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tralac’s Daily News Selection
The selection: Wednesday, 16 March 2016
African Transformation Forum: closing address by President Kagame
Africa Pension Funds Network: update (AfDB)
Discussions about the WAEMU are often limited to questions about the degree of overvaluation of the real effective exchange rate and the level of remuneration of the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves. These are valid questions, especially as they relate to competitiveness and the opportunity cost of leaving foreign exchange reserves at the French Treasury. But they are not the only ones. In this note, we explore a number of other questions to provide a greater insight on the nature of regional economic communities in Africa. [The authors: Amadou Sy, Mariama Sow]
EALA passes key report on governance and project performance issues in EAC institutions
The objectives of the assessment were to assess whether governance and management systems of the institutions are good enough to guarantee performance and proper discharge of duties. It further sought to establish the implementation of the Assembly’s recommendations, strengthen governance and management systems of EAC Institutions and to establish extent to which the said institutions apply modern governance and management of applied technologies.
SADC Council of Ministers: briefing (SADC)
On the Tripartite Free Trade Area, Council urged member states to expedite conclusion of outstanding Phase 1 negotiation issues, which include rules of origin, trade remedies, and finalization of tariff negotiations in order to fully operationalize the Tripartite Free Trade area and endorsed the proposal by the Tripartite Task Force to convene a Tripartite Council of Ministers, preceded by the Sectoral Ministerial Committee meeting on 9-14 May 2016 to facilitate unlocking of all outstanding Phase 1 issues; and directed the Secretariat as current chair and coordinator of the Tripartite Task Force to facilitate the legal scrubbing of all completed Annexes before the proposed Sectoral Ministerial Committee; and mobilization of resources for Phase 2 TFTA issues.
Enhancing India’s engagement with the Southern African Development Community (Export-Import Bank of India)
During the last ten years, India’s total trade with the SADC countries has witnessed over eight-fold increase from $3.7bn in 2004 to $29.6bn in 2014. While India’s total exports to SADC has risen from $1.6bn in 2004 to $15bn in 2014, depicting a nine-fold rise during the period, India’s total imports from SADC have also risen, although at a slower pace, from $2bn to $14.6bn, showing a seven-fold rise. India’s trade balance with SADC turned into a surplus of $0.4bn in 2014, after witnessing a deficit for six consecutive years.
The increasing importance of India as SADC’s trading partner can be assesses from the fact that India accounts for a respectable 7.4% of SADC’s global imports in 2014, which was significant improvement compared to 2.1% recorded in 2004. Further, India accounts for around 7% of SADC’s total exports, up from 3.3% in 2004, depicting the rising importance of India in SADC’s trade configuration. The importance of the SADC region can also be gauged from the fact that the region accounted for 4.7% of India’s global exports in 2014, up from 2.2% recorded in 2004. India’s imports from SADC region, as a percentage share of India’s global imports, accounted for 3.2% in 2014. The period also witnesses a rise in the importance of SADC in India’s global trade configuration. [Download]
India-Africa trade relations: the way ahead (Economic Times)
While the two-way trade and investment ties have deepened, the future potential is much higher. With the changing architecture of global trade agreements, the focus is shifting towards creating value-chain and investment-led trade. The Indian private sector can leverage available institutional mechanisms to further deepen its trade and economic footprint in African nations. The second important instrument is the EXIM Bank/Government of India's Lines of Credit (LoC). Undoubtedly, LOCs have helped Indian companies enter the African market as well as expand their footprint in the continent. This is evident from the fact that LOCs to African countries constitute 60 per cent of all LOCs. However, there is still a gap between LOC commitments and actual disbursement, which needs to be bridged. [The author, Chandrajit Banerjee, is the Director General of the Confederation of Indian Industry]
India’s exports contract for 15th month on tepid demand (Livemint)
The trade deficit narrowed further from its previous month’s low, data released by the commerce ministry showed. Exports shrank 5.66% in February and imports contracted 5.03%, leaving a trade deficit of $6.5 billion. Only eight out of the 30 import items reported growth in February, compared with 10 in January. Among the major items, the import of coal (-16.85%), petroleum (-21.9%), chemicals (-1.05%), iron and steel (-12.46%), transport equipment (-7.9%) and gold (-29.5%) contracted, while the import of precious stones (41.2%) and machinery (50.2%) shot up. Shipments of 14 out of the 30 top export items grew in February, against 13 in the previous month. Among the major items, export of gems and jewellery (11.2%), pharmaceuticals (8.8%) and chemicals (4.5%) increased, while export of engineering goods (-11.2%), readymade garments (-0.72%) and petroleum products (-28.3%) fell.
