Sudan receives 11.1% of inter Arab investment

Sept 10, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan secured about 11.1% of the total inter-Arab investment for the year 2004. It also received about 5% of foreign investment flowing into the area for the same year topping Arab countries with regard to possessing the capabilities of investment attraction.

Sudan received about $ 657 million of Arab investors money, an equivalent of 11.1% of what had been wholly spent by the Arab private sector in Arab countries, which amounted to some $ 5.8 billion.

Arab investment, whether in Sudan or other Arab countries, centred on the services sector, according to a recent report by the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (IAIGC).

This sector gained 75% of these investments, followed by the industry sector with 23% and the agriculture sector with only 1.3%. whereas, other investment fields secured less than 0.7% of this sum.

The IAIGC, which is based in Kuwait, also mentioned in its recent report that Sudan received about $850 million of foreign investment money flowing into Arab countries over the year 2004. This sum, it says, is equivalent to about 5% of a sum of $16.7 billion.

The corporation further thinks that the main reason for the increase in foreign investment in the area is that many Arab countries opened new productive sectors side by side foreign investment sources.

Another reason conceived by the corporation is that many Arab countries undertook the simplification of procedures related to the investment process and the boosting of promotion and publicity efforts.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNCTAD, according to a recent report by the corporation, put Sudan top on the list of Arab countries with regard to its capabilities in attracting direct foreign investment.

(SUNA/ST)