Volume 2, issue #10 - 14-04-1997

Apr., 1997 Private capital flows to sub-Saharan Africa have increased from $ 1.3 billion in 1990 to $ 11.8 bn in 1995, according to a latest report by the World Bank. The private capital flows to the region have surpassed the total invested in either South Asia or the Middle East and North Africa. The report predicted that the increasing momentum of private capital flow would remain during the 1990s "as more developing countries (in the region) improve their macro-economic management and open their markets to competition from the rest of the world." However, the report noted, the new flows are highly concentrated in southern African countries such as Angola and South Africa as well as Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroun in west Africa. The report pointed out that many Sub-Saharan African countries are still missing out completely on any form of private investment. The total debt of the region rose by about 4 % in 1996 to $ 235 bn, a slow rate than in 1995 but still a crippling burden to many poorest developing countries. The report noted that tackling the debt burden of the countries in the region remains one of the major goals set by the World Bank.