AFRICA

Kenya attracts another Chinese machinery firmThe construction boom has attracted another Chinese firm in Kenya.XCMG Construction Machinery Co.，Ltd. on July 11 launched its African offices in Nairobi to cash in on the lucrative returns.“The East African region has been recording growth in infrastructure projects， which are key in supporting its economic boom. We will be a part of this growth in terms of supply of our machinery，” said Mr Qi Hong， general manager of the firm in charge of the African market.With a renewed interest in infrastructure developments， governments have been spending more revenue resulting in growth. Billions of dollars have been spent in current projects， with much more lined up in all the East African countries.In Kenya， the growth rates are fuelled by a rise in population and government spending on major infrastructure projects across the country.According to Mr Qi， the company is motivated by those growths and is setting its eyes on increasing its presence in the region.“As part of our services， we will be training for free personnel to ensure that they handle the equipment (properly). This we expect to result in the best use for our customers in the region，” he said. (www.nation.co.ke)Aregbesola seeks China’s assistance on developmentOsun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has sought the assistance of the China-Africa Development (CAD) Fund to develop infrastructure in the state.Aregbesola， who is in China to seek investments in agriculture， education and industrial growth， met with officials of the CAD Fund on July 11.In a statement by the Director， Bureau of Communications and Strategy in the Office of the Governor， Aregbesola said the state has potentials yet untapped.The statement said the CAD Fund was one of the eight measures introduced in 2006 by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.According to the statement， Aregbesola listed vast agricultural potential， solid minerals， tourism and culture as well as industrial growths as areas awaiting investment in the state.“The governor explained that Osun State is in dire need of skills acquisition for its unemployed youths， whom he said had been rendered idle due to almost one decade of neglect and inertia on the part of the ruling elite.“He said the state is interested in development of vocational studies as a way of taking many youths off the job market adding that part of the problems in Nigeria is the army of unemployed graduates， who have resorted to self-help through criminal engagements，” the statement said.It said the Chairman of CAD Fund， Mr. Gao Jian， as- sured the governor of its readiness to enhance the development potential of the state.“Jian said the governor’s meeting with the Fund’s partner was timely. He told the governor that he had come at a time when China is looking for greater involvement in efforts to develop the African continent，” the statement said. (www.thenationonlineng.net)Chinese to build court complexThe Judicial Service of Ghana (JSG) and Messrs China State Hualong Limited， on July 19 signed a contract for the construction of 34-courtroom complex in Accra.The project， which is valued at $50 million， would be undertaken by China State Hualong Limited and supervised by Messrs Avangarde Design Services， an Accra based Architectural Consultancy firm The modern court complex， which is expected to be completed in 30 months would comprise of 18 High Court， 12 Circuit Court， two Appeal Court， two Magistrate Court and two District Court buildings.The six-storey building would also have facilities such as lawyers consulting rooms， a conference room， a bank， a clinic， restaurants， six lifts， car parking spaces for judges， lawyers and the general public as well as facilities for physically challenges persons. The Chief Justice (CJ)， Mrs Justice Georgina Wood， speaking at the signing of the contract between JSG and China State Hualong Limited in Accra on Tuesday， called for efficient and robust judiciary to ensure a well-functioning democracy.She said over the years， a number of factors have militated against the effective operations of the court， which had prevented it from executing its mandate effectively.The CJ cited the deplorable state of the physical infrastructure that houses courts as well as the use of obsolete and inappropriate technology.She said that in Accra alone 19 of the High Court and Circuit Court buildings were housed mainly in wooden structure built in the 1940s for purposes other than courtrooms.Mrs Justice Wood said the Judicial Service has a huge infrastructural deficit as regards Districts Courts in Accra. She said currently most Districts courts were housed in Chief’s Palaces and rented premises all of which were in various stages of disrepair.“Clearly the sorry state of affairs undermines the rule of law and makes the fundamental rights of access to qualitative justice a real myth” she added.Mrs Justice Wood said the completion of the modern court complex would help address the infrastructural challenges facing the court in Accra.She said though it has taken long in signing the contract， as gatekeepers of the rule of law， the judiciary is committed to keeping faith with all the laws and regulations of Ghana， especially the procurement law as it relates to the construction industry. She commended the Judicial Service Development Committee on technical work and finance and other consultants for giving professional advice on the project. (www. ghanaweb.com)Farmers acquire skills in paddy rice cultivationHuye- A joint initiative that brings Rwanda and China to deepen technology transfer into the economy within agriculture has embarked on training rice farmers for the purposes of boosting rice production. China-Rwanda Agriculture Technology Demonstration Center (RATDC) has trained 43 rice farmers in agricultural technology as a way of helping them improve their productivity.The trainees， who completed four-day training on July 19， were drawn from various sectors of Huye district.RATDC offers training and conducts research in the agricultural sector.