China's evolving African trade

Trade between Africa and the Bric countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- has grown 10-fold over the past decade. The value of total transactions increased to about $166 billion by the end of 2008 from $16 billion in 2000. Now the flavour of the month is Sino-African trade.

South Africa's Standard Bank is positioned to take advantage of China's, in fact Asia's, appetite for Africa. The institution is widely regarded as the bank of choice for Asian traders when it comes to Africa. Craig Polkinghorne, Johannesburg-based global head of structured trade and commodity finance at Standard Bank, and Tee Chong Ong, Singapore-based Asia head of structured trade finance at the bank,...