UAE keen to invest in SA’s renewable energy

The UAE is keen on helping support with investment into the renewable energy sector, disclosed Yacoob Abba Omar, Ambassador of South Africa to the UAE. Speaking to The Gulf Today recently, Omar said it is evident to see that South Africa is a prominent investment destination for the UAE. He noted that having set its Vision 2030 plans last year South Africa is already showing immense signs of growth as an economically viable country with pledges including sustainability in renewable energy, one which UAE is keen on. The envoy noted that the UAE has contributed significantly to South Africa’s inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) as the 24th largest investor in South Africa, and the largest trade partner in the GCC region with total bilateral trade between the two reaching approx $2 billion in 2011. South Africa led the sub region as FDI inflows into sub-Saharan Africa jumped by 25 per cent in 2011, according to the 2012 World Investment Report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). The report which was released in Geneva, Switzerland recently shows that FDI inflows to sub-Saharan Africa soared from $29.5-billion in 2010 to $36.9-billion in 2011, a level comparable to the peak of $37.3-billion achieved in 2008, prior to the onset of the global financial crisis. FDI to South Africa rebounded from $1.23-billion in 2010 to $5.81-billion, making South Africa the second-biggest FDI destination on the continent in 2011 after Nigeria, which received $8.92-billion in FDI. Brand South Africa was previously known as the International Marketing Council of South Africa, officially changed its name to best align with its mandate of building South Africa’s nation brand reputation in order to improve its global competitiveness. Ghana ($3.22-billion), Congo ($2.93-billion), and Algeria ($2.57-billion) completed the top five African foreign direct investment destinations by Unctad’s reckoning, underscoring the dominance of oil - or gas-producing countries - South Africa being the sole exception. Another significant African oil producer, Angola, also received major investment inflows, according to Unctad, “but divestment and repatriated profits by transnational corporations rendered net inflows negative”. Continuing rises in commodity prices and a relatively positive economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa were among the factors contributing to the turnaround, the annual survey found. For Africa as a whole, total FDI inflows declined. However, this was due to a drop in FDI to North Africa, with inflows to traditional strong performers Egypt and Libya coming to a halt as result of protracted political and social instability in those countries. Investor perceptions Overall, the continent’s foreign direct investment prospects for 2012 were promising, Unctad said, “as strong economic growth, ongoing economic reforms and high commodity prices have improved investor perceptions of the continent.” Unctad’s figures show that South Africa’s FDI inflows for 2011 accounted for 13.6 per cent of Africa’s total, while amounting to 31.8 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 - up from 9.9 per cent in 1995. Jorge Maia, research head at South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, who presented Unctad’s report locally, said the country’s investment policy regime was “quite liberal compared to other countries”. “South Africa is not only rich in natural resources, it also has very good infrastructure relative to its peers and very good technical skills,” Business Day reported Maia as saying. Leon Myburgh, sub-Saharan Africa strategist at Citigroup, told Business Day that Africa was outperforming most developed markets and some emerging markets as well. “Given its relatively low state of development, there are huge opportunities for investment across the continent, either for new business or infrastructure,” Myburgh told Business Day. “These are being exploited and will continue to be exploited in coming years,” he added. From :gulf