The government of Equatorial Guinea has entered an agreement with China to see the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) provide US$2bn for infrastructure in the country.
The signing exercise was done in Beijin by the Equatorial Guinea President Teodor Obiang Nguema and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. Obiang went for a state visit in China on Tuesday at the invitation of Xi Jinping.
The largest lender in China in terms of assets has said that it is expected, according to the agreement, to provide full financial boost to the government of Equatorial Guinea and Chinese ventures in the country.
Thus the deal could see the country broaden financial catch for its investors in the country, which is part of its”going out” policy of providing financing support to its firms investing abroad. Many firms are already undertaking infrastructure in various parts of Africa.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has termed Africa as a “strategic and developmental heart of ‘going out'” for firms supported by the bank.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Obiang on Wednesday that the number of cooperation areas between the two countries were increasing.
This comes after the government of China continued to boost their projects investments in other countries of the world, as per the conclusion of Africa being the ideal strategy and the breakthrough to development as far as business penetration to Africa and other parts of the world is concerned.
China follows the policy of non-interference in other countries’ domestic politics and has already won massive projects in Africa. Although critics view Chinese projects as of little benefit, China is currently Africa’s biggest trade partner with many African governments preferring their method of business.
Deloitte East Africa released a report showing that China had won 31% of infrastructure projects in East Africa in 2014. Many of these comprise of public infrastructure such as road, port and railway construction. China is not new in the West Africa’s construction industry, and has recently announced to support Ivory Coast by construction of a 60, 000 capacity stadium in Abidjan city as the country prepares for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
