VOA标准英语2010年-Indian Companies Push into Africa

Indian companies are investing billions of dollars in Africa to tap the potential of its growing market and increasing its footprint across the continent.

From Kenya in the east, to Zimbabwe in the south and Nigeria in the west, India's $ 15 billion Essar group is investing in Africa in businesses ranging from power, steel and mining to telecommunications and construction.

A director at the Essar group, Firdhose Coovadia says when the company wanted to diversify¹, the growing opportunities in Africa provided the obvious answer. He says though the continent's 53 countries vary enormously, the macro trends are similar.

"You look at what the continent has to offer today in 2010, I think what you will find there is a resurgence² of entrepreneurial spirit across the continent clearly," Coovadia said. "Secondly³ there is an increased willingness and openness to trade, openness to investment, and a commitment by the politicians and regulators that they is no turning back from a cycle of investing and development. This obviously for an investor⁴ is that inflection point, between where the continent was as a whole, and where it is likely to be."

In the last five years scores of Indian companies have bought or invested about $16 billion in a range of businesses in Africa. Among them is Bharti Telecommunications whose $9 billion deal to acquire mobile phone operations in 15 African countries this year is the biggest investment by an Indian company.

Others tapping Africa are involved in pharmaceuticals⁵, automobiles⁶, information technology, power, mining and consumer goods.

State-owned companies are also making large investments in oil and gas fields to meet the needs of energy-hungry India.

Many investors⁷ view the resource-rich continent as the new frontier for global business. Home to a billion people, Africa's economy is growing by about four and a half per cent.

Debashish Mukherjee, with consultancy A.T. Kearney in New Delhi says the continent has great potential.

"Africa is where India was a few decades back," Mukherjee said. "The per capita income in many of the African countries is growing, there has been investment in education in many of the Sub Saharan countries, so many of the forward-looking indices are right and I think many of the companies would like to capitalize on that with an early start."

Attracted by cheap labor⁸ and land cost, Indian companies are also moving into Africa for commercial farming. Only about 15 cent of the arable⁹ land in Africa is cultivated. And many countries, which are food-deficient despite having surplus land, are inviting¹⁰ foreign investors into the agricultural sector¹¹.

In India, where farming is dominated by small, family-run holdings, companies are attracted by the possibility of starting large-scale operations in Africa. Arun Agarwal heads the African committee at the Associated Chambers¹² of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi.??

"In India there is a problem of land. You cannot get big lands (land)," Agarwal said. "So Sudan, Ethiopia Tanzania Mozambique, Senegal, and many countries, they are offering big land on easy terms."

Indian businesses find it relatively¹³ easier to operate in Africa because ties with the region date back generations. Many Indians who migrated to Africa to build roads and railways in Britain's former colonies are settled in that continent.

Still many Indians find Africa a tough place to do business. Coovadia of the Essar group says the challenges in Africa are similar to those faced by investors in many developing countries.

"Bureaucracy is one issue, the complex politics, you need to understand and be sensitive to the politics and history of each country," Coovadia added. "Infrastructure¹⁴ is a critical one. You would expect e-mail and bandwidth to be good, simple infrastructure like that does not often work effectively, and then getting shipping¹⁵ and logistics done, port services done...a similar parallel to were India was a decade or two ago."

The thrust into Africa is backed by the government, which has pledged to increase investment and trade with the continent. But business analysts¹⁶ say that unlike China's push into Africa which is driven by its government, India's push into the continent is largely led by its private sector.
 

1 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

2 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

3 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

4 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

5 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

10 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

13 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

14 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

15 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

16 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。