China becomes single largest contributor of Africa's FDI- Report

Chinese investment in Africa has increased dramatically, making the country the single largest contributor of foreign directive investment (FDI) capital and jobs in Africa in 2016, this is according to Ernst & Young’s (EY) latest Africa Attractiveness report released on Wednesday.

According to the report, China has invested in 293 FDi projects in Africa since 2005, totalling an investment outlay of $66.4 billion and creating 130,750 jobs.

The report also states that Chinese FDI into Africa is well diversified across various sectors, covering resource-oriented ones as well as services and manufacturing.

The data released by EY, a London-based headquartered professional services firm, also reveals diversification of Chinese investment across more countries, covering both resource-rich nations, such as South Africa, Nigeria and Angola and agricultural exporters such as Kenya.

The report indicates that in 2016, jobs created from Chinese FDI projects hit an all-time high more than double the number in 2015 and above three times the number of jobs created by the next biggest investor, the United States.

“Besides trade and FDI, Chinese companies and state-related entities have financed and built many infrastructure projects across the continent, including ports, roads, railways, dams, telecom networks, power stations and airports,” the report said.

One notable example is a Chinese-built railway linking Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to the port of Djibouti launched on October 2016, with an investment of $4 billion.

The report also states that the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative to rebuild the ancient Silk Road trading route could prove to be a win-win situation for both China and Africa.

According to the report, since the late 1990s, Sino-African trade has grown rapidly, with China now Africa’s largest trade partner.

China’s exports to Africa in 2016 stood at 82.9 billion dollars while imports from the continent were valued at 54.3 billion dollars, the report states.