AFRICA

Chinese interests won’t be harmedThe turmoil in Libya will not affect Chinese oil firms’investment in Africa， and the decreasing asset valuation in the region may instead open up buying opportunities for domestic companies， Citigroup said on March 15.“The problem is only in Libya. Whatever the resolution of the political unrest is， we remain confident that Chinese assets and interests will not be affected in Africa，” Ade Ayeyemi， head of the Africa Division of Citibank’s Global Transaction Services， said.China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC)， the biggest oil producer in China by capitalization， which has oil exploration business on Libya’s northwestern coast， evacuated its staff from the country in February as concern increased over the turmoil in the country.The Libyan crisis may lead to a difficult environment for foreign investment， but investments from Chinese companies in Africa will not be affected because of the positive relationship between the Chinese and African governments， Ayeyemi said. “There’s no country that I know of in Africa that has a specific issue with Chinese investment.”The opportunity for Chinese companies that arises from the political turmoil is that the valuation of the properties is coming down， Ayeyemi added.The unrest in Africa’s third-biggest oil producer has led to about a surge of about 6 percent in crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the first two months of 2011.Libya’s supply is estimated to have decreased by 195，000 barrels a day in February to 1.39 million barrels a day， according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency.North Africa’s oil output and exports may remain disrupted because of damage to oil facilities arising from the regional political unrest.There is a slight price premium on the mergers and acquisitions because of the surge in oil prices， but it’s not a “bad time” for cross-boarder transactions when a number of major oil companies are divesting their assets， said Peter Langshaw， head of Global Industry， Energy， and Power Chemicals under Citibank’s Global Transaction Services.The Libyans have every interest in maintaining the oil flow to generate income， so the disruptions to supply will not last long， no matter who is in the government， said Ewan Copeland， vice-chairman of Global Corporate Bank at Citigroup.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has no interest in seeing oil prices rise too high， so it will do its best to maintain a stable price over the long term， he said. (China Daily)Chinese in ￡750m bid for African uraniumAIM-listed Kalahari， which holds around 43pc of Namibia-based Extract Resources， revealed on March 7 that a unit of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation (CGNPC) had proposed a possible offer of 290p a share.Although both companies said there was no certainty CGNPC would make a formal offer， Kalahari said it would recommend one， if made on the proposed terms.CGNPC’s possible offer represented an 11pc premium to Kalahari’s closing price on Friday. “The Kalahari board believes this represents attractive value for Kalahari shareholders，” executive chairman Mark Hohnen said.Kalahari closed up 9.5pc at 284.6p， after hitting a high at 293.5p. Kalahari also said it was also in talks to simplify its shareholder structure with Extract， in a bid to combine assets with Rio Tinto in Namibia. (Xinhua)BRICs reach out to S. AfricaBrazil， Russia， India and China (BRICs) have decided to appoint South Africa as an observer in their next annual summit to be held in April. The path has， therefore， been cleared for the inclusion of S Africa as a member of the grouping.South Africa has been lobbying for its membership for sometime， and the recent outcome has been welcomed in the country.The media has observed that South Africa was now being recognised as a significant developing country in its own right and as a gateway to the continent of Africa.The change in the acronym will be limited to the enlargement of the small ‘s’， whose purpose in the original was not quite clear in the first place. The consonant will now fit more integrally into the acronym， with India continuing to provide the sole connecting vowel.More importantly， in terms of geography the continent of Africa will find its representation in the grouping. With South Africa already in the G20 and in climate negotiations in the BASIC， its induction would significantly enlarge the space for multilateral dialogue. (Xinhua)