The selection: Wednesday, 11 November

Dueling with Lions: playing the new game of business success in Africa (BCG)

As Africa’s economy has risen in recent years, so have valuations, making it more expensive for MNCs to do business on the continent and to acquire companies based there. Still, the higher cost of entry hasn’t diminished foreign interest. An analysis by The Boston Consulting Group found that almost nine in ten MNC CEOs visited the continent in 2013, compared with fewer than one in ten in 2000. To many of those executives, Africa remains a frontier with huge opportunity for growth but unfamiliar rules. It’s still early in the game, and both the MNCs and the Africa-based companies they’re competing against have opportunities to develop dominant positions.

Four findings on attitudes towards foreign aid in 17 donor countries (World Bank Blogs)

A recent study by the Pew Research Center reveals that a majority of people in nine selected Sub-Saharan African countries believe their countries need more foreign aid than they currently receive. However, according to Ipsos, a global research company, the citizens in donor countries are not necessarily eager to provide financial assistance abroad. Ipsos recently surveyed 12,709 individuals from 17 leading and emerging donor countries. Ipsos asked them: how much they believe their governments currently are and should be spending on foreign aid; whether they perceive Sustainable Development Goals to be important; and, who they think should be responsible for financially assisting developing countries to achieve those goals.

A global profile of Diasporas 2015 (OECD)

This publication describes the size and characteristics of emigrant populations by origin countries with a special focus on educational attainment and labour force status. It offers origin countries a detailed picture of the size and composition of their diasporas, as well as their evolution since 2000. It contains an overview chapter and six regional chapters, covering: Asia and Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean; OECD countries; Non-OECD European and Central Asian countries; Middle East and North Africa; and Sub-Saharan Africa. Regional chapters are followed by a regional note and country notes.

Millions of graduates quit Sub-Saharan Africa (SciDev)

Will Africa get a schooling dividend? (World Bank Blogs)

Kenya among top sources of Africa migrants to US (Business Daily)

Kenya’s September 2015 remittances data (KNBC)

South Africa's migration policy: selected updates

Home Affairs reviewing migration policy (SANews)

Government would also develop a comprehensive strategy with SADC states for managing migration into South Africa. To improve border management, Minister Radebe said government will fund, capacitate and deploy the requisite South African National Defence Force companies to the borderline. He said this would go hand-in-hand with expediting the construction of border fences and the establishment of patrol roads. While government was mobilising and involving communities in borderline security management, it was also working hard to eradicate corruption and illegal activities at ports of entry and the borderline.

Economic assistance for informal sector (SANews)

The Chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, Minister Jeff Radebe, says government is focusing on providing economic assistance to communities where there is strain between locals and foreign nationals. The Minister, who is also responsible for the Ministry in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, said government would tackle poverty and unemployment, as well as support the development of informal traders in townships and rural areas in order to mitigate attacks on foreign nationals. The Minister said government’s response was due to concerning trends that were emerging from townships. This includes:

US and SA ‘close to resolving meat dispute’ (Business Day)

He [Mr Treiber] said the US was happy to see South African companies taking advantage of AGOA even when it was giving them an edge against US competitors. "That is the whole point. We believe in the open market. We believe in its power to transform, spark job growth and prosperity. What we have asked for in return is that SA … basically fulfil the requirements of Agoa that have been present since (the act was passed) in 2000 that a country not block our exports." [US poultry meat import dispute: South Africa's story (The Poultry Site)]

EAC: Will Magufuli avoid isolation, show leadership? (The Citizen)

Partner states will surely watch the manner in which Dr Magufuli maneuvers his way through the EAC. The first signals he sends will be important in defining the direction of the EAC. He should understand that the CoW’s efforts to advance outside the formal EAC arrangement reflects the inadequacy of the secretariat as far as enforcing agreements and EAC protocols are concerned. The EAC Charter which makes the EAC Summit the ultimate decision making organ. But some of the failures of the CoW point to how key a link Tanzania is in the EAC integration process owing to its strategic geographical position, its population size and relative peace and political stability.

In reassuring EAC partners about the renewed Tanzania’s commitment Dr Magufuli must make some quick gestures. These can include easing movements of people (possibly allowing the use of IDs and voter register cards); relaxing restrictions on the movement of labour across the region and right of residence. But Dr Magufuli must also find ways to convincingly explain to his counterparts the rationale behind Tanzania’s hard positions and should be quick to suggest alternatives. [The author: Damas Kanyabwoya]

Regional integration the way for Tanzania's growth - EU's Sebregondi (IPPMedia)

Regional trade has kept Kenya's economy afloat, says CBK deputy boss (The Standard)

Africa calls for a fair, equitable and legally binding agreement during the COP 21 (AU)

Mr Ayele Hegena, Director of Law and Standards at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and member of the African group of negotiators on Climate Change, declared that COP 21 is an opportunity for the continent to claim its right to sustainable development as well as to make sure that the African common positions are featured in the final text to be adopted. Mr. Ayele also presented some of the expectations of Africa during COP 21. Those expectations include the need to have a comprehensive agreement focusing on the issues of mitigation, adaptation, financing and technology transfer. Indeed, only an inclusive approach can be successful in addressing the challenges of climate change. Moreover, he said that the need of the continent would be taken into account only if a differentiation approach based on the realities and circumstances of each continent.

