Foreign direct investment (FDI) in five least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa declined in 2002 and though two other nations on the continent made small gains, they did not keep pace with large recent losses, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said last week.
It listed the five LDCs as Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic and Malawi, while the two other African countries were Botswana and Zimbabwe. In the countries with extractive industries, most investment went to that sector, but even that amount declined.
In oil-rich, cash-poor Angola, foreign inflows slumped to 1,3 billion dollars from 2,1 billion in 2001. New offshore oil projects were expected to keep Angola as one of the top FDI recipients in Africa, however, according to UNCTAD.
Gold production fell in Burkina Faso, where FDI dropped to 8,2 million dollars from 23 million. – Some recovery is expected, however, as the economy is further liberalized and FDI in the services sector picks up, UNCTAD said.
Despite rich resources in the Central African Republic, “which has witnessed cycles of political instability,” FDI there slid to 4,3 million dollars in 2002 from 5,2 million in 2001.
Flows into Burundi were nil in 2001 and 2002 after reaching 11,7 million dollars in 2000.
Investment funds were withdrawn from Malawi “because of structural problems,” 32 million dollars in 2000 and 20 million in 2001, but the country neither gained nor lost investment in 2002.
Of the two non-LDCs, Botswanas FDI turned around in 1995 after four years in the red and marginally increased to 32 million dollars in 2002 from 31 million in 2001.
Zimbabwe, “experiencing problems with its reforms,” recovered somewhat and reached 26 million dollars in FDI in 2002, plummeting from a peak of 444 million in 1998 to 4 million dollars in 2001, UNCTAD said.
Kilde: FNs Nyhedstjeneste
