World
China’s Trade With Africa Reaches Record Highs
By Virusha Subban
According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, trade between China and Africa increased by 40.5 per cent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2021 and was valued at a record high of $139.1 billion.
The Ministry noted that African products were increasingly being recognised in the Chinese market and that imports from Africa into China increased by 46.3 per cent between January and July 2021.
Further, the import of agricultural products, such as rubber, cotton and coffee from Africa into China doubled when compared to the first seven months of 2020.
Data from the Ministry further revealed that over the last 20 years, China’s trade with Africa has risen 20-fold, showing that China is Africa’s biggest bilateral trading partner.
A recent report by Economist Corporate Network, supported by Baker McKenzie and Silk Road Associates, BRI Beyond 2020 (Economist report), showed how these strengthening trade links are, in part, a result of favourable financial incentives offered to African jurisdictions by China. According to the Economist report, 33 of the poorest jurisdictions in Africa export 97 per cent of their exports to China with no tariffs and no customs duties.
This report noted that bilateral trade was still heavily centred on China’s import of Africa’s natural resources. However, in recent years China had increased its import of manufacturing products from more diversified economies such as South Africa.
A Baker McKenzie report with Oxford Economics – AfCFTA: A Three Trillion Dollar Opportunity (AfCFTA report) – revealed that over three-quarters of African exports to the rest of the world were still heavily focused on natural resources, but that on the import side, manufactured goods accounted for more than half the total volume of imports into African jurisdictions.
Africa’s most important suppliers of manufactured goods were listed as Europe (35 per cent) China (16 per cent) and the rest of Asia, including India (14 per cent).
Africa’s strong reliance on foreign jurisdictions for its manufactured goods shows that for intra-regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to fully succeed, more jurisdictions in the region must develop their manufacturing bases and reduce their reliance on natural resources.
As such, reliable transport infrastructure is vital for businesses in Africa to be able to scale up production for regional export. The continent also needs to redouble efforts to ensure that an adequate supply of water and electricity is available.
Additional investments in utility infrastructure will have the added benefit of incentivising foreign companies to set up production facilities on the continent.
To aid Africa with these massive infrastructure needs, China has provided significant capital for key infrastructure projects in Africa in the last few years.
A further Baker McKenzie’s report – New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding (infrastructure report) – showed that lending by Chinese banks into energy and infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa saw a small uplift in 2020, despite the pandemic, although deal values were well below their 2017 peak.
In 2017, Chinese banks lent $11 billion to African infrastructure projects, which decreased to $4.5 billion in 2018, $2.8 billion in 2019 and $3.3 billion in 2020.
Overall, the numbers show that there has been a slowdown in the number of infrastructure deals from China, although they are by far still the biggest investors in the region. In the short term, the report noted that more targeted lending from China is expected.
Further, the Economist report pointed out that political and policy commitments between China and Africa have strengthened and expanded in their scope in recent years.
During the 2018 Forum on China Africa Cooperation, an official forum between China and all states in Africa, Chinese President Xi proposed eight major areas for nations to collaborate on: industrial promotion, facility connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health and hygiene, humanities exchanges, and peace and security.
Chinese companies recently supported the construction of three major economic zones in sub-Saharan Africa, including the Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, the Eastern Industrial Zone in Ethiopia and the China-Nigeria free trade zone. Such investments have been helping to create jobs, develop local industries and facilitate trade.
However, as Africa reduces its over-dependence on natural resources and increases its manufacturing capacity, it must also ensure it develops other industries in a sustainable way.
To this end, the Economist report outlined how China and Africa have agreed to work together on improving Africa’s capacity for green, low-carbon and sustainable development, and to roll out more than 50 projects on clean energy, wildlife protection, environment-friendly agriculture and low-carbon development. The trade in sustainable goods and services is also expected to reap benefits for the African continent in future years.
Successful regional trade under AfCFTA will connect the region’s wealthier and poorer nations, promote the growth of value chains and lay the foundations for increased international trade in the process. As free trade under AfCFTA takes hold, the existing strong trade ties that African jurisdictions already enjoy with China and the continent’s other major trading partners, are expected to be further boosted.
Virusha Subban is a Partner and Head of Indirect Tax at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Credit ratings agency, S&P Global Ratings, has restored the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to investment grade, nearly 12 years after its last assessment, citing the entity’s countercyclical lending record and strong shareholder support.
The BBB+ rating with a stable outlook is one notch above Moody’s Baa2 and comes months after Afreximbank severed ties with Fitch Ratings.
The lender accused the agency of misjudging its mission, following a downgrade to junk status amid disagreements over the bank’s role in debt restructurings for Ghana and Zambia. Fitch subsequently withdrew its ratings entirely and flagged governance concerns.
S&P said in a statement on Thursday that Afreximbank’s record as a countercyclical lender and its substantial shareholder support served as rationale for its rating. Credit ratings often guide the costs of capital for a borrower.
The lender’s total assets, S&P noted, had expanded to $42.3 billion by the end of 2025, up from $7.1 billion in 2015.
S&P said it did not incorporate preferred creditor status into its assessment because Afreximbank provides almost 80 per cent of its loans to private-sector entities.
However, it acknowledged that Afreximbank, alongside other institutions, had experienced prolonged payment arrears in recent years, notably following the defaults and debt restructurings in Ghana and Zambia.
S&P noted that Afreximbank said in December that it had come to an agreement with Ghana on its $750 million loan, but that the lender had not announced a resolution with Zambia.
The agency warned that further sovereign restructurings could weigh on Afreximbank’s asset quality.
S&P’s assessment described Afreximbank’s governance and management as “adequate”, saying the inclusion of two independent directors and the African Development Bank (AfDB) as a permanent board member provided institutional oversight.
It noted that while increasing participation of private-sector investors through Class D shares could influence the bank’s risk appetite, Class A shareholders retained veto rights over big institutional changes, balancing potential risk.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Mr Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is now a trillionaire as his SpaceX rose 11 per cent in its Nasdaq debut on Friday, lifting its valuation to about $1.96 trillion as investors piled into the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO).
The stock opened for trading at $150 compared with the IPO price of $135 per share.
The landmark listing cemented Mr Musk’s status as the first trillionaire ever and propelled SpaceX into the ranks of the world’s most valuable companies
The listing is being used as a benchmark of what is to come for the market ahead of forthcoming IPOs for AI heavyweights Anthropic and OpenAI.
The record IPO is a culmination of Mr Musk’s long-held ambitions in space and technology.
Most of Musk’s wealth now rests with SpaceX, where he holds a stake worth roughly $866 billion. Along with Tesla and the rest of his properties, his net worth will exceed $1.1 trillion when the stock begins trading on Friday.
At a quoted $75 billion, the deal’s proceeds were more than double those of Saudi Aramco’s record-setting 2019 IPO.
The valuation could rise further should underwriters exercise their right to sell additional shares, a decision typically made within 30 days after the offering.
Although SpaceX may have to wait for entry into the S&P 500, its expected fast-track inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 will soon make it a major holding for passive funds and ETFs that track the index, creating a fresh source of demand for its shares.
It will take about a month before it gets added to that index under Nasdaq’s new fast-entry rules, as opposed to a typical wait of as much as a year.
SpaceX said its market opportunity spans $28.5 trillion, a figure it called the largest in human history.
Mr Musk, 54, was born in Pretoria, South Africa, to a Canadian mother and South African father. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1997.
He took over as Tesla’s CEO in 2008. Beyond Tesla and SpaceX, Mr Musk has co-founded five other companies, including tunnelling startup The Boring Company and brain implant maker Neuralink.
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