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AFRICA
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NEW ECONOMIC FRONTIERForeign Investors and Import Competition from China and India Two-Way Street in Competition and International Integration There is no doubt that the increasing penetration of Chinese and Indian businesses in African national markets has intensified competition. However, is the competition generated by Chinese and Indian businesses helping the private sector in Africa to be more internationally competitive and become more integrated in the global economy?
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The WBAATI survey data indicate that business transactions with Chinese and Indian firms play a pivotal role in linking domestic competition with international integration of Africa’s private sector. The analysis shows that the major source of the competition engendered in African markets by the presence of Chinese and Indian investors is competition from imports—indeed,
imports fromChina and India themselves. The survey data reveal that import competition from China and India is faced more by Chinese- or Indian-owned firms operating in Africa than by African indigenous firms (table Figure 4.16 looks into sector-specific patterns of Chinese and Indian import competition. The figure suggests that, in the machinery and non- durable sectors in the four African countries under examination, Chinese
FIGURE 4.15
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