杂志汇中国与非洲

China was one of the countries that managed to largely defy the trend of economic collapse following the 2008 financial crisis by boosting internal investment through its major financial institutions and state-owned enterprises.

Globally, cross-border capital flows have fallen by 65 percent since the time of the crisis as Western economies and their financial institutions, in particular, have divested more than $2 trillion in foreign assets, opting to invest locally instead. Contrasting with this trend are the rapidly increasing capital flows and trade volumes between Africa and China. Central to this has been major Chinese financial institutions.

Much of the attention around China-Africa economic relations is fixed on the growing sums of capital moving between the two, growth in trade volumes, and increasing presence of African business in China and vice versa. But fundamental to the success and dynamism in this area are major Chinese financial institutions. This warrants paying greater attention to these entities and determining how to best fructify the development potential they provide.

With the Forum on ChinaAfri­­ca Cooperation Summit coming up later this year in Beijing, there will be much reflection on how well the nations involved harnessed the tools this framework has placed at their disposal. The most well-known among these was the $60 billion Chinese pledge for development projects in Africa, whose distribution would be fundamentally facilitated by the likes of Chinese financial institutions such as China Development Bank and the China Export-Import Bank. Whilst African financial institutions have long supported growing commercial activities on the continent, they have been unable to satisfy the appetite for credit and investment among African nations and their companies. Not only have Chinese institutions entered the fray to contribute to filling this gap, as well as that left by receding capital flows from Europe and the United States, but they have altered the modalities of lending and investment to suit African needs.

Although investment in Africa offers great opportunities, it is still associated with relatively high level of risks. Whilst capital flows have been increasing, it is worth noting that the bulk of Chinese engagement in Africa is still weighted toward loans and less toward investment. As bilateral and multilateral agreements between China and Africa continue to multiply, there should be a focus, particularly among African economic players, on what measures to take in optimizing the forms of cooperation. For African governments, they should take steps to position their economies as attractive places for the available capital to land. Developing strong risk assessment and project management capacity internally are prime examples of how to do this. China GDP Growth, %, Q1 2015 – Q4 2017

China CPI & PPI, February 2017 – February 2018

China’s Official PMI February 2015 – February 2018

China’s Monthly Retail Sales, $tln, % y-o-y, March 2015 - December 2017

China’s Monthly Imports, $bln, % y-o-y, February 2015 - February 2018

China’s Monthly Exports, $bln, % y-o-y, February 2015 - February 2018

1/Egypt March 2018: The Northeastern Cairo Governorate oversaw the opening of the first Egyptian-Chinese fiber optic cable factory. The 33,000-square-meter state-of-the-art plant positions the two countries to be able to take advantage of the $9-billion growth predicted to take place in the fiber optic market by 2023.

2/U ganda February 2018: The Chinese firm, Xinlan Group, a subsidiary of Amoi Group, is poised to finish a $10-million deal to build a smartphone manufacturing plant in Uganda. The deal is expected to create 5,000 Ugandan jobs, and will use local minerals, such as coltan, in the manufacturing process.

3/Kenya January 2018: An agreement between Kenya Railways and Cargocare International L td. on behalf of the Kenya-Chinese Chamber of Commerce was signed to promote efficient and cheaper cargo transportation of goods between China and Kenya.

4/South Africa February 2018: O ne of China’s largest state-owned enterprises, Sinopec, is set o invest over $500 million in Chevron South Africa following an agreement with the South African Government. This will contribute to the upgrading of the firm’s Cape Town-based oil refinery.

5/Namibia February 2018: Namibian commercial bank, Bank W indhoek, introduced trading of the Chinese currency, renminbi, countrywide in an attempt to promote business transactions with the Chinese community.