Sub-Sahara Africa receives $48.2b capital flows in 2011 – World Bank

A total amount of $48.2 billion was recorded as capital flows to sub-Sahara Africa in 2011, according to the latest World Bank report on the continent’s economy.

The report, ‘Africa’s Pulse’, indicated that overall capital flows to sub-Saharan Africa rose by $8 billion in 2011 to $48.2 billion, which the Bank described as a “significant development”.

Foreign direct investment (FDI), which accounts for about 77% of all capital flows to the region, contributed to about 83% of the increase, said the World Bank in a press release April 18, 2012.

The Bank attributed the recent FDI to the region to the increased global competition for natural resources, higher commodity prices, robust economic growth and a fast rising middle class.

“The region is increasingly being recognized as an investment destination, including from private equity investors,” the Bank said.

The World Bank in April 2011 estimated that FDI into sub-Sahara Africa will hit a record high of $40.8 billion at the end of 2011.

But FDI from African countries slipped in the year 2011. According to an investment monitor report released by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) April 12, 2012, FDI from Africa fell from the $5 billion it recorded in 2010 to $2.1 billion at the end of 2011.

By Ekow Quandzie