Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) of South Africa recently released its 2019 edition of the “Where to Invest in Africa” report, which provides data and analysis to invest in the continent, and points out new investment opportunities.
The report includes an Investment Attractiveness Ranking of the African countries.
The methodology used encapsulates what RMB perceive to be the most important conditions for viable investment in Africa: economic activity, expressed as a weighted average of market size and forecasted levels of GDP growth, and the operating environment depicted as a weighted average of four international surveys measuring the ease of doing business.
The report reminds that according to the IMF, East Africa is the region of the continent with the highest forecasted GDP growth for the period 2018-2023, with an average of more than 6%.
In the ranking, Tanzania maintains the 7th position as the most attractive country to invest in the continent, with a score of 5.57 in 2018 against a score of 5.59 in 2017.
However, in the East African region, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda rank better, being in the 4th, 5th, and 6th place respectively, while Uganda is in the 14th place.
Tanzania’s strong GDP growth of above 6.5% over the next five years will be supported by public-infrastructure investment and the services sector, steady growth of resource-based manufacturing, buoyed by tax breaks and the development of special economic zones.
However, risks that can deter current and potential investments include poor business environment, inconsistent economic-policy agenda continuing to lean towards economic nationalism, abrupt tax increases, erratic regulatory changes and lack of transparency.
More details are available on the report that can be accessed here: https://www.rmb.co.za/landing/where-to-invest-in-africa
