Terminal tractors line up to load containers into a cargo ship at DP World's fully automated Terminal 2 at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 27, 2018. PHOTO | POOL
The African investment landscape faces a major shift as Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member States — especially Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar — increase their footprint on the continent, largely under the control of the Chinese investors.
A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, shows that GCC companies and institutions are targeting a larger share of Africa’s resource industries of oil and gas, mining and agriculture, while consolidating their strong position in transport infrastructure and logistics services, and expanding into renewable energy, digital infrastructure, manufacturing ventures and financial services.
The report titled The Gulf Co-operation Council’s Expanding African Footprint: Strengthening Ties and Increased Investment shows that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar are already major investors and traders in African ventures and appear intent on expanding their footprint across the continent.
“The GCC and African States have strong incentives to build closer commercial and political ties, which from an African perspective include the vast amounts of finance available in the GCC and the willingness of GCC companies and investors to place their bets on Africa,” the report says.
Read: Qatar seeks to expand interests in EA
The GCC brings together six Arab countries- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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