News
tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Friday, 5 August 2016
Featured new publication: Africa’s unexplored potential of trade in services (World Bank)
Very little is known about trade in services in Africa and its prospective impact. The continent’s potential to engage in trade in services, especially in dynamic knowledge-intensive activities remains neglected. Africa’s export potential in traditional services, such as tourism, is clearly recognized, but the incipient dynamism in exports of non-traditional services, such as business services is often overlooked. This book broadens our understanding of services trade for Africa by opening up some unexplored opportunities to invigorate and deepen the discussion on the role of traditional and modern services in economic transformation, trade diversification and upgrading. The book provides estimates on the magnitude of such flows and discusses the regulatory hurdles that prevent the emergence of a services-led transformation as observed in some other regions of the world.
An important challenge to exploring Africa’s potential in trade in services is the paucity of data. Poor availability of data and huge discrepancies between official statistics and firm-level data make analyses of services trade misleading. Informal trade in services flourishes across the continent, yet data on such flows remain totally absent. Comprehensive comparisons across sectors and regions are ambiguous or not possible. Furthermore, despite growing opportunities for African services firms to export to neighbouring countries, limited data on trade in services by partner country and sparse information on regulatory policies and their application hamper the monitoring of progress in services liberalization and regional integration. To draw attention to the available assessment tools and policy instruments for possible refinement and broader application across sectors, this book proposes novel data collection methods, such as crowd-sourcing and mystery shopping, pioneering knowledge transfer practices, and experiences with innovative policy reforms. [From foreward by Punam Chuhan-Pole, Acting Chief Economist, Africa Region]
Business cooperation between Chinese and African entrepreneurs: remarks by AU Commissioner of Trade and Industry (AU)
Tomorrow we will be meeting to follow up on progress in a number of areas, which open up such business partnership opportunities. Those include: (i) investments in health, which will build capacity on the continent for early detection, prevention and response to infectious diseases; (ii) investments in education generally and technical and vocational education and training. This is an area of comparative advantage for China, and an opportunity to African-Chinese joint ventures. It also benefits both Africa and China more generally as those centres create the skills required for businesses to perform properly.; (iii) investments in agriculture, agri-business, climate change / environment; and the blue-ocean economy. Under the FOCAC Framework we are expected to prepare Invest in Africa and other Platforms to make this exchange possible. I invite us to start the preparations for this Platform to take place as soon as possible. We also need to discuss concrete mechanisms to support African exporters to China, and Chinese investors and trade partners with Africa. [Sino-Africa textile symposium in Mombasa]
Brexit could mean UK gets more fruit and vegetables from Africa (The Guardian)
Consumers in the UK could see a rise in fruit, vegetables and other produce coming from Africa following the UK’s vote to leave the EU, according to a survey of retailers. The EU is currently the main source of food imports to the UK, with EU member states making up nine out of 10 of the biggest importers. But about one-third of UK retailers now say they are considering sourcing from a different country and 38% expect to see more produce sourced from Africa. [Barclays: supply chain survey]
Pradeep S. Mehta: 'UNCTAD: investing in development' (Asian Age)
Having participated and spoken at several UNCTAD conferences in past, I can vouch that this was one of the best organised. While high-level representation from developing countries (DCs) and least developed countries was noticeable, their counterparts from rich countries were conspicuous by absence. This best highlights the difference in value attached to the multilateral organisation by these two factions.
IGAD: towards a capacity development strategy
Mr Farah Abdulsamed, regional capacity building coordinator at IGAD, gave a useful background of the proposed strategy as well its objectives, scope and its importance to improve skills, knowledge and experiences for IGAD staff and instruments to implement and perform better. Amb. Crispin Gray Johnson, a UNECA consultant, highlighted that existing IGAD plans and all other documents on capacity building and development will be reviewed, updated and modified to a knowledge instrument that should be relevant to the future users as well. Amb. Johnson went on to say that focus will also be put on existing gaps and performance challenges that may have affected implementation at IGAD.
ACBF: Survey of the capacity needs of Africaʼs Regional Economic Communities - second edition (forthcoming): This second survey builds on the first one by reappraising the capacity needs of the African Union’s eight recognized RECs in line with their strategic thrusts and development imperatives.
South Africa: Rob Davies puts Harare on notice over exports impasse (Business Day)
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies has given Zimbabwe a three-week grace period in which SA’s neighbour has to reopen its doors to South African exporters. This development follows a long anticipated meeting between Davies and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Mike Bimha. The parties have to resolve the impasse before a Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting of trade ministers in Botswana later in August. "On August 24, there should be an agreement reached where there are a series of surcharges and additional tariff increases that were applicable to the export interests of SA," said Davies. [#MugabeMustFall protesters plot Beitbridge shutdown, Vince Musewe: Bounds of possibility - re-industrialising Zim]
Angola: Luau cross-border logistics platform to link Angola to DRC, Zambia (MacauHub)
A cross-border logistics platform will be built in Luau municipality, Moxico province, to link Angola to the DRC and Zambia via the Benguela railway, Angolan Transport Minister Augusto da Silva Tomás announced. The Luau cross-border logistics platform will altogether comprise an integrated and varied multipole front in economic relations with Angola’s neighbouring countries, said Tomás, who spoke on Saturday during the opening session of a conference on “The National Logistics Platform”.
