Japan’s Abe explores Africa opportunity

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe will visit South Africa, Mozambique and Cote d’Ivoire in early 2014 in a bid to boost Japanese investment in these countries. Sources say he will be touring the continent with a group of businessmen in mid-January as part of the prime minister’s economic reform programme, dubbed Abenomics by the global media. The Japan Daily Press (JDP) reported earlier this month that some Japanese companies had been making significant investments in several projects in Africa, and Abe will be looking to explore even more opportunities as Japan continues to grow economic partnerships with countries outside its region. “South Africa is a good prospect for investment as it accounts for 30% of the continent’s gross national product. Currently, Japan has been importing rare metals from the largest emerging country in the region,” reports JDP. Mitsui & Co is developing the world’s largest natural gas field in Mozambique and this is expected to become an important source of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for Japan in the future. The Japan Times reports that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp have formed a joint venture and won the rights to produce iron in Mozambique. This, as Hellenic Shipping News reports an increase in Japanese iron ore imports for September this year – the majority sourced from Brazil and Australia. In June this year, Japan pledged the sum of US$32 bn in aid to Africa to grow infrastructure and help boost investment. In 2012, some 115 Japanese companies were operating in South Africa, according to the department of trade and industry (dti).