TOKYO -- The U.S. is stepping up efforts to counter China's growing role in infrastructure financing in Africa and other emerging markets, according to a new report, highlighting the expanding scope of the rivalry between the world's two largest economies. Chinese development finance institutions and export credit agencies accounted for 53% of the investment flowing into African power projects in the past 10 years, according to a report released by U.S. law firm Baker McKenzie and U.K. financial data provider IJGlobal on Monday. U.S. peers only contributed 3% of the funding, the research found. However, a survey of more than 430 executives in the industry found that respondents were evenly split on whether U.S. or Chinese finance institutions would be the most active lenders for African power projects over the next decade. "The U.S. is not standing on the sidelines watching," the report said. Chinese government-backed lending has surged in recent years, driven by its Belt and Road Initiative. The project has been plugging the massive demand for infrastructure development in Africa and other emerging markets. But in a countermeasure, the U.S. recently consolidated overseas development agencies into a new body, the International Development Finance Corporation, with lending capacity of $60 billion. The move "is further evidence that the U.S. is indeed reviving its interest in bilateral policy lending," the report noted. Nevertheless, the Belt and Road Initiative is still in its early stages and has room to grow. "As development in BRI countries accelerates, industrial parks and new markets for...

The experts from multilateral development institutions observed that with rapid urbanization and a tenfold increase in water needs for energy production, there is an urgent need to mobilize more financial and technical resources for infrastructure projects and plans, to support the continent’s economic development goals. Furthermore, Africa’s population is projected to reach 1.6 billion by 2030, according to the United Nations, that would further put pressure on water resources and food production sectors. According to the African Union Commission, the poor state of infrastructure in Sub-Sahara Africa in respect to electricity, water, roads and ICT, reduces national economic growth by 2 percent and productivity by as much as 40 percent. “Empirical evidence however suggests that PIDA is already moving the development needle. It will provide the backbone for Africa’s regional integration, trade, investment, food security and competitiveness as economic corridors are beginning to develop through newly constructed road networks and one-stop border posts,” Moono Mupotola, The Bank’s Director for Regional Development and Integration, said. Mupotola’s remarks underscored expert reviews of regional infrastructure projects in the transportation (roads, rail, aviation), energy and power sectors, under the first PIDA Priority Action Plan (PIDA- PAP 1:2012 -2020) being showcased and profiled at PIDA Week 2018. Infrastructure transport projects being discussed include the Central Corridor Dar es Salaam to Chalinze Toll Road; the Kinshasa-Brazzaville Road and Railway Bridge; the High-Speed Rail Network (HSRN); the Abidjan-Lagos corridor and Praia-Dakar-Abidjan corridor projects; and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative. Four regional power projects are...

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – Eight months after the launch of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), the first pan-African agreement of its kind, Germany has donated 1.6 million euros to UNCTAD, to help the UN's trade and development body work with African partners to implement the landmark continental pact on cross-border commerce. "This is a big new step forward in the economic development of Africa," said Ambassador Hans-Peter Jugel, Germany’s deputy envoy to the United Nations in Geneva, adding that the African Union had sought UNCTAD's support to meet the aims of the AfCFTA. "We will observe its effects closely. We trust in UNCTAD’s competences and expertise in making trade facilitation operational," Jugel added. The donation comes two months ahead of Germany beginning its two-year term as  non-permanent member of the 15-nation UN Security Council. "Germany is already a leading supporter of UNCTAD's work. This fresh funding is a clear sign of the country’s commitment not only to making trade work for development, but also to multilateralism. That sends a strong signal in challenging times," UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Isabelle Durant said. "The projects that Germany is backing will play a key role in helping Africa meet the new trade objectives that the continent has set itself," she added. UNCTAD provides policy advice and technical cooperation to help poorer countries reap more benefits from the global economy, and regional integration is a key part of that process. The German funding, which runs from November 2018 to December 2020, focuses...

