Chinese investors targeting virgin markets on the cheap
The red Chinese lanterns decking the entrance to Sierra Leone's biggest hotel are a sign of the times.
At the height of the West African country's decade of destructive civil war, the state-owned Bintumani Hotel on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown, was occupied and then trashed by rebel soldiers.
After three years of peace, the building, renovated and run by the Beijing Urban Construction Group, now stands as a symbol of a different kind of occupation.
Many of its clients, like its managers, are Chinese executives beating a path to one of the world's more remote investment destinations.
The spread of Chinese business influence, which is visible across West Africa, is all the more conspicuous in Sierra Leone, because other foreign investors are rare there.
After pulling out while the fighting was going on, Chinese interests are back with an increased presence.
Apart from fishing and textiles, Chinese companies are involved in a project to start tractor assembly later this year, a contract to revive the country's only sugar factory and an ambitious �205m($266m, ￡140m) plan for an ocean-front tourism complex.
“The only ones who are coming and investing at this stage are the Chinese,” notes a United Nations official in Freetown. “Everybody else is staying away.”
In the capital's ravaged eastern sector, the National Workshop a former works yard for Sierra Leone's long-defunct railways and more recently a camp for displaced persons has been transformed into a light manufacturing zone under a joint venture between the two countries.
According to Kadi Sesay, Sierra Leone's trade and industry minister, all 10 companies that have begun operating there in recent months are Chinese, producing such necessities as spring mattresses, roofing tiles and hair lotions.
Other Chinese companies are booked to come in a few weeks for the inauguration of the zone, she says. One is already planning to produce pharmaceuticals, potentially for export to other countries in the region.
All this goes hand-in-hand with official Chinese aid. A freshly painted road sign in Freetown announces the existence of a Chinese chamber of commerce, but it actually leads to a back gate of the Chinese embassy.
Beijing has been active in supplying equipment and rebuilding and repairing key facilities, including Freetown's largest edifice, the Youyi building (it means “friendship” in Chinese), which houses most ministry offices. Chinese officials say the backing is in recognition of the country's diplomatic support for the People's Republic at the UN, going back more than 30 years. But the new wave of business investment goes far beyond traditional influence-building. “There's a wind of change in terms of [China's] general economic outlook,” says Momodu Koroma, Sierra Leone's foreign minister, “and they're looking for opportunities wherever they are.”
Western representatives put forward a variety of possible explanations for this Chinese enthusiasm. Some see a strategy for placing cheap manufactured goods on African markets, pre-empting local producers, and for gaining access to potential offshore oil reserves in a drive to secure worldwide energy sources.
Others believe Chinese companies aim to build a platform for exports to Europe or the US, making use of privileged trade terms. One Freetown-based diplomat suggests the Chinese influx could signal longer-term plans for settlements in Africa, a continent three times the size of China with two thirds of the population.
“It's almost like China's new dimension,” says Chris Jasabe, the head of Sierre Leone's investment office.
The Chinese, he adds, have been “very cunning”, not just at identifying fledgling markets but also at squeezing maximum benefits from getting in first. The authorities are trying to put a stop to special concessions such as duty waivers on imported raw materials, which Chinese businesses have fought hard for.
“The early bird catches the worm,” comments Zhao Zhongqui, China's economic and commercial counsellor in Freetown. He suggests the confidence shown by Chinese companies reflects a close understanding of the issues in developing economies, based on China's own recent experience. But it is also evidence of a new risk-taking spirit.
At the Bintumani Hotel Yang Zhao, general manager, puts it simply: “Chinese believe high risk can bring high benefit.”
中国资本捷足先登西非市场
塞拉利昂最大酒店门口装点着大红灯笼，这是一种时代的标志。
当这个西非国家处于10年内战的高峰期时，地处首都弗里敦市郊的国有酒店宾图玛尼被占领，受到反政府武装士兵的破坏。
在3年的和平期后，北京城建集团对该酒店大楼进行翻新，并负责经营。现在，宾图玛尼酒店又被重新 “占领”了一回。
和酒店管理人员一样，它的许多客人都是来自中国的高管，为迈向世界上更为遥远的投资地点开辟道路。
中国公司的影响力在整个西非地区开始蔓延，而在塞拉利昂则更为明显，因为在那里很少能够看到其它国家的投资者。
在塞拉利昂内战时期，中国曾一度撤回。如今，中国的兴趣重被点燃，而且其影响有所扩大。
除了渔业和纺织外，中国公司还参加了一个将于今年晚些时候启动的拖拉机组装项目。这份合同旨在复兴塞拉利昂唯一的一家糖厂，以及一个投资2.05亿欧元(合2.66亿美元)兴建海边旅游综合大楼的计划。
一位联合国官员在弗里敦指出，目前只有中国人前来投资，其他人都离得远远的。
在饱受战争创伤的弗里敦东部地区，国家修理厂(National Workshop)已成为一个中塞合资企业旗下的轻工业制造区。国家修理厂最早是塞拉利昂维修铁路的工场，后来成为难民集中营。
塞拉利昂贸易和工业部长卡迪?塞萨伊（Kadi Sesay）说，最近几个月在那里开始运营的10家公司全部来自中国，主要生产弹簧垫、屋面瓦和护发品等生活必需品。
她说，其它中国公司已计划于几周内前来参加该制造区的落成典礼。一家公司已计划生产医药品，有可能出口到西非其它国家。
所有这些都与中国官方的支持密不可分。在弗里敦，一块新漆的路标宣告了中国商会的存在，但实际上它指向的是中国大使馆的后门。
中国在提供设备和重建、修复重大设施方面一直十分活跃，其中包括弗里敦最大的建筑物――友谊大楼，里面多是政府机构办事处。中国官员表示，政府的支持是为了答谢30多年前塞拉利昂在联合国给予中国的外交支持。但是，新的一轮商业投资远远超出了传统的扩大影响的作用。“在（中国）整体经济前景方面，有一种变化的趋势，”塞拉利昂外交部长莫莫杜?科罗马（Momodu Koroma）表示，“而且他们正在到处寻找机会。”
西方代表针对中国在塞拉利昂的投资热情提出了各种可能的解释。有些人把这看作是中国的一种策略。它将廉价制成品投入非洲市场以取代本地生产商，还想获得使用潜在近海石油储备的权利，从而保证全球能源资源。
其他人认为，中国公司旨在建立一个向欧洲或美国出口的平台，并充分利用特许贸易条款。一位驻弗里敦的外交官暗示，中国投资者的涌入可能标志着在非洲安家落户的长期计划。非洲大陆面积是中国的3倍，但人口仅为中国的三分之二。
“这好像像是中国的新动向，” 塞拉利昂投资局负责人克里斯?贾萨贝(Chris Jasabe)说。
他还补充道，中国人“非常精明”。他们不仅善于发现尚未成熟的市场，而且还懂得捷足先登才能获取最大利益。塞拉利昂的权力机构正在设法终止一些特殊的让步行为，例如免除进口原材料的关税，而这是中国企业一直努力争取的。
“早起的鸟儿有虫吃”，中国驻弗里敦经济商务参赞赵中秋评论道。他表示，中国公司表现出的信心反映出，它们对发展中经济体存在的问题了如指掌，这是基于最近中国自身的经验，但也体现了一种新的冒险精神。
宾图玛尼酒店总经理杨照（音译，Yang Zhao）的话言简意赅：“中国人相信高风险高回报。”
