Peruvian Micro-Entrepreneurs head to China

It’s been awhile since CSA last ventured into the world of MicroFinance.  Well today some news caught my attention.

About sixteen Peruvian Micro-Entrepreneurs (if that’s the correct term to call them) from various sectors will travel to Guangzhou, China to participate in the 106^th Guangzhou Import and Export fair.  With a total of 209 countries in attendance, and thousands of exhibitors, this is a big deal for these small Peruvian businesses.

I question if these business are truly worthy of being called the products of micro-finance.  I hope that they are, but my gut is telling me it’s quite possible corruption and classic South American favoritism probably led the Peruvian government to carefully handpick a few to send to China.

Ministra de la Producción, Mercedes Aráoz, inauguró Feria de Beneficios y Oportunidades de Foncopés en IPAE. Foto: ANDINA/Norman Córdova.

On the other hand, if they are truly small micro-enterprises which earned this trip to China through participating in a micro-finance program of some sort, this would be a case and point example of the potential of micro-finance institutions to empower the poor with the tools they need to succeed.

If you can read Spanish please click here to access the article which served the basis for this post.

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Brazil, India, South Africa to Broaden “Voice of the South”

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 1 (IPS) – The sixth ministerial meeting of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) forum agreed Tuesday in Brasilia to strengthen the dialogue between the three emerging powers in order to establish common positions on regional and international matters and boost South-South cooperation.

The IBSA forum was created in 2003 as a mechanism for political consultation and coordination and to bolster economic relations between India, Brazil and South Africa.

IBSA provides a platform for the three large multicultural and multiracial democracies from three different continents to engage in discussions on cooperation in areas like agriculture, trade, defence and culture.

The three countries have a total combined population of nearly 1.4 million people and a combined GDP of more than 3.2 trillion dollars.

At their meeting in the Brazilian capital, foreign ministers Celso Amorin of Brazil, S.M. Krishna of India and Maite Nkoana-Mashabane of South Africa said they hoped trade among the three countries would climb from 10 billion dollars last year to 25 billion by 2015.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, the ministers said the channel of dialogue that has been established should serve to broaden the collective voice of the South. They also called for regional cooperation mechanisms based on common experiences and complementarities.

Click here to read the complete article by Fabiana Frayssinet

[Source] — Inter Press Service News Agency (IPS)

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Newswire: China and friends! From all around the world

“Chinese officials size up long-term potential in Sino-African
economic collaborations” —
[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90857/90861/6746690.html]

Although Sino-African trade had weakened during the global financial
crisis, Chinese and African enterprises could strengthen their
collaboration and emerge from the downturn together, Chinese trade
officials said at a trade fair Wednesday. Huang Xiwen, chief of Jilin
Province’s Commerce bureau, said at the 2009 China Africa Economic and
Trade Cooperation Seminar that local enterprises had been vigorously
developing business with African companies. He said 19 local companies
had invested ..

China and France seeking to develop bilateral ties —
[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6746718.html]

“China and France seeking to develop bilateral ties”Vice Premier Wang
Qishan said Wednesday China had always valued its relationship with
France, and said he hoped the two countries could work together to
promote bilateral ties. Wang met Jean-David Levitte, a diplomatic
adviser to French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday. Relations had
developed smoothly on the whole since the two countries forged
diplomatic ties 45 years ago, he said. Wang said he hoped the two
countries could handle the relationship from a strategic and long-term
…

“China, Laos vow to reinforce friendly ties” —
[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6746699.html]

China and Laos reaffirmed their determination to further advance their
traditional friendly relations as senior leaders of the ruling parties
of the two countries met in Beijing Wednesday. He Guoqiang, member of
the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met Sisavath
Keobounphanh, chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao Front for
National Reconstruction. Sisavath Keobounphanh, 81, has visited China
many times over t …

“Japan-China ties to be further promoted following DPJ takes reins:
senior DPJ official” —
[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6746694.html]

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary General Katsuya Okada
said Wednesday that the DPJ will continue to advance Japan-China
relations after taking the reins of government. Okada made the remarks
at a symposium to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the
People’s Republic of China following the DPJ’s landslide victory over
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the lower house election
Sunday. “The DPJ has, as always, attached great importance to
Japan-China relations and …

—
Sent from my mobile device

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China’s Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean – MercoPress Analysis

[Source] — MercroPress

On November 5, 2008, the Chinese government released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, as it had previously done so for Europe in 2003 and for Africa in 2006.

