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...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 10 | CHINAAFRICA Big promises abroad, more worries at home 31st July 2012 In July, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank cut growth estimates for China and its African trading partners. The IMF forecast that China’s gross domestic product would...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 10 | INDIAAFRICABRIEFING New Delhi’s Development partnerships 31st July 2012 Indian policy-makers are getting more serious about the effective delivery of aid to their diplomatic allies. New Delhi lags far behind its Asian counterparts in speed of despatch,...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 9 | PAKISTANAFRICABRIEFING Traders, Ambassadors and Islamists 30th June 2012 Pakistan’s engagement with Africa is struggling to get off the ground. While the government is launching its first serious efforts at summitry, boosting trade and improving continental diplomacy,...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 9 | CHINAAFRICABRIEFING A matter of private equity 30th June 2012 Africa’s top private equity firms are in talks with their Chinese counterparts to channel a new wave of investment into African companies. On 16 June, Vincent Le Guennou,...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 8 | CHINAAFRICA Previewing FOCAC V 1st June 2012 FOCAC will review China’s successes in Africa, as well as its problems, but Beijing’s policy of non-interference remains non-negotiable Beijing hosts the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on 19-20 July, where China will make a raft of new promises to its African...
Vol 5 (AAC) No 8 | JAPANAFRICABRIEFING Full steam ahead on the Marrakech Express 1st June 2012 Despite a faltering economy and a devastating 2011 earthquake, Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told the follow-up meeting to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Marrakech,...