PERFORMANCE AND PATTERNS OF AFRICAN
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ASIAN
TRADE AND INVESTMENT FLOWS97
participated in various major infrastructure projects throughout Africa during its earlier involvement in Africa and is still very active in investing in infrastructure projects. Globally, 75 percent of China’s FDI is in the tertiary sector, including construction and business activities (see box 2.5).
More recently, however, a large proportion of Chinese FDI has gone to oil-rich
African countries (see figure 2.26). In 2002, some 585 Chinese enterprises received approval by the Chinese authorities to invest in Africa, accounting for 8 percent of the total number of approvals.
South Africa had approvals, amounting to $119 million in value. Other important Chinese
FDI destinations in Africa include Tanzania, Ghana, and Senegal. Today, it is estimated that there are 700 Chinese enterprises operating in Africa.
20
As it is
in other regions of the world, Indian FDI in Africa is mostly in the services and manufacturing sectors. However, in Africa, India also has significant FDI in natural resources, including the oil sector (in Sudan, for example. Over the period 1995–2004, Africa accounted for 16 percent of India’s
FDI, at $2.6 billion.
Like China, India seeks primarily to secure energy sources from Africa as well as other natural resources such as timber, non-oil minerals, and precious stones to support its dynamic economic growth.
Of course, India has been present on the African continent for decades. In
East
and Southern Africa, the large Indian diaspora, whose members have business ties to India and a good knowledge of Africa, has played a significant role in attracting new investment to the continent. This is especially
true in recent years, given that India is flush with foreign reserves, and the government has lifted regulations and controls allowing firms to go abroad and has removed the $100 million capon foreign investment by Indian firms. FIGURE 2.25
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