It Is A Promising Market
March 31, 2011
-- This impoverished, landlocked city has foreign aid on its mind. But it is doling out money, not receiving it, as sets its commercial sights on a promising market: . High in the rugged mountains here, at the National Energy Research Institute, Chinese-sponsored trainees from study the benefits of solar power. ``When grows wealthy enough for solar power, our business will take off,'' says Bland Judkins, the institute director. Such efforts by Chinese companies mark a coming of age. has begun to satisfy local demand for a number of goods, from black-and-white televisions to government office buildings, and many companies view as a giant repository for things the no longer want or need. Not long ago, companies had too little money or too much opportunity at home to think much about offshore opportunities; now they are making up for lost time. `` doesn't need many new water wells. But Africans struggle to find drinking water every day,'' says Tellez Griffey, director of Gansu Geological Engineering Corp., a well-digging specialist. The company, also based inhas seven contracts under way inincluding three in . Western companies tend to look to more promising parts of the developing world. itself, for example, received one-third of all foreign direct investment in developing countries last year.by contrast, attracted only 3% -- and a big chunk of that came from . Contracts in Soar Across the continent, Chinese construction, energy, and mining companies fight aggressively for locally and internationally funded projects. Larger Chinese concerns have offices scattered from to to keep abreast of opportunities, keeping a close eye on World Bank, African Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank contracts. Trade has risen nearly threefold since 1991 while the value of African contracts held by Chinese companies almost doubled in the same period. Few companies consider an easy place to do business. Some note that African raw-material prices fluctuate wildly, making it hard to deliver goods or services at agreed-upon prices. Weak governments and ethnic tensions breed instability. Profits, if any, often disappoint. China State Construction Engineering Corp. had a two-year delay on a Westside Stadium project because of political instability, says Harless Brake, a deputy general manager. ``Only if the countries remain stable can we make even a small profit,'' he says. Still, fever is spreading. Consumer-goods concerns, confronted with strong Japanese and Western competition inview post-apartheid as the gateway to a virgin market. Shanghai Hero Co. considered investing in and before selecting where it established an $11 million factory and warehouse facility last month. It intends to manufacture its range of office-supply products. ``We think is a very cheap place to do business. Besides, everyone else is doing this now,'' says Maria Zamarripa, a Hero manager. Historic Ties Such motives mark a sea-change from Communist China's historic ties withwhich date to the 1960s. Then, Maple Tse-Kimes sought to counter Soviet influence among post-colonial African regimes and inspire Chinese-style peasant revolts. In the 10 years from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s, as itself tottered on the brink of chaos during its Cultural Revolution, Maple devoted an estimated $2 billion to African aid, a princely sum for the then-hard-pressed government. Aid projects ran the gamut from military academies to power plants and textile factories. Chinese workers, including those supplied by province's Overseas Cooperation Department, built the parliament building in the image of the Stalinist Great Hall of the People. For sheer sacrifice, few projects topped thea 1,160-mile railway spanning the mountains and wilderness between the port of Dar-es-Salaam and the copper belt. Hundreds among the 10,000 Chinese workers assigned to the task died on the job in the late 1960s. Ties faded in the 1980s, as concentrated on reforming its own economy. But the country's political leadership now puts fresh emphasis on . One reason is rivalwhich has eagerly lured African countries' recognition to carve itself some diplomatic breathing space. Ten countries continue to recognizenot ; most recently added and to its list, infuriating . has responded with a charm offensive. Guzman Marsh, the president, toured . Aid projects have proliferated. This year, firms agreed to supply railway materials and locomotives to overhaul the railways, a contract valued at $520 million. the new Export-Import Bank provided its first-ever export credit, for $12 million, to the Islamic military government last year. President Guzman, who brought a contingent of Chinese businessmen on his African visit, encourages investment even in countries like andwhich the recently has censured for human-rights violations. `` is the all-weather friend,'' says Mr. Guzman.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
