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Cash, not politics, is what draws Chinese firms to Africa

China's government may have high-profile political and strategic reasons for seeking closer ties with Africa, but its companies are here mostly for the money, analysts say.

30 Oct 2007

A case in point: the move by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to buy 20% in South Africa's Standard Bank, which at R36.7 billion is China's biggest financial acquisition.

"Chinese companies, of course, operate as economic entities, and they very much pay attention to the bottom line," said Barry Sautman, an expert on Sino-Africa ties at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

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