Many people gleefully predicted the end of the China miracle, as it can no longer export in such huge volumes to developed nations mired in recession. Mr James Kynge, editor of the influential 'China Confidential' claims nothing could be further from the truth.
"China is just getting warmed up," he said at the Standard Bank Africa Forum 2009 Conference. Read more »
Are Seeds of Next Financial Crisis Already Being Sown?
The ever-controversial Dr Roubini believes there is a high probability that the seeds of the next global financial crisis (possibly within a year) are already being sown in the very measures being taken today by various governments to address the domestic impact of the current financial crisis. Read more »
Goolam Ballim, Standard Bank Group’s chief economist pointed out that the reason for optimism about the future of Africa was its growing ties with the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. Trade between the two blocs was growing at more than double the global average, and more importantly was on an accelerating trajectory with much of that increase having come in just the past three or four years, he said. Read more »
Standard Bank chairman Derek Cooper opened the Africa Forum 2009 conference with an upbeat address by stating that never was it more true than in the case of this crisis that you should never waste a good crisis, because it presents the greatest opportunity.
Supporting his argument, he said the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries had proven highly resilient in this crisis, having mostly not gone into recession but simply experienced slowed growth, and in the midst of the crisis their trade flows with Africa had for the first time exceeded those of developed countries. Read more »
Prospects of renewed growth in Africa during the post-crisis environment are excellent, as the continent had the spare capacity to expand.
The panel consisted of: Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Nigerian central bank; Fifi Kwetey, deputy-minister of finance and economic planning in Ghana; Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, governor of the Kenyan central bank; Koosam Kalyan, non-executive board member of Standard Bank; and Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim. Read more »