Chapter 1162 Africa
Fan Wubing came to Africa not just to see lions and elephants, or to learn about the towers and the Sphinx. In fact, he also wanted to investigate the investment environment in Africa in detail, especially in terms of mineral resources.
In recent years, Fan Investment Group has spared no effort in prospecting for minerals, and has achieved fruitful results from iron ore in Australia to Indonesia in Southeast Asia, but it is the first time to come to Africa.
The continent of Africa is rich in mineral resources. In recent years, African countries have tended to be politically stable and their economies have developed steadily, and social security has also improved, creating good conditions for attracting investment.
In order to develop the economy and industrialization process, many African countries have made the mining sector the main area to attract foreign investment, and have introduced a series of preferential policies and measures. Africa has ushered in the best investment opportunity period in history.
Africa is the oldest continent in the world. In terms of mineral resources and their formation conditions, it can be said to be the richest continent in the world. The reserves of important mineral resources such as gold, diamonds, platinum group metals, bauxite, cobalt, and uranium are all ranked first in the world. Mineral resources such as chromium, manganese, vanadium, chrysene, copper, nickel, oil and natural gas are also very rich.
20% of the world's quartz and chrysene iron ore reserves, 30% of manganese ore and bauxite reserves, more than 20% of vanadium and titanium reserves, half of diamond reserves, 90% of platinum group metal reserves, more than 50% of gold resources, 60% of diamond reserves and 40% of phosphate reserves are concentrated in Africa.
In addition, the reserves of lead, zinc, antimony, barite and other mineral resources are also considerable.
And one thing is very important, that is, most of the deposits are high-grade, continuously distributed, easy to scale mining, and have great investment potential.
However, due to the influence of many factors such as history, natural geography, and economic development, the exploration and development of mineral resources in Africa vary widely. Generally speaking, the geological exploration and mineral development in southern Africa and western Africa are relatively high, and the data are relatively rich, while the geological exploration and mineral development in other regions are relatively low. The geological exploration and research level of most African countries is at a medium to low level; this also reflects from the side that Africa still has great potential for mineral resource prospecting.
After the plane landed in Cairo, Fan Wubing and others were immediately warmly welcomed by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt.
The reporters from CCTV and Phoenix TV who came with them were very surprised. They did not expect that the ambassador would come to greet them in person. However, someone who knew the inside story of CCTV broke the news privately, saying that Fan Wubing, the son of Standing Committee member Fan Heng and the owner of Fan Investment Group, also arrived in Cairo on the same plane. The ambassador came for Fan Wubing's face.
"It's good to be rich and powerful. You are the boss wherever you go." Some people expressed their admiration with envy.
In recent years,
the economies of African countries have grown steadily. The economic growth rate is 4%. With the growth of the total economy, Africa's weight on the world economic stage has increased. Its total economy accounts for 3.4% of the world. Economic liberalization, diversification and joint self-reliance have become the trend of economic development in African countries.
In order to improve the business environment, African countries have continuously introduced and revised policies and regulations to encourage foreign investment. In recent years, many African countries have gradually adjusted their mineral resource policies by amending their mining laws, and adopted loose preferential policies in land leasing, mining rights leasing licenses, mineral product sales and taxation, encouraging and attracting foreign investment to explore and develop mineral resources in their countries.
Sustained economic growth has promoted the continuous growth of foreign direct investment into Africa. In the 1980s, Africa attracted an average of US$2.2 billion in foreign investment per year, and in the 1990s, it averaged US$6.2 billion per year. Since the beginning of this year, Africa has attracted a record high of US$18.7 billion in foreign investment, all thanks to the huge attraction of Africa's natural resources to foreign investment. Especially since this year, the rise in mineral product prices, the increase in investment profit rate and the improvement of the policy environment have promoted investment inflows.
Mining investment in Africa continues to heat up. Mineral exploration is active, and more and more foreign mining capital is entering Africa.
China and Africa have a traditional good cooperation foundation. Over the past half century, China has provided a lot of assistance to African countries. China has carried out more than 900 infrastructure projects and social welfare projects in Africa, covering many fields such as agriculture, animal husbandry, slag, water conservancy, electricity, transportation, telecommunications, culture, education, sports, health, and food processing.
The implementation of the project has been widely praised by the governments and people of African countries. At present, China has become Africa's second largest trading partner, and the average annual growth rate of China-Africa trade volume is as high as 30%, about 20 billion US dollars. However, China's direct investment in Africa is still relatively small, only less than 80 million US dollars, which is the stock of direct investment in Africa. That is, less than 500 million US dollars.
