AFRICA

Ecobank opens ‘China desk’ to manage Africa loansPan-African bank， Ecobank Transnational Inc， will open a China desk next week aimed at easing the flow of Chinese loans for African infrastructure projects， a bank official said on April 6.The desk will be located in Accra and include two Ecobank employees and two senior staff from the Bank of China， Henry Ampong， Ecobank’s global account manager， told Reuters.“You’ll see lots of funds being channeled through Ecobank for infrastructure projects especially in Liberia， Ghana and Sierra Leone where massive reconstruction is taking place，” Ampong said in an interview.China has invested heavily in projects across Africa in the last few years as it seeks to secure resources to fuel its own rapid economic growth.“Africa is a strategic market for China and we are anticipating huge volumes，” Ampong said， declining to give a forecast for the value of transactions. The desk will launch April 11， he said.Ampong said the desk would also provide advisory， wealth management and corporate client account services.Ecobank Ghana has already facilitated Chinese support for Ghana and other African countries in recent years， including a $600 million electricity project. (Reuters)China vehicle maker to open Kenya plantChina’s vehicle manufacturer Foton is setting up an assembly plant in Kenya in what is set to heighten the battle between China and Western nations for business in Kenya.The Sh1.2 billion assembly plant is expected to churn out 10，000 units of prime movers， tippers， buses， pick-ups， and light commercial trucks per year， making it one of the biggest foreign direct investments by a Chinese company.Foton said it is setting up the plant to avoid paying a 25 per cent import duty on cars to allow in its low cost products putting it in a head-to-head battle with Japanese and European brands such as Mercedes， Iveco， Mitsubishi， and Nissan.“Chinese vehicles are generally competitively priced but that aside， we shall invest heavily in service， parts， and distribution network to gain market share，” said Calvin Guo， the general manager at Foton East Africa.The assembly plant is expected to be complete by May next year， creating more than 100 new direct jobs.Foton brands were previously shipped into the country fully made but the move to assemble them locally is set to give them a sharp price advantage as they face off with brands sold by Toyota， General Motors， Simba Colt， and CMC Motors.Imports of completely knocked down units (CKD) for local assembly are zero-rated as opposed to a 25 per cent import duty on fully made vehicle imports， giving Foton a greater pricing headroom， riding on China’s low cost production.Foton is signing a dealership agreement with Marshalls East Africa， a move that could help the loss-making auto dealer reverse its dwindling fortunes since losing the Peugeot franchise in 2007.Increased activity in the construction and trade sectors has boosted demand for light commercial trucks which Marshalls wants to exploit using the Foton brand that is one of the cheapest in that segment.The entry of Foton comes when relations between Nairobi and Beijing are getting cosier， with China increasingly expanding its economic footprint in the country in line with the government’s policy to look East for new investments and aid.This has seen Chinese imports more than double in the last five years to Sh74.9 billion， besides Chinese firms winning major contracts in military and infrastructure sectors including telecoms， roads， and airport network upgrade. (Businessdaily)Chinese construction group CHICO due to deliver road in Mozambique in MayMaputo， Mozambique， 4 April — The China Henan International Corporation (CHICO) is due in May to deliver the 96-kilometre road that links the city of Xai-Xai， in Mozambique’s Gaza province， to the Chissibuca administrative post， in Inhambane province， Macauhub learned in Maputo from the National Roads Administration (ANE).Rebuilding work on this section of road， which began in January 2009， is budgeted at just over 1.26 billion meticals (around US$41 million) and is jointly funded by the Mozambican central government and the World Bank.The road was due to have been handed over to ANE in March， but the rainy season delayed work.Meanwhile， this month work also began to repair and modernize the road between Canicado and Chicualacuala， in Gaza province， southern Mozambique.Work to repair this road， which is 322 kilometres long， is expected to take 30 months and cost 4 billion meticals (US$130 million).