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Published 1st June 2011

Vol 4 (AAC) No 8


South Sudan

Juba promises continuity for Asian investors

South Sudan

The Asian companies which exploit Sudan’s oil are holding on tight as tensions mount over Abyei and a new constitutional order is created in the South

As Khartoum and Juba discussed new oil arrangements in Addis Ababa, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) seized control of the contested district of Abyei on 19-21 May. Nevertheless, as it approaches Independence on 9 July, the Government of South Sudan has assured Asian investors of continuity. The GOSS is, however, in the challenging position of relying upon oil for development – and upon its long-time foe, the National Congress Party (NCP) government in Khartoum, to get that oil to market. The pipelines that carry the South’s oil to Port Sudan all run through the North to refineries there. Some think that Abyei is just a bargaining chip in the oil negotiations, but Abyei also matters politically to both sides.


The charge for Africa

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

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New Delhi’s second India-Africa summit seeks to reinvigorate trade and diplomatic ties with allies in Eastern and Southern Africa

India– which held its second India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa on 24-25 May – is challenging China’s previously unparalleled reach across the African continent. The Asian hypereconomies are...


Bélinga bonus, uncertainty for CMEC

The Gabonese government is looking for a way out of its contract with a Chinese company to mine iron ore at Bélinga

New technical studies have found that the Bélinga iron ore mine in northeastern Gabon contains almost four times the original estimated resources and the Libreville government is actively...


Leading lights

Construction companies, traders, clerics and teachers are part of Turkey’s new wave of engagement in Africa

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is ratcheting up its African diplomatic offensive, touting the ‘moderate Islamism’ of the ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party,...


Doors open, doors close

In early June, Guinea’s President Alpha Condé set the tone for more tense negotiations with mining investors when he declared that Chinese-style mines-for-infrastructure deals are unacceptable. The government...


Spinning and sowing

Bangladeshi companies will be the next Asian businesses scouring African countries in pursuit of land. With a growing population, rapidly disappearing arable land and rising food prices, the...



Pointers

Manmohan Singh: A reforming economist

Prime Minister, India

While playing down the notion that it is in competition with China, India has stepped forward with offers that demand attention. At the India-Africa summit in Addis Ababa,...


Madické Niang

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senegal

Senegal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Madické Niang has kept up a busy Asian schedule this year. February took him to Delhi for meetings with his counterpart, SM Krishna....


Park Kwang-kee

President, Samsung Electronics Africa

The world’s largest electronics company has set its sights on the burgeoning African consumer market. At the Samsung Africa Forum, a flashy five-day conference in Nairobi, Kenya, in...


Karen Agustiawan

President Director and CEO, PT Pertamina

With soaring energy consumption and declining production from its own petroleum reserves, Indonesia has launched a quest for overseas assets. In May, the state-owned company PT Pertamina bid...