Having said that, let me say that 2018 was something of a boom year – with in excess of US$ 18 billion worth of investment projects approved by Government.
It will come as no surprise to learn that Mining and Energy were the predominant sectors of interest. Some US$ 12 billion in investment was approved in the Energy sector alone, of which approximately US$ 11 billion was committed by just 3 sources. Mining accounted for some US$ 1.4 billion in committed investment from 2 main source countries.
US$ 740 million was committed in the Tourism Sector; US$ 530 million investment in the Manufacturing Sector; whilst US$ 400 million was committed in the Construction Sector.
Without going into too much detail, let me say, Mr Speaker, that among the many investment projects approved were submissions from South Africa, Mauritius, China, India, the USA, the Republic of Korea, Australia, the UAE, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Japan, Germany and Lebanon. Clear evidence, I believe, of progress.
Mr Speaker, after this initial massive surge in investment interest, submission and approval during the course of 2018, the year 2019 witnessed much more modest investment activity, with total approvals amounting to US$ 2.2 billion. Once again, the Mining and Energy sectors were the prime areas of committed investment with US$ 700 million approved in Mining and US$ 545 million approved in Energy.
Other significant investment commitments were recorded in the Construction Sector (US$ 390 million) and the Services Sector (US$ 300 million).
Source countries for these approved committed investments include South Africa, China, Mauritius, Oman, the United Kingdom, India, Israel, Portugal, Switzerland, the USA and the UAE.
Mr Speaker, by way of comparison and contrast, Honourable Members should know that the total foreign investment approved by Government in 2016 and 2017 was US$ 2.3 billion and US$ 1.5 billion, respectively.
Mr Speaker, the figures for the first half of 2020 are still being processed. We should not be surprised, however, given the global economic impact of Covid-19 to see yet more modest investment submissions for this year.
Of particular interest, however, in the Agricultural/Manufacturing Sector is an US$ 80 million investment already approved for the growing and processing of cannabis and hemp products; a clear response to the further liberalisation, by Government, of investment regulations relating to the cultivation, processing and marketing of these products.
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