Africa and China's Development Banks

The Bretton Woods Project published in April 2016 a short paper titled "China Goes Global with Development Banks" by Rohini Kamal and Keven P. Gallagher of Boston University.

The paper looks at the impact of China's massive increase in development finance for developing countries, arguing that it provides a useful alternative to Western-dominated institutions. 

Investing in Africa Forum

Finchannel.com published on 2 July 2015 a summary of the Investing in Africa Forum that took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 30 June - 1 July 2015.  It was organized by the government of Ethiopia, China Development Bank, the China-Africa Development Fund, the World Bank Group, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 

According to this report, the entire focus seemed to be on the China-Africa relationship and how African countries could benefit from China's experience.  Even though the World Bank and UNIDO were co-organizers, countries in the rest of the world did not appear to have any useful lessons to offer Africa.

Improving Chinese Private Investment in Africa

The World Bank issued a staff report on 3 July 2015 titled "Proposal for Improving Chinese Private Investment in Africa."  It offered the following eight thoughts for improving China-Africa cooperation:

--Cooperate in a spirit of sincerity and equality.
--Seek mutually beneficial means of development.
--Raise the level of investment in Africa.
--Strengthen cooperation in agriculture and food security.
--Deepen collaboration in infrastructure.
--Emphasize community development and people-to-people exchange.
--Improve local awareness of business operations and management.
--Create emergency and risk control systems for Chinese investment in Africa.

Analysis of China-Africa Development Fund

The Centre for Chinese Studies at Stellenbosch University published in July 2013 a brief analysis titled "The China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) as a Sovereign Wealth Fund for Africa's Development?" by Sven Grimm.

The policy brief elaborates on the setting and policy of CADFund, specifically in comparison to Norfund, Norway's sovereign wealth fund for investments in developing countries, which also has a development vocation.  While operating according to market principles, CADFund is an economic and diplomatic tool of the Chinese government to encourage Chinese enterprises' investments in African countries. 

Chinese Agricultural Project in Tanzania

Source: University of Witwatersrand journalism project

The University of Witwatersrand journalism project carried an article on 19 June 2013 titled "Ploughing Africa: The Story of a Chinese Sisal Farm in Tanzania" by China Business News reporter Chen Xiaochen.

It is a detailed investigation of a Chinese sisal farm in Tanzania run by China State Farm.

The story tries to answer the following questions:

• What is Chinese agriculture doing in Africa?
• What are the profits in African farming and what difficulties do farmers face?
• How do the managers run a farm in Africa, manage local employees and resolve disputes?
• Is the strategy of overseas land banking practical in reality?
• Is the aim of farming to alleviate poverty, to make profit or be strategic?

China Establishing Two New Investment Funds for Africa

China Daily recently announced plans by the China-Africa Business Council and the China-Africa Development Fund (CADF) to establish two new funds this year to increase China's investment in Africa.  One fund is for commercial ventures and the other for mining investment. Each fund is expected to raise $1 billion initially from member companies and the CADF.  The purpose is to provide capital for Chinese enterprises seeking investment opportunities in Africa.