South Africa reports better FDI record than its resource-reliant counterparts in Africa, in 2016

ALN Feb article

South Africa continued to be one of the biggest

recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2016,

despite global economic growth remaining weak.

According to the UN Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD), global flows of FDI fell 13

percent in 2016 to an estimated USD 1.52 trillion

(R20.46 trillion) as global economic growth remained

weak and world trade volumes posted remained low.

The UN stated that FDI flows to Africa also registered

a decline of 5 percent to USD 51 billion, with the

region sharing similar external vulnerabilities with Latin

America. Of particular concern is the sharp drop-off in

manufacturing investment projects, which play such an

important role in generating badly needed productivity

improvements in developing economies.

UNCTAD, however, reported that South Africa saw a

38 percent increase in FDI inflows, though this had

remained at a relatively low level of USD 2.4 billion.