Chapter 826 West African Free Trade Area
In early November, the heads of state of the five countries of Kolo, Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger gathered in Kolo’s third largest city, Dassault, an important northern town. Here, they signed the "Five West African Countries Free Trade Agreement" and officially announced the birth of the "West African Free Trade Organization".
At present, the West African Free Trade Organization is an economic organization completely independent of the Economic Community of West Africa. According to the "Five West African Free Trade Agreement", within the free trade area formed between these five countries, Trade will be conducted with the lowest tariffs and in-depth financial cooperation will be carried out.
At the same time, Kolo, Burkina Faso and Niger signed an agreement to build a two-way railway through the three countries. According to this agreement, the West African Railway Group will invest in the construction of a "Dani Railway".
The Dani Railway will start from Dassault, an important town in the north of Kolo and a border trade center, pass through many cities in Burkina Faso and Niger, and finally reach Niamey, the capital of Niger. .
The entire railway is more than 700 kilometers long, with a total investment of more than 5 billion US dollars. It will be invested, constructed and operated by the West African Railway Group.
After the completion of this railway, it will connect Kolo, Burkina Faso and Niger, greatly promoting economic and trade exchanges between the three parties.
The investment of more than 5 billion US dollars is indeed a lot, but the West African Railway Group will obtain the operating rights of this railway - the West African Railway Group will be formed by the West African Group, Colo Industrial Investment Fund, Burkina Faso It is a four-way joint venture between the government and the Niger government, in which the West African Group holds 60% of its shares, the Colo Industrial Investment Fund holds 25%, and the remaining 15% is held by the governments of Burkina Faso and Niger. .
The entire Dani Railway will be entrusted to China Railway Group for construction. China will provide an interest-free loan of US$4 billion for the construction of this railway, which will be repaid in ten years. Therefore, in the early stage, the West African Railway Group The investment required is only US$1 billion.
After the completion of this railway, it will be convenient for Kolo’s funds to enter Burkina Faso and Niger to build factories, and the railway will be directly connected to the Loda Railway in Kolo, so that products can be transported directly. Port of Lome and export.
This will create countless economic benefits for the three countries and thereby promote their economic development.
If we only rely on Burkina Faso and Niger, we may not be able to afford the cost of such a railway - Niger still has some oil resources, and Burkina Faso has some mineral resources. , but they can be said to be one of the least developed countries in the world, with most of the people below the poverty line.
But Burkina Faso's poverty also has many historical reasons. What Colo values is also Burkina Faso's agricultural and mining resources - Colo is suitable because of its limited land area. The land for cultivation is limited...
Relatively speaking, their domestic agricultural investment is more willing to grow cash crops such as coffee beans and cocoa. Therefore, the development of agricultural planting and mining in Burkina Faso is also Able to provide support for Kolo's development.
Niger itself is cooperating with Colo and China to build a crude oil transportation pipeline directly to the Port of Loti.
Part of the crude oil can be directly refined at the refining base near Loti in Colo, and the remaining crude oil can be directly transported to China via tankers. The construction of the Dani Railway can also facilitate exchanges between the two countries. More closely.
Therefore, focusing on Colo Capital and carrying out railway construction that benefits the three countries can also make Colo's influence spread throughout the three countries - otherwise, why would Burkina Faso and Niger be willing to open their financial fields to Colo? Woolen cloth. At the same time, through the establishment of the West African Free Trade Area, many industries in Colo can also develop to other countries.
For example, over the years, Kolo Media Group has successively acquired some TV stations and newspapers in Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, South Africa and other countries, forming Free African Media group, able to spread their voices over a wider area.
The Prosperous Earth Foundation (PEF), led by David Miliband, has also established its African headquarters in Bulita, the capital of Kolo, and has begun to invest funds in the development of countries around Kolo. Education and media are infiltrated... well, funded.
Some young scholars from these countries can receive funding from the Prosperous Earth Foundation to study or visit universities in Colo and England, thereby strengthening their sense of identity.
“Our purpose is to promote the democratization process in these countries and cultivate a group of young opinion leaders who are close to us, so as to spread the concept of 'civilization' among their people..."< br>
Of course, compared to this ideological thing, ordinary people care more about the increase in income and the improvement of living standards. Kolo is also willing to invest in some basic processing industries, thereby providing benefits to the entire Argos Retail Group and other retail networks offer cheaper products.
In addition, Colo Telecom has also entered countries belonging to the West African Free Trade Area and has begun to build mobile communication networks and broadband facilities in these countries.
In fact, the communications industry in Africa is also developing rapidly. According to the latest research report released by GSMA Africa Mobile Communications in 2011, the popularity of mobile communications users in Africa is expected to reach 649 million in the fourth quarter of this year. In the future, Africa will become the second largest mobile communications market after Asia and will develop into the fastest growing market for mobile communications services.
The report also pointed out that in the past five years, the number of mobile communication users in Africa has grown at an annual rate of 20%, and the total number of users is expected to reach 735 million by the end of 2012.
Since the African mobile communications industry market has yet to be developed, nearly 36% of the population in the 25 largest mobile communications markets in Africa are still unable to enjoy this service. If the penetration rate of mobile communications services reaches 100%, it will make the entire Africa's GDP increased by US$35 billion, a growth rate of approximately 2%.
Due to historical reasons, the mobile communications industry in Africa has been greatly influenced by Europe. Therefore, the most widely used mobile communications technology in Africa is the GSM standard. This also makes O2 Telecom’s holdings able to The development of Colo Telecom, which obtained relevant communication technology from O2 Telecom, is even smoother.
At present, the construction of 2G network has been basically completed in Colo, and the assumption of 3G network has been completed in important cities including Bulita, Loti and Dassault.
In the West African Free Trade Zone countries adjacent to Colo, Colo Telecom is also building 2G networks and will build 3G networks in key cities.
Especially because Honor Electronics has started construction of the Dopod brand assembly factory in Kolo, more low-price smartphones will enter the West African market in the future, which can also promote the construction of mobile networks in these areas.
(End of this chapter)