Palm Oil Developments No.55 (Dec 2011) p8-11, 16-19

Africa: Opportunities and Challenges

JOHARI Minal, MOHD MOKMIN Bahari

Poverty. Drought. Backwardness. Despotic. Civil wars. Those are some of the words that are associated with the African continent. Most of the heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) are located in Africa. The Gross National Income (GNI) of many of the African countries is among the lowest in the world. The per capita GNI of Burundi for example was USD 400 in 2010 (World Bank). For many of the African countries, things are changing for the better in the last few years. China’s need for raw materials, natural resources and energy has brought in billions of dollars of investments in Africa, which the continent badly needs to improve infrastructure, provide jobs and stimulate economic development. By 2015, China’s investments in Africa will reach USD 50 billion and the bilateral trade between China and Africa will reach USD 300 billion, double the figure for 2010 (The Asset Magazine, 2011). There are many criticisms over China’s dealings in Africa but the fact remains that China has brought prosperity and developments into many African countries. Discoveries of oil and gas in the continent have also contributed to the robust economic growths in recent years. World Bank predicted that the GDP growths for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 and 2012 will be 5.3% and 5.8% respectively (The Economist, 2011).



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