Charts & Numbers

Senegal will host a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Dakar on March 13-14, at a time when many Middle East and North African  companies are making large investments in sub-Saharan Africa.

     Below are a list of some recent Arab investments by sector. 
   
   TELECOMS:
   Kuwait’s Zain spent $3.4 billion to acquire Netherlands-based Celtel in 2005, and says it has spent $6 billion more expanding its network to 15 African countries, with a roaming-free service covering 400 million potential customers — or roughly a third of the continent’s population.
   Zain said in December it would launch a rights issue for more than $4 billion to pursue its aggressive growth strategy in the Middle East and Africa, where its operations stretch from Sierra Leone to Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar.
   Zain faces a challenge from Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), the second largest Arab telecom company, which said in November it was mulling $5 billion of new investment in Africa. It has acquired stakes in operators in Tanzania, Sudan, Benin, and Nigeria — the continent’s most populous nation and a top target for telecoms firms. 
   Sudatel, partly owned by Etisalat, has paid $300 million to launch mobile phone operators in Mauritania and Senegal in recent months.
   Maroc Telecom, controlled by France’s Vivendi, acquired 51 percent of Onatel Burkina Faso in December 2006 for 220 million euros and Gabon Telecom for 61 million euros in January 2007. It bought a controlling state in Mauritanian operator Mauritel in 2001.
   Libyan holding company Libyan African Portfolio (LAP) Greencom acquired Uganda Telecom in April 2007 and Rwandatel in October 2007. Investment figures were not made public.
   The United Arab Emirates’ Warid Telecom launched services in January as Congo Republic’s third mobile phone operator, after spending $79 million on launching a network, challenging market leader Celtel.
   
   BANKING, INVESTMENT FUNDS:
   In banking, Morocco’s Attijariwafabank acquired operations in Senegal last year, building the biggest bank in the West African monetary zone and vying with domestic rival BMCE which is also expanding southward.
   Millennium Finance, a unit of Dubai Islamic Bank, is advising Ivory Coast’s Groupe Atlantique on the sale of a stake in its Banque Atlantique unit and Atlantique Telecom, with Arab firms chasing the assets. 
   Millennium is also setting up a $1 billion fund complying with Islamic investment principles to focus on industries in Africa, including telecoms, real estate and mining. It plans a further six similar funds focused on Africa and the Middle East.
   A private equity fund whose biggest investor is Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal — Pan-African Investment Partners II — is raising funds to invest $500 million throughout Africa, citing unmet consumer demand and vibrant stock markets.
   
   MINERALS
   Qatar Steel, a unit of Industries Qatar, took a 50 percent stake last year in the $2.2 billion Guelb al Aouj iron ore project in Mauritania.
   The UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah Minerals & Metals Investment Fund said in March it would invest up to $250 million to develop copper and cobalt production in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
   
   SHIPPING 
   DP World, the world’s fourth-largest container port operator, wrestled a $455 million contract to expand Dakar port from France’s Bollore, a conglomerate which flourished in Paris’ former colonies.
   Dubai World’s unit JAFZA has signed a $800 million deal to construct and operate a special economic zone outside the Senegalese capital, offering reduced tax rates and logistics services to companies looking to export to the U.S. and Europe.
   DP World already manages port terminals in Djibouti’s strategically placed harbour which serves the Persian Gulf and Mozambique’s port of Maputo.
   
   AIRLINES
   Qatar Airlines and Emirates, the largest Arab carrier, are muscling in on markets controlled by European and African airlines. Kenya Airways, 26 pct owned by Air France, said in October they were challenging its business.
   Dubai investment agency Istithmar in November agreed to buy Djibouti’s Daallo Airlines and make it the national carrier of the east African state.
   Tunis Air launched Mauritania’s new national carrier Mauritanie Airways late last year.
   Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has made several forays into sub-Saharan Africa. It agreed to take a 51 percent stake in Air Gabon International which was scheduled to start flights in 2006, but never got off the ground. It also took a majority stake in Air Senegal in 2000 but the Senegalese government stepped in to retake control in October 2007.
   
   TOURISM
   Dubai World was part of a consortium which bought Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, South Africa’s top tourist spot, for nearly $1 billion. Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company also owns resorts in Kenya and Tanzania.
   Libya’s state investment company also owns a number of luxury hotels in capitals across Africa, from N’Djamena to Ouagadougou.
   
   OIL
   In fuel retailing, OiLibya — a unit of LAP Greencom — acquired the service-station business of American oil giant Exxon Mobil last year.
   Middle East-based companies are also involved in oil and gas exploration in Tanzania, including Dodsal Resources and Ras Al Khaimah Gas Commission of United Arab Emirates.
   Venessia Petroleum, run by a member of Qatar’s ruling family, will build a $150 million fuel storage facility in Malawi to boost the southern African country’s reserves.
   Dubai-based refiner ENOC has storage facilities in Mozambique and Djibouti.