Africa’s Expanding Economic Ties With the Indo-Pacific

Africa’s economic engagement with Indo-Pacific countries has significantly expanded over the past decade — shifting from primarily trade-based relationships to more strategic and diversified partnerships. This includes a marked rise in corporate investment across sectors like health care, digital infrastructure, agriculture and mining.

This report consolidates bilateral trade and investment flows between key Indo-Pacific and African markets. The markets are organized as follows:

Key cross-cutting trends are as follows:

• Trade surges across key corridors, such as Nigeria-India, Kenya-Malaysia and Côte d’Ivoire-Vietnam.
• Sectoral diversification, particularly in energy, telecommunications, agro-processing, health care and pharmaceuticals, financial technology and mining.
• Increased institutional engagement, including new bilateral investment treaties, preferential trade agreements and high-level business forums.

This report is intended to support BGA’s operations in Africa and is therefore organized around African countries as the principal focal points. Each section centers on a single African market and provides a detailed breakdown of its trade and investment relationships with key Indo-Pacific partners. For example:

Section 1: Côte d’Ivoire
 — Côte d’Ivoire-Australia
 — Côte d’Ivoire-China
 — Côte d’Ivoire-India
 …and so on.

This structure is designed to provide a country-specific view that is both actionable and comparative — enabling deeper analysis of bilateral dynamics, sectoral priorities and emerging strategic trends.

Angola

Top Three Trading Partners

1. China: Angola exported goods worth $1.4 billion and imported $395 million from China in May 2025, resulting in a positive trade balance of $1 billion. Between May 2024 and May 2025, Angola’s exports to China increased $111 million from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion. Imports increased by $48.4 million from $347 million to $395 million.
2. India: India’s exports to Angola reached $1 billion in 2023, and imports from Angola topped $3.9 billion.
3. Indonesia: Angola exported goods valued at $1.2 billion to Indonesia in 2023, and Indonesia exported $163 million to Angola.

Top Exports

1. Crude petroleum: exported $18 billion to China, $2.1 billion to India and $1.1 billion to Indonesia in 2023.
2. Diamonds: exported $1.1 billion to India in 2023.
3. Petroleum products: exported $494 million to India, $257 million to China and $1.1 billion to Indonesia in 2023.

Top Imports

1. Refined petroleum: imported $538 million from Korea and $298 million from India in 2023.
2. Cars, trucks and buses: imported $71.4 million in cars from India and $136 million in trucks and $88.9 million in car parts from China in 2023.
3. Rubber: imported $182 million from China in 2023.

Notable Investments

• China invested $65.1 billion in Belt and Road projects in Angola. Projects are mainly in the energy sector but also in transportation, infrastructure, mining and banking. Some $65 billion of the funding was in the form of loans. The total investment by Chinese companies in Angola now exceeds $24 billion. Agriculture is an important area of cooperation.
• Petronas subsidiary Angola E&P Ltd and its partners TotalEnergies and Sonangol P&P reached an agreement in May 2024 to develop the Cameia and Golfinho fields in Block 20/11, located 100 kilometers (62 miles) offshore from Angola.

Côte d’Ivoire

Top Export Destinations

1. China: $810 million in rubber ($595 million), manganese ore ($11.1 million) and aluminum ore.
2. Vietnam: $912 million in coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashews ($848 million), rubber ($44.4 million) and raw cotton ($12.2 million).
3. Malaysia: $912.4 million in rubber ($484 million) and cocoa beans ($409 million).

Top Three Importing Countries

1. China: $3.2 billion in pesticides, broadcasting equipment and trucks.
2. India: $982 million in rice, cars and medicine.
3. Vietnam: $377 million in rice.

Top Export Commodities

1. Rubber: China ($595 million), Malaysia ($495 million) and India ($110 million) in 2023.
2. Raw cashew nuts and cocoa beans: $848 million of raw cashew nuts to Vietnam and $214 million to India in 2023.
3. Cocoa beans: $385 million to Malaysia and $129 million to Indonesia in 2023.

Top Import Commodities

1. Rice: $314 million from Vietnam and $280 million from India in 2023.
2. Pesticides: $229 million from China in 2023.
3. Cars, trucks and buses: $114 million in cars from India and $93.3 million in trucks from China.

