China Manages Risk in Its Belt and Road Initiative

 AIDDATA published on 6 November 2023 a commentary titled "Belt and Road Bounces Back, as Beijing Seeks to Future-proof Its Flagship Global Infrastructure Initiative" by Alex Wooley.

This is a commentary on AIDDATA's massive report on China's Belt and Road Initiative.  The report discusses the measures Beijing is taking to manage repayment risk; environmental, social, and governance risk; and reputational risk in its overseas project portfolio.  

Putin's War Taking Toll on Africa

 The US Institute of Peace published on 15 June 2022 an analysis titled "Russia's War in Ukraine Is Taking a Toll on Africa" by Ashish Kumar Sen.

The UN Development Program assistant administrator for Africa said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put households, communities, and countries across Africa in a "very precarious situation."  Disruption of trade in wheat, fertilizer, and steel has had severe consequences for some countries.  Downgraded credit ratings have increased borrowing costs.  Inflation is on the rise.  Development projects are being postponed.

China's Risk Assessment in Post-coup Guinea

 The China-Africa Project posted on 15 September 2021 an article titled "Assessing the New Risks for Chinese Companies, Projects and Personnel in Post-coup Guinea" by Eric Olander.

The city of Shanghai's department of commerce recently posted a fascinating six-point analysis (in Chinese) of the risks confronting Chinese companies operating in Guinea following the recent overthrow of President Alpha Conde by a military junta.  

The city identified the following six risks:

--The new military government may face international sanctions that could have a direct impact on Chinese investments in Guinea.

--The new regime could pressure Chinese mining companies in Guinea to pay more regardless of any existing contracts.

--The coup could exacerbate ethnic and religious tensions, which may provoke conflict.

--Ongoing instability is leading to higher aluminum prices, which will impact downstream sales.

--The coup and its aftermath may adversely impact companies' solvency and their ability to abide by existing contracts.  

--For companies that engage in commodities futures trading, problems may arise due to market volatility brought on by the coup, which could lead to misjudgments and poor trading strategies.

Somalia and Yemen's Cross-border Maritime Economy

The Rift Valley Institute published in 2019 a report titled "Somalia and Yemen's Cross-border Maritime Economy" by Nisar Majid and Khalif Abdirahman.

The report outlines the local social and economic relations that span the maritime border between Yemen and Somalia, and, which make an important contribution to the resilience of communities in both countries.

Chinese Loans and East Africa

Kenya's The East African published on 27 April 2019 a piece titled "Editorial: Is the Well of Chinese Credit Really Bottomless?"

The editorial concludes that the dilemma of Chinese debt will only be resolved if the parties take a more critical look at how debt generates new value to support repayment.

Kenya's Daily Nation published on 26 April 2019 a similar editorial titled "SGR: Kenya Must Tame Its Appetite for Loans."

Referencing China's loans for railway projects, it concludes that Kenya must tame its appetite for loans and rethink its infrastructure development model.

Africa and the Human Freedom Index 2018

The Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom have just published "The Human Freedom Index 2018: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom" by Ian Vasquez and Tanja Porcnik.

It evaluated 162 countries for 2016, the most recent year for which sufficient data are available. It looked at 79 indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas: rule of law, security, safety, movement, religion, association, assembly, civil society, expression, information, identity, relationships, size of government, legal systems, property rights, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally, and regulation of credit, labor, and business.

Of the 47 African countries evaluated, the ten best performing were: Mauritius (37), Cape Verde (53), Seychelles (54), Ghana (57), South Africa (63), Botswana (64), Rwanda (71), Namibia (74), Kenya (82), and Uganda (85). The five worst performing African countries were: Libya (158), Sudan (157), Egypt (156), Algeria (155) and Burundi (154).

Doing Business in Somalia 2019

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for Somalia. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. Somalia ranked 190, last on the list. This compares with 159 for Ethiopia.

Doing Business in Sudan 2019

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for Sudan. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. Sudan ranked 162. This compares with 120 for Egypt and 185 for South Sudan.

Doing Business in South Sudan

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for South Sudan. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. South Sudan ranked 185. This compares with 162 for Sudan and 190 for Somalia.

Doing Business in Kenya 2019

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for Kenya. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. Kenya ranked 61 globally and fourth best in Africa. Kenya's global ranking compares with Rwanda at number 29 and Uganda at number 127.

Doing Business in Djibouti 2019

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for Djibouti. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. Djibouti ranked 99, second most improved ranking from 2017 to 2018. This compares with 159 for Ethiopia and 29 for Rwanda.

Doing Business in Eritrea 2019

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for Eritrea. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. Eritrea ranked 189. This compares with 159 for Ethiopia and 99 for Djibouti.

Doing Business in Ethiopia 2019

The World Bank has just published its Doing Business 2019 for Ethiopia. The evaluation includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

On the overall ranking of ease of doing business, the World Bank evaluated 190 countries, including 54 in Africa. Ethiopia ranked 159. This compares with 61 for Kenya and 189 for Eritrea.

Good News and Bad News for Doing Business in Africa

The World Bank has just released its Doing Business 2019. It evaluates 190 countries/economies globally, including 54 in Africa. The evaluation looks at starting a business, labor market regulation, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, trading across borders, paying taxes, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.

There is good news and bad news for Africa. Out of the ten most improved countries since 2017, five are in Africa. Djibouti is second most improved, Togo sixth, Kenya seventh, Cote d'Ivoire eighth, and Rwanda tenth. The bad news is that only eight African countries rank above the global midpoint: Mauritius (20), Rwanda (29), Morocco (60), Kenya (61), Tunisia (80), South Africa (82), Botswana (86), and Zambia (87). Forty-six African countries rank below the global mid-point and thirteen of the bottom twenty are in Africa.

Doing Business in Kenya 2018

The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business 2018 report. It evaluated 190 countries. Kenya ranked a respectable 80, a modest improvement compared to the 2017 report. By comparison, Rwanda ranked 41 and Uganda 122.

The World Bank ranking takes into account the following eleven factors: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

Doing Business in Somalia

The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business 2018 report. It evaluated 190 countries. Somalia ranked dead last at 190, its score down slightly compared to the 2017 report.

The World Bank ranking takes into account the following eleven factors: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

Doing Business in South Sudan 2018

The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business 2018 report. It evaluated 190 countries. South Sudan ranked 187, a slight reduction compared to the 2017 report. By comparison, Sudan ranked 170 and Somalia ranked 190.

The World Bank ranking takes into account the following eleven factors: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

Doing Business in Sudan 2018

The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business 2018 report. It evaluated 190 countries. Sudan ranked 170, a slight improvement compared to the 2017 report. By comparison, Ethiopia ranked 161 and South Sudan ranked 187.

The World Bank ranking takes into account the following eleven factors: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulations.

Doing Business in Djibouti 2018

The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business 2018 report. It evaluated 190 countries. Djibouti ranked 154, an improvement compared to the 2017 report. By comparison, Ethiopia ranked 160 and Kenya ranked 80.

The World Bank ranking takes into account the following eleven factors: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.

Doing Business in Eritrea 2018

The World Bank has just released its annual Doing Business 2018 report. It evaluated 190 countries. Eritrea ranked 189, a slight improvement compared to the 2017 report. By comparison, Somalia ranked 190 and Ethiopia ranked 161.

The World Bank ranking takes into account the following eleven factors: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, and labor market regulation.