Foreign direct investment on the rise in Africa…

The perception of Africa as an attractive investment destination was expected to improve over the next three years, a survey by advisory services company Ernst & Young (E&Y) has found.

The number of new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Africa increased 27% from 675 in 2010, to 857 in 2011. This was up from 339 new projects recorded in 2003.

Developed markets accounted for 66% of the overall projects and emerging markets were responsible for the remaining 34%. The survey found that the top investors into Africa included the US, France, the UK, India, and the United Arab Emirates. South Africa was listed as the sixth largest FDI investor, while Nigeria and Kenya were listed in the top 20.

E&Y forecast that the continent would experience a robust growth rate of between 4% and 5% a year for the next ten years, while FDI into Africa was expected to reach $150-billion by 2015.

Sita also noted that significant improvements in trade agreements, regional integration and increased investment in infrastructure, would ‘push Africa into the top league’ of investment destinations.

Meanwhile, African countries were increasing the number of intra-Africa investments, with the number of FDI projects growing from 27 in 2003, to 145 in 2011, accounting for 17% of all new FDI projects on the continent.

“There has been a radical shift in mindset and positioning over the last decade, with Africans themselves increasingly leading from the front by providing African solutions to Africa challenges” he concluded.

Excerpt from: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/fdi-into-africa-seen-growing-as-investor-confidence-improves-2012-05-03

Author:  Natasha Odendaal