Notable Investments

• Côte d’Ivoire is a key African base for Olam International, which is headquartered in Singapore and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in cashew and cocoa processing in Bouaké.
• Singapore commodities firms such as Trafigura, Glencore’s Singapore arm, are involved in marketing Ivorian oil and gas. Trafigura financed a state gasoline import deal.
• Australian mining companies have invested in Côte d’Ivoire’s gold mining industry. Newcrest Mining was involved in a joint venture exploration project in Cote d’Ivoire gold belts.
• China has committed to 159 projects worth $7.3 billion since 2000. Most of the projects are in the transport and storage, energy, infrastructure, water supply and sanitation, communication, education, agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Most of this funding is in the form of loans.

Kenya

Top Three Export Destinations (2023)

1. China: $221 millionin scrap copper, coffee and tea.
2. Japan: $111 million in scrap copper, commodities and coffee.
3. India: $105 million in coffee, copper and copper products and tea.

Top Three Importing Countries (2023)

1. China: $4.7 billion in telephones ($24.9 million), women’s suits ($23.7 million) and hot-rolled iron ($23 million).
2. India: $2.1 billion in drug formulations and biologicals ($26.1 million), rice ($23.7 million) and industrial machinery ($15.4 million).
3. Japan: $727 million in cars ($56.2 million), hot-rolled iron ($21.4 million) and commodities ($11.3 million).

Top Export Commodities (2022)

1. Raw materials: China had the largest share (12.7 percent) after the United States.
2. Minerals: China had the largest share (33.1 percent) after the United States.
3. Coffee and tea: $7 million to India and $2.3 million to China.

Top Imports (2023)

1. Electrical machinery, cars and electronics: $541 million from China $56 million from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and $13.2 million from Thailand.
2. Palm Oil: $51.6 million from Malaysia) and $15.4 million from Thailand.
3. Pharmaceuticals: $26.1 million from India.

Notable Investments

• China has committed to 208 projects valued at $13.2 billion since 2001, with almost all of them in the form of loans. The largest sectors invested in are transport and storage ($7 billion), energy ($3 billion), government and civil society ($1 billion) and water supply and sanitation projects ($474 million). Some major Belt and Road investments include the standard gauge railway, Nairobi expressway and Mombasa-Nairobi port upgrades.
• Japan contributed $270 million to finance the Mombasa port upgrade. Toyota Tsusho signed an agreement to collaborate on renewables development, including a $461.5 million investment in the Menengai geothermal plant.

Nigeria

Top Export Destinations

1. Indonesia: Nigeria exported $4.3 billion to Indonesia and imported around $5 billion.
2. China: accounted for 22.7 percent of the country’s imports in 2022. Nigeria imported $2.2 billion from China and exported $252 million in May 2025 alone. China has committed to 151 projects in Nigeria worth $14.7 billion, primarily in the form of loans.
3. India: cited as one of Nigeria’s largest trading partners. India contributed to 11.4 percent of imports in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Top Export Commodities

1. Crude: Indonesia ($3.3 billion in 2024), Thailand ($334 million in 2024), Vietnam ($237 million in 2023), China ($71.1 million in May 2025) and Malaysia ($37.6 million in 2024).
2. Gas (including liquified natural gas): Taiwan ($203 million in 2023), Thailand ($183 million in 2024), Korea ($30.9 million in June 2025), China ($30.6 million in May 2025) and Malaysia ($29.9 million in 2024).
3. Raw cashew nuts and cocoa beans: about $243 million of raw cashew nuts to Vietnam in 2023. Cocoa beans were exported to Malaysia ($222 million in 2024) and Indonesia ($109 million in 2024).

Top Import Products

1. Palm oil: a primary import from Malaysia ($299 million in 2024) and Indonesia ($68.2 million in 2024).
2. Refined petroleum: imports from Taiwan ($85.6 million in 2023) and Malaysia ($73.4 million in 2024). Singapore Petroleum Company also supplies refined fuel.
3. Automobiles: imports from Japan ($8.8 million in cars, $5.8 million in trucks and $3.7 million in buses in May 2025); Taiwan ($12 million in 2023) and Thailand ($14.9 million in delivery trucks and $13.3 million in cars in 2024).

