Browsing: China

• Kenya has secured seven investment deals valued at over $823 million, ranging from smart transport to agriculture and textile manufacturing from China firms.
• In tourism, China’s Hunan Conference Exhibition Group and Huatian Hotel Management Company will invest $23 million to establish a footprint in Nairobi.
• Anhui Jiubao Electronic Technology Co. Ltd, will commit $50M in the set p of a smart traffic component manufacturing plant.
• As relations with the U.S. sour, Chinese companies are diversifying risk and building parallel economic partnerships.

As tensions between Washington and Beijing intensify, the East is rewriting its foreign investment playbook. At the center of this recalibrated strategy is Africa—a continent long viewed through the dual lenses of aid and extractive interests, now emerging as a new frontier of industrial expansion and diplomatic wooing.

Kenya, East Africa’s economic powerhouse, has become a prime target. This week, President William Ruto is being treated to red carpet …

• DRC cobalt ban is steadily spiking prices for the critical mineral.
• DRC, Indonesia, Chile in talks to form a ‘critical minerals OPEC’.
• To counter the blow, US starts domestic refining.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has banned the export of cobalt in a move designed to push prices up. And, it is working: “There’s been a significant jump,” said Thomas Kavanagh, editor of battery metals at Argus Media, a market intelligence firm.

According to the market expert, after the export ban was instituted in February, “…the price of a key cobalt compound rose by more than 80 per cent. And it could be just the start,” he warns.

According to the expert, “the DRC’s export ban created immediate ripples throughout global commodity markets, triggering significant price volatility and prompting reassessment of supply chain stability for battery manufacturers and other end users.”

In his review, cobalt prices surged …

• Critical minerals are vital for the green energy transition.
• The DRC is the world’s largest miner of critical minerals.
• DRC appeals to US to mine critical minerals and help stop rebel insurgency.

Critical minerals are defining the green energy transition and the DRC is the world’s largest producer. Critical minerals copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and others including rare earth elements, such as lanthanum and yttrium are vital for the green energy transition.

These minerals and metals are essential for emerging technologies powering electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, and mobile phones among other modern digital devices and machines.

“The country Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is currently the world’s largest supplier of cobalt which has defence and aerospace applications as well as being essential for batteries in electric vehicles,” states Cobalt Institute’s factsheet titled “Powering the Green Economy.”

The report points out that most of the critical minerals mined in …

• East Africa’s public transport sector, once synonymous with chaos and pollution, is now leading a quiet green revolution.
• From electric buses in Kenya to CNG-powered fleets in Tanzania, the region is ditching diesel for clean energy.
• Could this unexpected shift be the most defining leap to a sustainable future for urban mobility?

Across the populous cities and towns of East Africa, a quiet revolution is underway. The familiar roar of diesel engines is being replaced by the hum of electric buses, the whir of three-wheeled motorcycles, and the smooth glide of trains powered by clean energy.

Even Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is fueling fleets of buses and taxis, signaling a seismic shift as the region ditches oil for renewables. But here’s the twist: the unlikely hero of this green mobility transition isn’t high-tech startups, luxury carmakers or even woke government policymakers—it’s the public transport sector.

From Dar es Salaam to …

• Tanzania tourism surpasses 5 million visitor numbers target.
• Data shows the number of Chinese tourists to the East African nation is increasing annually.
• Film featuring top Chinese actor has big impact in Tanzania tourism.

Tourism in Tanzania is growing faster than anticipated with the country having hosted 5.36 million tourists in 2024, a figure higher than the targeted five million tourists by 2025. Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Pindi Chana told a stakeholder’s meeting earlier in the week that the 5 million plus tourists racked in 4 billion U.S. dollars in revenue last year.

Notably, of the said tourists, 3.22 million were domestic while 2.14 million were drawn from international source markets, showing a significant increase in domestic tourism. “These efforts have effectively showcased Tanzania’s breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural heritage, positioning the nation as a desirable travel destination,” said Chana in a statement highlighting the significance of …

• Global economic growth will emanate from powerhouse BRICS economies over the next five years as per the IMF predictions.
• The ten BRICS nations comprise more than a quarter of the world economy and almost half the global population.
• China will contribute most significantly to global growth over the next half-decade, with its 22 per cent share outpacing all G7 countries combined.

The countries comprising BRICS— Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with five new members—are an informal grouping of emerging economies hoping to increase their sway in the world order.

The BRICS group has become a major political force in the last two decades, building on its desire to counter Western influence in global institutions.

BRICS’ 2024 expansion has come with a range of geopolitical implications. It forms a rising economic and demographic heft: the ten BRICS nations comprise more than a quarter of the world economy and almost …

• China-backed Jamestown Fishing Port is expected to inject new energy into Ghana’s fishing industry.
• It is equipped with facilities such as a fish market, ice-making plant, cold storage, and a ship repair station.
• The port has a huge potential to generate and sustain millions of jobs, thereby stimulating the local economy.

Ghana has made a landmark move in its journey towards economic revitalization and modernization with the inauguration of the $60 million Jamestown Fishing Port in Accra. This project, which further cements China-led investments in Africa is poised to transform the nation’s fishing industry, bringing jobs, growth, and national prosperity.

Developed by China’s CRCC Harbor and Channel Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., the new port features a range of essential infrastructure to support artisanal fishing—a lifeblood of Ghana’s coastal economy.

With artisanal fishing contributing a big share of income among coastal communities, the Jamestown Fishing Port is expected to …

• China pledges closer economic and trade ties with Africa at 2024 FOCAC Summit.
• Mulit-million dollar deals signed between Africa and China at key summit.
• Annual trade volume between China and Africa to reach $300Bn by 2035

The just concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit has opened new possibilities for Tanzania and Africa’s industry as a whole. Held in Beijing, China, this ninth summit was attended by all 53 African Heads of State or their representative hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The FOCAC summit has seen President Xi pledge over $50 billion in aid and loans to support what he described as “Africa’s modernization efforts.” He highlighted key funding areas to include infrastructure and agricultural development over the next three years. Notably, President Xi said this new commitment is in addition to China’s zero-tariff policy that was announced earlier to boost trade volume between Africa …

• China commits to refurbishing TAZARA railway system during the just concluded FOCAC Summit in Beijing.
• China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) has been awarded the tender.
• TAZARA capacity is now set to increase to two million metric tonnes.

TAZARA, a decades-old China-Tanzania railway that is vital in the East African country’s industry is set for modernization as a new pact to turn it into a fast train transportation system comes into force. Last week, a historic milestone was reached when Chinese President Xi Jinping, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to revitalize the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) railway.

The deal, which was reached at the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC) in Beijing, will see China invest into developing the1,860-kilometer railway connecting landlocked Zambia to Tanzania’s port city of Dar es Salaam.

Work on this trans-Africa rail …