Mozambique: FDI decreased by 27% in first half – UNCTAD

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: FDI decreased by 27% in first half – UNCTAD

4:19 CAT | 27 Oct 2020

File photo: Lusa

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) announced on Tuesday that flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa decreased by 28% to US$16 billion in the first half of the year, due to the pandemic.

“FDI flows to Africa decreased by 28% to US$16 billion in the first half of the year, with greenfield project announcements falling by 66% and cross-border acquisitions and mergers [M&As] by 44%,” reads the Global Investment Trends Monitor released today.

The document warns that “economies based on natural resources are being hardest hit” and specifies that investment flows to sub-Saharan Africa have decreased by 21%, to around US$12 billion (just over €10 billion).

The UNCTAD report does not specify amounts by country, but gives examples of projects or countries which stood out for some reason, presenting Mozambique as an example of a country with large natural resources that saw the Covid-19 pandemic reduce the volume of flows of capital.

“FDI to Mozambique decreased by 27% to US$o.8 billion, as the implementation of offshore gas projects slowed down due to the pandemic,” the document reads.

“FDI inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa decreased by 21%,”to an estimated US$2 billion reads the report.

At a global level, UNCTAD says that investments fell 49% in the first half of the year, and points out that the most advanced economies were the most penalised, with FDI of US$98 billion having declined 75% from 2019 levels.