(MACAUHUB)Chinese company carries out road project in EthiopiaAddis Ababa， April 4 (WIC) - A Chinese delegation led by Gu Xiaojie， Ambassador of China to Ethiopia， has paid a two-day visit recently to projects run by Chinese companies here in Ethiopia.According to Xinhua， the delegation has visited a road project in Dodola-Goba towns of the Bale Zone in southwestern Ethiopia while they met and held talks with the local community and the Chinese business people in the towns about the projects.The road project that runs from Dodola-Goba town in Bale Zone of the Oromia Regional State is underway by a Chinese company called CGCOC and covers a distance of some 132 km.The Chinese delegation has also visited the site and held talks with the contractor and community leaders of Bale Zone as well as local officials about the road project.Speaking on the occasion， Gu said the project is an important one as it is a part of areas which Ethiopia and China are working in cooperation.“China and Ethiopia enjoy a very good relation because we have traditional relation; and in the past couple of years the bilateral cooperation between the two countries is expanding; we are very much satisfied with the expanding cooperation and also with the traditional relation between these countries，” he said.Ethiopia has been making achievements in various sectors he said， adding that China is happy to be part of every developmental endeavor of the country.He further said China would be by Ethiopia’s side for close cooperation as the country is implementing the fiveyear Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).Sisay Hurissa， Administrator of the Bale Zone， commended the Chinese government for the project.He said the project would enable the Bale Zone to have modern road which the zone lacked for many years in the past， and which was an obstacle to benefit from the natural resource and trading activities.The administrator told Xinhua that the Chinese workers are working day and night with commitment to finish the project on schedule and with quality. (waltainfo.com)China-aided agriculture centre in Tanzania wins big applauseThe Demonstration Centre aided by the Chinese government in Tanzania on April 2 was highly hailed by the President Jakaya Kikwete， central and local government officials as well as residents.At the handover ceremony at Dakawa town in Morogoro Region， about 240 km northwestern of Dar es Salaam， President Kikwete lauded China’s assistance to Tanzania， terming the project as another boost to agricultural development in the East African country.“China has done many things to assist Tanzania. The centre comes at an appropriate time when Tanzania is putting agricultural development in frontage，” Kikwete said.The president added that the centre is advanced and of high standard with two functions of research and training for local farmers to learn the Chinese agricultural technology， such as advanced seed technology to achieve high yields.His remarks were echoed by Tanzanian Minister of Agriculture， Food Security and Cooperatives Prof Jumanne Maghembe， who noted that the centre is one of the outcomes of a long-term good relationship in the field of agriculture between Tanzania and China.“This is a centre of its kind and the biggest in Tanzania and it has come at an opportune time as our country is implementing various initiatives to develop the agricultural sector，”said Prof Maghembe， who expressed thanks to his Chinese counterparts and friends for their immense support.Earlier in an exclusive interview with Xinhua， Prof Maghembe said that what the agricultural sector in Tanzania needs most is fast development with new technology and investment.For his part， Charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania Fu Jijun described the handover ceremony as another historic moment of the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries.He noted when President Kikwete initiated the policy of Kilimo Kwanza (Agriculture First)， he expressed belief that the policy would greatly encourage the farmers to use the huge agricultural resources for economic growth and improve the living standard of the people.Furthermore， he noted that the Chinese side sincerely hope and wish the centre will be helpful by providing new agricultural technologies to Tanzanian farmers.Morogoro Region Commissioner Issa Machibya， also hailed the centre， which aims to help the Tanzanian farmers to learn the new Chinese agricultural technology and promote the local development.As hundreds of local residents witnessed the handover ceremony， they also expressed their intention to be trained at the centre.The Demonstration Centre is a project which is part of the results of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit held in Beijing in 2006 and one of the 10 demonstration centres in Africa.The Chinese government provided USD6m grant for setting up the centre.Covering an area of 62 ha， the project commenced in October 2009 under the operation of Chongqing Sino-Tanzania Agriculture Development Company， and the construction work was completed in 13 months. (THE GUARDIAN)