KOBUS VAN DER WATH His fifth consecutive keynote address at the Mining Indaba dealt with the potential to develop a global natural resources alliance between China and Africa
Understanding Asia, particularly China, was key to ensuring sustainable growth for the African mining industry, said international advisory, procurement and sales activation firm The Beijing Axis (TBA) group MD Kobus van der Wath, who spoke to Mining Weekly at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town last month.
Van der Wath delivered his fifth consecutive keynote address at this year’s conference on the possibility of developing a global natural resources alliance between China and Africa.
“It is crucial that African mining companies and related industries understand the significance of China’s role in global resource demand, as well as the resources consumption and demand trends of China and other Asian countries such as Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and India. This is because developing Asian countries are experiencing rapid industrialisation and, therefore, require African resources to sustain their growth, albeit slower growth in some countries such as China,” explained Van der Wath.
His presentation further explored the extent of Chinese outbound investment in the resources sector.
“China’s role and influence in the global resources sector is constantly expanding and I believe that, in the future, China is likely to further expand its resource acquisition to include energy, metals and minerals,” he said.
Van der Wath also told Mining Weekly that China represented a significant opportunity for Africa, particularly in the area of exploration investment.
“Africa is a resource-rich continent and China’s demand for these resources will lead to significant investment from the Chinese industry.”
Service Offering
TBA has been operating for 12 years and employs 50 staff members at its offices in Beijing, China, making it one of the largest South African companies operating in China.
The company has four cross-border business units that focus on strategy, procurement, commodities and capital, which provide significant support for Chinese and African companies exploring business partnerships.
TBA’s Strategy and Management Consulting division assists Chinese companies in developing strategies for conducting business in Africa and assists African companies in devising strategies for engaging with Chinese businesses.
Meanwhile, the company’s Outsourced Procurement Services business provides cross-border global procurement and supply chain solutions. Its Commodity Trading business is also active in commodity marketing, procurement and trading between Asia and Africa.
Further, TBA’s Capital Advisory division advises Chinese businesses on deploying strategic capital across a range of commodities worldwide, specifically in Africa.
“We aim to assist with the engagement between Chinese and African businesses and to facilitate the favourable outcomes for both groups,” Van der Wath concluded.