Africa attracts record investments from Asia

ASIAN INVESTMENT in Africa hit record levels in 2006, reaching US$90 billion, reports chinapost.com. But it was concentrated on the energy sector and needs greater diversity, according to a recent UN report. The report named Singapore, India and Malaysia as the top contributors, with China fast catching up. Many foreign countries were investing more heavily in Africa in an attempt to secure future energy needs, said UNCTAD official Hafiz Mirza, quoted on the site. Much of this investment was concentrated on “greenfield” projects, that is new factories rather than in mergers and acquisitions of existing industry, a decided benefit, according to the report.