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Chinese yuan gives US dollar a run for its money as African trade embraces other currencies

By Jevans Nyabiage at SCMP. Article is quoted in full.

When you land at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, one of the billboards welcoming you to the Zambian capital advertises the services of the Bank of China (BOC). There are not many countries in Africa where the Chinese government-owned financial institution offers fully fledged banking services in yuan, the Chinese currency. In addition to Zambia, BOC has a branch in Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as a representative office in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

But it was in the southern nation of Zambia where BOC established its first African subsidiary, allowing customers to make deposits in and even withdraw Chinese yuan. Branches in both Lusaka and Kitwe, a mining town in the country’s northern Copperbelt region, serve the growing number of Chinese mining firms and immigrants. Recently, the lender also announced that its Zambian division would help to boost the use of the yuan for trade as part of China’s efforts to promote the Chinese currency in Africa.

BOC vice-president Lin Jingzhen visited Zambia in December. In a meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema, Lin promised to use the lender’s global reach to facilitate economic and trade ties using the Chinese currency – not only with Zambia, but other African nations as well. “Actually, Bank of China is a local clearing bank and we will earnestly act upon our responsibility and leverage on our role in Zambia to support other African countries to provide holistic products and services related to the yuan and to promote the use of the yuan in bilateral trade and economic activities,” Lin said during his visit to Lusaka. Lin’s trip followed Hichilema’s state visit to China in September, when the two countries agreed to trade more using their own currencies.

A joint statement following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hichilema said the two nations would “create a favourable policy environment for promoting settlements in local currencies and support a greater role of the Chinese renminbi settlement bank in Zambia”. Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer, most of it exported to China, the world’s largest consumer of the metal. But financial woes hit Zambia in 2020 when it defaulted on foreign debt.

Last June, China helped strike a deal to restructure US$6.3 billion in Zambian loans. About US$4.1 billion of this is owed to China, the country’s largest bilateral lender. Beijing has also encouraged the use of local currencies across various African countries as part of its de-dollarisation bid. And it has pushed for the issuance of cross-border yuan-denominated “panda” bonds.

Last year, Egypt issued three-year panda bonds worth 3.5 billion yuan (US$490 million), when it decided to opt for less conventional borrowing as it faced an economic crisis that resulted in fewer dollars and other hard currencies. Kenya, which is also facing debt repayment troubles, is considering issuing panda bonds to secure funds to retire its US$2 billion Eurobond which is due this year.

Charlie Robertson, head of macro strategy at FIM Partners, an asset management firm, said the West’s stringent financial sanctions on Russia had made China determined to accelerate the use of the yuan, to reduce its vulnerability to similar sanctions that could stem from a possible invasion of Taiwan. “Encouraging the use of China’s currency gives China more foreign policy flexibility,” Robertson said. “It also transfers currency risk from China, which might otherwise have to accept very undervalued or overvalued US dollars from trading partners, on to its trading partners.” Robertson explained that Egypt now carried the currency risk from borrowing in China’s currency after issuance of its panda bonds. Equally, Zambia carried the currency risk from accepting yuan as payment for its resources.

“There is a good case to be made for Egypt and Zambia; this is a reasonable diversification – from mainly US dollar currency risk to a broader range of currencies,” Robertson said. Until now, if the US Federal Reserve increased rates significantly and the US dollar strengthened, Egypt and Zambia would be very exposed, Robertson said. “In the future, the Fed will matter a little less, and the People’s Bank of China will matter a little more. “I have no doubt that China will push hard for more and more trade and debt to be issued in its currency, with the inducement today that Chinese interest rates are lower than in the US.”