Although it may not come as a huge surprise that Latin America is the most recent region for which China has formally spelled out its foreign policy position, the region has been historically perceived as being under the United States’ sphere of influence. Perhaps the importance of the Chinese policy paper lies in the timing of its release. The release of the paper deliberately coincided with the unfolding of the current financial crisis; this congruence of events has allowed China to expand its influence in this somewhat neglected region without attracting any lasting venom from the U.S. China’s policy paper formally evidences the importance of Latin America and the Caribbean as part of China’s growth plan for its long-term strategic interests. Most of all, this includes access to raw materials as well as a plethora of natural resources, the infiltration of new foreign markets, the reduction of diplomatic support for the Republic of Taiwan, and the strengthening of Beijing political standing on the global stage through strong alliances cemented with the developing world.
The policy paper’s general context

The policy paper explicitly states its main objective is to “clarify the goals of China’s policy in this region, outline the guiding principles for future cooperation […] and sustain the sound, steady and all-around growth of China’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.” In the economic realm, China expresses an interest in investing in energy, mineral resources, forestry, fishing and agriculture, areas important to expanding China’s productivity. Additionally, the Chinese government seems to show interest in infrastructure projects not directly related to its economy, albeit essential in the transportation of natural resources, and proposes to fund these projects in order to be perceived as a partner in development. Furthermore, China expresses its desire to increase military diplomacy and sale of equipment to the region. Although many of the report’s statements are merely rhetoric and general in scope, the paper helps formalize China’s economic, diplomatic and military ties with Latin America, which were first proposed by then President of China Jiang Zemin in 2001.

The policy paper was released against the backdrop of the current financial crisis and the corresponding economic hardships that have severely hit the U.S. and Europe. Its publication deliberately coincided with the emergency G-20 meeting to discuss the economic crisis that was about to take place in Washington. More importantly, it preceded Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Peru for the November 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, at which he presented China’s foreign policy towards Latin America. This timing of the paper’s release was especially important for the countries seeking to diversify their export markets and decrease their dependence on declining Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the US and Europe. With the vast foreign reserves accumulated by China –which totalled US $1.95 trillion in December 2008– the region had valid reasons to closely follow the summit’s developments.

To access this article in full you must register for MecroPress’s website.

Once you register, click here for a direct link to this article

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Laying the foundation for a tri-nation Boliviaran mining giant in South America

[South-South Cooperation] — Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia

The Ecuadorian government announced plans yesterday of the establishment of a joint mining company with the country of Venezuela and possibly Bolivia. You can read all the vague details in this article from Chinamining.

“We are going to build a great mining company in association with Venezuela and perhaps with Bolivia to exploit some veins of mine ore returned to the State from private hands,”said Ecuadorian Minister of Mines and Petroleum Derlis Palacios.

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China Negotiates for Deepwater Oil Blocks Offshore Brazil

[South-South Cooperation] — Brazil, China — Rigzone

Lula’s visit to China has been anything but boring. On the heels of the $10 billion oil for cash deal reached between Brazil and China this past week, comes news of negotiations for two deepwater oil blocks between Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.

Rigzone reports in this article:

The two oil blocks under negotiation between oil giants China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP) and Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR) are deepwater exploration blocks located in the north of Brazil, the Brazilian company’s top financial official told Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday.

Conversations, however, are still ongoing and the deal isn’t closed, said Almir Barbassa, chief financial officer of Petrobras, as the Brazilian company is known.

The blocks under consideration are within Brazilian waters, are 100% owned by Petrobras and run deep, or about 2,000 meters, he said. They are located off the coast of the two neighboring states of Para and Maranhao in northern Brazil, Barbassa added.

Earlier this week, China’s National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Guobao told reporters in Beijing that Brazil would offer two oil blocks to Sinopec, as the Chinese company is known, as a way to strengthen energy cooperation between the two countries. He didn’t give any further details.

Click here to access the full article from Rigzone

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Brazil and China move toward convertible currency

[South-South Cooperation] — Brazil, China — Latin America and Brazil

Vitoria Saddi shares her analysis of the latest news to emerge from this weeks meetings between Brazilian President Lula da Silva and Chinese President Hu Jintao. If you have not already checked out Victoria’s site, Latin America and Brazil, I highly recommend you do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As we all know, president Lula is in China this week. It seems that one of the goals of his visit is to enable Brazil and China to use their own currencies in trade transactions, rather than the US dollar. The move follows recent Chinese challenges to the status of the dollar as the world’s leading international currency. It should be clear that this deal is different from what China is doing with Argentina – currency swap. In the Brazil – China deal Brazil would pay for Chinese goods with reais and China would pay for Brazilian goods with renminbi. The move follows recent Chinese challenges to the status of the dollar as the world’s leading international currency.

In our view, this is an important step towards convertibility. Clearly, the country can afford to have a convertible currency because it has a healthy balance of payments and the government has been taking steps towards convertibility.

Click here to read the full article from Latin America and Brazil

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Brazil, India – Bilateral trade to reach $10 bil by 2010

[South-South Cooperation] — Brazil, India — ChennaiVision

Mumbai, The bilateral trade between India and Brazil is targeted to reach USD 10 billion by 2010 in view of the new dynamics of South-South cooperation, accelerated by recession hitting the West, CII International Trade Panel Chairperson Harshbeena Zaveri said today.

