China investing US$350 million in Angolan agriculture in drive to boost food security
Angola as it seeks to reduce its reliance on the United States for supplies and improve food security.
Last month, two giant state-owned Chinese firms signed deals worth US$350 million to develop tens of thousands of hectares of land in the southern African country.
One of the companies, SinoHydro Group, a hydropower and civil engineering firm, will invest more than US$100 million in return for a 25-year, tax-free land concession covering 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) to build a large-scale grain base across six eastern provinces, according to the Angolan agriculture ministry.
About 60 per cent of the output will be shipped directly to China, and the company is also planning to establish a seed research and testing centre to improve yields and attract more Chinese companies to invest in the country's agribusiness.
The other deal involves the conglomerate Citic, which has promised to invest US$250 million over the next five years to develop 100,000 hectares of soybean and corn production.
Citic said land clearing was already under way on 3,000 hectares in Cuanza Norte province and 5,000 hectares in Malanje province. It expects to scale up operations to cover 10,000 to 20,000 hectares next year, aiming to produce eight tonnes of corn and five tonnes of soybeans per hectare.
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