The Chinese ambassador to Rwanda, Pan Hejun has said his country’s investments in Africa are going to increase in the coming years. He was reacting to a new report of the top three investor economies to Africa in 2015 which put USA at $66 billion, the U.K. ($64 billion), and France ($52 billion). Though China’s investment in Africa more than tripled from $9 billion to $32 billion in 2015, it only comes as the fourth-largest investor on the continent. Commenting on the report, on Thursday, Amb. Hejun explained that in 2015, China not only invested in Africa but also elsewhere in the world as well. He however, promised that Africa would receive more investors from China. “We also heavily invested in Asia, Europe and Latin America but in years to come, more and more investments in terms of technology and capital are going to come to Africa from China,” he said, adding that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) provides a win-win situation between the investing and the host country. He said China is also a massive receiver of FDI being the second only behind the United States. Globally, direct investment flows increased by 40 percent, according to World Investment Report 2016 by the U.N. Commission on Trade and Development. However, Africa didn’t share the increase. Overall foreign direct investment to Africa declined by 7 percent, giving the continent 3 percent of the total worldwide investment, Africa-Me reported. Investment increased in North Africa, especially Egypt, but decreased in sub-Saharan Africa as resource-based commodities experienced declines and economies weakened. South Africa led the decline with a 60 per cent-plus decrease in FDI in 2015. The global investment surge of 2015 is attributed to a spate of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, and isn’t expected to continue, according to Africa-Me. In Africa, the U.N. said investment could grow in 2016. New projects valued at nearly $30 billion were announced in the first quarter of the year, up 25 per cent from the same period a year earlier. The largest increases in foreign direct investment to Africa in 2016 are expected in Egypt and North Africa. But there is reason to be optimistic in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania, the report said. Depressed oil and mining commodities prices will continue to be a drag on investment in other parts of Africa. FDI to West Africa was largely weakened by low commodity prices. Ghana Foreign direct investment to Ghana in 2015 declined 4.9 per cent, Ghana Business News reported. The country had FDI inflows of $3.2 billion in 2015. Zambia Zambia ranked in the Top 20 FDI destinations in Africa at No. 17 out of 54 countries with inflows of $1.7 billion, Lusaka Times reported. That was down 48 per cent from 2014, due mostly to electricity shortages and uncertainties related to the mining tax. Angola Angola saw a 352 per cent increase in FDI in 2015. Inflows of $8.7 billion made it the largest FDI recipient in Africa and least developed countries, largely due to an increase in loans by parent companies abroad, according to a report by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development. Egypt Investment to Egypt grew 49 per cent to $6.9 billion, reflecting expansion of foreign investment in banking, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications. Sudan Investment in Sudan increased 39 per cent to $1.7 billion, mainly due to Chinese investment in oil production. DRC and Congo In Central Africa, investment inflows dropped by more than 33 per cent to $5.8 billion. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo reported declines as commodities producers stopped operations. East Africa East African investment was steady at $7.8 billion. The E.U. and the U.S. invested more than $2 million in Ethiopia. Investment in Kenya reached a record $1.5 billion due to investor confidence in the business environment and growing domestic consumption, Africa-Me reported. South Africa Investment in South Africa fell by 69 per cent to $1.8 billion, its lowest level in a decade. Weak economic performance, lower commodity and higher power costs were to blame, according to the U.N. Mozambique After years of record growth, Mozambique saw a 24 per cent decline to $3.7 billion. Uncertainty over the 2015 elections, lower gas prices and cancelled mining operations were to blame, the U.N. reported. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
