China is the single largest contributor of foreign directive investment (FDI) capital and jobs in Africa, according to a report.
The Ernst & Young’s latest Africa Attractiveness report states that China has invested in 293 FDI projects in Africa since 2005, totalling an investment outlay of $66.4 billion and creating 130,750 jobs.
The report also states that Chinese FDI into Africa is well diversified across various sectors in the economy, covering resource-oriented sectors as well as services and manufacturing.
The report further highlights that Chinese investment is diversified across more countries, covering both resource-rich nations, such as South Africa, Nigeria and Angola and agricultural exporters such as Kenya, according to Logistics Update Africa.
Last year, jobs created from Chinese FDI projects hit an all-time high – more than double the number in 2015 and above three times the number of jobs created by the next biggest investor, the United States.
“Besides trade and FDI, Chinese companies and state-related entities have financed and built many infrastructure projects across the continent, including ports, roads, railways, dams, telecom networks, power stations and airports,” the report said.
One notable example is a Chinese-built railway linking Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to the port of Djibouti launched on October 2016, with an investment of $4 billion.
Last month, China pumped $100 billion to the continent, and urged leading governments to be more independent in their developments.
