AFRICABIZ VOL 2 - ISSUE: 143
April 15 - July 14, 2016
Previous Issue
Editor: Dr. Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum
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A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Dear visitor and international investor,

We warmly welcome you, if this is your first visit to Africabiz Online - The ultimate newsletter on trading and investing in 49 sub-Saharan African countries. If you are a regular and faithful reader, welcome back.

- CHINA INTERBANK PAYMENT SYSTEM - CIPS - IS A GLOBAL ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL GAME CHANGER

At the end of this previous delivery, it had been stated that year 2016 would be a very interesting one for the global financial and political evolution of the world at large.

Just take a look at the international agenda till the end of of this month of April 2016 to see that year 2016 is really interesting:

April 15 -- 17 –The International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting in Washington D.C. April 16 – OPEC and related parties meeting in Doha/Qatar April 22 – Kick off of the new Shanghai Gold Exchange's Gold Spot Pricing. This one is huge! April 22 -- 28 – G7 meeting in Mie/Japan. Over 6 running days. Important matter would be discussed linked, amongst other to the Shanghai Gold Exchange's new Gold Spot Pricing. April 26 – 27 – The (regularly) scheduled Federal Open Market Committee - FOMC meeting of the Federal Reserve. This FOMC would be a very important one linked to the outcome of every meeting above listed!

All these meetings are utterly important and are signs that things are evolving fast in the international financial world, from the existing one ruled by King Dollar, to the new one on the making to be ruled by King Yuan.

Of all above listed, one event stands out: The Kick off on April 22, 2016 of the Gold Spot Pricing by the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

What that means? It is huge, it means that the Shanghai Gold Exchange will be taking the central stage - dealing with physical Gold, against the London Gold Exchange which is 99% dealing with paper Gold.

And subsequently the Chinese currency - the Yuan/Renmimbi, will also be taking the central stage as a Gold backed currency against all the fiat currencies of the world, the US dollar and the Euro in particular.

And the kicker: Precious metal, not only Gold, but also Silver pricing may (will) explode! This does not bode well for paper Gold, which, till now reigns supreme at the financial center of the City of London, at the New York Stock Exchange and at the Frankfurt financial hub. Would paper Gold survive the Shanghai Stock Exchange physical Gold onslaught? You already know the answer!

- China Interbank Payments System - CIPS - to Kick Off

In addition to the Shanghai Gold Pricing structure above exposed, the new China Interbank Payments System, CIPS - setup since March 2015 is on testing final stage. Rumors had it that it may be fully operational as earlier as April 19, 2016; or in December 2016, the latest.

This is a system that would be competing with the existing SWIFT, The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - managed by Europe and the United States of America.

The setup of CIPS is a global economic and political changer. It would give the nations of the world the alternative to freely trade and not be submitted to political and economic blackmails - as seen when Iran had been cut off from the SWIFT as part of the western countries's sanctions; and Russia treated to be submitted to the same fate - at the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis.

CIPS, together with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank - AIIB and the BRICS Development Bank, would steer the whole world towards a new financial and monetary system that will topple the predatory existing one

This bode well for emerging nations, African countries in particular, that would be in the position to strengthen their economy, escaping dicta laid down by the World Bank and the IMF.

Indeed, using CIPS, nations of the world would trade freely, directly, partner to partner, using their respective national currency, without the need to purchase an intermediary [a, b] one, that is the US dollar.

Truly the setup of CIPS is a game changer that would finally kill T.I.N.A. - There Is No Alternative, pronounced by UK Prime Minister Margaret Tatcher in the early 1980's.

From now on, French speaking African nations - West Africa and Central Africa blocks - would have the opportunity to setup, together with other surrounding countries, regional currencies they fully control, to develop their economy. Currently these blocks use CFA Franc, strongly attached to the French banking system, on terms and conditions below exposed that are hindrances for their economic development.

- The Peculiarity of CFA Franc (XOF)

.CFA Franc (Le Franc des Colonies Françaises d'Afrique/ The Franc of the French Colonies of Africa) had been originally established on December 26, 1945, (the day France ratified Bretton Woods Agreement) as the official currency for the 13 French speaking African colonies, divided in two blocks:

1 -- Dahomey (Benin), Haute Volta/Upper Volta (Burkina-Faso), Côte d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast, Guinea-Conakry, Soudan Français (Mali), Niger, Senegal (including the current territory of Mauritania) and Togo - All located in Western Africa.  2 - Cameroon, Oubangui-Chari (Centrafrique), Congo-Brazza, Gabon and Chad - All located in Central Africa.

Since then some evolutions occurred: Guinea Conakry left block-1 in 1958. And Guinea-Bissau integrated in 1997. As for Central Africa block-2, Equatorial Guinea joined the system in 1985.

The main peculiar characteristics of CFA Franc are below listed:

1-- Each of the 14 CFA member countries must deposit 65 per cent of their foreign currency reserves plus another 20 per cent for financial liabilities, in an �operations account� at the French Treasury in Paris. This means that they only ever have access to 15 per cent of their own money, and if they need more they have to borrow their own money from the French at commercial interest rates. 2 -- France have the first right to buy or reject any natural resources found in the land of the Francophone countries. So even if the African countries could get better prices elsewhere, they cannot sell to anybody until France says it does not want to buy those natural resources. 3 -- French companies to be the first choice in the award the of government contracts in the CFA countries. Only after that can the African member countries look elsewhere. It doesn't�t matter if the Africans can obtain better value for money elsewhere; French companies come first, and most often get the contracts.

