Oxstones Investment Club™(All Africa)- The total value of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that came into Nigeria in 2011 was $8.9 billion with the country recording over 20 per cent of the total FDI to Africa.
Analysts at Renaissance Capital (RenCap) which disclosed this, also revealed that FDI inflow into Africa in 2011 increased by 28 per cent to $35 billion in 2011, as against the $27.4 billion it was in 2010.
The investment and financial advisory firm disclosed these in a report titled ‘Sub-Saharan Africa: 2011 FDI Reaches Record High’, made available to THISDAY Tuesday.
Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana were the largest recipients of FDI in the year under review as they collectively attracted half of the amount that flew into Africa in the year under review.
The total 2011 FDI figure for Africa, represented 2.9 per cent of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), RenCap also quoted the World Investment Report 2012, published this month to have said.
RenCap explained: “West Africa was sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) largest recipient of FDI in 2011, with almost half of the total (46 per cent), followed by Central Africa with 24 per cent and Southern Africa with 18 per cent of inflows. East Africa only received 11.3 per cent of SSA’s FDI inflows.
“The bulk of West Africa’s FDI ended up in Ghana and Nigeria, which together made up about 75 per cent of the sub-region’s inflows, and was likely, concentrated in the petroleum industry.
“FDI to West Africa increased by 36 per cent to $16.1 billion in 2011, with Guinea exhibiting the strongest improvement in FDI growth in 2011. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) expects this trend to continue over the medium term owing to the $6 billion that state-owned China Power Investment Corporation plans to invest in bauxite and alumina projects.
“West Africa’s Liberia, Guinea and Ghana were the sub-region’s largest recipients of FDI as a share of GDP at 44 per cent, 17 per cent and 9 per cent respectively,” it added.
Continuing, the report further revealed that emerging oil and gas producing countries attracted new FDI inflows in the year under review.
“The growing middle class is expected to foster FDI diversification in Africa. We expect FDI to SSA to continue strengthening owing to robust growth, strong commodity prices, and rising investor interest from emerging markets.
“The relatively high profitability of FDI in Africa is likely to also support the continued improvement in FDI inflows. Data on the profitability of US FDI (FDI income/FDI stock) show a 20 per cent return in Africa in 2010,” it added.
Tags: African economy, commodities, emerging middle class, foreign direct investment, frontier markets, ghana, Guinea, liberia, Nigeria, Nigerian economy, south africa, west africa