Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Chinese Enterprises Overseas and Sustainable Development

The 151-page 2015 Report on the Sustainable Development of Chinese Enterprises Overseas is available online.  While it covers China's outward direct investment globally, it has useful information dealing specifically with Africa.  It was prepared by the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in the Ministry of Commerce, Research Center of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the United Nations Development Programme in China.

As of the end of June 2015, China's cumulative, non-financial, outward direct investment stock (ODI) in Africa totaled $27 billion, according to official Chinese data.  This constituted only 3.7 percent of China's global ODI stock.  ODI in Africa was concentrated in construction (25 percent), mining/oil (25 percent), financial services (16 percent), and manufacturing (14 percent). 

Africa ranked second after Asia in terms of the value of signed and completed contracts won by Chinese companies.  The cumulative value of signed contracts in Africa at the end of 2014 was $472 billion and completed contracts $310 billion. 

The top three major risks confronting Chinese companies operating in Africa were the political and regulatory environment, labor issues, and employee security.