Rwanda: Senior lawyers discuss investment arbitration (New Times)
Top lawyers from both private and public institutions in the country have convened at Rwanda Development Board for a two-day workshop to discuss emerging trends in investment and commercial arbitration. The meeting was organised in partnership with Rwanda International Arbitration Centre, and facilitators include individuals like Emmanuel Gaillard, an attorney with Shearman & Sterling LLP, a UK-based law firm that is considered an authority in international commercial arbitration.
LNG in East Africa: the global race intensifies (IPPMedia)
China, Japan, India and the Middle East are particularly hungry for liquefied natural gas and so the intensifying global competition among LNG exporters means East Africa’s window of opportunity is shrinking, or facing stiff competition at the very least. Tanzania and Mozambique – home to East Africa’s largest natural gas reserves and with a combined capacity of nearly 250 trillion cubic feet – must quicken their pace as the race for supply contracts accelerates. East Africa benefits from convenient geography, with the coastline acting as a springboard to market to rising demand in the Middle East, India, China, Southeast Asia and Northern Europe. The vast potential of East Africa’s LNG reserves faces little debate. But, Tanzania and Mozambique must quickly court investors to leverage their assets and secure clients in Africa and along the New Silk Road before other LNG exporters cross the finish line. [The author, John Roper, is Head of Middle East at Uniper Global Commodities]
SA consultancy eyes big power deals with Nairobi office (Business Daily)
A South Africa-based energy and infrastructure projects adviser has opened its East Africa headquarters in Nairobi seeking a share of growing opportunities in the regional renewable energy sector. Fieldstone Africa, which last year advised on the financing of Sh252 billion ($2.5 billion) worth of infrastructure projects in Africa, seeks to ride on its physical presence in Nairobi to bag big-ticket private and government projects in the region.
East Africa: Shippers Council strategy targets transportation cost (The Standard)
The Shippers Council of East Africa has embarked on a four year strategy (2016–2020) seeking to mobilise revenue for the body’s advocacy work and for sustainability. The strategy is to enhance stakeholder value through advocating for improved efficiency in the logistics chain and reduction in the cost of transportation. Siginon Group Managing Director Meshack Kipturgo said the strategy is meant to increase the competitiveness of shippers and re-engineer the council’s business processes enabling it to meet stakeholder’s expectations while developing sufficient human capital to fulfill its mandate.
New alliance to shore up food security launched in Africa (The Wire)
As over 20 million sub-Saharan Africans face a shortage of food because of drought and development issues, representatives of the UN FAO and the Pan African Parliament met in Johannesburg to forge a new parliamentary alliance focusing on food and nutritional security. Monday’s meeting came after years of planning that began on the sidelines of the Second International Conference on Nutrition organised by the FAO in late 2014. FAO Rome special co-ordinator for parliamentary alliances, Caroline Rodrigues Birkett, said her role was to ensure that parliamentarians take up food security as a central theme. [Pan African Parliament Food and Nutrition Security Agenda: IPS interview]
Robusta coffee makes comeback in Africa (IPPMedia)
Robusta coffee is making a comeback in Africa, years after its production plummeted in the 1990s and early 2000s due to a fall in its price on the global market as civil war, pests and diseases affected some producing countries on the continent. Production of Robusta coffee variety currently accounts for about 40% of Africa’s total annual production, an increase of about 10% from three years ago. Prices have been on the rise in countries like Uganda – the highest Robusta coffee producer in Africa — since May 2016 when a kilogramme went for US$75.60, according to Business Week.
Inequality of opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank)
This paper evaluates inequality of opportunity and the different sources of unequal opportunities in 11 Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The results indicate that the portion of total inequality that can be attributed to exogenous circumstances -- that is, circumstances outside the control of individuals control -- is between 30 percent and 40 percent in the countries considered. The results also indicate a positive association between total consumption inequality and inequality of opportunity. Finally, this paper addresses a number of methodological issues that typically arise when measuring inequality of opportunity with imperfect data, which is the typical case in developing countries.
Kasumbalesa to get trade centre (ZNBC)
Marsabit cashes in on Kenya-Ethiopia Lapsset road as traders flock to region (Business Daily)
Mozambique: Government launches tenders for road concessions (Club of Mozambique)
Dar to become regional hub for commodity market (Daily News)
Kenya: CBK kicks off foreign investment survey (Footprint to Africa)
Brazil, Argentina close trade facilitation agreements
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