Of course, there are some reasons why there is not much direct investment in Africa from China. After all, investing in Africa also faces many challenges and some risk factors. Although the general background of peace and development has created a favorable investment environment for Africa, compared with other parts of the world, Africa's overall investment environment is poor, the infrastructure is different, the economic structure is single, the industry is not systematic, the production supporting capacity is relatively weak, and the system is imperfect; there are problems such as non-compliance with laws, lax law enforcement, low efficiency, and official corruption.
Some African countries have unstable political situations, poor social security, limited economic strength, and the matching funds of African parties are often unable to be implemented. These are all risks that must be considered when investing in African minerals.
Many African countries are not only economically backward. At the same time, the harsh political rule is beyond people's imagination due to the uneven distribution of wealth. This has led to instability in political rule, with coups and unrest becoming commonplace.
Any leader can only secure his throne if he has the army in his hands. This also results in the army having great power, and the army is the law. Military personnel can use their privileges at will to regulate society.
In some African countries, the most important thing is that it is forbidden to take photos at will. As soon as you see a camera, everyone will immediately become alert. Anyone can stop you from taking photos or even confiscate your camera. Or a fine. In the most serious cases, you can be detained.
Traveling in such an environment is obviously a very painful thing, and tourists simply don’t dare to hang their cameras on their bodies while walking around.
Fortunately, the situation in Egypt is relatively good.
In fact, Egypt is not an agricultural country. Although more than one-third of the professional population is engaged in agriculture, the cultivated land area only accounts for about 4.5% of the land, and most of it is irrigated land. Farming is intensive, with two or three crops a year, making it the country with the highest yield per unit area in Africa.
Come
Egypt's oil refining industry is advanced, and crude oil alone accounts for about half of the total export value. The Suez Canal is the most important international navigation waterway and a river of wealth for Egypt.
In 1991, Egypt opposed Iraq's occupation of Kuwait during the Gulf War. Appreciated by the United States and other Western countries and Gulf Arab countries, more than 20 countries and international financial institutions have provided loans and emergency assistance to Egypt. The United States has also forgiven Egypt's debts, and Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have also Debts owed by Egypt were cancelled.
In May of the same year, Paris Club creditors canceled Egypt's debt of approximately $11 billion.
After all this trouble, life in Egypt is much better.
In Egyptian cities, the living conditions and lifestyle of the middle class are not much different from those of European and American residents. In the case of Cairo, there are many opportunities to share and experience all aspects of international society in numerous bookstores, cinemas, new opera houses, cultural groups and universities.
For the urban poor, city life was somewhat enjoyable, though compared with the monotonous rural life that had remained unchanged since the days of the Pharaohs. But still pretty boring. Television and movies, as well as public celebrations, add interest to people's lives. Vendors are busy selling handicrafts and sweets, and weddings are also held here. There is music, dervish singing, puppet shows, storytelling and singing and dancing.
"Some customs in Egypt are also very interesting. Egyptians call kissing Buss. Mouth-to-mouth kissing is limited to lovers and couples, and is prohibited in public. It is said that there was a young man and woman in love who were in the principality. When the love got stronger, I couldn't help hugging and kissing her. I happened to be seen by the police and was taken to the police station. After paying the bank payment, I was released." Fan Wubing's entourage was busy packing, while he was chatting with Lu Qingtong, "For example, when a husband and wife go on a long trip, and when seeing off and greeting each other at the station or airport, the husband can only kiss his wife on the cheek. There is also a kind of kiss called To blow a kiss, open your right palm and blow into the palm with your mouth, blowing the kiss to the person far away, which is almost like blowing a kiss. "
6 Qingtong nodded and said, "We have also dabbled in it in school. For example, kissing to show respect is to kiss the back of the hand, children to parents, younger brothers to elders, young people to elders, people of lower status to those of higher status or those with higher status. People with authority practice kissing the back of the hand
"However, there are more taboos here in Egypt." Qingtong continued, "Egyptians are taboo about talking during formal meals, otherwise it will be considered an act of blasphemy against God." Men should not take the initiative to talk to women, do not compliment people on their slim figure, and do not praise the things in Egyptian homes, otherwise they will think that you are asking for something from them. Do not talk to Egypt about religious disputes, the political situation in the Middle East, and the relationship between men and women. besides. When eating, you should use your right hand to grab food, not your left hand. Regardless of giving gifts to others. Or when accepting gifts from others. Use both hands or your right hand, never your left hand. "
"So many troubles?" Fan Wuyi didn't know this, so he couldn't help but smile and said, "It seems that bringing you out is a wise decision, but I have no intention of contacting the locals when I come here this time." "
Before Fan Wubing finished speaking, a staff member reported that an official from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
See.