“When we return to our daily work， we will strive to put into practice what we have learnt. We hope to see our production increase， and serve as role models for other farmers，” said Faustin Uwizeyimana， one participant said.“We will also teach others on the new techniques we have acquired to help them also raise their produce.”Speaking during the closure of the function， Gabriel Ngayaboshya， Huye district officer in charge of agriculture， urged the participants to make use of the new skills.“We hope to see your production boosted. Use the techniques you have learnt， follow the advices you have been given to improve your production，” he urged.Lin YingXing， the assistant manager of the centre promised continuous support to farmers.“We will continue to provide the new technologies by giving the participants support and guidance. I believe， with the support from both the Chinese and Rwandan government， we will work together to make our contribution in increasing food supply， creating job opportunities and reducing poverty for the Rwandan people，” he said. (www.newtimes.co.rw)Ethiopia beer market hots up as Chinese group enters the frayCompetition in Ethiopia’s beer market is set to intensify after the newly established Habesha Breweries embarked on the construction of a $30-million plant.The company has awarded Chinese manufacturing giant Lehui Group a turnkey contract to build a manufacturing plant with a capacity to produce 300 000 h? a year， and plans to eventually expansion to 500 000 h?.The plant will be located in Debre Berhan， some 130 km north of Ethiopia’s capital， Addis Abeba.“After evaluating the technical， financial and project management capacity of the selected turnkey bidders， we have settled on Lehui Group，” says Habesha Breweries CEO Yonas Alemu. He adds that construction of the plant is expected to take 14 months.Lehui Group is the leading beer manufac- turer is China， which has overtaken the US as the leading beer market.Although 16 companies had expressed interest in undertaking the project， only three got to the technical and financial evaluation stage. Besides Lehui， the others were Ziemann Ludwigsburg， of Germany， and Techno Export， of the Czech Republic.Alemu says the company plans to employ about 350 people at the start of brewing opera- tions and to export 20% of its product.The entry of Habesha is bound to intensify competition in the Ethiopia beer market， which has five manufacturers and where consumption has been growing at an average of 24% a year， according to research done by Access Capital in 2009.Recently， Heineken completed the acquisition of two State-owned brewers， Bedele Brewery， at a cost of $85，2-million， and Harar Brewery， for $78，2-million.BGI Ethiopia， a subsidiary of French drinks company Groupe Castel， is currently the largest brewer in Ethiopia， commanding about 50% of the market. Other brewers are Meta Abo Brewery and Dashen Brewery. (www.engineeringnews.co.za)China’s hanlong eyes west africaSichuan Hanlong has bid for the outstanding shares of Australia’s Sundance Resources， valuing the company at $1.5 billion in a deal that would give it control of a major iron ore mine in west Africa and help feed China’s demand for metals.Sundance’s board urged shareholders not to take any action on the Chinese group’s A$0.50 a share offer， a 25 percent premium to Friday’s closing price， which it said was inadequate. Hanlong already owns 18.6 percent of the company.The Australian company， whose shares closed 22.5 percent higher on Monday at A$0.49， said it was in advanced talks with other parties on investments to fund the estimated $4.7 billion needed for the Mbalam mine， its only significant asset.“I think (Mbalam) ... is a very attractive， large project and will make a lot of money when it’s up and running，” said Andreas Kouremenos， an analyst at Foster Stockbroking in Sydney.Sundance says Mbalam， straddling the Republics of Congo and Cameroon， could yield 35 million tonnes of iron ore a year suitable for direct shipping to steel mills - on a par with iron ore production of Africa’s Anglo American ， much of it through a majority stake in Kumba Iron Ore .But it would still be dwarfed by the hundreds of millions of tonnes of iron ore mined each year by Vale， Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton .The bid by privately held Hanlong， which has stakes in explorers in Australia and the United States， comes as China’s demand for raw materials expands rapidly. China is already the world’s biggest iron ore importer.“Hanlong Group is carrying out its overseas strategy on iron ore and aims to become the No. 4 iron ore supplier in the world in 10 years，” Hanlong said in a statement.“The acquisition， if successful， would have a profound impact on China’s steel enterprises; it would also help China make its voice heard more in the global iron ore market.”In November 2010， Export-Import Bank of China agreed to lend Hanlong， which also has interests in energy， real estate， pharmaceutical， chemicals and technology， up to $1.5 billion to fund overseas expansion.Last week， it launched a A$144 million bid for Bannerman Resources ， which is looking for uranium in Namibia.(www.iol.co.za)