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Published 1st December 2009

Vol 3 (AAC) No 2

Liberia

Beijing's bankroll for Bong's ore

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures
Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

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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 ability to raise such sums now seem well founded (AAC Vol 2 No 4). Seeing no progress on the ground, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was one of a handful of African presidents to attend the ministerial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in November. She talked with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and got him to promise that the China Development Bank would bankroll China Union.

Mortgages and minerals

Image courtesy of Panos Pictures

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A Korean construction company has sealed a huge contract to build houses with Ghana's government in a new twist on resource trades

Accra is leading the way forward on housing development, bringing in South Korean company STX Group to build 200,000 housing units over the next five years at a cost of US$10 bil...

China's positioning in the Kosmos

Although Chinese companies have not yet bid for Kosmos's 30% stake in Ghana's Jubilee field, the China Development Bank has bought Beijing's companies a great deal of capital. Th...

New men for a new push

A new team of Africa policymakers in Delhi is helping companies and banks to expand their investments on the continent

The second iteration of India's Congress Party-led federal coalition has augmented its diplomatic, strategic and commercial thrust into Africa in pursuit of hydrocarbons, mineral...

Hurry up, wait and renegotiate

Gabon's politicians continue to question the delays in the starting-up of the Bélinga iron ore mine and its associated infrastructure works. But financing issues and const...

It's not over until it's over

After winning back its oil acreage, South Korea offers pipelines, a power station and negotiations with its commercial rivals

After winning a court battle over the Nigerian government's attempt to cancel its oil production licences, South Korea's Korea National Oil Corporation is offering to finance bil...

A useful deal in the Delta

South Korea's state-run Land and Housing Corporation is offering investments and technical cooperation in the oil-rich Niger Delta, a move that might help the ambitions of Seoul'...

All that glitters is mine

The details of the US$8 billion China Sonangol/China International Fund are becoming more apparent as subsidiary deals are signed. On 7 December, Zimbabwe's Transport and Mining ...

Pointers

Kasit Piromya

Foreign Affairs Minister, Thailand

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is finding more time to develop budding relations with Africa. In a modest step toward that goal, Kasit presided over the launch of a flashy, offic...

Song Sang-hyun

President, International Criminal Court

As eyes turn to Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo's handling of cases against Sudanese President Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir, Congolese warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba and the authors of ...

Musa Kusa

Foreign Affairs Minister, Libya

Libya's Foreign Minister Musa Kusa was among the first of a wave of African ministers who are loudly and publicly criticising China's activities. In a 10 November interview with...

Stanley Ho

Managing Director, STDM

Billionaire Stanley Ho is in the vanguard of Chinese investment in Lusophone Africa. His companies will operate the casino in Luanda's soon-to-be-completed Hotel Intercontinental...

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