Musings From Abroad

China’s Xi vows to support Angola’s economic diversification plan

Published

9 months ago

March 16, 2024

As Angola seeks to diversify its economy, Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has said he will support Chinese companies investing in its agriculture and manufacturing sectors.

Xi told visiting Angolan President, Joao Lourenco, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, that, “The Chinese side is willing to work with Angola to implement key infrastructure projects and support strong Chinese companies to go to Angola to carry out various forms of cooperation.”

The visit by Lourenco follows Angola’s announcement in December that it would leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and end its cooperation with China.

Xi told Lourenco on Friday that Chinese firms could “help Angola achieve agricultural modernisation, industrialisation and economic diversification,” the state media report said, part of Beijing’s long-term drive to deepen economic and political ties with Africa.

Angola owes Chinese creditors just under $21 billion, according to World Bank data, so China has a vested interest in its economic overhaul. To finance its transition, Luanda does not have enough non-oil revenue sources to support Lourenco’s structural reforms. He will be accompanied by his agriculture minister on this visit.

China and Angola signed an investment protection agreement in December, while Angolan firms will have tariff-free access to China’s massive consumer market starting Dec. 25. As part of the agreement, the two leaders agreed to upgrade bilateral ties to the level of a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, allowing for greater trade and investment.

Since Angola joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2014, Chinese firms have invested close to $12 billion, with just under half of that going into the country’s energy sector in the southern African country, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

In a recent assessment of Angola’s economy, the International Monetary Fund said “heavy dependence on the oil sector” put Luanda at a high risk of missing the 0.5% growth target the Fund forecast for 2023, as the IMF expects its oil sector to have shrunk by an annual 6.1% over last year.

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Musings From Abroad

Swiss company Mercuria partners Zambia’s IDC in new metals trading firm

Published

21 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by Swiss commodities trader, Mercuria, on Thursday, it has established a metals trading arm with Zambia, the second-largest producer of copper in Africa.

The trading unit is jointly owned by Mercuria and an arm of Zambia’s Industrial Development Company (IDC), and its purpose is to allow Zambia to engage directly in the minerals trading market.

The joint venture “envisages the establishment of a vehicle to market and trade Zambian copper by mutual leverage,” according to a statement from Cornwell Muleya, the CEO of IDC.

The southern African nation wants to increase copper output to roughly 3 million metric tonnes within the next ten years, and in 2023, it produced roughly 698,000 tonnes of copper, down from 763,000 metric tonnes the year before.

In June, the Zambian government announced that it would establish a minerals trading unit.

Investors including First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold are ramping up production, with output set to receive a further boost once Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines restart activity.

“Our joint venture with IDC marks a significant milestone for Zambia as it positions itself more strategically in the global minerals market,” Kostas Bintas, Mercuria’s global head of metals and minerals, said in the statement.

Musings From Abroad

Blinken to reveal UN Sudan funding additions

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Additional financing for humanitarian aid to Sudan and initiatives to strengthen civil society in the nation, where a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, will be announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations on Thursday.

Blinken will make many announcements when he leads a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan on Thursday, which will centre on humanitarian aid and civilian protection, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Price, the announcements would include more money for humanitarian help, initiatives to strengthen civil society, and the return of democracy.

“Sudan, unfortunately, has risked becoming a forgotten conflict,” Price said.

“So part of the reason the secretary … opted to convene a signature event on this very topic is to make sure it remains in the spotlight,” Price said.

For almost 18 months, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army have been engaged in combat, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced over 12 million people from their homes and made it difficult for U.N. organisations to provide aid.

A power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces preceded a planned shift to civilian administration, which sparked the conflict in April 2023.

Although the army declined to join this year’s U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva, the warring parties did pledge to increase assistance access, which prevented any movement towards a ceasefire.

Price stated that before President Joe Biden’s term ends next month, the United States would keep collaborating with allies to enhance humanitarian access in Sudan and eventually end hostilities.

“We are going to leave nothing on the field in our efforts to work with allies, with partners, with the Sudanese stakeholders themselves, on the issues that matter most – humanitarian access, the provision of humanitarian assistance, ultimately, the process by which we can work to get to a cessation of hostilities, which is most urgently needed,” he said.