Africa

The character of the new all-male leadership of China’s Communist Party announced on 15 November will prove at least as important for Africa’s political and business elite as...

Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Alain Fanaie, the former head of infrastructure and commodities at France’s Crédit Agricole, China Sonangol is making moves towards transparency....

The Japan International Cooperation Agency celebrated twenty years of international assistance to African countries at the United Nations University on 30 November. JICA’s African Department is working on...

The third Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Forum took place in Seoul from 15-18 October, marking a stronger engagement from the South Korean government. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan announced to...

The American Petroleum Institute, a major oil industry association, and other pro-business groups are challenging the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Major oil companies continue...

In August, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission published its 236-page guide to the operation of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection...

Staff at the International Institute of Democracy and Electoral Assistance want IIDEA’s management investigated for wasting funds and making generous payments to former directors and consultants. They say...

The British Broadcasting Corporation’s decision to eviscerate its highly successful African Service looks counterproductive. It is all the more surprising given that Africa is being targeted by well-financed...

A new African empire stretching from the Sahara to South Africa is in the making as Glencore and Xstrata, two giant mining and trading companies, finalise their plans...

Extractive industries don’t always like compulsory disclosure requirements. Companies are now fighting a rearguard action against recent United States and European Union legislation.

The latest fanfare for Africa’s economic prospects comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s survey of fund and asset managers, bankers and other financiers for Invest AD, the sovereign...

One of the most striking aspects of last year’s North African revolutions was the use of new technology as a tool for political organisation – and to outwit...

Expect turbulence. As well as sound advice from pilots to passengers on aircraft taking off from Kisangani to Kinshasa in Congo-Kinshasa, such warnings look apposite for the year...

Asian textile factories in Africa are often the scene of angry confrontation between workers and management, governments and traders. Asian production is widely seen as a threat to...

A new study from the University of Oxford’s Centre for the Study of African Economies* reveals that the boom in Asian textile investment in Africa is over. To...

Noel Tata was never a serious contender to succeed his half-brother Ratan Tata at the head of Tata Group. He seems content with running...

With a crucial leadership handover at the end of the year and growing domestic economic concerns, Beijing hosted the Fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on 19-20 July with...

In July, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank cut growth estimates for China and its African trading partners. The IMF forecast that China’s gross domestic product would...

Indian policy-makers are getting more serious about the effective delivery of aid to their diplomatic allies. New Delhi lags far behind its Asian counterparts in speed of despatch,...

Pakistan’s engagement with Africa is struggling to get off the ground. While the government is launching its first serious efforts at summitry, boosting trade and improving continental diplomacy,...

Africa’s top private equity firms are in talks with their Chinese counterparts to channel a new wave of investment into African companies. On 16 June, Vincent Le Guennou,...

Beijing hosts the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on 19-20 July, where China will make a raft of new promises to its African...

Despite a faltering economy and a devastating 2011 earthquake, Japan’s Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba told the follow-up meeting to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Marrakech,...

South Africa, China’s largest trading partner on the continent, looks set to be the first African nation to join the 20 other countries and regions that have swapped...

The 28-29 March New Delhi summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries debated establishing a BRICS development bank – the South Bank –...

Southern Africa is now the major frontier of coal exploration for Indian energy companies. Khopoli Investments, a subsidiary of India’s largest private power producer, Tata Power, agreed a...

Little was gained and little lost during Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s first African tour on 7-18 April. Far outscored in the contest with China for diplomatic recognition, Ma...

A new report from the United States’ Social Sciences Research Council highlights the links between research and China-Africa trade and diplomacy. A Preliminary Mapping of China-Africa Knowledge...

The numbers of African institutions studying China are far fewer than those of Chinese institutions studying Africa. Regional studies programmes are often poorly financed, but joint research projects...

Public universities and government-backed think-tanks dominate Chinese research on Africa. Most ministries host official research institutions, which have limited independence.

On 7-18 April, President Ma Ying-jeou will make a state visit to three of Taiwan’s four African allies – Burkina Faso, Gambia and Swaziland. It will be the...

The African Union will determine which African countries will host India’s two new industrial clusters, which will be backed by billions of dollars in investment from the New...

Hostage-taking, festering regional disputes and rising domestic criticism are all complicating the politics of Beijing’s Africa policy.

China is caught in the escalating fight over oil revenues between Sudan and South Sudan. Its newest African partner, President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government in Juba, has asserted...

Traders are the visible target for the merchants, unions, consumers and politicians angered by the impact of China’s growing ties to Africa. Nevertheless, some African governments are resisting...

Officials are building up expectations for the fifth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC V), which Beijing will host in the last quarter of this year. The showpiece summit,...

Beijing’s cooperation with the International Monetary Fund often goes unnoticed. China has been quietly working with the IMF to pressure African governments to remove fuel subsidies, after its...

The Indian government starts 2012 aiming to almost double bilateral trade with Africa from US$46 billion to $70 bn. by 2015. Such plans disguise the fact that, so...

Japan’s cycle of political instability and the long recovery from the tsunami and Fukushima nuclear crisis signal another year of inward focus for the governing elite. Prime Minister...

President Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang (KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party) won a second term on 14 January and now has another four years to carry forward his China-friendly...

The Jakarta government expects 100% growth in exports to Africa over the next three years. They grew by 30% to US$3.5 billion in 2010 and should hit $4.5...