Can Gulf investors outstrip China in Africa as UAE expands reach?

Analysis

Sabena Siddiqui

Jun 1, 2024

The Sudanese (L) and Saudi flag are seeing flying on the tarmac during a joint Sudan and Saudi Arabia air force drill at the Marwa air base, near Meroe some 350 kilometres north of Khartoum, on April 9, 2017. — ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images

In a major shift, the African investment landscape has been hit by an onslaught of Gulf investors slowly wresting space from Chinese stakeholders.

With China having been in the lead as Africa’s biggest investor for at least two decades — with investments in 2023 hitting nearly $11 billion — such large-scale competition could disrupt the standing of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched there in 2013.

According to a May 18 report by the Economist Group’s research and analysis division, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Gulf Cooperation Council member states — especially Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — have exponentially expanded their footprint across the African continent in recent years.

Placing their bets on Africa, the GCC states have invested at least $100 billion over the last 10 years, representing around 30% of their total foreign direct investment, according to EIU research.