Vol 3 (AAC) No 2 | LIBERIACHINA Beijing's bankroll for Bong's ore 15th December 2009 The China Development Bank promises to save China Union's US$2.68 Bong Mine project but will take an 85% stake to provide the finance and pay Monrovia The US$2.68 billion China Union plan to revitalise Liberia's Bong Mines has not taken off, almost a year after it was first signed. Initial concerns about the little-known Chinese mining company's...
Vol 3 (AAC) No 2 | LIBERIAINDONESIA The Liberian contribution to the stir-fry 15th December 2009 In January, Liberian officials are set to finalise negotiations for a US$1.6 billion palm oil investment deal with Indonesia's Golden VerOleum. The past year has seen a number of feasibility studies...
Vol 50 No 22 | LIBERIA A killing in Kakata 6th November 2009 As the government struggles to stem corruption, the head of the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission is murdered Keith Jubah was shot dead, his body hacked and burned, in Kakata, 35 kilometres north of Monrovia, on 1 November. Nobody yet knows who killed him but he...
Vol 50 No 22 | LIBERIA New faces in the justice system 6th November 2009 Christiana Tah, Justice Minister: Formerly a Professor in the Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice Department at Montgomery College, Maryland, United States, Tah is a member of the State...
Vol 50 No 15 | LIBERIA Charles Taylor gets his day in Court 24th July 2009 Ex-President Charles Taylor's trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity will reverberate across Africa, especially those countries such as Congo-Kinshasa, Uganda and Sudan, whose politicians and rebel leaders face indictment by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. The relaying of television images showing Charles Taylor in the dock answering charges of crimes against humanity is concentrating minds, notably that of the African Union Chairman, Libya's Moammar el Gadaffi who trained and armed Taylor's soldiers. At last, Charles Taylor gets his day in court. He took the stand before the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) for the first time on 14 July...
Vol 50 No 15 | LIBERIA Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - the sequel 24th July 2009 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf looks set to seek a second six-year term in the 2011 elections. This is despite a recommendation from Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)...
Vol 50 No 15 | LIBERIARWANDASIERRA LEONESUDAN International justice and its pitfalls 24th July 2009 The current array of international tribunals has its roots in the 1990s. With the Cold War over, a spate of atrocious wars broke out in areas that no...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 9 | LIBERIAMALAYSIABRIEFING Undue diligence in the timber sector 31st July 2009 Malaysian timber conglomerate Samling, which faces accusations of illegal logging, is at the centre of a storm over the bidding by foreign companies for 25-year contracts in Liberia's timber sector. The...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 6 | LIBERIACHINA The Bong revival 16th April 2009 New facts about China Union's iron ore deal reveal the failure and high costs of Monrovia's negotiating tactics On closer scrutiny, the agreement between China Union and the Liberian government to resume iron ore production at Bong Mines hugely favours the Chinese company with only a minimal share...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 6 | LIBERIACHINA Deal or no deal 16th April 2009 The Minerals Development Agreement between China Union and the Liberian government, which Africa-Asia Confidential has seen, offers China Union royalty payments and tax exemptions that are far more generous than the...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | LIBERIACHINA A more perfect union 20th February 2009 Beijing’s special relationship with Monrovia defies market conditions and is expanding into Guinea and Sierra Leone The US$2.68 billion agreement signed by China Union's Chief Executive Yin Fuyou and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on 19 January to restart iron ore production at the old...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 4 | LIBERIACHINA The born-again Bong mines 20th February 2009 The US$2.68 billion Bong Mines deal hands the Chinese consortium led by Yin Fuyou and China Union a 25-year concession for the formerly German-owned Bong Mines in Bong Country, north-east of...