Strange and astonishing. Isn't? Click here for more on how France loots its former colonies in Africa - for 75 running years.

How come that the system persisted and thrived over decades since the formal independence granted in 1960 by France to its former colonies?

Good question! To answer it, a bit of history is necessary.

You noticed that in Block-1 Guinea-Conakry was originally listed. When the country voted NO to the semi-autonomy or independence referendum of September 1958, which led to its immediate independence from France, it had been kicked out of CFA Franc system - overnight. Guinea-Conakry was the only territory to vote NO.

To retaliate, France stripped - overnight, the new independent country of Guinea-Conakry of everything from birth registries documentation, archives, feasibility studies for projects. Etc. France packed and shipped everything back to Paris.

The new leader of the country, Sekou Toure, inherited a country without archive/history and has to start everything from scratch. Obviously, the developing task was seriously bogged and hampered and the new national currency, the Silly, doomed.

Keep in mind that the new Guinean authorities had no alternative but to use the French banking system monetary transfer infrastructure, the ancestor of SWIFT. They were lost. Devaluation after devaluation of the new created national currency complicated the developing process.

Then, in 1960, France, in order to avoid to fight independence wars in his African colonies, decided to grant them independence.

That was a very clever and strategic move. No independence wars, no negotiation with rebels leaders. So, in 1960 French speaking African countries were granted "formal" independence. And France proposed to them to guarantee their common currency CFA Franc, on drastic conditions above exposed.

All the leaders, carefully screened and selected by the colonial power, accepted the dantean conditions - having in mind the fate to which Guinea-Conakry had been ruthlessly submitted.

As a compensation, these leaders were (secretly of course) given/granted (again) the freedom to manage the economy as they wish, picking/taking in the money bag as much as they want for themselves...

Therefore, one can understand (so to speak!) why not a single French speaking African leader, emitted any kind of protest to the situation.

They were aware of the strangeness of CFA Franc status, even if they were personally benefiting from it. (This writer knows it first hand discussing with a former head of state.)

French speaking African leaders were trapped and frankly do not have any alternative to break free - as the one who dare can be easily replaced by coup d'etat by another person who does not care and is ready to cooperate!

Only now, in 2015 have some, like Idriss Deby of Chad shown some bravery and courage to do so. African scholars however had, since the 1980 started rocking the boat.

- The Momentum of World Affairs Is Against the Preservation of CFA Franc

The ECOWAS regional organization had decided in May 2015 to introduce a common currency including the countries currently using CFA Franc. - around year 2020.

This is made possible now that an alternative to SWIFT is available - the China Interbank Payment System. Also available are several alternative structures to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund - the AIIB, the Shanghai Gold Exchange's Gold Spot Pricing, and the BRICS Development bank. Etc.

2016s Presidential ballot in Benin/Dahomey had the future/existence of CFA Franc as background. Indeed, one of the candidate, Lionel Zinsou is a staunch defender of CFA Franc. Click here for more.

French authorities themselves are now fully aware that CFA Franc scam cannot continue seriously unchallenged by African leaders. Therefore they sponsored the candidacy of Lionel Zinsou to introduce a mole into the decision making process of African leaders to delay the setup of the common currency.

They failed as the majority of people of Benin/Dahomey voted overwhelmingly against Lionel Zinsou. ECOWAS common currency is now high on the agenda of African leaders.

Click the following link to review: The Outcome of 2 016's Presidential Election in Benin/Dahomey: The Defeat of the Recolonization Bid.

Your feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide BizCenter, and choose General Information (as topic) to create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page, there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient use of the discussion board. This link also is useful

Many thanks for dropping by and see you here on July 15, 2016

Dr. B.M. Quenum
Editor of AFRICABIZ

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA

- Several business opportunities - component parts of the Integrated Developing Scheme described in Africans, Stop Being Poor! are listed in following table.

- NO MORE SYSTEMATIC UPDATE TO "BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES"

With the release on January 31, 2013 of Africabiz Media™ flagship eBook, Africans, Stop Being Poor! The Roadmap to Prosperity for African Nations, the systematic update of the "Business Opportunities" section ends with delivery 129.

The several deliveries about "Business Opportunities" in African countries - started since 1997 - exposed in the table above number 128. Each of these opening way to at least five additional investment opportunities, that makes around 600 (six hundred) business opportunities exposed by Africabiz Online since 1997.

That is enough for anyone searching for business opportunities in African countries, to find his bread and water to entering the promising market of 49 sub-Saharan African countries where double-digit growth rate is the norm for well planned and professionally implemented projects.

From time to time, some exceptional project might be here reported, which needs shareholders.

- This is not the end of Business Opportunities in Africa

This is not the end of the Blog thought! If you do need a specific project to be tailored for you from the ground level, to financing research and implementation supervision, please visit the support page here available open a ticket to contact Dr. Quenum & Associates for assistance.

- Interested parties - private African and international investors / companies, government agencies, international development agencies - to make contact through the Free Access Support Console available at this link

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