Vol 53 No 6 | AFRICABRITAIN Getting out of the bush 16th March 2012 Accountants and managers at the BBC are calling time on the African service and cutting British influence on the continent The British Broadcasting Corporation’s decision to eviscerate its highly successful African Service looks counterproductive. It is all the more surprising given that Africa is being targeted by well-financed...
Vol 53 No 5 | AFRICAMININGCOMMODITIES The Glencore-Xstrata merger 2nd March 2012 Two of the world’s biggest mining and trading companies are joining forces to launch new ventures in West and South Africa A new African empire stretching from the Sahara to South Africa is in the making as Glencore and Xstrata, two giant mining and trading companies, finalise their plans...
Vol 53 No 5 | AFRICAOIL AND GASMINING Companies fight regulation 2nd March 2012 New US laws and planned European regulations are coming under fire from well-organised oil and mining lobbyists Extractive industries don’t always like compulsory disclosure requirements. Companies are now fighting a rearguard action against recent United States and European Union legislation.
Vol 53 No 3 | ECONOMYAFRICA Fanfares for Africa 3rd February 2012 The latest fanfare for Africa’s economic prospects comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s survey of fund and asset managers, bankers and other financiers for Invest AD, the sovereign...
Vol 53 No 2 | AFRICATELECOMS New technology, new repression 20th January 2012 Authoritarian regimes’ use of cellphones is under the spotlight One of the most striking aspects of last year’s North African revolutions was the use of new technology as a tool for political organisation – and to outwit...
Vol 53 No 1 | AFRICA The long march speeds up 6th January 2012 Stronger economies, better education and technology are driving more political change and unrest Expect turbulence. As well as sound advice from pilots to passengers on aircraft taking off from Kisangani to Kinshasa in Congo-Kinshasa, such warnings look apposite for the year...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 12 | AFRICAASIA Textile trouble 2nd October 2012 The garment industry is Africa’s first rung on the ladder of industrialisation but Asian competition has been wrecking it Asian textile factories in Africa are often the scene of angry confrontation between workers and management, governments and traders. Asian production is widely seen as a threat to...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 12 | AFRICAASIA A temporary revolution 2nd October 2012 A new study from the University of Oxford’s Centre for the Study of African Economies* reveals that the boom in Asian textile investment in Africa is over. To...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 12 | AFRICAASIA Noel Naval Tata 2nd October 2012 Managing Director, Tata International Noel Tata was never a serious contender to succeed his half-brother Ratan Tata at the head of Tata Group. He seems content with running...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 10 | CHINAAFRICA FOCAC V brings billions more 31st July 2012 Talk of a ‘new type of partnership’ was overblown, but Beijing pledged $20 bn. and took first steps toward improving corporate and environmental regulations With a crucial leadership handover at the end of the year and growing domestic economic concerns, Beijing hosted the Fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on 19-20 July with...