New Study Ranks Egypt Top Investment Destination In 2019
A new study by South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has ranked Egypt the top most attractive investment destination in Africa.
The report dubbed ‘Where to Invest in Africa 2019‘ has rated Egypt as the topmost destination for the second time in a row, outshining South Africa which had long held the position.
The up-ranking of Egypt to the top position has been attributed to its expanding consumer market of approximately 100 million people and as well as diversified economy.
“Egypt’s economic activity scoring continues to dominate that of South Africa, as the latter’s growth forecasts and the size of its economy are inferior to Egypt’s. This has weighed down its investment scoring,” read a part of the report.
Economic reforms done by the Egyptian government to attract foreign investment seems to be yielding results. The Government of Egypt earlier opened up the business sector to foreign investment by making legislative reforms that entailed reviewing their laws.
The report by RMB ranked South Africa, Morocco and Ethiopia, second, third, and fourth with Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania in fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively with regards to investment destinations. Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire complete the top 10 positions.
In the East African region, the report has rated Kenya as the most attractive investment destination due to the political reconciliation following 2017’s disputed presidential polls.
Rwanda came second and was also ranked the fastest growing economies attributed to the government’s massive support by investing heavily in domestic industries.
Tanzania was rated third while South Sudan is the worst rated country in the East African region owed to its prolonged political instability.
RMB Africa analyst and co-author of the publication, Neville Mandimika pointed out that Africa is experiencing a slow growth rate due to corruption, inadequate infrastructure, bad governance and poor financing.
“The agricultural sector will become a more enticing investment target as agro-processing increases and global food demand spikes,” she added.
