Japan, China battle for Africa

A battle for supremacy in investment in Africa has emerged between Japan and China, which are now competing for the dominance of the region's telecoms market, reports Computer World.

China has offered more than $10 billion in funding for telecoms and other related investments in the Africa region.

The Japanese government is also pumping billions of dollars into the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and some Southern Africa Development Community countries. The investments come in the wake of African governments' push for improved telecom services.

Infrastructure finance in Africa is still struggling to claw back to the pre-2008 peak, just before the global financial crisis, states The East African.

A new survey by audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that traditional finance models have faltered in the wake of the recession, compounded by political and systemic obstacles that could derail a growing recovery.

As a result, in sub-Saharan Africa, private participation in infrastructure projects dropped 46% in 2009, compared with 2008, and 65% in the last quarter of 2009 - significantly worse than the averages for the developing world as a whole.

Libya's LAP Green Networks agreed to buy a 51% stake in Niger's state telecommunications company Sonitel for 31 billion CFA francs, says The Tripoli Post.

The deal gives LAP a controlling stake in Sonitel and its subsidiary SahelCom for a 10-year licence period, and extends the Libyan company's reach across Africa after other deals, including the purchase of a 75% in Zambia's fixed-line operator Zamtel in June.

LAP's CEO Abdul Basit Al Azzabi says LAP plans to invest some $146 million over five years to modernise the Sonitel-SahelCom network and broaden its capacity.