Johannesburg - Growing confidence in African economies has more than
doubled foreign direct investment into the continent over the last
decade, said a survey released Thursday.
"Growing optimism and confidence among international
and African investors has led to significant inward investment into
Africa over the last decade," according accounting firm Ernst &
Young.
Investment from across the world surged from 339
projects in 2003 to 857 in 2011. Growth in intra-African investment was
being led by the regional powerhouses of Kenya, Nigeria and South
Africa.
It also noted that Africans are becoming wealthier, with a spending power of nearly $1 trillion.
"We remain excited and very positive about Africa.
"We
are optimists, but we are realistic optimists, our perspective is
deliberately a glass half full rather than half empty one," said Ajen
Sita, the firm's area managing partner for Africa.
"While perceptions of Africa's attractiveness are
improving when compared with other regions, Africa still has much ground
to make up relative to other parts of the world," said the survey.
"There is no disputing the fact that corruption remains a big challenge".
South Africa, the continent's largest economy, emerged
as the biggest destination for foreign direct investment with 827 new
projects between 2003 and 2011, followed by Egypt, Morocco and Algeria.
Botswana, the world's leading diamond producer, recorded only 80 investment projects in the same period.
Leading the top 20 investors into Africa were Banco BPI
(the Portuguese Investment Bank), EcoBank Transitional, BNP Paribas,
Tata Group, IBM, Nestlé and SABMiller.
"African countries must position themselves
appropriately in this shifting landscape to attract a greater proportion
of the investment that will accelerate growth and development," said
Mark Otty, Ernst & Young managing partner.
According to business executives surveyed, "Africa is poised to enter the premier league of investment destinations".