UAE BECOMES AFRICA’S LARGEST INVESTOR, OVERTAKING CHINA

Wed 27 December 2024:

The UAE has emerged as Africa’s largest backer of new business projects, with Emirati companies committing $110bn (£88bn) to projects between 2019 and 2023, including $72bn in renewable energy, The Guardian reports citing FT Locations. These pledges outpace investments by the UK, France, and China, as traditional investors scale back.

African leaders have also welcomed the UAE’s increased financial interest, particularly for green energy and infrastructure. “African countries are in dire need of this money [for] their own energy transitions,” Ahmed Aboudouh, associate fellow at Chatham House was quoted as saying. “But at the same time, [Emirati investors] come in with less attention to labour rights, to environmental standards.”

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The UAE’s investment ambitions align with its strategy to diversify from oil and gas. Major players include Dubai’s DP World, operating six African ports, and Abu Dhabi Ports, which has expanded in Guinea, Egypt, and Angola. In Zambia, International Resource Holdings—a conglomerate linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed—secured a surprise $1.1bn deal for a 51 per cent stake in Mopani Copper Mines.

However, some investments face hurdles. A $34bn green hydrogen project in Mauritania remains at the memorandum stage, while financial woes at Zambia’s state-owned ZESCO have stalled solar initiatives. Moreover, researchers highlight concerns about smuggling, with Swissaid reporting $115.3bn in unaccounted gold exports to Dubai between 2012 and 2022.

As African states increasingly turn to UAE financing, critics warn about potential risks. “There is also the opportunity for the attention to breed criminality—like we are seeing in the gold sector,” said Ken Opalo of Georgetown University.

Just last month, the UAE’s Ministry of Economy observed that the UAE was the number one GCC member state and the fourth largest global investor in Africa, although this has been the case over the past decade according to Foreign Policy. “The UAE’s investment in Africa currently totals USD 60 billion, and the country is home to more than 21,000 African companies that operate in key economic sectors,” the ministry said at the time, adding that the UAE is also a leading export destination for African markets.

-MEMO

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