Along the Belt & Road, Invest in Africa

In January 2016, leadership of Deloitte Global Country Services Groups, Chinese Services Group, Japanese Services Group and Korean Services Group, held joint roadshows in Africa and met Deloitte Africa Firm leadership. During the meetings, discussions on local economies, markets, industries and clients were held and collaboration actions emerged accordingly.

Dr. Martyn Davies, Leader of Deloitte Africa Chinese Services Group and Rosa Yang and Johnny Zhang, Chairwoman and Director of Deloitte Global Chinese Services Group (GCSG) exchanged insights about Africa and China trade and economic outlooks. Key insights included 1) Since 2009, China has become the largest trading partner of Africa, and raw materials, crude oil and minerals are the major products China imports from South Africa; 2) excluding FDI and M&A investments, China is one of Africa’s key liquidity and development finance providers. In 2013, $6,368 M was provided for railway and infrastructure related projects in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique; 3) Chinese companies seeking access to South Africa’s markets benefit from strong inter-governmental relations and support. In the recent state visit, President Xi made commitment of investing US$ 60 billion to Africa in the coming years, which means significant opportunities for Chinese and African business communities; 4) Chinese companies are keen to expand to overseas in order to compete with other MNC’s across the oil and gas, power, mining, technology and automobile sectors. South Africa can be used as a foothold for access to other African markets.

During the trip, Rosa and Johnny also met with clients and the Economic & Commercial Counsellor of China Embassy of South Africa to understand business needs and Chinese investments strategy and trends.

The Guide to Fiscal Information, a guiding book covering tax policies, investment incentives, exchange control regimes and other economic statistics of 40 key African countries, was obtained during the trip from Deloitte Africa Firm. We believe that it will be a useful tool for Chinese companies and investors to learn about Africa and plan their investments. Please click here to download the book.

Following President Xi's state visits to South Africa and Zimbabwe in last December and due to the Belt and Road initiative, the above-mentioned roadshow was planned and held mainly to elevate collaborations with Deloitte Africa Firm in capturing business opportunities from the waves of Chinese investments to Africa. For more information, please contact Global Chinese Services Group gcsg@deloitte.com.cn.