1. China in Africa

China rail company inks $1.4 billion contracts in Africa
A subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corp Ltd has signed two projects in Africa with a total contract value of 9.1 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), the company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The value of the projects, located in Nigeria and Djibouti, equates to just under 2 percent of China Railway's 2010 operating income, the company said.
Read More

South Sudan threatens to expel Chinese oil companies
Chinese oil companies operating in South Sudan face the possibility of expulsion if it is proven that they are complicit in stealing the country’s oil, a senior official said here today. The newborn state which became independent last July is locked in a row with its northern neighbour over oil and transporting it through the pipeline that runs through Sudan’s territory.
Read More

President Jonathan Unveils $1 billion Dangote Cement Plant
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan has formally unveiled a new cement factory built by the Dangote Cement group at Ibese, Ogun state. The ceremony was witnessed by business moguls and bankers. Governor Ibikunle Amosun, the host governor was also in attendance. The $1 billion plant has capacity to produce 6 million metric tonnes of cement per annum.
Read More

Ghana cautioned on Chinese $3-billion loan arrangement
The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) says Ghana's decision to allow the use of 70 per cent of future oil revenue as collateral for borrowing gives cause for concern. The report, made available in Accra Monday, says if not managed properly, little benefit will be seen in return for a larger debt stock and greater potential for corruption. The EIU believes observers should monitor closely how the Ghanaian government, under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, handles the US$3bn loan package for infrastructure from China.
Read More

China's Minmetals wins $1.3 bln Anvil bid, eyes more
China's Minmetals Resources sealed a C$1.3 billion ($1.3 billion) bid for Africa-focused copper miner Anvil Mining on Friday, and said it was on the lookout for copper, zinc and nickel acquisitions for up to $7 billion. Hong Kong-listed Minmetals (MMR), a unit of China's biggest metals trader, wanted Anvil for its Kinsevere copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes of copper cathode a year.
Read More

EDF to bid with Chinese partner for SA nuclear tender
French utility EDF said it plans to bid for a contract to build nuclear reactors in South Africa in a possible Franco-Chinese partnership. EDF's nuclear business helped it to post higher 2011 earnings on Thursday, offsetting lower hydroelectric power generation. The group kept its profit growth forecasts despite higher costs to fund safety improvements at the 58 nuclear reactors it runs in France, recommended following the Fukushima disaster.
Read More

China appoints new special representative for African affairs
The Chinese government has appointed a new special representative for African affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said here Tuesday. Liu said at a press conference that Zhong Jianhua, a senior diplomat who once served as Chinese ambassador to South Africa, has succeeded Liu Guijin as the special representative.
Read More

2. India in Africa

Rwanda: Kagame Receives Indian Minister
President Paul Kagame yesterday received in his office the visiting Indian State Minister for External Affairs, Preneet Kaur. They discussed bilateral ties as well as the Indo-Africa Partnership (IAP) under which India has committed $5 billion for Africa. The deal, which involves a grant of $700 million and loan schemes, was announced during the IAP forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in May last year.
Read More

India: Africa operation boosts revenue of Indian telecoms firm
The African operations of Indian telecommunications firm Bharti Airtel has raised the company's global revenue for the third quarter of 2011 up to December by 17 per cent. The local media Friday quoted the company as saying in a statement that the revenue growth was particularly strong in Nigeria and other African operations, which boosted the revenue by 32 per cent to US$1.057 million.
Read More

3. In Other Emerging Powers News

Environment ministers of BASIC to discuss climate strategy
For the first time since the December climate change meet in Durban, environment ministers from the BASIC countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - will come together in New Delhi this week. The meeting will be focused on working out a common and concerted strategy on the proposed new global climate change regime.
Read More

Maritime piracy under the spotlight
South Africa will host 32 member states of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) and various international parties with interests in these waters when the third such event takes place in Cape Town in April 2012. The South African Navy also assumes the chair of the IONS this year, a position it will hold for the next two years.
Read More

4. Blogs, Opinions, Presentations and Publications

Nigeria: China's African Union Secretariat 'Gift'
One of the highlights of the three-day meeting of African heads of state and governments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia held between the 18 and 21 of January was the commissioning of a new $200 million secretariat. The 12-storey edifice was built by the Chinese and donated to the African Union to serve as its new headquarters. China made the gift of the headquarters perhaps to demonstrate its appreciation for the many economic projects it is undertaking on the continent. In its relentless drive for economic development which it has sustained at the rate of 10% annually for more than a decade now, China's forays into Africa have been mainly for sourcing of raw materials, but it has also made improvement of Africa's infrastructure, a component of the relationship. While prospecting for mineral ores in Zambia, China has built an oil refinery complex in Niger Republic and is modernizing railways in East Africa.
Read More

South Sudan: A critical battleground between China and USA
With only few months into independence, the oil rich, but yet impoverished South Sudan finds itself trapped on the cycle of foreign aid dependency as well as a battleground for superpowers’ hegemony and influence. This is the classical rivalry and the clash of East meeting West being put into play, with the number two world economy, China, trying to hold on its sphere, while the the number one USA is trying to outmaneuver its way through. The battle between China and USA over influence in Africa, the Sudan in particular, has been brewing for years. The rivalry is now reaching its climax, with South Sudan being set as the theater of operations.
Read More

5 Lessons From the Rise of the BRICs
As investors and economic analysts cast about for the next batch of high-growth markets, let's pause to recall the lessons from the BRICs: (1) Work on the middle-income transition plan; (2) Trade, trade, trade; (3) state capitalism can work; (4) corruption kills; (5) strong civil society matters.
Read More