The China Africa Development Fund and the Jidong Development Group plan to invest in the building of a US$220 million cement plant in South Africa, the largest Chinese investment in the country in two years, the Financial Times reported. The agreement would forge a partnership between the two Chinese entities and Continental Cement, a local enterprise, and Women Investment Portfolio Holdings, a firm dedicated to empowering black women. The plant is aimed at compensating for South Africa’s shortage of domestic building materials, partly due to the influx of infrastructure construction in the lead-up to the World Cup. China became South Africa’s largest trading partner last year, while Beijing has been linking up with many of the resource-rich countries on the continent in recent years. China is expected to formally announce the investment on Friday.
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