Dubai eyes projects in 6 African countries

EYEING INVESTMENTS: Dubai World has said it is looking at projects in six African countries as part of its continued investment drive in the continent. (Google Maps)

State-owned Dubai World is targeting new projects in six African countries as part of its investment drive on the continent, an official said on Friday.

Dubai World's largest holding company manages and supervises a portfolio of businesses and projects for the Dubai government across 100 different cities in the world.

Eighteen months ago, it set up Dubai World Africa with a $1.5 billion capital fund to invest in different projects on the continent.

"We look at Africa as an emerging market because I would say other markets are dying of credit crunches," Daniel Saliba, an analyst for the company's Transactions for Africa and Indian Ocean unit, told newswire Reuters.

Saliba said they were eyeing investments in Benin, Gabon, Uganda, Tanzania, Botswana and Namibia. The company has so far invested in 10 African countries, mainly in tourism with 20 projects.

He said the new investments would mostly be in tourism and port operations but could also be in other sectors if returns were good enough.

"We are not going to limit investments in only those sectors. We will roll to other sectors once we begin seeing returns, and returns are coming soon," Saliba told Reuters.

He spoke on the sidelines of the first joint investment promotion conference for the five-nation East African Community (EAC).

The conference, which has drawn over 700 foreign and local investors, is seeking to sell the new trading bloc of 120 million people as a single investment destination.

Dubai World Africa has invested $230 million in tourism projects in Rwanda. It has port operations in Mozambique and Senegal and owns game parks in South Africa. It also owns the Waterfront, a tourist hot spot in Cape Town. (Reuters)

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