”The bilateral trade between the two countries has grown from a mere 500 million US dollars in 2000 to 3.12 billion US dollars in 2007 and is targeted to reach USD 10 billion by 2010”, Ms Zaveri, who is also president of NRB Bearings Pvt Ltd said during a conference with the Brazilian industry delegation, that is visiting the to give an impetus to trade and investment.

Click here to access the complete article from ChennaiVision

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China and Brazil seal $10 billion deal

[South-South Cooperation] — China, Brazil

Lula da Silva & Hu Jintao

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Brazilian counterpart, Lula da Silva, finished writing the latest chapter in Sino-Brazilian Cooperation earlier today in Beijing.

ChinaSouthAmerica has been following this story for a few months now, and I must say, it is nice to see a classic example of South-South Cooperation / Emerging Market Cooperation (whatever you want to call it) develop and eventually get finalized.

Here are a few excerpts from a WSJ article that a great job of summing up the details.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

State-owned Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA said it finalized a $10 billion loan agreement from China in return for a long-term supply of oil, another victory for China’s new strategy of using its cash-rich banks to help secure the natural resources the country needs to keep its economy growing.
…

Petroleo Brasileiro, known as Petrobras, said under the terms of the 10-year loan from China Development Bank, which has been at the center of China’s resources policy, Brazil would supply China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec, 150,000 barrels of oil a day for the first year, rising to 200,000 barrels a day for another nine years.

…

Mr. Gabrielli said the loan’s interest rate was under 6.5%, and the loan used oil revenue as collateral but would be repaid in cash — not oil. Although the deal didn’t include guarantees to buy Chinese products or services, other deals will work on exploring closer cooperation, such as moving Chinese equipment factories to Brazil.

…

China’s mission to secure commodities does not stop with Brazil–as you are well aware if your a frequent reader at this site.

Beijing has struck similar agreements with energy producers world-wide in recent months, including a $10 billion deal with Kazakhstan and a $25 billion deal with Russian oil and pipeline companies.

…

Stay tuned for further developments and ChinaSouthAmerica’s analysis this deal and growth of Sino-Brazilian Cooperation.

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Weekend Newswire: South-South Cooperation

[Brazil – Saudi Arabia] — Saudi Arabia and Brazil are natural allies

By Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva

This week I will have the honor to be the first Brazilian President to officially travel to Saudi Arabia. I retain fond memories of the visit in 2000 of the then Crown Prince to Brazil. Since then, numerous high level visits have further strengthened the ties between our two countries and peoples.

Brazil prides itself on having roots in the rich cultural heritage of Arab civilization. Successive waves of immigrants from the Middle East have made their way to Brazil in search of a new horizons and a better life. Over the years they have contributed to forging present-day Brazil and to its diverse human landscape. Arab values, tastes and sensibilities are today an integral part of what it means to be Brazilian.

My trip to Saudi Arabia aims to explore and enhance these many-faceted affinities and the opportunities for cooperation that they offer. Much has been achieved over recent years, but much remains to be done if we are to fully realize the potential of two thriving economies that are making their mark on the global scene.

[China – Bahrain] — Bahrain reviews construction ties with China
Co-operation between Bahrain and China in the construction sector was discussed at a key meeting.

Minster of State for Foreign Affairs and Tamkeen chairman Dr Nazar Al Baharna met a Chinese business delegation and discussed various issues of mutual interest.

Development of programmes that can reduce the dependency of construction companies on unskilled labour by introducing machinery and technological solutions was also highlighted.

[India – Kenya] — Kenya, India to beef up ties in small industry sector
In yet another indication of India’s growing interest in the East African region, the country’s National Small Industries Corp (NSIC) has signed an agreement with Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) to strengthen cooperation in the small scale industry sector.

KIE is a state-run agency of Kenya to promote indigenous entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises (SME).

According to media reports here, the partnership involves technology transfer, and marks a major step towards improving Kenya’s quality standards in manufacturing, production and human resources.

“The government is keen to forge a viable partnership with friendly countries, particularly in the spirit of south-south cooperation,” Kenyan Industrialisation Minister Henry Kosgey was quoted as saying.

[Asia – Africa] — Asian Foreign Direct Investment in Africa
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa by developing Asian economies is growing and has the potential to reach much higher levels. The present report notes that Africa-bound FDI is still a small percentage of the rapidly climbing foreign investments being made by Asian transnational corporations.

The rapid economic growth in Asia can be expected to lead to increased Asian investments in Africa, in both natural resources and manufacturing. In particular, the rapid industrial upgrading taking place in Asia provides ample opportunities for Africa to attract efficiency-seeking and export-oriented FDI from Asian economies.

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