Notable Investments in Nigeria

1. India:
   • Jindal Steel and Power: plans to invest $3 billion in steel industry to diversify the economy away from near total dependence on oil production.
   • Skipperseil Ltd.: pledged to invest $1.6 billion over four years, focusing on constructing power generation plants.
   • Bharti Enterprises: committed to investing $1.6 billion over four years (projects not identified). Airtel intends to invest $700 million in Nigeria over four years, with projects focusing on rural connectivity, fiber optic infrastructure and data center construction.
   • The Indian government has a $1 billion partnership with the Nigerian government to bolster the Defense Industries Corporation of Nigeria, targeting 40 percent self-sufficiency in defense equipment manufacturing within three years.
2. Tolaram Group (Singapore): invested more than $500 million in Nigeria, producing consumer products such as Indomie noodles across 24 facilities. Tolaram also spearheaded the new Lekki Deep Sea Port and Lagos Free Zone and holds a 22.5 percent stake in the port.
3. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA): invested $500 million in 2024 to strengthen power transmission infrastructure along the Lagos-Ogun industrial corridor.
4. Robust International (Singapore-based agricultural company): received $18 million in debt financing from the World Bank’s private sector funding arm to modernize Nigerian agribusiness.
5. International Container Terminal Services Inc (Philippines): won a bid in 2023 to operate part of the Port of Lagos.

Senegal

Top Three Trading Partners

1. India: bilateral trade reached approximately $1.6 billion in 2023-24. Phosphates are a key traded commodity.
2. China: total trade of $593.8 million in May 2025, with Senegal exporting $39.8 million and importing $554 million from China.
3. Malaysia: total trade with Malaysia was $300.9 million in 2023, including $3.9 million in exports and $297 million in imports.

Top Three Export Commodities

1. Coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashews: $60.8 million to Vietnam in 2023.
2. Petroleum: $20 million to China in May 2025.
3. Titanium Ore: $12.8 million to China in May 2025 and $935,000 to Malaysia and $383,000 to Taiwan in 2023.

Top Three Import Commodities

1. Rice: Thailand exported $103 million, and Vietnam exported $4 million in 2023.
2. Palm oil: Malaysia exported $67.6 million, and Indonesia exported $50.5 million in 2023.
3. Malt extract: Malaysia exported $63 million in 2023.

Notable Investments

1. China: China has committed to 118 projects valued at $4.1 billion on Belt and Road investments in Senegal. Investments are mainly in the transportation and storage sector, but also include energy, communication, infrastructure, government and civil society sectors. Of the funding, $4 billion are in loans and $390 million are from grants.
   • China Eximbank provided $619.9 million preferential buyer’s credit for Mbour-Fatick-Kaolack Highway Construction Project in 2021. The project started in 2021 and is planned for completion in August 2025.
2. Korea: Dongwon, a Korean seafood conglomerate, announced plans in July 2025 to expand its cumulative investment to more than $19 million to boost tuna production capacity.
3. Malaysia: Petronas acquired a 30 percent stake in the Rufisque Offshore Profond Block in 2018, marking its entry into Senegal’s oil and gas sector.
   • Iris Corporation Malaysia’s Senegalese subsidiary, founded in 2007, has been producing national ID cards for more than a decade.
4. Indonesia: PT Wijaya Karya built La Tour de Goree, a multipurpose building intended to be an icon of Dakar.
5. India: Industries Chimique du Senegal is a flagship company with significant Indian investment (through Indorama Group), involved in manufacturing phosphoric acid from local rock phosphate.
   • The Tata Group, including Tata Motors (supply of vehicles) and Tata Africa (diverse interests), has a presence in Senegal.
   • Kirloskar Bros is involved in water management and infrastructure projects.
   • Ajanta Pharma, Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy from the pharmaceutical industry (details on operations not disclosed).
   • Kalpataru Power Transmission Limited and KEC International are involved in power transmission and infrastructure projects.
   • Free Senegal, the country’s second-largest mobile network operator, partnered with India-headquartered Comviva to use its “mobiquity money” platform.
6. Singapore-based Indorama acquired 78 percent of the capital of Industries Chimiques du Sénégal in 2014 when the company’s activity was almost at a standstill and its liabilities amounted to $320 million.
7. Australia:
   • MDL/Resolute Mining has operations in Mako.
   • Woodside Energy has a $4.6 billion natural gas project in Sangomar.
   • Oil company FAR Ltd. completed a conditional placement in 2019 to raise $99.1 million to fund capital expenditures for the Sangomar oil field development project.
   • Bassari Resources is currently developing a gold project in Senegal.

