China, India put US$5bn into Africa

January 27 2011 -- I-Net Bridge

China and India invested more than US$5 billion in Africa in 2009 in the middle of the global recession, the third-quarter MasterCard Worldwide Insights report shows.

Industries targeted for investment included mining, oil, information and communication technologies, construction, power generation and textiles.

The report points out that China and India are both active in “the new coupling” of Africa and Asia.

“This new coupling of Asia and Africa can be expected to have a far-reaching global impact over time,” the report shows.

Ten sub-Saharan African countries have been identified as frontrunners that could leverage the new coupling of Asia and Africa to drive their growth and development.

Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, SA, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe were identified as the ten sub-Saharan countries.

The report says a new “megatrend” is emerging that will re-shape the global economy.

Among the ten, SA was identified as the country with the highest private household consumption, estimated at US$194.4 billion in 2008. Zimbabwe had the lowest at US$1.4 billion.

The report forecasts that, as Chinese and Indian investment in non-resource sectors begin to bear fruit, global supply of cheap manufacturing products will also increase, further skewing the labour-capital ratio of the global economy.

“The new coupling is expected to lift Africa's growth trajectory significantly for the foreseeable future,” the report highlights.