An empirical analysis of Chinese outward foreign direct investment in Africa

foreign direct investment (OFDI) into a number of African countries for the period 2003-2012.Design/methodology/approach – A series of panel data models are used to estimate thedeterminants of Chinese OFDI into eight African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana,Kenya, Algeria, Egypt and the Sudan.Findings – Results highlighted that Chinese investment in African countries is driven by access tonatural resources, and factors related to infrastructure quality and the regulatory environment enforcedby host governments.Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first papers to identifyempirical determinants of Chinese OFDI in Africa and it contributes from two perspectives. Firstly, itidentifies drivers behind Chinese OFDI, but also importantly from the African perspective helpsunderstand the reasons that attract investment from one of the world’s largest investors into one of theworld’s poorest regions, given the emphasis that is placed on foreign direct investment today as aninstrument of growth and development