Singapore's prime minister made an impassioned plea Monday for open markets and warned "political pressures" were driving countries apart, in a swipe at rising protectionism at the start of a gathering of world leaders. Dignitaries including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and US Vice President Mike Pence are attending this week's summit in the city-state against the backdrop of a months-long trade dispute between Beijing and Washington. Some of the leaders are expected to announce major progress on a massive China-backed trade deal that excludes the US, in a rebuke to President Donald Trump's increasingly unilateralist approach to international commerce. Trump is skipping the annual summit -- which was regularly attended by his predecessor Barack Obama -- in a sign of how far he has withdrawn from attempts to shape the global rules of trade and raising new questions about Washington's commitment to Asia. Addressing a business forum ahead of this week's main meetings, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for Southeast Asian companies to invest more in each other’s' markets and be more open to foreign competition. "The more integrated and open our markets are, and the more conducive our rules and business environments to foreign investment, the larger the pie will grow, and the more we will all benefit," he said. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) "has great potential, but fully realizing it depends on whether we choose to become more integrated, and work resolutely towards this goal in a world where multilateralism is fraying...

The East African Community (EAC) is working on Trade and Investment Portals to enable investors access information on investment opportunities and projects online. This was revealed by the regional body’s Secretary General, Amb Liberat Mfumukeko while receiving the credentials of the Swedish Ambassador to Tanzania, Anders Sjöberg at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha recently. Amb. Mfumukeko said European Union remained “the number one trading partner” for the EAC and urged Sweden to “support capacity building for the private sector and to link business people in Sweden and the EAC.” Amb. Mfumukeko said the EAC was also working on the development of the financial sector and integration of capital markets in the region. The SG further said work on the Constitution of the proposed East African Political Confederation had started with EAC Partner States nominating constitutional experts to the EAC Secretariat. He said the EAC integration process was a progressive idea which was gradually trickling down to the populace as they begin to reap the benefits. In his remarks, Amb. Sjöberg said Sweden was directly supporting sexual reproductive health programmes in the EAC through the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) while there was indirect support for the region’s financial markets and customs sector through a World Customs Organization project. Amb. Sjöberg said Sweden was a keen supporter of free trade and export promotions worldwide since 50 per cent of the country’s GDP comes from exports. “70 per cent of our exports are to the European Union and 30 per cent to...

East African countries stand a chance to be among the biggest beneficiaries of funding from the US government, as President Donald Trump’s administration remains keen to command its influence on Africa. This is in the wake of the widening gap on Sino-African relations which have recently been buoyed by increased lending by the Chinese to the African continent. President Trump signed into law the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act of 2018, On October 5, which creates an International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) and establishes a powerful tool for U.S assistance and foreign policy. The IDFC is coiled towards supporting private investment and development projects in emerging countries, including backing private investment; a move that gives or rather empowers private entities which have previously struggled with funding. Americas move is seen as a shift to counter China which has cemented its position in East Africa as a key lender and developer of mega projects. The region’s economies are reported to have borrowed over $29.42 billion from Beijing in the past 10 years to grow their transport, energy, manufacturing and communication sectors. On the other hand, American companies have struggled to invest in the region and the continent at large where they have cited the challenge of securing financing and mitigating risk as impediment, which has blocked them from competing with the deep-pocketed Chinese for major projects. During the 6th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held in Beijing, in September this year, President Xi Jinping pledged an additional $60...

The move has significantly reduced the time taken by travelers and trucks at the borders from days to about 1.5 minutes to 30 minutes on average respectively. The EAC with the support of TradeMark Africa (TMA) is finalising the completion of the Malaba OSBP on the Kenya-Uganda border at a cost of $ 7.5 million. Speaking after the meeting of the EAC Committee on Customs at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority, John Njiraini said that TMA was supporting construction of OSBPs at Elegu/Nimule (Uganda/South Sudan Border), Tunduma/Nakonde (Tanzania/Zambia) and Moyale (Kenya/Ethiopia). “We recognise that trade is global. Therefore, as much as we smoothen the flow of trade within the EAC, we intend to ensure the flow out and into EAC boundaries with neighbouring countries is smoothened,” said Njiraini, who was flanked by among others Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Charles Kichere. The list also includes, Dickson Kateshumbwa, Acting Commissioner General, Uganda Revenue Authority and Kenneth Bagamuhunda, the Director General, Customs and Trade at the EAC Secretariat. The meeting drew participation from Commissioners General and Commissioners of Customs in the EAC partner states. Njiraini disclosed that in order to resolve the problem of lack of information to business, Trade Information Portals (TIPs) had been installed in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. “Tanzania is in the process of establishing the trade portal. The TIPs will also be installed at a later stage in Burundi and South Sudan. The link of the EAC Trade...