Sub-Saharan geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said a powerful tailwind was driving greater adoption of the yuan. “We are at a tipping point in Africa,” he said, saying African countries that had borrowed in dollars were not only shut out of dollar capital markets but their debts had increased on a foreign exchange-adjusted basis. “It is an untenable situation,” Satchu said, adding that this was now pushing African countries to diversify their dollar exposure. “It makes perfect sense to trade in [the yuan] with your largest trading partner, which is China for most of the continent. So further adoption is a no-brainer.” Satchu also expected more panda bonds to be issued by African countries. “I think we are just embarked on the sophistication curve and could see asset-backed pandas, for example, which would free up China-Africa credit lines and allow China to better manage its Africa lending book,” he said.

Beijing is likely to continue to encourage Chinese firms to use the yuan in trade payments across countries in the Belt and Road Initiative, according to Robert Greene, a non-resident scholar for the Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “In 2024 we could see China’s largest state-owned banks’ presence in Africa expand, as well as further growth of China-Africa cross-border [yuan] settlement arrangements. It is also important to watch how African banks’ connectivity with China grows,” Greene said. A China-Africa cross-border yuan settlement centre launched in Zhejiang province in mid-2023, and Mauritius now has the third clearing centre for the Chinese currency in Africa, after South Africa and Zambia. “We could see new agreements involving China’s central bank and state-owned commercial banks aimed at increasing [yuan] use in China-Africa cross-border trade payments,” Greene said. “One thing to watch for in 2024 is the establishment of bilateral currency swap agreements between China’s central bank and African counterparts. These agreements can be used to facilitate greater [yuan] use in cross-border trade and finance.”

In Nigeria, politicians are reportedly working to revive a 2018 bilateral currency swap agreement with the Chinese central bank. In August, South Africa’s largest lender, Standard Bank, and the largest Chinese state-owned bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, renewed a long-standing partnership that facilitates yuan use across 15 African markets.

Greene said many emerging markets were pursuing policies aimed at increasing the use of local currencies in cross-border trade payments. “In some jurisdictions, officials believe that such policies could reduce domestic demand for dollars, and … help address local currency depreciation and exchange rate risks,” he said. “Also, in certain countries, there is a desire to build out financial infrastructure that is more resilient to US and European economic sanctions.”

Chilean media reported on Tuesday the crash of a private helicopter piloted by former president Sebastián Piñera, who died in the plane crash, which occurred in the commune of Lago Ranco, Los Ríos Region in the southern territory.

According to initial information, the helicopter was piloted by the former head of state accompanied by three other people, took off in the middle of a rainy day affecting the area and, after a few minutes of flight, for reasons that are being investigated, lost lift and fell.

The three companions would be Piñera's relatives: a sister, his brother-in-law and a grandson. Two of them swam to the shore and a third was rescued in the lake by a boat. But the former president was unable to unbuckle his seat belt to get out of the helicopter, sources in Santiago de Chile told Clarín.

Couldn't he break the belt or cut it?

Piñera apparently did not manage to remove his seat belt and drowned. It was also reported that the Navy arrived at the place where the helicopter went down, and that it sank some 40 meters.

On the other hand, it is said that Piñera himself was in command and had a heart attack in mid-flight, which caused him to lose control of the aircraft, which ended up crashing.

How soon until Macron loses another French neocolony in the Sahel:

https://nitter.cz/african_stream/status/1754515501705764965

https://twitter.com/african_stream/status/1754515501705764965

successfully managed to make Namibia hate them even more

This 2 hours history podcast by Tucker and Putin about 1000 years worth of Russian history is kinda lit NGL

Via The Cradle:

Netanyahu:

• Submitting to Hamas’ requests will not lead to the release of prisoners, but rather to a new October 7.

• There is no solution other than complete “victory.”

• We did not agree to Hamas’ request regarding the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released.

• There must be negotiations through mediators, but not in light of Hamas’ response.

• Governance in Gaza must be handed over to those who do not raise generations to embrace terrorism.

• We issued instructions to the army to move into the Rafah Governorate and two points in the central Gaza Strip.

