Tag Archives: china

Strong recovery and acceleration for global hospitality brand, Club Med

While still affected by the Covid-19 crisis, trends in business volume for pioneers of all-inclusive holidays, Club Med, has evolved differently in various geographical areas.  In the 1st half of 2022 (H1 22) Club Med saw its business volume increase by more than 300% compared to the 1st half of 2021 (H1 21) when ski […]

China’s trade with the continent grows to record highs

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and Africa increased by 40.5 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021, and was valued at a record high of USD 139.1 billion. The Ministry noted that African products were […]

New report outlines shifting patterns of infrastructure funding in Africa

Baker McKenzie’s latest report – New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding – shows the state of the African infrastructure market, and how the major global players’ approach infrastructure lending on the continent is changing. While the IJ Global data shows a decline in the value of infrastructure lending, it is expected that as economies recover, new types of […]

Greenpeace and Western Anti Africa Energy Groups Take the Wrong Approach to East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania

By NJ Ayuk, Executive President of the African Energy Chamber. If someone were to put me on the spot and ask me to name an environmentalist group, I’d probably blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, Greenpeace. There are obvious reasons for this: Greenpeace has been around for more than 50 years, and […]

Deal making slows across Africa but post-pandemic opportunities look interesting

Africa-regions. Source: Wikipedia

Deal making activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) dropped in the second half of 2020 (H2 2020), when compared to the second half of 2019 (H2 2019) and year-on-year, deals were also down in both volume and value compared to 2019. As the continent gears up for post-pandemic recovery in 2021, the opportunities presented by free […]

The Impact of COVID-19 on China’s Belt and Road Initiatives in Africa

View from the Carlton Centre, Africa's tallest building. Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. Photo Credit: Adamina (www.flickr.com).

A new report by Economist Corporate Network, supported by Baker McKenzie and Silk Road Associates, BRI Beyond 2020 (report), shows that the ripple effects of COVID-19 are affecting the nature, pace and scope of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) activity in Africa, mostly for the short term. The report also explains how the virus has led […]

The impact of COVID-19 on finance and investment in Africa

An illustration created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the structure of the coronavirus now named COVID-19. Source: ScienceSource.com

By Morne van der Merwe, Managing Partner, and Wildu du Plessis, Head of Africa, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The Coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in mass production shutdowns and supply chain disruptions due to port closures in China, causing global ripple effects across all economic sectors in a rare “twin supply-demand shock”. With South Africa having just […]

Funding Africa’s Infrastructure Gap

Key to enabling African economies to make the most of their opportunities is developing infrastructure in the region. Across the continent, new laws are being implemented and alternative sources of infrastructure funding are being sought in order to kick-start direly needed infrastructure projects. At the centre of it all is China, which is providing alternative […]

Trends and Events in Africa 2018

Map of the REC Pillars of the African Economic Community. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

by Johan Burger 2018 has been an interesting year for Africa, with various events and trends becoming visible. 2016 saw the effects of the slowdown of China’s economic growth due to its rebalancing of its economy and the end of the commodity price super cycle. 2017 brought some relief. In Africa, 2018 demonstrated a number […]

Friday@Noon on Foreign Investment in Africa: 2018

African Business News

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. Africa has been the recipient of foreign investment form a variety of foreign countries. In addition to the normal investors such as China, Japan, India, etc., we […]

JinkoSolar to Supply 81 MW WBHO-Building Energy in South Africa

SHANGHAI, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (“JinkoSolar” or the “Company”) (NYSE: JKS), a leading global solar power product manufacturer, today announced that it has signed a contract with fix price to supply WBHO-Building Energy (Pty) Ltd. (“WBHO-BE”) with 81 MW of photovoltaic (PV) modules for the solar PV park project in Gamagara […]

Coface projections on SA, Africa and the global economy will have to be tested

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Africa is best positioned to provide a thriving business environment, a leading International credit insurer attests. Coface has projected that by 2016, South African exports into Africa will increase significantly but will be offset by an equivalent drop in trade with Europe. The group also says that the will also be an […]

Lubricant Demand Growth Stalls in Mature Markets, Strong Growth on the Horizon for New Emerging Markets, Sees Kline

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Despite the challenges of a precarious economic environment, the 2011 global lubricant market grew a resilient 2%, with global lubricant demand estimated at 38.6 million tonnes. This growth was largely fuelled by the BRIC countries’ resurgent industrial activity and expansion in the commercial and passenger vehicles sales, according to the […]

China in South Africa: media responses to a developing relationship

  Chinese Journal of Communication Volume 5, Issue 3, 2012 Special Issue: Media and the State: China and Beyond China in South Africa: media responses to a developing relationship DOI:10.1080/17544750.2012.701428 Herman Wassermana Abstract The formal invitation extended to South Africa by China late in 2010 to join the BRIC formation of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, […]

BRICS Countries: Delayed Reforms are Jeopardising Positive Development

  BERLIN and RIO DE JANEIRO, October 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Growth alone will not resolve problems if emerging markets do not change at the same time Contrary to the forecasts of success in recent years, the ‘BRICS’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are greatly in need of reform in key political areas. […]

Altai Technologies Connects One of the Largest Townships in South Africa with Super WiFi Solution

  HONG KONG, Oct. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Altai Technologies Limited today announced that a leading wireless internet service provider in South Africa, e-Mbizo, has selected Altai Super WiFi Solutions to provide wireless connectivity in Tembisa, one of the largest townships in South Africa. In Tembisa, e-Mbizo has deployed Altai A8 Super WiFi Stations to […]

Africa to gear up for more meaningful engagement with China

  The partnership with China should aim to boost Africa’s overall capacity, competitiveness and trade in a way that supports African development. African nations must use the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to complement the continent’s regional institutions and policy agenda. This is according to a report by Standard Bank Group economists Jeremy Stevens and Simon […]

IN CHINA, AFRICA, UNITED NATIONS WILL CONNECT THOSE WHO FACE CHALLENGES WITH THOSE WHO HAVE SOLUTIONS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS AT BEIJING FORUM

  NEW YORK, July 20, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, in Beijing, 19 July: It is a great honour for me to participate on behalf of the United Nations at this important Forum on China-Africa cooperation. I […]

Consumer Lifestyles Market in Estonia, Nigeria, Spain, Saudi Arabia & Hong Kong, China Reviewed in New Research Reports

  DALLAS, July, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – ReportsnReports.com adds new market research reports on Consumer Lifestyles in Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Nigeria and Estonia to its store. These Consumer Lifestyle Reports provide current and detailed snapshots of the unique behaviours, attitudes and spending patterns of consumers in concerned countries. Explore the reports @: 1. Consumer […]

Frost & Sullivan: Heavy-Duty Truck Market on the Verge of Increasing Dedicated Global Production Platforms

Nearly one in three trucks manufactured by 2018 to feature platform based lineage MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — After less than 10 years, since Western original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) started entering Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) markets with serious intent, the very face and structure of the global heavy-duty truck market has […]

Video: Footage shows African ‘ghost town’

A giant new Chinese-built city has sprung up on the outskirts of Angola’s capital Luanda. Nova Cidade de Kilamba is a brand-new mixed residential development of 750 eight-storey apartment buildings, a dozen schools and more than 100 retail units. Designed to house up to half a million people when complete, Kilamba has been built by […]