Published on FRANCE 24 (http://www.france24.com/en)
Home > Africa to be 'next investment destination'
Africa to be 'next investment destination'
By blade
Created 18/05/2011 - 17:01
Resource-rich Africa is set to be the world's next investment destination
thanks to an array of reforms sweeping across many previously troubled
countries, a former Nigerian leader said on Wednesday.
Olusegun Obasanjo, in office in Nigeria for eight years until 2007, said that
after many years of stagnation the continent's economies saw a sharp growth in
the past decade. Real GDP increased by 5.2 percent annually, compared with 2.3
percent in the 1990s.
"Thus with political and social issues properly settled and put behind us,
Africa is all set to become the next big investment destination," Obasanjo told
an international investment conference here.
"Africa's growth story is not only about its natural resources, but about
reforms, including restructuring of regulatory frameworks, and policy
amendments that have brought a fundamental change in the business environment,
earning Africa a permanent place on every major investor's map."
Many governments still have a long way to go in terms of reforms, Obasanjo
said, but the growth rates recorded so far are important first steps that have
set the pace for economic growth by attracting foreign investment.
Africa's collective GDP, at 1.7 trillion dollars in 2010, is now roughly equal
to Brazil's or Russia's, putting the continent among the world's most rapidly
growing regions, he said.
Obasanjo said Africa's overall growth in the next five years is expected to be
around eight percent -- almost double that of some advanced economies which are
forecast to record around four percent. The world's average is expected to be
six percent.
"Even when we compare this growth with the growth likely to be witnessed in the
BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, Africa overshadows Brazil
which stands at 6.5 percent and is soon catching up with the rest of the giants
who average around 11 percent," he said.
Obasanjo said Africa's economic pulse had quickened, infusing the continent
with a new commercial vibrancy and many key sectors as banking, construction
and telecommunications were treading upward.
"The resurgence has come about in spite of the fact that most African countries
are still facing serious challenges such as poverty, disease and high infant
and maternal mortality," he said.
The three-day conference is organised by an emerging markets investment bank,
Renaissance Capital, which operates in eastern and central Europe, central Asia
and Africa.
* AFP
* Economy
Source URL:
http://www.france24.com/en/20110518-africa-be-next-investment-destination
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