Japanese Are Turning to African Resources - Brian Menell

Japanese Private Investment in African Resources Grows

LONDON, December 17, 2010 - There are the first signs of a growing interest on the part of both
Japanese institutional and private investors in finding the right channels to
increase exposure to African natural resources, says Brian Menell, CEO of
Kemet Global Ltd and former executive director at Anglovaal Mining.

Menell recently returned from three days in Tokyo where he held various
high level meetings with a range of potential investors in African mining and
energy projects.

While African resources remain crucial for Japanese industry,
participation in these resources has been eclipsed by more aggressive
engagement on the part of the Chinese and others.

With the exception of a small number of deals in ferrous metals and oil
on the part of the Japanese trading houses, Japanese interests have been left
behind in the new scramble for control of African commodities.

Brian Menell said: "I was very encouraged by the level of interest on the
part of the Japanese private investors that I met, and on the part of certain
institutions, in finding a new channel through which to more successfully
engage in African opportunities.

"It is an exciting time for African private investment, and there is a
sense in Japan that the old models of involvement no longer work and that
they are being left behind. This is despite the high level of government
goodwill towards Japan across the African continent.

"There has been significant Japanese Government aid and development
assistance across much of Africa. However, unlike the Chinese and French,
there does not seem to have been any coherent effort to leverage the
resulting goodwill into commercial or strategic advantage.

"I think we are seeing the start of a new phase of enhanced Japanese
commercial involvement in Africa. Given the power of the large Japanese
trading houses and the commodity intensive nature of Japanese industry, this
can only be a good thing for both Japan and Africa."

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