SHANGHAI/NEW DELHI/ISTANBUL — Foreign companies active in Afghanistan face prolonged uncertainty as the new Taliban caretaker government grapples with a financial crisis and international reluctance to offer help.
Since the Taliban seized power last month, at least 10 publicly listed companies in China have expressed hope that they will be able to participate in mining or infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, but they linked doing business to political and diplomatic developments.
Businesses that had traded with Afghanistan or worked in the country under the previous U.S.-backed government are racing to assess the changing financial and security situations, or to build ties with Taliban officials.
The Beijing-based Metallurgical Corporation of China, which has a license to the Aynak Copper Mine 40 km southeast of Kabul, said it remained committed to the long-stalled development. “In the future, the company will strive for the support of national policy and actively promote the development of the project,” state-controlled MCC told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Aug. 30.
For the rest of this article: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Afghanistan-turmoil/Political-uncertainty-clouds-China-Inc.-s-Afghanistan-ambitions