Chinese Private Sector Investment in Angolan Port Terminal

 Business Insider Africa published on 21 July 2026 an article titled "Another African Country Gets $900 Million Chinese-backed Port Investment Amid Beijing's Billion-dollar Race Across the Continent" by Olamilekan Okebiorun.

China's Huatong Angola Industry has signed a $900 million deal with Angola's state-owned Barra do Dande Development Company covering a 25-year sub-concession for the construction and operation of a port terminal and supporting infrastructure.  This is entirely a private sector investment.

This deal is part of a new Chinese investment strategy in Africa that is moving away from large government-backed loans and towards foreign direct investment, private financing, and commercially viable projects.  

Djibouti: Take the Money and Run?

The Globe and Mail published on 16 July 2019 an article titled "Djibouti's Debt-defying Stunt: Taking China's Money without Accepting China's Control" by Geoffrey York.

As a result of financing most of Djibouti's infrastructure projects, Chinese financial institutions hold the vast majority of Djibouti's external debt. Djibouti insists it is retaining a majority stake in each project. But when China finances the projects and holds a significant chunk of the equity, along with short-term contracts to manage and operate the railway and some of the ports, the Chinese influence can be massive.

China and Djibouti's Free Trade Zone

Quartz Africa published on 9 July 2018 an article titled "Thanks to China, Africa's Largest Free Trade Zone Has Launched in Djibouti" by Abdi Latif Dahir.

The $3.5 billion Djibouti International Free Trade Zone opened in early July. It will focus on trade and logistics, export processing, business and financial support services, and manufacturing and duty-free merchandise retail. The project is part of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

How Djibouti Became China's Gateway to Africa

Spiegel Online posted on 8 February 2018 an article titled "How Djibouti Became China's Gateway to Africa" by Dietmar Pieper.

The author suggests that Djibouti is fast becoming China's gateway to Africa. It is establishing China's first overseas military base and constructing Africa's largest free trade zone in Djibouti. The country is serving as a laboratory for the global shift in power from the West to the East.

Djibouti Steps Up Ties with China

The South China Morning Post published on 21 November 2017 an article titled "From Rail and Airports To Its First Overseas Naval Base, China Zeroes in on Tiny Djibouti" by Kinling Lo.

Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh is making a state visit to China this week. This follows the signing last week of a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company to invest $4 billion in a natural gas project to build a liquefaction plant and pipeline that will bring gas from Ethiopia's Ogaden region to Djibouti for export. China has other major infrastructure projects in Djibouti that include an airport, port, free trade zone, railway to Addis Ababa, and a military base.

Somaliland: Dubai Company Commits to Berbera Port Investment

CNN ran a story on 1 August 2017 titled "Somaliland Secures Record $442m Foreign Investment Deal" by Chris Giles.

The Dubai-based DP World has agreed to invest $442 million in Somaliland's port of Berbera in the Gulf of Aden. The project will include a new shipyard, quay, and free trade zone. The expectation is that land-locked Ethiopia will take a 19 percent share in the port and use it for some of its exports and imports.

Djibouti's Free Trade Zone (French and English)

The Oxford Business Group published on 13 March 2017 an article titled "Djibouti Moves to Galvanise Trade Development." Djibouti's new $540 million port is being developed by China Merchants Holding and the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority. The free trade zone is expected to be fully operational by 2018.

China-Nigeria: FDI and Technology Transfer

The SAIS China-Africa Research Initiative published in January 2016 a study titled "Learning from China? Manufacturing, Investment, and Technology Transfer in Nigeria" by Yunnan Chen, et al. 

The paper examines new trends of Chinese foreign direct investment and technology transfer in Nigeria's manufacturing sector, and evaluates their potential to catalyze further industrialization. 

China's Naval Facility and Free Trade Zone in Djibouti

Bfirst Network published on 25 January 2016 a commentary titled "China to Open Indian Ocean 'Base'."  It discusses China's upcoming military facility in Djibouti. 


The Somaliland Informer published on 25 January 2016 an article titled "DPFZA Signs Milestone Agreement to Make Djibouti Key Entry Point to Africa on China's New Silk Road" by Mustafe A. Jirde.  The article describes a joint venture project with a Chinese firm for a free trade zone in Djibouti.