世界银行-南共体投资环境记分卡（英）-2024-206页_8mb

SADC Investment Climate Scorecard Summary

Core Content

The SADC Investment Climate Scorecard is a report developed by the World Bank in partnership with the OECD, at the request of the SADC Secretariat. It evaluates the legal and regulatory environment for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 15 SADC member states, focusing on the FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index (RRI). The goal is to identify barriers to FDI and support the creation of a more favorable investment climate in the region.

Main Objectives

• To assess the legal and regulatory restrictions on FDI across SADC member economies.
• To benchmark these restrictions against global and OECD standards.
• To provide policy insights to improve the investment climate and attract more FDI.
• To support the SADC Secretariat in its efforts to enhance private sector-led growth and regional integration.

Key Findings

FDI Trends in the SADC Region

• Global FDI has been stagnant since the 2008 financial crisis.
• The pandemic caused a 40% decline in global FDI in 2020.
• FDI rebounded in 2021, but the long-term trend of stagnation has continued.
• FDI inflows to the SADC region have been low and volatile, declining from US$29.5 billion in 2014 to US$3.2 billion in 2018, and then to negative net inflows of US$3.6 billion in 2020.
• In 2021, the region saw a record inflow of US$50.1 billion, but this was largely due to a single intrafirm transaction in South Africa.
• Recent estimates suggest a potential return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, according to the IMF.

FDI Characteristics in the SADC Region

• FDI to the SADC region is primarily resource-seeking, with opportunities for diversification.
• The investment climate is influenced by geography, endowments, macroeconomic stability, and policy fundamentals.
• Political stability, legal environment, infrastructure, and export competitiveness are key determinants of FDI inflows.

Legal and Regulatory Barriers

• FDI restrictions are heterogeneous across SADC member states.
• The report analyzes four policy categories:
  1. Limits on foreign equity ownership
  2. FDI screening and approval
  3. Limits on foreign key personnel
  4. Other operational restrictions

Distribution of Measures

• 378 measures were identified across all SADC members, averaging 25 per country.
• South Africa has the lowest number of measures (9), while Mozambique has the highest (43).
• Services sectors are the most affected by FDI restrictions, accounting for about 54.8% of all screening measures.
• "Foreign equity limits" are the most prevalent type of restriction, comprising 47.4% of all measures.
• "Other types of measures" are the second most prevalent, covering 8.5% of all measures and 56.8% of the total measures in the SADC region.
• "Screening and approval" is the third most prevalent, making up 11.1% of all measures.
• "Restrictions on foreign key personnel" is the least used, accounting for 10% of all measures.

Country Performance

• Only four SADC countries have FDI RRI scores below the global average (0.10):
  • South Africa (0.034)
  • Angola (0.089)
  • Mauritius (0.09)
  • Zimbabwe (0.098)
• Lesotho, Mozambique, and Tanzania have scores over three times higher than the global average.
• The average restrictiveness of SADC countries is almost two times higher than the global average and four times higher than OECD economies.

Policy Implications

• Governments should focus on reducing legal and regulatory barriers to FDI.
• Improving the legal and regulatory environment can significantly increase FDI inflows.
• Enhancing transparency and predictability in regulatory actions is crucial for investor confidence.
• Sector-specific measures are more common in SADC than in OECD and global averages, particularly in transport, media, financial services, and real estate.
• The SADC region has opportunities to diversify its FDI sources and sectors.

Supporting Institutions and Partners

• The World Bank and OECD developed the scorecard.
• Financial support was provided by the European Commission through the ACP Business Friendly and SIBE programs.
• OECD's FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index provided the methodological foundation.
• The SADC Secretariat and European Union (EU) were involved in consultations and planning.

Conclusion

The SADC Investment Climate Scorecard highlights the legal and regulatory challenges to attracting FDI and underscores the need for reform to enhance the investment climate in the region. While some countries have made progress in liberalizing FDI policies, the overall restrictiveness remains high, and reforms are essential to support economic growth and poverty alleviation in the Southern African Development Community.