UAE raises stakes in scramble for Africa

UAE raises stakes in scramble for Africa Over the past decade, the UAE has emerged as the fourth-largest investor globally into Africa — after China, Europe and the US, according to the White&Case, a global, New York-based law firm that serves companies, governments and financial institutions.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has joined the bandwagon of global superpowers scrambling to gain commercial influence in Africa, targeting a share of the continent’s 1,2 billion people market for its goods.

The latest report by property consultant firm Knight Frank shows UAE is the biggest source of FDI for Africa among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and remains focused on the continent’s high-growth sectors such as infrastructure, energy, transport, logistics, and technology.

Over the past decade, the UAE has emerged as the fourth-largest investor globally into Africa — after China, Europe and the US, according to the White&Case, a global, New York-based law firm that serves companies, governments and financial institutions.

Abu Dhabi’s rise means more competition in Africa’s market with the US, India, Russia and China, who have enjoyed influence on the continent.

Beijing has, for the past two decades, pumped billions of dollars into Africa, building roads, bridges, and power installations in return for access to markets and resources. It has an estimated portfolio of US$154 billion worth of infrastructure projects.

According to White&Case, FDI flows from the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and UAE) states to Africa between 2012 and 2022 stood at US$101,9 billion on 628 projects while that from Africa to GCC states stood at US$3 billion on 141 projects.

FDI flows to Africa from the UAE stood at US$59,4 billion in the period followed by Saudi Arabia (US$25,6 billion), Qatar ($7.2 billion), Kuwait ($5 billion) and Bahrain (US$4,2 billion).

“Saudi Arabia has equally made significant investments in energy and mining projects in Africa,” noted the Knight Frank report titled Africa Horizons:

The Continent’s unique guide to real estate investment trends and opportunities (2023/2024).

It is now emerging that Africa is fast becoming one of the most important markets for Abu Dhabi, which invested $5.6 billion in 71 projects in the continent in 2021, with the most significant being The Agtech Park in Egypt. – The East African