Chapter 827 Nigeria
One thing that may be unexpected is the smartphone market in Africa. One of the reasons is that there is a severe shortage of electricity there...
This may seem a little unbelievable, but it is true.
Not to mention that many families here cannot afford computers, even if they can get computers, they may not be able to pay for the electricity consumed by computers.
So relatively speaking, the construction of broadband here is even lagging behind the construction of mobile networks - because the power consumed by smartphones is much lower than that of home computers, and they can also complete some computer work...
For example, mobile payment. People in many parts of Africa find it difficult to get the services of bank branches, but since last year, mobile payment in Africa has become more active, because people can use smartphones to make some payments instead of bank card transfers...
For example, the mobile payment service launched by the United Bank of Africa and Klarna in West Africa is very popular among people in the countries surrounding Kolo.
They only need to go to a big city to open an account, and then after binding, they can easily transfer money to their relatives far away...
In Nigeria, this mobile payment business is also developing rapidly...
Of course, unlike other countries, Kolo has long been aware of the limitations of power shortage on economic development, and fortunately, they already have abundant offshore oil and gas resources!
Therefore, after the establishment of the West African Power Group, it built a number of LNG power stations in Kolo. LNG power generation is considered a kind of clean energy and can also provide sufficient electricity for Kolo.
The West African Power Group is a joint venture company, with Kolo Industrial Investment Fund (state-owned) holding 25%, West African Group holding 45%, and United Energy Group (directly held by United Power Group) holding 30%.
The company has more than 85% of the domestic power distribution market in Kolo, and plans to invest in a number of LNG power stations and thermal power stations in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger-although Burkina Faso has limited oil resources, its coal resources are still relatively rich.
Even the British Nuclear Energy Company, which is held by the West African Power Group and the United Energy Group, is conducting a feasibility study on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in West Africa in the coastal area near Kolo and Benin.
Currently, only South Africa has a nuclear power plant in Africa. If a nuclear power plant can be built in Kolo, it can provide power output for the entire region and also provide power for the development of the region.
And Kolo itself will also develop in the blockchain field represented by BitC. After having relatively "cheap" nuclear power, it will also be able to attract some "BitC mines" to settle in Kolo in the future, thereby driving the local economy.
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After signing the relevant agreement on the West African Free Trade Organization, on November 10, Kolo President Thomas Kaboré led a delegation to Nigeria for a five-day visit.
The purpose of his visit this time is very clear. Kolo does not want the establishment of the West African Free Trade Organization, an economic organization, to affect their relationship with Nigeria.
Nigeria is the most important country in the Economic Community of West African States, and at the same time, it is also one of the most important countries in Africa. In many cases, the word "one" can even be removed.
Nigeria has an area of more than 923,000 square kilometers, which is approximately equivalent to the area of Qinghai and Hunan provinces in China. If we only look at the area, let alone the whole of Africa, it is not as good as Mauritania, Mali and Niger in West Africa...
But Nigeria can be called the largest country in Africa...
The main reason is that Nigeria is rich in resources. At present, its population is 165 million, making it the most populous country in Africa and the seventh in the world.
As of 2011, Nigeria's total economic output ranked second in Africa (after 2014, it surpassed South Africa and became the first in Africa). It can be said that Nigeria has the largest market in Africa and is an indispensable trading partner of Kolo.
You know, the whole of Africa gives people the feeling of poverty and chaos - 35 of the world's 50 poorest countries are in Africa; 20 of the 25 countries with the lowest per capita GDP are in Africa.
Entering the new century, Nigeria is one of the few countries in Africa with a good economic development, and it is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
The most important thing is that Nigeria has rich mineral resources and oil and gas resources. In terms of reserves, the oil and gas resources in the Gulf of Guinea are not inferior to those in the Persian Gulf. Nigeria has the second highest oil resources and the highest natural gas resources in Africa, and is the largest oil and natural gas exporter in Africa.
All of the above also determine that Kolo will not easily give up its good relationship with Nigeria.
Although Kolo is much higher than Nigeria in terms of per capita GDP, the vast market in Nigeria is something Kolo cannot give up.
Therefore, during Thomas Kaboré's visit to Nigeria this time, the two sides once again deepened their cooperation, including Kolo Petroleum Company's investment in an oil refining base in Nigeria to help Nigeria refine crude oil products.
In addition, the Brita Stock Exchange will also cooperate with the Nigeria Stock Exchange headquartered in Lagos. The two sides will gradually form stock exchanges and cooperate in digital transformation.
Currently, the Brita Stock Exchange and the Nigeria Stock Exchange are the first and second largest stock exchanges in West Africa. The cooperation between the two sides will provide more financing options for enterprises in the entire West African region.
At the same time, Kolo also signed a financial cooperation agreement with Nigeria, which will allow banks from both sides to conduct more business in each other's territory. The United Bank of Africa will set up a branch in Nigeria and expand its business and invest.
During this visit, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who was just re-elected in the general election in April this year, expressed his willingness to propose Kolo to join the organization at the next meeting of members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is an organization of oil-producing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. It was established in September 1960 to coordinate the oil policies of various countries and to oppose the exploitation and control of Western oil monopoly countries.
Its headquarters is located in Vienna, Austria. There are currently 14 member states, namely Kuwait, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Libya, Iraq, Venezuela, Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Nigeria and Congo.
At present, due to the discovery of its offshore oil fields, after years of development, Kolo's production is enough to be listed among the OPEC member countries.
Since joining this organization can have a certain say in global oil and gas exploration, Kolo is also happy to join it.