South Africa

Top Trading Partners

1. India: $19.3 billion in 2023-24.
2. China: About $2.7 billion in May 2025. Data for 2022 shows China as the largest partner for both imports and exports overall.
3. Japan: About $550 million in May 2025.

Top Three Export Commodities

1. Iron ore: China ($222 million in May 2025), Japan ($22 million in May 2025) and Korea ($4.5 million in May 2025).
2. Platinum: Japan ($257 million in May 2025).
3. Coal briquettes: Vietnam ($191 million in 2023), Taiwan ($26 million in May 2025) and Korea ($12.3 million in May 2025).
4. Manganese ore ($208 million to China in May 2025, $96 million to Malaysia in 2023) and chromium ore ($208 million to China in May 2025, $207 million to Indonesia in 2023).

Top Three Import Commodities

1. Cars: China ($71.4 million in May 2025), Japan ($26 million in May 2025), Korea ($10.4 million in May 2025) and Thailand ($177 million in 2023).
2. Telephones: China ($271 million in May 2025) and Taiwan ($6.9 million in May 2025)
3. Refined petroleum: Malaysia ($595 million in 2023) and Indonesia ($75.4 million in 2023).

 Notable Investments

1. Indian Companies: overall investment exceeds $8-9 billion. More than 91 members in the India Business Forum, with a collective investment of $2.8 billion and employing more than 22,000 South Africans.
   • TATA: Tata International, Tata Steel and Indian Hotels have investments of $63 million, $65.3 million and $93.8 million, respectively.
   • Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy’s, Mahindra & Mahindra, L&T, Jindal, Vedanta, TCS, WIPRO, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HCL, Zensar, Nihilent, State Bank of India, EXI million Bank. (exact investment figures undisclosed)
   • Cipla operates a large pharmaceutical manufacturing plant.
   • Godrej acquired a stake in a South African cosmetics firm.
2. Chinese Companies: funded more than 300 projects in South Africa worth $21.3 billion across the energy, banking, transport, communications, industry and mining sectors.
3. Thai Companies: Ogihara Thailand, in collaboration with Toyota Tsusho Africa and Toyota South Africa Motors, invested more than $62.3 million to establish joint venture Ogihara South Africa to manufacture local automotive parts.
4. Malaysian: Petronas had a presence but in 2023 sold its 74 percent stake in Engen, South Africa’s largest gas station chain.
5. Singapore: invested $300 million in manufacturing, financial services and real estate.
   • Olam sources grapes and citrus from South Africa
   • ICTSI (Philippines-based, Singapore-listed) won a concession to operate Durban’s Pier 2 container terminal.
6. Australia: Australian firms like South32 (spun off from BHP) operate major assets in South Africa, the world’s largest manganese miner.
   • Orica provides mining explosives and technology.
   • Macquarie Group has invested in South African infrastructure finance.

Tanzania

Top Three Export Destinations

1. India: Tanzania exported $1.7 billion including copper and products made of cooper ($225 million); bulk minerals and ores ($19.7 million); and coal, coke and briquettes ($18.1 million) in 2023.
2. China: total exports of $726 million, including raw copper ($5.4 million), nickel ore ($4.4 million) and refined copper in 2023.
3. Vietnam: Total exports of $134 million, comprised of coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashews ($77.8 million), bran ($31.5 million) and raw cotton ($9.2 million) in 2023.

Top Three Import Partners

1. China: imports of $5.6 billion, including hot-rolled iron ($46.1 million), telephones ($26.9 million) and woven fabric ($26.3 million) in 2023.
2. India: imports of $2.3 billion, comprising petroleum products ($128 million), drug formulations and biologicals ($21.6 million) and industrial machinery ($13.2 million) in 2023.
3. Japan: Total imports of $674 million, including cars ($29.8 million), hot-rolled iron ($16.6 million) and trucks ($5.2 million) in 2023.

Top Three Export Commodities (2023)

1. Copper: India ($225 million), Thailand ($50.9 million) and China ($5.4 million).
2. Cashew nuts, cloves and other agricultural products: Vietnam ($77.8 million), Indonesia ($12.9 million) and Malaysia (about $5.5 million).
3. Coffee and Tobacco: Japan ($16.8 million), Korea ($2.7 million) and Indonesia ($18.4 million).

