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China Stages "Silent Coup" In Africa

Date 13/06/2008
Profit Hunter | By Manraaj Singh

China has staged a coup in Africa.

No guns were fired... no journalists reported it... no armies were deployed. In fact, not one person from China even set foot on the sun-baked Continent.

But then his was no ordinary coup...

All it involved was one simple €20 note... and a Belgian museum...

Let me explain.

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A secret map of long-lost treasure

Three months ago a group of Chinese officials quietly visited Belgium’s Royal Museum of Central Africa, just outside of Brussels.

Why so significant?

Just wait till you hear this...

The Africa Museum holds one of the world’s greatest ethnographic and zoological collections. It’s a major scientific research centre, with famous anthropological, zoological and geological institutes.

It also holds the archives of the great Victorian explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley.

Now he played a major role in helping Belgium’s King Leopold II annexe the vast chunk of central Africa that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

You don’t need me to remind you that the Congo holds one of richest mineral deposits in the world. In fact, it’s said to hold every mineral known to man...

Gold, copper, diamonds, zinc, coltan, manganese... it’s got them all in abundance.

For Leopold and the Belgians, the Congo was a vast commercial enterprise - and a very profitable one.

Mines, plantations, timber, ivory... the Congo has it all

And the Royal Museum for Central Africa, houses a vast collection of detailed maps and geological data about central Africa dating back to the period of Belgian rule from 1885-1960.

The old mines, roads and plantations all neatly marked out...

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So, with the interest in the Africa’s vast mineral resources rapidly growing, the museum’s research centre is of more than casual interest to mining executives and financial investors looking to get their share of the Congo’s riches.

And it’s what brought the Chinese...

€20 for the location of the richest mineral deposits in the world

After the usual tour of stuffed crocodiles and tribal statues the Chinese visitors got to the real reason for their visit...

They suggested to museum staff that it would be a wonderful gesture of friendship and a great honour to be allowed to take a brief look at the maps and other specialised documentation that aren’t generally open to the public.

"Yes, of course, of course," their hosts replied.

So down into the museum vaults they descended to view them...

That’s when the Chinese made another innocuous request...

"We don’t mean to be a bother, but would it be possible to have some copies of these materials?"

"Ummm... well..."

It’s hard to say what exactly happened next.

But rumour has it that a €20 banknote changed hands, giving the Chinese access to what they had really come for.

China’s "silent coup" on Africa For the Chinese, this was an absolute coup.

No need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars and years in the Congo’s malaria-infested jungles looking for new mines to exploit... especially when those nice Belgians hand it all to you on a plate!

China recently agreed to invest some $9 billion in the Congo to gain access to some of its best mines. They expect to make a profit of $42 billion on that venture.

€20 for all the necessary information on a whole bunch of others is about as sweet a deal as you can get... it’s the subtle art of global domination on a shoe-string budget.

Meanwhile, back in Belgium, King Leopold is probably turning over in his grave.

What has this to do with you as an investor?

It shows you the length countries will go to, to satisfy their insatiable demand for resources.

But perhaps more importantly, it tells you how much Africa is moving to the centre of attention as the struggle for resources intensifies.

The big mining companies and oil explorers are now beating a path to its door. And the Chinese are doing all they can to get a lock on Africa’s mineral wealth.

We’ve positioned ourselves to ride Africa’s investment boom through a uniquely positioned pan-Africa conglomerate.

You can get all the details here.

Our next recommendation though, is set to put us right on top of what the new scramble for Africa is all about.

It’s going to be huge and I hope you join us for the ride.

Manraaj Singh
Editor
Profit Hunter

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