Africa: Corporate Council On Africa Convenes Commission On Capital Flows To Africa

press release

Washington, DC — The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), in partnership with the Institute for International Economics, has convened a commission to recommend ways to increase capital flows to Africa. The Center for Global Development, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies will also participate in the project.

The commission aims to develop specific and tangible policy recommendations for the developed countries - principally the United States - and Africa itself. The intent of these recommendations is to facilitate increased capital flow and encourage private sector investment on the continent.

This financing commission is the first of its kind to be composed primarily of private sector and African leaders and practitioners. CCA is uniquely qualified to lead this effort. Its more than 150 members represent nearly 85% of all U.S. private investment in Africa and the organization plays a major role in U.S.-Africa trade and economic relations.

The commission is chaired by James A. Harmon, chairman of CCA's Board of Directors and chair of Harmon & Co. Harmon served as chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank under former President Clinton from 1997-2001. The Vice Chairman of the commission is Alan J. Patricof, Vice chairman of Apax Partners, Inc.

The commission has held two meetings and plans to hold five more before issuing its report in May 2003. Issues discussed at its latest meeting on November 15 included policies of both host and home countries toward foreign direct investment in Africa, possible tax relief for investment in Africa, and the implications of the new Millennium Challenge Account for investment in Africa. The next session in January will address trade policies in and toward Africa, debt relief, privatization, and the links between official development assistance and private investment.

The list of Commission members follows.

James A. Harmon, Chairman - Former Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the US. Chairman, Corporate Council on Africa. Chairman, Harmon & Co. New York, NY

K. Y. Amoako - Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Addis Ababa , Ethiopia

Congressman Bill Archer - Former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Senior Policy Adviser, PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Washington, D.C.

Guy V. Barker - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Old Mutual U.S. Life Holdings. Baltimore, MD

Thomas C. Barry - President and Chief Executive Officer, Zephyr Management LP. New York, NY

Hakeem Belo-Osagie - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, United Bank for Africa Plc. Lagos, Nigeria

C. Fred Bergsten - Director, Institute for International Economics. Washington, D.C.

Nancy Birdsall - President, Center for Global Development. Washington, D.C.

Stephen Cashin - Managing Director and Partner, Modern Africa Fund Managers, LLC. Washington, D.C.

Chester A. Crocker - James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. Georgetown University. Washington, D.C.

Stanley Fischer - Former Managing Director, IMF. Senior Vice Chairman, Citigroup, Inc. New York, NY

Michael B.G. Froman - President and Chief Executive Officer, CitiInsurance. Citigroup, Inc. New York, NY

Peter G. Hartmann - Director, Multilateral Development Agencies Relations. DaimlerChrysler AG. Washington, D.C.

Mohamed Ibrahim - Chairman, MSI Cellular Investments. London

Mahesh K. Kotecha - Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations. President, Structured Credit International, Corp. New York, NY

Ken Ofori-Atta - Executive Chairman, Databank Limited. Accra, Ghana

James W. Owens - Group President, Caterpillar Inc. Peoria, IL

Alan J. Patricof - Vice Chairman, Apax Partners, Inc. New York, NY

Thomas R. Pickering - Senior Vice President International Relations, The Boeing Company. Arlington, VA

Susan E. Rice - Former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution. Washington, D.C.

Gayle E. Smith - Former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Africa Affairs, National Security Council. Independent Consultant. Washington, D.C.

Professor Debora L. Spar - Chair of the Business, Government and International Economy Unit. Harvard Business School, Harvard University. Boston, MA

Charles R. Stith - Former Ambassador to Tanzania. Director, African Presidential Archives and Research Center. Boston University. Boston, MA

Paul E. Tierny, Jr. - Managing Director, Development Capital, LLC. Chairman, TechnoServe. New York, NY

Sim Tshabalala - Managing Director, Stanbic Africa (Division of Standard Band Group Ltd ). Johannesburg, South Africa

Dr. Carole Henderson Tyson - Vice President for International Affairs, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Washington, D.C.

Fumihiko Wada - Resident Executive Director for the Americas, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JIBC). New York, NY

Ernesto Zedillo - Former President of Mexico. Director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. Yale University. New Haven, CT

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