East Africa tops African FDI flows

July 25, 2016 in Business, Finance, Foreign News, Investment, Trade & Industry by Editor

KAMPALA, JULY25 – East Africa was the most attractive region to foreign capital on the African continent, posting 26 percent growth in FDI during 2015 according to a report by Ernest and Young.

Despite a decline in the capital value of projects from $88.5billion to $71.3billion in 2015 the East Africa region saw a 26.3 percent appreciation in total FDI projects. It was followed by West Africa at 16.2 percent, Southern Africa at 11.6 percent and North Africa at 8.5 percent.

“In a context of heightened concerns about economic and political risk across the continent, FDI flows remain robust, and in line with levels we have seen over the past five years. A key factor here is the structural shift in FDI — from a high concentration of source countries and destination markets and sectors, to a far more diverse FDI landscape. As a result, risks and opportunities are being spread much wider, and there is no longer an over-dependence on a limited group of investors or sectors to drive FDI performance,” says Michael Lalor, EY’s Africa Business Center Leader.

According to EY,2015 also saw renewed interest in Africa by traditionalinvestors like the UK, France, UAE and India, but the US led the investment charge with 96 projects with a combined value of US$6.9billion