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Egypt Drove Rise In Africa’s Foreign Direct Investments

Egypt Drove Rise In Africa’s Foreign Direct Investments

North Africa took the lion’s share of foreign direct investment in Africa in 2012 with 35 percent of the continent’s $50 billion inflow.

Egypt took the lead following declines in investment there in 2011 related to the Arab Spring, according to a Business Standard report.

Global foreign direct investment fell by 18 percent in 2012 but investment into Africa increased by 5 percent to reach $50 billion, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report released Wednesday.

Investment in mining and extraction of Africa’s rich mineral resources took the top spot, according to the report, entitled World Investment Report 2013 Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade For Development.

Manufacturing and services also saw investment increases, reflecting the growing market in the continent,  the Business Standard reports. Consumer-related industries grew in greenfleld investment projects in Africa from a 7 percent share to 23 percent of the total, the U.N. report said.

Malaysia, South Africa, China and India are the biggest emerging economy investors in Africa,  the report said.

Egypt’s “turnaround” is credited with much of the North African foreign direct investment increase of $11.5 billion in 2012, according to Business Standard. The inflow climbed from a net divestment of $500 million to $2.8 billion-plus in 2012.