"UK doubles down on African relations"

" \n The UK government is stepping up efforts to foster economic relations with Africa, exploring business opportunities across the continent with its first major international investment event since leaving the EU. \n \n\n \n The UK\u2013Africa Investment Conference, hosted virtually by the Department for International Trade on January 20, took place on the one-year anniversary of the inaugural\u00a0event hosted in London\u2019s O2 arena by UK prime minister Boris Johnson.\u00a0\u00a0 \n \n\n \n Mr Johnson opened yesterday\u2019s summit by reaffirming his \u201cambition for the UK to be Africa\u2019s investment partner of choice,\u201d and the need to build back \u201cbetter, faster and greener\u201d to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. \n \n\n \n \u201cWe in Britain have much to learn from the ingenuity, energy and ambition of African entrepreneurship and wealth creation. Africa is the future and the UK has a huge role to play in realising long-term prosperity for all African nations,\u201d said Mr Johnson. \n \n\n \n While attention was put on the success of the 2020 UK\u2013Africa summit \u2014 where 27 trade and investment deals worth \u00a36.5bn and commitments worth \u00a38.9bn were announced \u2014 some deals have not materialised, owing to the economic hit from Covid-19. \n \n\n \n \u201cDespite the pandemic, deals and commitments made around last year\u2019s summit worth \u00a315.4bn all survived\u201d, said Gerry Grimstone, the UK Minister for investment who\u00a0heads the UK\u2019s recently created centralised office for investment.\u00a0 \n \n\n \n \u201cCovid has hampered the appetite of some activities, but recovery will bring opportunity,\u201d said Dirk Willem te Velde, the director of international economic development at think tank ODI.\u00a0\u201cThere needs to be a ratcheting up of the relationship between the UK and Africa in trade, investment, migration and aid,\u201d he added, suggesting that this event should be held on an annual basis for the UK to ensure its position on the continent after Brexit. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n Source of investment in Africa \n \n\n \n Prior to the pandemic, UK-based investors had begun ramping up their investment activity on the continent. In 2019, the UK outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in Africa rose on an annual basis by 14.7% to reach a record \u00a350.6bn, according to ONS figures. \n \n\n \n However, Africa still makes up a relatively small share of the UK\u2019s total outward FDI, maintaining its roughly 3% share seen since 2010. \n \n\n \n Overall FDI flows \u2014 which include both cross-border mergers and acquisitions and greenfield investments \u2014 from the UK to Africa have been largest into South Africa, followed by Nigeria and Kenya. \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n A similar pattern is seen in terms of greenfield investment projects, according to figures from fDi Markets. The UK has historically been the second largest source market of greenfield investment in Africa, outstretching other major markets such as France, Germany and the UAE, but beaten only by the US. \n \n\n \n On a sectoral basis, UK investors have been most active in the business and financial services sectors on the continent, announcing 228 and 212 projects, respectively. \n \n\n \n Better, greener and faster \n \n\n \n With the UK set to host the UN\u2019s 26th Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021, much of yesterday\u2019s conference explored how inclusive, sustainable and resilient investment can help African countries transition to greener economies. \n \n\n \n Despite the continent being endowed with substantial renewable energy resources, some 600 million Africans still have no access to power, which equates to roughly 48% of the continent's 1.2 billion population. \n \n\n \n Karl Boyce, chief executive of British and Rwandan energy provider ARC power, told fDi that \u201cAfrica has true potential to become the global leader in renewable power generation \u2014 particularly from solar power, given the irradiation levels across the continent\u201d. \n \n\n \n \u201cHowever, funding in the sector is still significantly behind where it needs to be to meet this increasing demand. More work remains to be done to create robust regulatory environments which would in turn improve fund flow into the sector,\u201d he added. \n \n\n \n Trade focus \n \n\n \n While the UK has secured a continuation of preferential trading arrangements with 46 African countries, it has inked post-Brexit trade deals with just 13 individual African countries, most recently with Kenya. In 2019, the UK\u2019s trading relationship with Africa was valued at \u00a335bn. \n \n\n \n The long-awaited African Continental Free Trade Area, which is due to be implemented across the continent this year, is seen as another opportunity for UK businesses. \n \n\n \n \u201cTrade is still a major objective across [UK] government and it needs to be fleshed out this year,\u201d concludes Mr Willem te Velde. \n \n\n \n UK is the second largest source of greenfield investments on the continent \n \n\n \n Top 20 investing countries in Africa by project number, 2003-2020* \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n \n "

"UK doubles down on African relations"

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