Hedge fund vultures circle Africa

Everyone's talking up Africa as the last frontier for capitalist exploitation. China a country which calls itself Communist, but is a capitalist wolf in Maoist clothing has made the west's old colonial power look with a fresh eye at the rich pickings the dark continet offers by the way of commodities and untapped mineral wealth and points of retail ventures. Well now a consortium of Anglo American hedge funds has coughed up a paltry us$125m or us$150m to invest there. By any standards, this is chicken feed, but it is a sign that no matter how promising the big money is hardly expected about throwing good money after bad on countries with high corruption, gross inefficiency. So let's say timorously this consortium is daintly testing the African waters. Let's face it, with instability, coups, insurgencies, mad hatter dictators like Mugabe, imploded states like Somalia where anarchy and death and war have ruled the roost for the past quarter-century, investment outside big oil and mining hardly offers the prospects the hype of the last frontier least inviting. Added to that, the army or civilian leaders have large extended families to feed, which feeds endemic corruption to put say a nephew in a high government post even though he's utterly not fit for the post. Tribal loyalties, family ties, famine, pent up resentments, land grabs, you name it may very well explain why so modest the size of the fund. The vultures may circle cautiously but are waiting for the bodies to pile up before the big feast begins.