UNCTAD Investment Policy Monitor: latest edition
The Monitor finds that 25 countries took 41 investment policy measures between October 2015 and February 2016. The share of liberalization and promotion measures was 85% - broadly in line with last year's average. These policy measures show a continued move towards improving entry conditions, reducing restrictions and facilitating foreign investment. In terms of policy types, measures related to "entry/establishment" were predominant. UNCTAD found that countries concluded ten new international investment agreements, bringing the total number of IIAs to over 3280 at the end of February 2016. The new treaties are five bilateral investment treaties and five "other IIAs", including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. At least six IIAs entered into force.
Chinese presence in real estate in South Africa and Mauritius (CCS)
Preliminary statistics from research centres, and media and public discourses highlight South Africa and Mauritius as two of the most popular destinations of Chinese real estate investment. This paper investigates the substantiality of these hypotheses and assesses the impact Chinese real estate activities have on the socio-economic environment of the respective two countries. It also provides policy propositions that would ease these prospective challenges to the two societies. [Africa-China relations: Lagos conference (Yale)]
Botswana: new trade portal makes import, export easier, cheaper (World Bank)
The Botswana Trade Portal is a web-based database system, which makes all cross-border trade regulatory information available at a stroke of a key. The information includes all laws, prohibitions, restrictions, technical standards, the entire commodity classification and tariffs, all procedures for license and permit application and clearance, copies of all forms as well as plain language instructions. The trade portal also enables traders to see, in response to a single query, all the obligations they need to comply with to import or export a specific good.
Namibia: the Annual Trade Statistics Bulletin 2015 is available for download
South Africa: Reserve Bank Quarterly Economic Review is posted
South Africa: MPs question viability of Congo hydro project (Business Day)
MPs on Tuesday questioned the country’s substantial investment in the Grand Inga hydroelectric scheme, citing political instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo. SA is poised to pump more than R64bn into the ambitious scheme to transmit about 2,500MW from the DRC to a power station in Limpopo.
Closer look at South African pork market shows opportunities (National Hog Farmer)
According to USDA estimates, South Africa is the world’s 20th largest pork producer at 245,000 mt per year. South Africa imported about 38,500 mt of pork in 2015, valued at $81.8 million, with Germany, Canada and Spain being the primary suppliers. This was an increase of 55% in volume and 36% in value from 2014, though still down slightly from the peak volume level of 2011 (41,371 mt) and the peak value level of 2012 ($98 million). With US pork re-entering the South African market after a significant absence, displacing existing suppliers will present a challenge — especially considering the access limitations that remain in effect. However, US pork has achieved success in markets with similar import restrictions — Australia, for example, is currently the seventh-largest destination for US pork.
Zambia: value chain, jobs diagnostics project launched (World Bank)
The Let’s Work Partnership recently met with government officials, donors, the private sector, and other key stakeholders in Zambia to share the preliminary findings of the Zambia Jobs Diagnostic and to launch the Let’s Work’s Zambia Value Chain Analysis in the agriculture and construction sectors. Both products will be used to support the design of a forthcoming World Bank project aimed at creating economic diversification for more, better, and inclusive jobs in Zambia. The project will include a focus on agribusiness/agro-processing opportunities. The Zambia Jobs Diagnostic is being conducted in collaboration with the Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR), and will be finalized in the coming months.
Mombasa hosts conference on transport and road research (Coast Week)
More than 300 senior researchers and policy markers including stakeholders are due to meet in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa from Tuesday to seek ways of improving research on transport, organizers said on Sunday. A statement from the Kenya Roads Board said the three-day International Conference on Transport and Road Research will bring participants from Africa and South East Asian regions. [Conference programme]
Related: Mozambique’s Great Gas Road (Natural Gas Daily), Angola: strategic road and rail links create a new long-haul logistics platform for the region (World Folio), Namibia: Dry port held up (Informante), Sinotruk to improve logistics, services in Africa (China Daily)
The cost of an emerging national oil company (Chatham House)
This research paper is a product of the New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group, a project which aims to enhance the capacity of emerging oil and gas producers to establish context appropriate rules and institutions for good governance of their petroleum sectors and to engage credibly with international partners. The project engages with a wide range of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, where exploration interest surged during the high oil price era. This prompted domestic debates about how to structure and govern the nascent petroleum sector with the aim of maximizing long-term benefits to the nation. [The author: Valérie Marcel] [Patrick Heller: blog on recent New Petroleum Producers Discussion Group meeting in Kenya (NRGI)]
Pradeep S. Mehta, Smriti Bahety: 'India’s solar panel dispute: a need to look within' (The Wire)
Do environmental policies affect global value chains? (OECD)
Mauritius ready to help Pakistan access African markets (The Nation)
High-level panel on women's economic empowerment holds first meeting (UN)
Here is a reminder that international trade makes America great (US Chamber of Commerce)
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