Ahead of next week's G20 summit: Aldo Caliari: 'The G20’s principles on institutional investment - a Trojan horse for finance-driven infrastructure?' (HBS), Still Broken: major new report on global corporate tax cheating (TJN), Turkey brings sun to sub-Saharan Africa (Daily Sabah), Carbon emissions fall in 11 of G-20 members, in turning point (Business Day)

MC10: selected updates

Uganda leads push for permanent waiver on drug patents (The East African)

Uganda is leading the world's least developed countries (LDCs) in the ongoing showdown talks at the World Trade Organisation headquarters in Geneva, where America remains the only powerful country still refusing to grant a permanent waiver on patents on medicines. Joining Uganda in demanding that LDCs remain protected from the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property rights on the manufacture of pharmaceuticals are the Asian states of Nepal and Bangladesh. At issue is the impending closure, at the end of this year, of the 10-year window that WTO granted poor countries in 2006 to continue manufacturing generic drugs using the intellectual property rights of established companies from the West.

WTO meet: India needs to stand by farmers (Livemint)

An electoral debacle for the ruling party in a major state is one thing. But the failure to safeguard the interests of hundreds of millions of poor farmers will be a much bigger embarrassment. That is the predicament the Narendra Modi governments faces in less than five weeks. China, India, South Africa, Indonesia and other countries should form a robust alliance to prevent these sordid developments at the 10th ministerial conference. The developing countries must ensure that WTO is not reduced to a permanent satellite of Washington and Brussels. In short, the Modi government has an opportunity to prove that it stands for its farmers when push comes to shove at Nairobi. Otherwise, poor farmers of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala will never forgive.

Angola/Mozambique agreements have broad scope (AngolaPress)

The agreement of promotion and protection of investments, as well as the memorandum of understanding for co-operation in the industry sector, signed last Monday in Luanda between the governments of Angola and Mozambique, "are of great bilateral, regional, continental and global importance". This was said last Monday, in Luanda, by the Mozambican minister of Foreign Affairs, Oldemiro Baloi.

China slow down dims Botswana’s minerals prospects (Mmegi)

According to the report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the impact of the softening in international demand was already evident in the first half of 2015, with Botswana’s earnings from rough diamond exports falling by 16.8% year-on-year to $1.7bn (P17.6bn). Export of polished stones were worst affected as it declined even more sharply by 32.2% to $300m.

Botswana firms urged to utilise Walvis Bay Corridor (Mmegi)

“We have quicker access routes to Europe and America,” Johny Smith, the chief executive officer of Walvis Bay Corridor Group, said. “Botswana firms should develop alternative routes and establish more trading partners. Namibia is available.” He said it was quicker for goods to arrive from America and Europe to Namibia. “Usually goods ordered from those destinations will take about 20 days to arrive at the port of Walvis Bay and then take two days to reach Gaborone which is quicker,” he said.

Zimbabwe: Highway dualisation costs balloon to $2,4bn (News Day)

The cost of dualising the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare-Chirundu highway has almost trebled to $2,4 billion as it will have facilities for overnight truckers and plazas, an executive with Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe has said. In 2003, the cost of dualising the 900km highway was pegged at $833 million and the latest figures have raised concerns from stakeholders who fear the project could have been overpriced. But IDBZ executive director for infrastructure projects Desmond Matete said on Monday the amount tallied with the enormous work that would have to be done on the highway.

Zambia: Cashew infrastructure development project appraisal report (AfDB)

The Cashew Infrastructure Development Project aims at reviving the cashew subsector and is one of the Government of Zambia’s priority projects. The Project will benefit 60000 smallholder farmers including 30,000 (50%) women and 7,000 youths, each planting 1 ha (100 cashew trees). The Project will create about 6,000 full time jobs (3,000 women, and 1,000 youths) along cashew value chain from production, processing to marketing. At full maturity of the cashew trees, each farming household (with 1 ha) will have annual income of ZMW 2,223 (USD 429).

Kariba Dam rehabilitation project: ESIA summary (AfDB)

Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa: anti-illicit trade conference (GCIS)

These increased law enforcement actions and enhanced administrative controls in South Africa and other member-states of SARPCCO, are yielding the desired results, albeit at a painful snail pace. This means, more needs to be done, as more related problems, challenges, and worrying trends still remain, nationally, regionally and globally. For instance, experts tell us that, according to global estimates of illicit trade markets, South Africa currently ranks amongst the top 5 countries in the world with the highest incidence of trade in illicit cigarettes, together with Malaysia, Iraq, Brazil and Pakistan. If this trend is not tackled decisively, we will continue to have the following crisis:

Financial inclusion and development in the CEMAC (IMF)

The contribution of this paper is twofold. First we examine the level of financial development in the CEMAC comparing it with peers from SSA and identify where the region stands once structural characteristics have been accounted for. We show that all CEMAC countries have a less developed and less inclusive financial sector relative to their peers and relative to their expected development given their structural characteristics. These results support those of Singh et al. (2009); while they found that Zone Franc countries had more shallow financial sectors, we show they are also less inclusive. Second, we then turn to factors that could cause this relative underdevelopment.

Congo: Public investment in a developing country facing resource depletion (IMF)

This paper analyzes the tradeoffs between savings, debt and public investment in the Republic of Congo, a developing country with looming oil exhaustibility concerns. Our results highlight the risks to fiscal and capital sustainability of oil exporting countries from large scaling-up in public investment and oil price volatility in view of a projected decline in the oil revenue to GDP ratio.

Tazara gets new engines, coaches (The Citizen)

Uneven trade is a persistent development challenge requiring policy attention (UNCTAD)

Satellites for development: what's in it for you? (World Bank Blogs)

Mali: 2015-2019 Country Strategy Paper, Appraisal report: Economic governance reform support programme

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This post has been sourced on behalf of tralac and disseminated to enhance trade policy knowledge and debate. It is distributed to over 300 recipients across Africa and internationally, serving in the AU, RECS, national government trade departments and research and development agencies. Your feedback is most welcome. Any suggestions that our recipients might have of items for inclusion are most welcome. Richard Humphries (Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Twitter: @richardhumphri1)