I guess that means the ceasefire ain't gonna happen. Hamas has escalated its demands as it strengthens its position over Israel in Gaza militarily and Israel is unwilling to follow. I suppose that means a war against Hezbollah is now inevitable. We shall soon return to "weeks where decades happen" territory. Buckle your seatbelts!

Saw someone claim that 10000 Hamas fighters have been killed. Has Israel even put out any statments on how many Hamas fighters they've killed? Seems like a total ass pull and I feel like wrecking this piece of shit.

Edit: Did a quick search and I saw a few places (Wikipedia, NPR) report that Israel and US intelligence claim anywhere between 5000-9000 Hamas fighters have been killed.

Since germany is the cotw here's something some people don't really get just how fucked it currently is:

The current ruling regime is deeply undemocratic, the SPD after decades of being junior parties to the CDU/CSU have basically become a party without politics they for the most part lean on some left-wing aesthetics they've been able to retain but they are deeply deeply unpolitical. Up next the Greens, there's more than a few that are just straight up US plants I think the most obvious one is Baerbock who used to work for a US-funded think tank so all you are left with is the FDP, who are only concerned with neoliberalism. They were able to do quite well during the elections but since are polling at 4%. So in short germanys politics are decided by the US and 4% of wannabe capitalist germans.

Germany is not a democratic country, inb4 duh, just keep that in mind whenever you see crazy stuff like farmer's protests, Reichsbürger, nazi parties polling at 20+% and any other crazy shit that'll happen it is because currently only 4% of the voter base is actually 'represented'.

Edit: In short deeply deeply unserious 'country' it should be deleted.

Replying to @RyanGosling@hexbear.net from here in the previous thread:

Who is this Yanis person? I've seen them mentioned frequently for a long time but I never looked into him. It seems he's a Greek politiican?

Yeah, he's a Greek leftist (calls himself a Marxist and a libertarian socialist). He was the Finance Minister of Greece for a while when there was that upset by the Syriza party at the peak of its Germany-imposed "financial crisis" (the EU was forcing it to honor pretty ridiculous, austerity-imposed debts, because they love to do that with Greece).

Here's an old video of him talking about the conflict between capitalism and democracy (a TED talk LOL):

• Capitalism will eat democracy — unless we speak up

and here's a recent one where he talks about the U.S./Israeli genocide against Palestinians:

• The EU and the War on Gaza w/ Yanis Varoufakis - 99 ZU EINS - Ep. 347

I had a good one where he talked about the U.S./Russia war in Ukraine a while ago and basically warned Ukraine not to become another Greece by joining the EU (titled "How to end the war in Ukraine with Yanis Varoufakis, Volodymyr Ishchenko and more") but it's been taken private and I unfortunately can't find an archive of it.

Opposition considers going to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against 'excesses' of the Supreme Court Allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) speak of 'implanting a "judiciary" "communist" dictatorship in Brazil' parliamentarians are consulting colleagues who also oppose the government to calculate how many members the delegation could attract.

Lol, they are really fucked. Iirc, this is a municipal election year in Brazil, Bolsonaro can't campaign publicly, he can't promote his candidates. The leader of his party is currently in prison. And even if he is released from prison, they are forbidden to communicate with each other. The high-ranking members of the Liberal Party are pretty much fucked because they can't communicate with each other and getting support from Bolsonaro could be very bad, as left-wing candidates will exploit the fact that Bolsonaro will probably be imprisoned for planning a coup.

The FBI seems to have concluded its investigation into Bolsonaro's money laundering scheme in the US and handed over its findings to the Brazilian Federal Police, I don't think Bolsonaro can even go to the US anymore, or any other country. And it could get even funnier, there is a very small chance of the Liberal Party being banned and all its seats in congress and the senate being transferred to other politicians, many of whom, even if they are conservative, will be much more favorable to Lula's social and economic reforms, as it has been proven that Bolsonaro used the party to finance the coup.

