CHINA - AFRICA SHIPPING & TRADE INVESTMENT

Summary:

*Global Silk Road (Chongqing) Hub Port International Supply Chain was launched last week

*The discussion featured exchanges on building an integrated platform for global commerce and logistics, all aimed at bolstering trade between China and Africa.

*It would be the major shipping and logistics link between China and its African trade partners, with Congo taking the lead in the greater Eastern Africa.

CHINA - AFRICA SHIPPING & TRADE INVESTMENT

Kenya is poised to benefit from a new plan by China to consolidate several major logistics and development companies into one for better trade dealings with Africa.

The Global Silk Road (Chongqing) Hub Port International Supply Chain Ltd was launched in Chongqing, China last week.

The discussion featured exchanges on building an integrated platform for global commerce and logistics, all aimed at bolstering trade between China and Africa.

Shanghai Greenroad Warehousing and Logistics Group Co Ltd., 

Zhejiang Holley Global Industry Development Ltd, 

Chongqing Jiangjin Hub Port Industrial Park Operation Group Ltd., and 

New Land-Sea Corridor Operation Ltd are part of the conglomerate.

It would be the major shipping and logistics link between China and its African trade partners, with Congo taking the lead in the greater Eastern Africa region.

Congo receives a significant size of its imports through the Port of Mombasa, with traders preferring the Northern Corridor owing to the good road network. Others are hauled through the Dar es Salaam Port.

The main trade route in the East Africa region is the 1,700 kilometre-long Northern Corridor that runs between Mombasa (Kenya), Uganda Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern DRC. The 1,300 kilometre-long Central Corridor serves Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Eastern D.R. Congo, with an exit and entry point at the port of Dar-es-Salaam.

The two corridors facilitate export and import activities within the EAC region with a combination of rail, road and lake transportation networks. With the latest developments, Kenya will likely have an edge over Tanzania should the envisioned extension of Standard Gauge Railway to DRC sail through. Recently, the Kenyan government said it would explore private partnerships to realise the dream.

Togo, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Madagascar are also set to benefit from the joint logistics approach as per the deliberations at the meeting hosted by among others , China-Africa Business Council under the leadership of Xu Qun.

“The new entity aims to integrate various stages of the global supply chain and implement a comprehensive service platform linking global commerce and logistics,” a brief from the Chongqing meeting reads.

The meeting was held alongside the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor Economic Development Forum.

The conference, attended by envoys of the direct beneficiary African states in China, saw attendees agreeing on the need for a stable supply chain platform.

“In the context of an increasingly integrated global economy, the stability and efficiency of supply chains are crucial to national economic prosperity,” the forum resolved.

The council said the supply chain conference “not only generated fresh ideas for cooperation in the sector but also bolstered Chongqing’s and China’s influence in the global supply chain system.”

“Looking ahead, the China-Africa Business Council plans to implement President Xi Jinping’s connectivity partnership initiative, as outlined in his FOCAC Beijing Summit speech, to foster a comprehensive China-Africa interconnected network,” Qun said.

China aimed to use the forum to elucidate how African countries and China can harness the strategic advantages of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. The conference focused on enhancing supply chain resilience and fostering global connectivity, the brief reads.

Themed “Build an Integrated Platform for Global Commerce and Logistics,” the event drew nearly 150 participants.

Attendees included government officials, academics, representatives from social organizations, industry leaders, and corporate delegates from regions such as Chongqing, Guizhou, Gansu, and Sichuan.

The deliberations bordered on how to explore global supply chain trends, collaboration opportunities, and the synergistic growth of logistics, trade, and industry. 

It also marked the launch of the China-Africa Business Council’s initiatives supporting the 13 provinces and two regions along China’s New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor

MAPPING RED SEA ATTACKS : A NEW PERSPECTIVE FOR SHIPPING

A missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels hit an Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden, the latest assault on shipping in the region.

Within a week, atleast 3 ships either been hit or was targeted. 

The missile hit the ship's forward station late Saturday, starting a fire that those on board later put out, the private security firm Ambrey said. A second missile fired at the ship missed and people "on board small boats in the vicinity opened fire on the ship during the incident," Ambrey added, though no one was hurt onboard.

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center similarly reported the attack and fire in the same area off Aden, saying "damage control is underway."

A sailor was severely wounded after a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden was hit by two cruise missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday.

The MV Verbena, a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated cargo ship reported that it had been damaged, with the crew fighting fires on board.

The vessel was en route to Italy.

The attack on the MV Verbena comes after the Houthis crashed a bomb-laden boat into a commercial ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday.

The Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital about a decade ago, have been attacking commercial shipping throughout the Red Sea. They say the attacks are aimed at stopping Israel's war in Gaza and supporting Palestinians, although they strike vessels that have nothing to do with the conflict.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported an explosion close to a merchant vessel in the Red Sea, about 80 nautical miles north-west of Yemen's rebel-held Hodeida port, but said there was no damage or casualties.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping that have killed three sailors. They have also seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.

SHIPPING COSTS TO RISE DUE TO RED SEA RE-ROUTING

The cost of international shipping has shot up as businesses prepare to ship goods for the festive season far earlier than usual, in a sign of the far-reaching effects of disruption from attacks in the Red Sea.

Kenya Ships Agents Association (KSAA) on Wednesday said importers should expect higher charges from this week as stakeholders assess the increasing insecurity from Yemen Houthis’ claim of fresh Red Sea attacks on British and American ships.

The average cost of shipping a 40ft container between the Far East and northern Europe at short notice, the figure that is most sensitive to market prices, hit $4,343 last week, roughly three times higher than the same period last year, according to freight market tracker Xeneta.

Prices have not yet surpassed the peak seen immediately after Yemen’s Houthi militant group began targeting vessels in November. But they are rebounding during a usually quiet period for shipping in the spring months.

Typically the peak period occurs between late summer and autumn, when retailers start importing goods for the November Black Friday sales and Christmas shopping season.

“The peak season has been brought forward,” said Michael Aldwell, head of sea logistics at Kuehne + Nagel, one of the large freight forwarders that handles goods and sets the price of shipping for retailers.

“Despite efforts to normalise freight rates following events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War, the ongoing attacks by Houthi Rebels present a persistent challenge.”

"Major shipping lines, including those represented by KSAA, are responding by rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, a costly alternative that directly impacts the business community and consumers in East Africa,” Says KSAA Chief Executive Officer Juma Ali Tellah

The Red Sea has remained a biggest worry by shippers resulting to the rerouting of vessels to take a longest route via Southern of Africa while some vessels are attempting to mask their positions by pinging on other locations, as a safety precaution when entering the Yemen Coastline.