A Kenyan gave a more analytical view, comparing China to his own country: “You . . . have to be impressed with Guangzhou and with China. The infra- structure, the town planning. The government can provide for a billion people, with a rail network, roads, recreational facilities, parks— things that are lacking in Africa. All the time I’ve stayed here, I’ve not experienced a single electricity blackout. Yes, I want Kenya to become like China!” 

A West African trader with long- term residence in the United Kingdom had a darker view: “Africans who come to China straight from Africa see it as wonderful, and they want China to be like that. But those who have lived in Europe or the U.S. don’t like China much. For me, after the United Kingdom, China was like ‘the world turned upside down.’ The laws aren’t followed in China. Contracts are like toilet tissue.”

A Kenyan gave a more analytical view, comparing China to his own country: “You… have to be impressed with Guangzhou and with China. The infrastructure, the town planning. The government can provide for a billion people, with a rail network, roads, recreational facilities, parks—things that are lacking in Africa. All the time I’ve stayed here, I’ve not experienced a single electricity blackout. Yes, I want Kenya to become like China!”

Eoin Treacy's view

One of the reasons I am still optimistic about the ability of impoverished African nations to lift themselves out of the poverty is because of how many ambitious African traders I’ve met all over China, not just in Guangzhou. 

China is importing cheap labour, albeit not officially, to man its lowest margin factories which has created a thriving expat population. Meanwhile the wholesale markets are populated by buyers from Africa and the Middle East seeking the cheapest possible price of wares they intend to sell to nascent consumers back home. For many Africans, China’s success is impressive but is also an example of what is achievable compared to the higher standards of governance taken for granted in Europe or North America. 

The Dow Jones Africa Titan ETF hit a new lifetime low at the beginning of 2016, around the same time commodities bottomed. It bounced back sharply but spent most of the last year ranging before breaking out in July. A sustained move below the trend mean would be required to question medium-term scope for additional higher to lateral ranging. 

The UK listed Africa Opportunities Fund trades at a discount to NAV of 27%. It has been ranging above 60¢ since early 2016 and is currently trading above the trend mean which has just begun to turn upwards.