China buying up global natural resource reserves
While developed western countries, especially the US, are struggling to fix there economic and financial issues, their Asian counterparts, China to be specific, are in a race of buying and locking up the rest of global natural reserves. Majority of investments are going into Africa, and at the moment, Crude Oil seems to be the most sought after resource.
Reuters reports that Asia buys record volume of W.African oil, in Q1 2010:
| LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) – Asian buyers are taking record volumes of West African crude oil this year as fuel consumption rises in India, China and other East Asian countries, a Reuters survey of trade sources showed on Monday. Imports of cargoes of unrefined oil from Nigeria, Angola and other African producers via Atlantic ports averaged around 1.79 million barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter, up from about 1.53 million bpd in the fourth quarter and close to 1.1 million bpd a year ago. In the first three months of this year, Asia consumed about 40 percent of all the West African crude produced, up from around 25 percent in Q1 2009, the Reuters survey shows. Read full Article here |
Lastly, here’s another very interesting article I came across, by Theodore H. Moran of Georgetown University. A must read.
| “Backed by the Chinese government, Chinese companies have been acquiring equity stakes in natural resource companies, extending loans to mining and petroleum investors, and writing long-term procurement contracts for oil and minerals. These activities have aroused concern that China might be “locking up” natural resource supplies, gaining “preferential access” to available output, extending “control” over the world’s extractive industries (Silk 2006)”. Read full Article here |
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