Feel Free Read Africa: The Next World Destination for Foreign Investments?: Constrants, Risks and Opportunities Kindle
From the Back CoverAfrica desperately needs investments to accelerate its development and reduce the poverty level. Despite a very high return on invested funds, national and foreign investors are reluctant to invest on the continent. The continent which now represents about 15 percent of the world’s population only accounts for about 3 percent of world gross domestic product and barely receives about 7 percent of global net private external capital flows towards developing countries compared to an average level of about 23 percent in the 70s and 80s (almost similar to the level of Asia). The gap between Africa and the other developing regions widened considerably in the 90s and continues to worsen.How has the continent, with its immense resources and significant human and economic potential remained marginalized in the era of financial globalization, when ever increasing private capital flows are being massively invested in emerging and other developing countries? What has caused the continent’s increasing marginalization in the financial globalization process despite a slight upturn in the domestic and external investments observed in recent years? What are the explanatory factors of the continent’s persisting ‘image gap’? Is the continent’s financial integration ‘passive’ rather than ‘pro-active’? What are the risks and potential benefits of greater financial openness for African countries? What measures and policies could mitigate the financial globalization-related risks for African countries, boost and stabilize domestic and foreign investment and achieve potential gains as a result of greater financial openness?This book attempts to provide answers to these critical questions.The author also stresses that, in the 21st century, Africa will probably be an ‘area of keener competition’ among foreign investors and would record more significant private financial flows with their resultant positive or negative impacts. African countries should, therefore, learn useful lessons from the experiences of other emerging and developing countries (in particular in East Asia) to achieve an orderly and gradual ‘pro-active’ integration into the global financial sphere and reap the benefits of greater international financial integration while mitigating the financial globalization risks.About the AuthorGabriel V. Mougani is currently a Chief Regional Integration Economist and financial specialist in the NEPAD, Regional Integration and Trade Department of the African Development Bank (AfDB). He is also a member of the Donors Working Group on Regional Financial Integration set up under the auspices of the Making Finance Work for Africa (MFW4A) Partnership. Previously, he was Head of External Financial Relations Department, Head of Research Department and Technical Coordinator of Monetary and Financial Programming at the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. He is the holder of a Doctorate in International Macroeconomics and Finance, a Post-Graduate Degree in Finance and Management (University of Orleans, France), a Post Graduate Degree in Banking from the Institut Technique de Banque, Paris and a Certificate on Financial Programming and Policies from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Institute, Washington. Dr. Mougani has participated in many seminars, forums, conferences and workshops on international economic and financial relations, issues relating to Africa’s economic development, development and integration of financial systems in Africa organized or jointly organized in particular by the IMF, World Bank, AfDB, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Making Finance Work for Africa Partnership.
