By Pepe Escobar He came, he saw, and he pocketed all the deals that matter. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s tour of Southwest Asia – Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt – could easily be sold anywhere as your typical Chinese-style win-win. On the PR arena, Xi did a sterling job polishing China’s image as a global power. … Continue reading
Russia’s Central Bank is discussing with fellow BRICS emerging market nations — Brazil, (Russia), India, China, and South Africa — on the creation of BRICS global bonds, the Central Bank’s First Deputy Governor Sergey Shvetsov said on Wednesday, Russia’s TASS News Agency reports. “We are looking for the point where we have mutual interests, the New Development Bank … Continue reading
By Saibal Dasgupta The new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, backed by China as a potential rival to the World Bank and other international lenders, opened Saturday in Beijing. The 57 member nations have contributed $100 billion in capital to the AIIB, making it nearly half the size of the World Bank as it begins operations. “This … Continue reading
By Global Risk Insights 2016 will be an interesting year for Southeast Asia, as the region braces for changes in government (or none at all), implements the ASEAN economy community, and prepares for volatility with the rising tension of the South China Sea and the increasing risk of terrorist attacks. Myanmar NLD needs to … Continue reading
By Felix K. Chang During visits to Central and Southeast Asia in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled Beijing’s aspiration to create what it called the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. Both would entail the construction of new infrastructure to better connect the present-day countries along what was once the ancient … Continue reading
By Robert Shines With the recent IMF decision to grant China’s currency the status of reserve currency, any attempts to “contain” China are over. China has taken a major step in confirming its international economic importance and its reemergence on the world stage with the accession of the yuan as a reserve currency. The move … Continue reading
By David Brewster China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative is an incredibly ambitious undertaking — and perhaps Beijing is only starting to realize just how ambitious it is. The OBOR involves building a host of new infrastructure connections between China, Russia, Central Asia and the Indian Ocean. A complementary series of ports and other infrastructure … Continue reading
By Anzetse Were It is now well known that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is being developed under the leadership of the Kenyan government and will connect Mombasa to Malaba (with a branch line to Kisumu) onward to Kampala, Kigali (with a branch line to Kasese) and Juba (with a branch line to Pakwach). What … Continue reading
After the economic slow-down, inflation and recession – and perhaps, some most pessimistic might say, the eminent down-fall of BRICS, all eyes turn to Africa as the new best thing regarding investments. Brazil and China have already been investing heavily in Africa, but how and where these two countries are investing in the African continent … Continue reading
By Anzetse Were In June 2014 Kenyans were given the impression that the issuance of the USD 2.75 billion (KES 269.5 billion) ‘Eurobond’ would be of great use to the country and economy. Not only did government state that it would be used to fund infrastructure, it would also allow them to pay off onerous … Continue reading