Africa: Economic Recovery by Subsiding Civil War and High Oil Prices

Congo’s capital, Brazzaville, which had once been recognized for its world’s worst living conditions, is recently regaining vitality. With the continuing trend of high oil prices, oil companies including those from France and Italy are busy expanding their investments in Congo to secure undeveloped oil fields. Meanwhile, Chinese companies are making generous investments in forest and construction developments. A few days back, 100 envoys from a Korea-Malaysia consortium promoting railway and resource developments also made a visit. A journalist from a local daily newspaper covering on the consortium said, “Constructing the trans-Congo railway is a dream come true.”

Such phenomenon is similar in other African nations. Based on the stabilized political situations and high oil prices, a virtuous cycle has been wound where strong economies are alluring investments of global enterprises and expanding SOC.
As a result, Africa has been able to achieve over a 5 percent economic development rate for the past 3 years, and is expected to attain an economic development rate near 6 percent this year. Angola, Sudan and a number of other oil-producing nations are boasting economic growth of over 10 percent.

900 million populated Africa is slowly rising from its hibernation and China is quick to occupy the markets; calling the need for Korean corporations to urgently draw up countering strategies. China is providing enormous aids to Africa, overwhelming Korea and Japan in resource development, construction and SOC sectors.

Maeil Kyongje