Thursday, March 23, 2017

Djibouti Tries to Attract Light Industry Leaving China Because of Higher Wages

How We Made It in Africa published on 22 March 2017 an interview with the chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority titled "Djibouti Wants to Attract Light-manufacturing Industries as Wages Rise in China."

The article reports that Djibouti hopes to attract light-manufacturing departing China due to rising wages. There are several challenges working against this goal. Does Djibouti, a country of about one million, even have the labor force to to absorb a significant amount of manufacturing? Why would this manufacturing move to Djibouti and not a number of other developing countries with lower wages, especially some in Asia?