Erik Prince

IN BRIEF Abu Dhabi

Chinese oil giant CNPC has signed a deal worth $1.18 billion (950 million euros) for stakes in two Abu Dhabi oil and gas concessions, the Gulf emirate's state producer said. The 40-year deal is the latest in a series of contracts Abu Dhabi has sealed with foreign partners and will see China increase its footprint in the vital region. State-run CNPC will take a 10 percent stake of the Umm Sharif and Nasr concession for $575 million (468 million euro), and 10 percent of the Lower Zakum for $600 million (488.5 million euro), Abu Dhabi's ADNOC said. Both fields are located off Abu Dhabi's coast.

IN BRIEF CHINA DEBT

Fitch Ratings warned that China's growing debt could trigger "economic and financial shocks", but said it will maintain the country's A-plus rating with a stable outlook despite its concerns. The announcement follows Moody's shock decision in May to downgrade the world's second-largest economy for the first time in almost three decades on concerns over its ballooning credit and slowing growth. While China's external finances were robust and near-term growth prospects "favourable", Fitch said "large and rising debt levels" in its non-financial sector were a significant risk.

IN BRIEF UGANDA

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ordered an investigation into possible collusion between the country's wildlife agency and two Chinese diplomats in the trafficking of ivory. Poaching has risen sharply in recent years across Africa, fuelled by rising demand in Asia for ivory and rhino horn, coveted as a traditional medicine and a status symbol. Uganda is a major transit country for the illegal trade. The Chinese embassy officials are suspected of colluding in the movement of ivory from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, using Uganda as a transit point, a government official said.

IN BRIEF CHINA

Expansion in 2016 slowed to 6.7 percent from the previous year's 6.9 percent pace, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). China recorded its slowest rate of growth in more than a quarter of a century in 2016, as the world's number two economy faces increasing protectionist sentiment. The Asian giant is a key engine of the global economy and its leaders are trying to reduce the country's heavy reliance on exports and infrastructure investment to drive growth in favour of higher consumer spending.

IN BRIEF CHINA

China's growth slipped to its slowest rate in more than a quarter of a century in 2016, an AFP survey has forecast, as analysts see mounting risks for the world's number two economy with Donald Trump heading for the White House. While the Asian giant is a key engine of the global economy, affecting businesses and employment across the planet, its leaders are trying to shift from reliance on exports and infrastructure investment as a growth driver to consumer spending.

IN BRIEF GAMBIA

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Tuesday January 17th declared a state of emergency just two days before he was due to step down, denouncing what he called dangerous foreign meddling in the country's post-electoral crisis. The measure was prompted by the "unprecedented and extraordinary amount of foreign interference in the December 1 presidential elections and also in the internal affairs of The Gambia," Jammeh announced on state TV.

IN BRIEF FOOTBALL

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has rejected offers from Chinese Super League clubs that would have paid the Ivorian around £430,000 a week 500.806,80 €), reports said on Tuesday 17th January 2017. Toure is out of contract at the end of the season and has been approached by clubs from China who have been splashing on a host of star signings in recent months. The 33-year-old is said to have been the subject of interest from China last year.

IN BRIEF AFRICAN TOUR

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will follow a two-decade-long diplomatic tradition to make Africa his first overseas destination in 2017, a spokesperson said early January. Wang will pay an official visit to Madagascar, Zambia, Tanzania, Republic of Congo and Nigeria from Jan. 7 to 12, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang announced at a news briefing. "Relations with developing countries, including in Africa, is the bedrock of Chinese diplomacy," Geng said. "Chinese foreign ministers have visited Africa during their first foreign trips each year over the past two decades.

IN BRIEF ISRAEL

China has agreed for thousands of migrant construction labourers to work in Israel in a bid to alleviate a housing crisis in the Jewish state, the Israeli government said Wednesday 4th January 2017. The agreement would see 6,000 Chinese workers arrive in Israel in the six months after the formal signature of the deal expected at the end of February, a joint statement from the interior and finance ministries said. An Israeli delegation and China's commerce ministry have signed a draft agreement in China, it said. The statement quoted Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon as saying the arrival of the Chinese workers would "energise efforts to solve the housing crisis".

IN BRIEF ALGERIA

Algeria's state energy company Sonatrach on Sunday awarded the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) a 380-million-euro ($420-million) contract to renovate its Algiers refinery. CPECC, which is affiliated to the China National Petroleum Corporation, will rehabilitate the refinery after Sonatrach severed an initial deal it had struck with French engineering firm Technip. The project is aimed at building new units to bring the refinery -- built in 1964 -- up to European standards and increase its current annual output of 2.7 million tonnes of refined petrol by 35 percent.

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