Nation invests in Africa to support its progress

China is doing everything it can to aid the development of Africa, with Chinese companies’ non- financial foreign direct investment in the continent exceeding $ 1.3 billion in the first half of 2016, up 9 percent year- on- year, an official of the Ministry of Commerce ( MOFCOM) said on Tuesday.

The Chinese government has established two funds to encourage domestic companies to start businesses in Africa to assist the region’s industrialization and urbanization, Shu Luomei, an official of the MOFCOM, told a press conference in Beijing.

The China- Africa Development Fund ( CADFund) was established in 2006 to encourage and support Chinese enterprises to invest in Africa, said a statement on cadfund. com.

With total capital of $ 10 billion, the CADFund has invested in many sectors including agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, industrial parks and resource development.

The CADFund “has invested $ 3.55 billion in more than 87 projects across 30 countries and regions,” Shu said, noting that the fund could help bring total Chinese investment of $ 16 billion to Africa.

The continent is the second- largest project contracting market and emerging investment location for China.

The other fund is the China- Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation Fund, with an initial capital of $ 10 billion, which targets sectors including manufacturing, high technology, agriculture, energy, infrastructure construction and finance in African countries, the Xinhua News Agency reported in January.

According to Xinhua, this fund is part of a $ 60 billion aid package to Africa covering the next three years, which was unveiled by President Xi Jinping in December 2015.