 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
China's Africa fund makes 90 million dollar debut: report
Beijing (AFP) Jan 16, 2008 A Beijing-backed equity fund that aims to boost Sino-African ties has signed a first batch of investment deals worth more than 90 million dollars, state media reported Wednesday. The China Africa Development Fund would invest the money in Sinosteel and three other Chinese companies with projects in Africa, with a total cost of four billion dollars, the China Securities Journal said. They include a glass plant in Ethiopia with an annual production of 40,000 tonnes, a 200,000-kilowatt gas-fired power plant in Ghana, a chromite project in Zimbabwe, and a building material project, it said. The China Africa Development Fund was launched in June last year and had received one billion dollars from the China Development Bank, a policy bank, but this was expected to eventually reach five billion dollars. The goal of the fund was not to achieve the highest possible return on investment but to "support the strategic cooperation in the political, economic and diplomatic fields," Gao Jian, chairman of the fund, said at the time. Some Western critics have accused China of worsening repression and human rights abuses in Africa through support of countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe in what they see as a cynical drive to increase access to African oil and other resources. The China Daily newspaper said Wednesday that there were more than 800 Chinese firms currently investing in Africa, of which 12.5 percent were large state-owned companies. China is Africa's third largest trading partner and bilateral trade reached 55.5 billion dollars in 2006, the latest figure available. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Analysis: Celtic Tiger roars in Ashgabat
Washington (UPI) Jan 11, 2008 For Western companies interested in exploiting the Caspian's last frontier, 2007 opened with great promise. Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov died Dec. 21, 2006, and the country's new president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, seemed to presage new possibilities for ending the country's isolationist, neutralist policies. Foreign leaders and oil company executives from around the world flooded into Ashgabat in an attempt to secure a slice of the country's vast hydrocarbon riches, particularly its natural gas reserves, estimated to be the fourth-largest in the world. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
