Growth in foreign investment in Africa ‘good’ for the continent, GlobeScan
London, 24 Feb – (ANA) - The recent increase in overseas investment in Africa will prove to be a good thing for the continent, according to a global poll conducted by GlobeScan, the Canadian-based research company. The findings conducted among 21,558 people in 22 countries show that most respondents are relaxed about foreign companies purchasing long-term rights to African natural resources and land, with a majority rating such investments as either “very good” (19%) or “somewhat good” (44%) for Africa. Africans are among the most positive about this development, with Nigerians the most likely to rate it as a good thing for Africa (85%), a view shared by three in four Kenyans (75%) and Ghanaians (72%). China, the source of much of the current foreign investment in Africa, is also positive about it, with nearly two-thirds of Chinese rating it as a good thing (64%) and only 18 per cent rating it as a bad thing. A much smaller proportion of Indians rates the wave of foreign investment in Africa as a good thing, however (47%). Germany is the most doubtful, with over half of Germans (56%) reporting that the increase in overseas investment in Africa is a bad thing for the continent. Nearly half of French respondents (44%) feel the same. The poll also asked respondents to indicate how optimistic they were that Africa would experience “major economic growth” over the next 20 years. It reveals that large majorities in the four African nations polled are either “very” or “somewhat” optimistic that this growth will take place. Eighty-five per cent feel this way in Egypt, 80 per cent in Nigeria, 75 per cent in Kenya, and 74 per cent in Ghana—higher proportions than in all other countries polled. Globally, almost six in ten citizens (58%) are optimistic about Africa’s economic prospects, compared to 33 percent who are pessimistic. Citizens of developing nations in Asia and Latin America are among the most optimistic about Africa’s prospects, but optimists also outnumber pessimists in India (55% vs 26%), the USA (55% vs 42%), and China (50% vs 36%). However, the poll also reveals that some of the industrialised nations that have been major aid donors to Africa over the years are among the most pessimistic that Africa’s economy will see a sustained improvement. Germans are again the most downbeat, with seven in ten (70%) pessimistic, compared to just 29 per cent who are optimistic. Pessimists also outnumber optimists in the UK (58% vs 38%) and France (56% vs 41%). (ANA)
FA/ANA/24 February 2012----------