Kenya was Tuesday putting on a brave face following reports that Uganda had shelved plans to extend the Standard Gauge Railway from Malaba to Kampala until “unresolved issues with Kenya and China have been concluded". Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that Kenya was instead revamping the Kisumu Port in Lake Victoria to ease movement of goods via the lake to Uganda and Rwanda in case the SGR terminates at Kisumu. NEGOTIATIONS “In the worst case scenario, the Kisumu port would serve Rwanda and Uganda. We are, however, moving phase by phase. Thinking about Malaba for now is too much for the plate,” Mr Macharia said in an interview with the Nation. Mr Macharia is currently in China to conclude negotiations for funding of the Naivasha to Kisumu SGR sector. Kenya secured a Sh150 billion loan from China to extend its railway from Nairobi to Naivasha and construction is ongoing. The Mombasa — Nairobi SGR line was completed mid-last year. Uganda Finance Minister Matia Kasaija told Daily Nation’s sister publication, the Daily Monitor, on Monday, that the Uganda government had put on hold the SGR venture and has instead turned attention to revamping the old metre-gauge railway network. CUT COST The Chinese-financed project is the first stage in a scheme that aims to extend to Uganda and other landlocked countries. The goal is to cut the cost of transport and boost trade by replacing a slower, narrow-gauge line. For some time now, Ugandan government officials have blamed Kenya for failing to commit themselves to...

With the construction of Gulu trade logistic hub currently at the tail end of design stage, there will be several winners both along the way and upon its completion. A logistics hub is a centre or specific area designated to deal with activities related to transportation, organisation, separation, coordination and distribution of goods for national and international transit, on a commercial basis by various operators. Further reaffirming the need for the logistics infrastructure are economic and policy analysts, project funders plus the northern Uganda community opinion leaders Daily Monitor spoke to during the site visit of the 22-acre piece of land recently. They say the $9 million (about Shs34 billion) Gulu trade logistic hub whose development has delayed by at least two years, is already long overdue, considering the value it would generate once it is fully fledged and operational. Gulu logistics hub will also be linked to the regional Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project due to its proximity to South Sudan, once the country’s leading export market and the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC), another promising export destination for locally manufactured products. Game changer The trade logistics hub will create numerous jobs in maintenance, assembly, machinery repair and dry docking, packaging and labeling as well as administrative work. This will be in addition to mushrooming opportunities such as accommodation services, hotels, restaurants and retail shops it would have created thanks to the new infrastructure. “Gulu is expected to attain a city status soon. This trade logistics hub will increase...

THE East African Community (EAC) is optimistic of realising its integration agenda, with development partners injecting 500m US dollars in the past five years, to jack up the agenda. The figure entails both direct and technical support to various aspects of the EAC integration. Addressing the Second Community’s Development Partners Forum here, EAC Secretary General, Ambassador Liberat Mfumukeko was confident about the prospects of realising the integration agenda, thanks to the support from development partners. “With this revamped collaboration, the EAC has been able to spearhead the integration agenda with remarkable speed,” noted the Secretary General. The main contributors to the EAC Development Programmes include Germany, the USA through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). “The EAC has transformed itself from a loose co-operation framework into a fast-emerging, solid and dynamic regional economic bloc... it has also evolved strong institutions and vigorous programme delivery, which are already making an impact on the economies of the region,” he said. The economic bloc was recently ranked as first among the eight Regional Economic Communities in the Africa Regional Integration Index Report. launched in Addis Ababa through the collaboration between the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC). Ambassador Mfumukeko, however, called for more partnerships with the business community and, in particular, the East African Business Council(EABC) in industrial development through investment in private sector development and improvement of business environment. The...