CHINAAFRICA The sun also rises 27th March 2009 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site China's plummeting exports are worse than many economists had expected but the country's slowdown does not necessarily spell doom for Africa Africa and China escaped the worst direct effects of the global slowdown last year, Africa because its banks were not integrated into international credit markets, and China because its banks were barred from investing in the complex financial products that wrecked several Western banks. But the second and third waves of the slowdown have been breaking on the shores of the African and Chinese economies and wreaking havoc.
ZIMBABWEASIA Bank East 27th March 2009 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Mugabe's multi-million dollar property in Hong Kong is just one part of growing financial links between Zimbabwe's ruling clique and Asia Asia is an attractive destination for the property and financial portfolios of the senior cadres of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. It is extremely profitable, free from...
ZIMBABWERUSSIA Diamonds in the rough 27th March 2009 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site After disappointments in Asia, President Robert Mugabe and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono have been working hard to bring in Russian capital, especially in the opaque diamond sector. Russian surveyors have...
JAPANAFRICA Missing the target 27th March 2009 Economic and political troubles at home mean that Japan is having difficulty following through on its pledges to Africa The man who was Japanese Prime Minister in 2007-08, Yasuo Fukuda, was in Botswana on 21-22 March for the follow-up meeting of the Tokyo International Conference on African...
MADAGASCARINDIASOUTH KOREA A target of the revolution 27th March 2009 After the Madagascar imbroglio, South Korean and Indian companies are trying new tactics Almost as soon as he seized power on 18 March, putchiste President Andry Rajoelina cancelled a proposed contract to lease over a million hectares of land to South Korea's Daewoo...
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLEAFRICAASIA Banking on secrecy 27th March 2009 Finance ministers will come under heavy pressure at the G-20 meeting on 2 April in London to crack down on tax havens and the banking secrecy regimes that...
JAPANAFRICA A 'challenge and a big stress' 27th March 2009 Before China, there was Japan, say Kenyans. The Japanese aid model is built largely around supplying technical expertise rather than direct budget support. Japanese experts in agriculture, energy and education are...
SOUTH KOREAAFRICA Seoul's safety in numbers 27th March 2009 On top of the Madagascar saga, South Korea's loss of oil acreage in Nigeria in February is the biggest of several setbacks for Korean companies in Africa in recent months (AAC...
SUDANCHINA Business is politics 27th March 2009 The ICC's issuing of the arrest warrant for the Sudanese President exposes the contradictions in China's 'business is business' policy The arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir issued by the International Criminal Court on 4 March comprehensively overshadowed the golden jubilee of Chinese-Sudanese relations. March...
CHINAIRELANDAFRICA When Irish eyes are smiling 27th March 2009 Ireland's Tullow, which has quickly outgrown out its minnow status, enters April stronger, having raised US$2 billion in debt financing and energetically dismissing speculation that it would consider selling...
GHANAVIETNAM Victoria Kwakwa 27th March 2009 World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Ghanaian economist Victoria Kwakwa starts her job as World Bank Country Director for Vietnam in April. It is an important posting, given Vietnam's economic record over the past three...
RWANDASINGAPORE Alphonsus Chia Chung Mun 27th March 2009 Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) Rwandan President Paul Kagame has secured Singapore's interest in Rwanda's future. Singapore Cooperation Enterprise's Chief Executive Officer, Alphonsus Chia, was in Kigali in February to talk up investment opportunities. This is...
AFRICA Shantayanan Devarajan 27th March 2009 Chief Economist, Africa Region, World Bank The effects of the global slowdown on African economies have been generally overlooked. The World Bank has responded with its advocacy of more regional integration and infrastructure development, and a proposal...
SOUTH AFRICAJAPAN Yukiya Amano and Abdul Samad Minty 27th March 2009 International Atomic Energy Agency Governors, Japan and South Africa The International Atomic Energy Agency is to decide on a successor to Egypt's Mohamed ElBaradei as Director-General on 26-27 March. Two IAEA Governors, strong>Yukiya Amano and Abdul Samad...