Top Three Import Commodities (2023)

1. Refined petroleum and petroleum products: India ($128 million).
2. Industrial Machinery, Electronics & Vehicles: Japan ($35.2 million), Korea ($27.5 million), China ($26.9 million) and India ($13.2 million).
3. Rice: Thailand ($26.8 million)
4. Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies: India ($21.6 million).
5. Palm Oil: Indonesia ($23.3 million), Malaysia ($22.4 million).

Notable Investments

• India: Investments in Tanzania total $4.1 billion. Major Indian companies in Tanzania are Airtel (telecom), Tata Africa Holdings Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra (tractors), Kamal Group (Steel), Kalpataru (power transmission), Tanzindia (insurance with significant share of Indian public sector companies), Larsen & Toubro, Afcons, Hester Biosciences (animal vaccines), Mahashree Agro, Purandare Industries (sugar factory) and National Mineral Development Corp. (lithium mining).
• China: China has committed to 246 projects worth $3.8 billion in Tanzania since 2000. About $3 billion are in the form of loans, $652 million in grants and $248 million in debt forgiveness. The top sectors China has invested in are industry, mining and construction ($2 billion), communications ($288 million) and transport and storage ($345 million). These projects are part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
• Indonesia: Adani Group plans to invest $900 million in power transmission infrastructure.
• Korea: Tanzania’s Ministry of Minerals and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in strategic minerals worth $2.5 billion in June 2024. Both sides plan to collaborate on research, investment, mining and capacity building to add value to minerals in Tanzania, which include nickel, lithium and graphite.
• Indonesia: Since 2023, Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina has been involved in the management of the Mnazi Bay gas block and potential investment opportunities in compressed natural gas stations or mini-liquefied natural gas supply. The amount was undisclosed.
• Singapore: ASAS Group, one of Tanzania’s biggest conglomerates, announced in June 2025 that it was partnering with Petredec, a leading global liquefied petroleum gas company, to build a major liquid petroleum gas infrastructure project worth around $1 billion.

Conclusion

Africa’s economic engagement with Indo-Pacific countries has matured into a dynamic and multifaceted partnership, marked by robust trade growth, strategic investments and sectoral diversification. While China remains the dominant player in both trade and infrastructure investment across the continent, other Indo-Pacific countries — including India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore — are increasingly shaping Africa’s development trajectory through targeted investments in agriculture, energy, digital infrastructure and manufacturing.

Key trends are as follows:

• Trade Expansion: Bilateral trade volumes have surged, especially in commodities like crude oil, cocoa, rubber and copper. Countries like Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa have emerged as major exporters to Indo-Pacific markets.
• Investment Diversification: Investment flows are no longer confined to extractives. Indo-Pacific firms are investing in agribusiness, fintech, health care and logistics, with notable projects in cashew processing, fertilizer production and mobile networks.
• Strategic Agreements: The proliferation of bilateral investment treaties, preferential trade agreements and joint business forums reflects a growing institutional framework to support long-term economic cooperation. China is in discussions with Africa to negotiate a new tariff free market access agreement. This will not replace the United States’ Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which is set to expire at the end of September 2025, but shows the degree to which China might want to strengthen its partnerships on the continent.
• Regional Competition: African countries are increasingly competing to attract Indo-Pacific capital, positioning themselves as hubs for trade, processing and re-export.

Despite these gains, challenges remain. Trade imbalances persist and many African countries still rely heavily on raw commodity exports. But key strategy forums driving Africa-Indo-Pacific trade partnerships including Tokyo International Conference on African Development, Forum on China Africa Cooperation and Africa-Singapore Business Forum are playing critical roles in driving trade and investment between Africa and the Indo-Pacific.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact BGA Head of Research Murray Hiebert.

Best regards,

BowerGroupAsia

Murray Hiebert

Head of Research

Murray is a top Asia expert and skilled researcher with three decades of experience living and working in Asia. His networks in business, media and government circles are deep and wide-ranging. He is also a senior associate of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. Earlier he served as deputy director of the program for six years. Prior to joining CSIS, Murray served for five years as senior director for Southeast Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce where he worked with leading American companies, the U.S. government and Southeast Asian ... Read More