Vol 2 (AAC) No 10 | CHINAAFRICA African officials ignore labour abuses 27th August 2009 African Labour Research Network investigators found that many factory inspectors at Kenya's Labour Ministry took bribes from Chinese and other companies to overlook bad practices. Despite reports that in Malawi, workers...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 10 | CHINAAFRICABRIEFING Beijing debates world's biggest aid fund 27th August 2009 Chinese officials are discussing ways to use some of their country's $2.1 trillion in foreign reserves to finance what could be the world's biggest development aid programme, as Western economies are...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 10 | INDIAAFRICABRIEFING The rice and the rot 27th August 2009 Opposition politicians in Delhi are pressing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress Party government for a full investigation into allegations of corrupt deals worth 25 billion rupees (US$520 million) in rice exports...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 9 | INDIAAFRICA Mittal's meltdown 31st July 2009 Hobbled by the global business downturn and billions of dollars in debt, Mittal's plans to turn West Africa into its iron-ore hub are on hold The world's biggest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, is cutting back sharply on its operations in West Africa, which were part of a plan to provide about two-thirds of the company's iron ore....
Vol 2 (AAC) No 9 | ALGERIACHINAAFRICANORTH AFRICABRIEFING Al Qaida may target Chinese in Africa 31st July 2009 More signs are emerging that China is being drawn inexorably into Africa's internal politics and is being compelled to take sides in wider geopolitical disputes. This time, the trigger was the...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 9 | JAPANAFRICABRIEFING Tokyo's new loans for Africa 31st July 2009 Japan is to add another US$4 billion in new concessional loans to Africa over the next five years, outpacing the spending of the China-Africa Development Fund, according to Koji Yonetani, the...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 8 | CHINAAFRICABRIEFING Minerals meltdown 26th June 2009 China is taking advantage of the global economic crisis to restructure its mining industry. A 4 trillion renminbi (US$586 billion) stimulus plan, announced late last year, encompasses sector-specific reform measures put...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 8 | CHINAAFRICABRIEFING Leaky dam builders 26th June 2009 While China's leading dam-builder Sinohydro was busy dealing with complaints from Western non-governmental organisations about its refusal to engage with local populations, an East African NGO shut down one of Sinohydro's...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 8 | CHINAAFRICABRIEFING ICBC's toe in African waters 26th June 2009 The October 2007 merger between the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank, and Standard Bank, South Africa's largest, is finally showing its potential. After a lacklustre start,...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 7 | AFRICAASIA The battle for the Indian Ocean 22nd May 2009 Competition for strategic advantage in the world’s most important shipping lanes draws Africa and Asia into a regional stand-off For the next few decades, the Indian Ocean will be the setting for competition between three great powers: the United States adjusting to an increasingly multipolar world, and the rising military...