(Ecofin Agency) - Some Chinese companies committed to invest $1.4 billion in energy and mining projects in Africa. They expressed their intention during the visit to Beijing of the African Chamber of Energy (CAE), an organization bringing together government actors and companies involved in the development of the African energy sector.

Funds will be injected into the electricity and renewable energy, oil and gas and mining sectors. “The most encouraging thing for us is that beyond their appetite for investment in Africa, Chinese companies are clearly expressing their intention to invest in local content production and local manufacturing capacity building,” said CAE’s Executive Chairman, NJ Ayuk.

On the African side, companies hope they can reap profit from China's growing appetite for liquefied natural gas. Last year, China used 276.6 billion cubic meters of LNG, representing a 16.6% increase in its consumption over the previous year.

The Chamber discussed with Chinese companies the opportunity to invest, not only in upstream oil, gas and mining projects, but also in storage and refining infrastructure.

Gwladys Johnson Akinocho