Saturday, March 3, 2012

Africa: The Next Big Thing in Shipping?




(KBHM) This really is a very interesting speech, and quite motivational coming from such a young man. I would highly recommend seeing the full 15 minutes of the video.

I like the fact that he refers to BRICs as a "very fashionable term", and has a slightly out-of-box mentality. Especially given that he is himself Indian, one would think he would be selling ideas in India, which makes his thoughts about Africa maybe more credible. China really did change the industry 10 years ago, and his prediction is that over the
 next 10 years, Africa may partly take over Chinas position.

He has some interesting points regarding foreign investment; serious investors sit down with top officials, and in some cases, heads of state. This is not the case in say, China or India. Also interesting, is that there is "serious money" going into Africa. Foreign money building roads, ports and various infrastructure, is a good sign that they're not in for the quick buck, but for the long term.


The coal mines of West Africa could also be a large driver for bulk shipping in years to come. Could they replace/take over the position of say Australia? There are a lot of interesting and important questions asked in this speech, and I will continue to research this topic further and be posting about Africa's commodity opportunities in the the future.