Africa posts high FDI growth

Africa announced five percent increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows last year to reach US$50 billion, reports United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The World Investment Report 2013 subtitled, Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade For Development, notes that investment in extractive industries remains the most important driver of FDI to mineral resources-rich Africa. Projects in manufacturing and services also recorded investment increases, reflecting the growing market in the continent. The share of consumer-related industries in the value of greenfleld investment projects in Africa grew from 7 percent to 23 percent of the total, UNCTAD said.

The report says much of the North African FDI of US$11.5 billion during last year was accounted for by a turnaround in Egypt, where inflows climbed from a net divestment of US$500 million to a positive of US$2.8 billion in 2012.