Ethiopia has been the number one foreign direct investment (FDI) recipient in East Africa, and the fourth largest FDI destination in Africa in 2019, the year's United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report revealed.

Foreign direct investment inflow to Ethiopia in 2019 was $2.5 billion, the report stated. However, the amount has decreased by $800 million when compared to the $3.3 billion FDI received in 2018.

The largest foreign investor in Ethiopia in 2019 has been China, accounting for 60 percent of newly approved FDI projects, the report noted.

FDI flows to Africa amounted to an estimated $49 billion. The amount, overall, has increased by 3 percent from last year, while FDI flows to East Africa remained steady totaling $8.8 billion, the report observed.

According to the report, persistent global economic uncertainty and slow pace of reforms seeking to address structural productivity bottlenecks in many economies continue to hamper investment in the continent.

Developing economies continue to absorb more than half of global FDI flows, and half of the top 10 largest recipients of investment fall in this category, UNCTAD's report indicated.

Source: UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2019