Jump to navigation

Published 1st March 2008

Vol 1 (AAC) No 5

Nigeria

Cementing new relations

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures
Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

View site

An ambitious new African-Chinese partnership could fuel the continent's next construction boom

Agreements signed this month between Dangote Industries of Nigeria and China's Sinoma International Engineering Company to build 13 cement production lines across Africa at a cost of US$2.8 billion will give the new partners a leading edge over their multinational rivals. Aliko Dangote, Chief Executive of Dangote Industries, confirmed to Africa-Asia Confidential in Abuja that the agreements with Sinoma would amount to China's single biggest private sector deal in Africa.

Speedy motors miracle

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

View site

Surprising customers and competitors, India's car exports are now beginning to capture Africa's markets

After a long courtship India's biggest car manufacturers are looking for rapid expansion in African markets. Indian vehicle makers are bullish on Africa and engaged in steadily expanding their reach to...

Single-minded politics

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

View site

Smaller Asian states are expanding relations with Africa, in the wake of China and India

A visit from North Korea's elite and reculsive leadership is rare for any region, especially Africa. On 18 March Kim Yong-nam, President of the Supreme People's Assembly and...

From Tokyo to Bamako

Japan is increasing its visibility in Mali and the rest of Africa in preparation for the TICAD IV and G8 summits

Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré (ATT) finally has something to show for his consistent performance as one of Japan's biggest proponents in Africa with the opening of the...

Lights off

The abrupt closure of the Malaysian textile company Ramatex Group's operations in Windhoek with a loss of 3,000 jobs in early March has sparked a political row with trades unionists accusing...

West Africa looks east

Mali is not the only Francophone West African country courted by Japan. President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal was invited, along with the Presidents of Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania to...

Firing up the coal

India needs coal to fire up its growth, freight rates from Australia's mines have soared, and India's own coal-mines are crippled by price controls and labour regulations. So importers are...

Szechwan samba

Why are China's importers of raw materials so interested in Africa rather than other continents, such as Latin America? Latin America's natural resources are largely controlled by giant companies from...

Changing horses

In the latest diplomatic challenge to Taiwan, the tiny Atlantic archipelago is again flirting with Beijing

The appointment of a new Prime Minister in São Tomé e Príncipe could herald a reverse for Taiwan, according to regional diplomatic sources, who say political and commercial considerations are pushing the government...

The copper clashes

Tension and recriminations continue to mark relations between Zambian workers and Chinese investors, two months after the end of a two-day strike at a US$200 million copper smelting...

Pointers

Justin Yifu Lin

Chief Economist for Development Economics, World Bank

At the end of May, Justin Yifu Lin will succeed France's François Bourguignon as Chief Economist at the World Bank. The Peking University professor will be the first economist from a developing...

Lee Won-gul

CEO Korea Electric Power Corporation

Born in Busan in 1959, Lee attended the prestigious Sungkyunkwan University, majoring in public administration. He joined the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1978 and held posts in the...

Purnomo Yusgiantoro

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia n A native of Semarang, Central Java, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, 56, holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology, and master's...

Nguyen Tan Dung

Prime Minister of Vietnam

Hailing from Ca Mau, the southernmost province of Vietnam, Dung joined the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (aka the Viet Cong) in 1961. He was 12 years...

Stories by country

Footer Map