Stiegler's Gorge hydro-power station.
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5. Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

SA must learn from DRC, China link
I don't know what you've heard about China's involvement in Africa. What I heard up to now is that that country is raping the continent of natural resources by bringing in cheap Chinese labour, building things for Africans and leaving behind structures with the possibility of becoming white elephants. When I first heard and believed this, I had never been to a country with people from mainland China who had been sent there by the Chinese government. So, on landing in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week, the last thing I thought I would encounter were Chinese people from mainland China at work. But there they were. My guide - who was once in charge of the DRC's reconstruction programme - was shocked by my perception.
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Q+A-China, India rivalry across the globe
Trade between India and China is booming, but diplomatic ties have become increasingly fraught over their competing global aspirations, underlined by a rivalry for natural resources, skewed trade and an unsettled border. Here are some questions and answers about their rivalry across the globe.
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Chinese Refineries in Nigeria, Chad, Niger & Ghana: The Sudan Model?
We've read recently about Chinese offers and deals to build refineries in African countries: Nigeria, Chad, and Niger and in Ghana, alumina, (but perhaps oil in the future). Not all of these deals have been concluded or financed, but we can learn something about the probable structure of the deals by revisiting the first of these: the Khartoum Refinery, a joint venture between the government of Sudan and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which opened in June 1998.
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