評論
打印
Finance & economics
財(cái)經(jīng)板塊
Investment in Africa
非洲的投資
Links in the chain
鏈條上的環(huán)節(jié)
Why linkages between foreign and local firms are all too rare
為何外國公司和本地公司之間聯(lián)系甚少
In 2016 daniel kinuthia started a small business in Kenya making shoe uppers for the local subsidiary of Bata, a multinational footwear company. He was short of finance and equipment, and his contract with Bata ended when covid-19 hit. But he says supplying Bata and visiting its factory taught him "what happens, how the shoe is marketed, the kind of shoe that can be sold". Now he dreams of using those skills to build a factory of his own.
2016年，丹尼爾·金努西亞在肯尼亞開辦了一家小公司，為跨國制鞋公司Bata在當(dāng)?shù)氐淖庸旧a(chǎn)鞋幫子。由于缺乏資金和設(shè)備，他與Bata的合同在新冠爆發(fā)時便終止了。但他表示為Bata供貨和參觀其工廠讓他了解到“發(fā)生了什么，鞋是如何營銷的，以及可進(jìn)行銷售的那種鞋”?，F(xiàn)在他夢想著能夠利用這些技能建立自己的工廠。
Many African governments are keen to attract foreign investment. But its impact hinges on what Albert Hirschman, a postwar economist, called "linkages". By supplying or buying from multinationals, local firms like Mr Kinuthia's can learn about markets and technology. Such linkages are all too rare in Africa, however. Many multinationals ship in their inputs and export what they produce. That brings jobs and dollars, but does not spur development.
許多非洲國家政府渴望吸引外國投資，其影響取決于戰(zhàn)后經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家艾伯特·赫希曼所說的“聯(lián)系”。通過向跨國公司供貨或采購，像金努西亞這樣的本地客戶可以了解市場和技術(shù)。然而，這種聯(lián)系在非洲太罕見了。許多跨國公司將他們的投入運(yùn)輸出去，并出口他們生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品。這帶來了工作機(jī)會和金錢，但沒有刺激發(fā)展。
A recent study by John Rand of the University of Copenhagen and others finds that linkages are scarcer in Africa than in developing Asia. The multinationals they surveyed in Kenya imported two-thirds of their intermediate inputs, for instance, whereas those in Vietnam imported just a quarter. And local linkages transferred less technology than expected. Firms learned as much by trading across oceans as they did from foreign firms in their backyard.
由哥本哈根大學(xué)的約翰·蘭德和其他一些人最近所做的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，非洲的這種聯(lián)系與發(fā)展中的亞洲相比更為稀少。例如，他們在肯尼亞調(diào)查的跨國公司有三分之二的中間原料來自進(jìn)口，而越南的跨國公司只有四分之一。而且地方聯(lián)系轉(zhuǎn)移的技術(shù)也比預(yù)期的要少。公司從海外貿(mào)易中學(xué)到的東西和他們從自家后院的外國公司中學(xué)到的一樣多。
Extractive industries in particular tend to operate as enclaves. Mining concessions often come with import-duty waivers, says Lukas Bekker, a supply-chain expert who has helped set up mines in three African countries. That makes it cheaper to import equipment than to use local contractors. And buying local can be risky. A finance manager with 20 years' experience in African mining says he prefers to keep procurement offshore, having uncovered "frauds and kickbacks" between staff and local suppliers in the past.
采掘業(yè)尤其傾向于像飛地一樣運(yùn)作。曾幫助在三個非洲國家建立礦山的供應(yīng)鏈專家盧卡斯·貝克表示，采礦特許權(quán)通常與進(jìn)口關(guān)稅豁免同時存在。這使得進(jìn)口設(shè)備比使用本地承包商更便宜。購買本地產(chǎn)品也有風(fēng)險。一位在非洲采礦業(yè)擁有20年經(jīng)驗(yàn)的財(cái)務(wù)經(jīng)理表示，他更喜歡把采購工作放在海外，因?yàn)樗l(fā)現(xiàn)員工與當(dāng)?shù)毓?yīng)商之間存在“欺詐和回扣”。
Capacity takes time to build. In Uganda, which has long been preparing to pump oil, a survey in 2012 found that only 200 trucks in a local fleet of 2,500 were up to scratch. "We had to transform our business," says Jeff Baitwa, who spent $20m buying equipment to upgrade his haulage company for oil contracts. Sometimes the technical gap is too wide. "I'm told the pipeline has what they call 'seamless pipes'," says Stuart Mwesigwa, a manager at Uganda's largest steel company. "No one in east Africa is manufacturing that!"
能力的培養(yǎng)需要時間。烏干達(dá)已經(jīng)為開采石油準(zhǔn)備了很長時間，2012年的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)當(dāng)?shù)?500輛卡車中只有200輛達(dá)到了標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。杰夫·拜特瓦表示：“我們必須進(jìn)行業(yè)務(wù)轉(zhuǎn)型。”為了簽訂石油合同，拜特瓦花了2000萬美元購買設(shè)備來升級他的運(yùn)輸公司。有時技術(shù)差距太大。“我聽說這條管道有所謂的‘無縫管道’，烏干達(dá)最大的鋼鐵公司的經(jīng)理Stuart Mwesigwa說?！皷|非沒有人制造那種東西！”
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