Mauritius to Sign Free-Trade Accord With China, Premier Says

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mauritius will become the first African nation to sign a free-trade agreement with China, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said.

The two nations are discussing the establishment of a renminbi clearing house in Mauritius, while China has agreed to purchase 50,000 metric tons of specialty sugar from the Indian Ocean island nation, Jugnauth said in remarks broadcast Wednesday by Radio Plus in the capital, Port Louis.

“A memorandum of understanding has been signed” for the free-trade accord, Jugnauth said. “This agreement is different from the Belt & Road Initiative. We are still assessing the initiative and haven’t signed any memorandum yet.”

China is the second-biggest supplier of goods and services to Mauritius. Imports of Chinese goods amounted to 13.6 billion rupees ($395 million) in the six months through June, according to Statistics Mauritius. The world’s second-biggest economy is also a partner in infrastructure projects in Mauritius including an airport, a dam and a hospital.

Mauritius expects to receive a 150 million-yuan ($22 million) grant from China to fund social-housing projects, Jugnauth said, without providing further details.

Kenya to Break Ground for Special-Economic Zone Within 12 Months
Kenya will break ground within a year for a special-economic zone in its second-largest city, Mombasa, in a bid to boost exports from East Africa’s biggest economy.

“Right now we are doing the design of Dongo Kundu,” Kenya Ports Authority acting Managing Director Daniel Manduku said Wednesday in Mombasa. “We hope to break ground within a year.”

KPA has set aside 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) in the Dongo Kundu area for the project, Manduku said. A feasibility study is also ongoing for the first berth to serve the proposed special-economic zone, he said.

Last week, Kenya and China signed infrastructure accords that include development of the Dongo Kundu special-economic zone. Public-private partnerships are part of the Kenyan government’s plan to shift from pure debt financing for the country’s infrastructure needs amid concern that the national debt is rising too quickly after reaching 5 trillion shillings ($49.6 billion) in June.

Source: Bloomberg Business News