As the impact of the global credit crunch rumbles on, we’re seeing a very interesting divergence in the performance of the Asian economies. The countries that are still bound to the American eagle are heading for the doldrums. But the ones that have chained themselves to the Chinese dragon are roaring ahead.

You see, despite all the babble about a global economic slowdown, China is still booming. Its economy grew by a white-hot 10.6% in the first quarter of this year. And that’s despite all the efforts of the Beijing government to slow things down…

So, the commodity-rich Asian countries that supply China’s industrial machine, like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, are surviving the global economic downturn well enough. In fact, they’re seeing exports boom…

But not every Asian country is benefiting. The Asian countries that rely on electronics shipments for the bulk of their exports, like Singapore and the Philippines, are being hit by the US slowdown.
The numbers say it all

Just look at the figures. This week, Malaysia announced a 21% jump in exports in April from a year earlier. What are they selling to the rest of the world? Let’s see…palm oil exports are up by 71%, crude oil exports by 53% and exports of natural gas by 26%. Electronic-component exports were up by just 12.5%. The electronics industry used to be the crown jewel of Malaysia’s export industry. And most of those components used to go to the U.S. We’re seeing a massive shift in the centre of economic gravity here.

Same thing in Thailand. The country’s exports jumped 28% from a year earlier. And a good part of that comes down to the soaring prices of rice and other agricultural products.

Indonesia’s monthly exports have just hit a new record of $11.9 billion in March, as well. No prizes for guessing what they’ve been selling…crude palm oil (Indonesia is the world’s biggest producer), natural gas, timber, coal…

Indonesia’s coal story is something that I’ve written about recently. Coal is the new gold. And Indonesia has some of the most exciting coal companies on the planet. We’re watching that situation very carefully…looking for a chance to get in…

And then India has reported a 32% rise in exports… The gist of this story is that if you’ve got what China needs right now, you’re in the money.

And The Dragon isn’t just dragging along a bunch of small Third World economies either. Even developed economies like Japan are getting a boost from China’s rise. The Japanese have sold so much industrial machinery and parts to China that their economy grew by 3.3% in the first three months of this year from the year before.

But here is the bit that really excites me: what China is doing for Asia, it’s now doing for Africa as well. It’s locking the Dark Continent into its economic orbit. And Profit Hunter readers have bought into this boom right on the ground floor.

From basket-case to oil exporter…

It has already invested $30 billion in Africa’s oil and gas industry. And most of that has gone to places that most Western investors would never have touched: Sudan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Nigeria….

Now it plans on investing $5 billion in the West African country of Niger. This is one of the poorest countries on earth. It ranks in the bottom five on the United Nations’ human development index. And the country is battling an insurgency by the magnificently blue-cloaked, be-turbaned, camel-riding Tuareg nomads in the north of the country. But the Chinese don’t seem remotely concerned. They plan to pump the country’s first barrel of oil next year. And to get it out of the country, they are going build a 2000-kilometre oil pipeline and a refinery with a capacity of 20,000 barrels a day.

Here’s another country about to become an economic annexe of the Middle Kingdom…

The new king of the African oil patch

While we’re on the African oil industry, here’s a bit of very interesting news. Angola has now dethroned Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer. Nigeria has held the top spot for decades. But militant attacks in the oil rich Niger Delta and worker strikes have undermined the country’s oil industry. In April, Angola produced 1.87 million barrels of oil per day. Nigeria produced 1.81 million barrels.

We aren’t in Nigeria. But our brilliant African play puts us in the thick of Angola’s booming economy. It owns airlines in the region and is setting-up a massive logistics centre in the country’s capital, Luanda.

Source: China Invests Billions In Africa And We’re Set To Book a Massive Profit