How Frontex is driving migrants into the arms of the Libyan coast guard

Frontex monitors the area from the air; the agency is part of a system that the EU created to keep as many migrants as possible away: the EU states ended their own rescue mission years ago. Instead, the Europeans built up the Libyan coast guard, sent money and boats to Tripoli, and organized training seminars. The Libyan rescue zone has been expanded. The fact that the force is infiltrated by criminals, as EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson recently admitted in the European Parliament - is apparently of secondary importance.

But the true extent of the cooperation is far greater than previously known. This emerges from a letter from the new Frontex boss Hans Leijtens to the European Parliament, which is available to SPIEGEL and Lighthouse Reports. Since January 2021 alone, Frontex has sent "around 2,200 emails" with position data from refugee boats in distress to the Libyan rescue control center - despite the violence of the coast guard and the well-documented torture in the detention camps.

When asked, Frontex emphasized that it was only sending the position data to Tripoli “with a heavy heart.” People are aware of the conditions that rescued people are exposed to in Libya. However, Frontex is legally obliged to inform all responsible rescue control centers about maritime emergencies. International law leaves no room for maneuver at this point. Frontex's top priority is to save lives. “In cases of imminent danger, this consideration comes first.”

Oh now international law is conveniently super important again.
And always for the wrong reasons too, it's unbelievable how extremely cynical this all is.

Onion video, 2030

Ukraine: We're loud, proud, neo-Nazis, and we celebrate it basically every day. Officially, even.

Russia:

U.S.: Anyone calling Ukraine fascist or pointing out all the Nazi imagery we help photograph them with are the real fascists.

Ukraine: But we're actually neo-Nazis.

Russia:

Global South: What the fuck am I watching?

U.S.: Ukraine is definitely not fascist.

Other Western countries: Well, that settles it then. Definitely not fascist.

Ukraine: We are, though.

U.S.: Ukraine, you're the real fascists for calling Ukraine fascist!

Ukraine: HOW DARE YOU‽‽‽

Colombia's Palace of Justice, the seat of the country's Supreme Court, is surrounded by demonstrators called by the country's president, Gustavo Petro.

With the blockade, officials and judges are unable to leave. Gustavo Petro called the demonstration to put pressure on the court to elect the country's next Attorney General, from a triple list he sent out a few months ago, which is the model for electing the Attorney General in Colombia.

So far, the court has not elected one of the three nominees, which would leave the post in the hands of a nominee of the outgoing Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa. The judges had to be evacuated from the building by helicopter.

The president of the court gave a speech condemning those blocking the building, calling for accountability from Petro and respect for the separation of powers.

Lol, common Petro W

Removed by 5 eyes

Removed

Its zaluzhover, bros

i'm going to assume that discovered his connects to far right, and done the right thing

someone got a paid helicopter ride

The settler society is totally not breaking down https://twitter.com/AryJeay/status/1755729209404600616

The attack on Rafah seems to have begun. Israel is artillery shelling the region, destroyed a mosque and struck a hospital and there are armed clashes on the edge of the area

NSFW CW DEAD INJURED

Patrick Lancaster reporting on the Bakery that got hit by a US HIMARS missle.

Last bakery standing in the area.

Update: The death of 17 Emirati officers in an armed attack occurred at Gordon Base in the capital, Mogadishu, which is the largest military base for the Emirati forces in Somalia. The gunmen targeted the headquarters within the base while more than 20 officers from the Emirates and their mercenaries from Western and African countries were present. The initial toll: 17 officers killed, including all the Emirati officers, among them the senior Emirati officer in Somalia, the training officer, the intelligence officer, and the logistics and equipment officer, all from the Emirates. Also killed in the attack were mercenary officers who were working for the Emirates, including Westerners and Africans:

https://twitter.com/warfareanalysis/status/1756443142117613600

https://nitter.mint.lgbt/warfareanalysis/status/1756443142117613600

Official Al Qassam English telegram channel

Al-Aqsa Flood Operation Day125 __ ♦️On day 125, the resistance fighters are still fighting fierce battles daily with the IOF on multiple axes. Al-Qassam fighters were able to kill an Israeli sniper in Gaza City, and targeted a Merkava 4 Tank with Al-Yaseen 105 Shell in the same city. They also confronted an IOF unit in the area, killing and wounding them.

♦️Al-Yaseen 105 is one of the most remarkable shells utilized by Al-Qassam Brigades in Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. While there are daily field battles which Al-Qassam fighters are involved in daily, there is a busy media beehive reporting their news. It published a new report telling the story of Al-Yaseen shell, which costs $500 and can penetrate shields as thick as 60-100 cm on armored vehicles and tanks. In a tally published for the first time, the report mentioned that Al-Qassam fighters were able to damage and destroy +1,108 Israeli vehicles including: 962 tanks, 55 troop carriers, 74 bulldozers, 3 excavators, and 14 military jeeps, and resulted in the killing and wounding of a large number of the Occupation officers and soldiers.

♦️The Occupation is escalating its raids on Rafah, "the safe area," where it had forcibly displaced the residents of north Gaza. In Tal al-Sultan, the Occupation committed a new massacre targeting the home of the Fahjan family which was hosting 11 displaced families, this is one of 15 massacres which killed 130 martyrs and wounded 170 Gazans in the past 24 hours. As for the toll of the Israeli war of extermination on Gaza, it has now reached 27,840 martyrs.

♦️Mohammad Ahmad Rateb al-Sabbar (21 years old) is the 8th martyr in the Occupation's prisons since October 2023. According to the Prisoner's Club, Mohammad was under administrative detention since May 2022 and was also sick suffering from a congenital condition in his stomach and intestines. The Occupation prohibited him from receiving the minimum level of treatment in the last 4 months, leading to the deterioration of his health until he was martyred today.

https://t.me/qbrigades

People on Everest now need to pack their poo out to base camp

This is a very normal thing for backpackers in snowy terrain where it won't decompose easily. Wild that Everest didn't require it before

Trump croaks in the middle of his second term and the hogs collectively go wild on July 4, 2026 as they use the 250th anniversary to "take back America".

CEO of major Nigerian bank and family dies in Helicopter crash in southern California where they make a lot of attack helicopters.

Nigeria purchases $1 billion worth of US attack helicopter.

Defense Security Cooperation press release of sale disclosure.

putin still refusing to speak english i see

No affluenza nepo immunity for "diplomat" son from mowing over .

The Munich city administration is canceling subsidies for the International Peace Conference, which has been taking place parallel to the NATO “Security Conference” for years.

At the urging of the city council factions of SPD/Volt and Alliance 90/The Greens, the cultural department informed the organizers of the traditional peace conference that funding would not be continued this year and probably in the coming years. The reasons given were austerity and an alleged lack of local connection.

After the decision of the cultural department, the left in the city council fears that the “Green-Red” also wants to advance the “turning point” in Munich. There should no longer be any talk about peace, disarmament or alternative ideas of security. The justification for budget consolidation is a pretext, because an hour-long city council meeting is more expensive than the subsidy for the conference.

The Green Party leader Mona Fuchs had informed the organizers of the conference in writing that the invitation of the former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and the left-wing Irish MEP Clare Daly was in no way in the spirit of promoting peace and solidarity with those attacked and victims of war.

No opposition allowed

No, I will not watch the interview. You cannot make me do it.

But did Putin say anything stupid or let some brainworms out?

Israeli troops raped a woman, then executed her alongside 2 men. They then filmed the scene to make an ad for a barber shop in Tel Aviv. ISRAELIS ARE RAPISTS AND KILLERS ISRAELIS ARE RAPISTS AND KILLERS ISRAELIS ARE RAPISTS AND KILLERS ISRAELIS ARE RAPISTS AND KILLERS https://twitter.com/BadEmpanada/status/1754878017929625880 (CW: murdered bodies)