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PRESS RELEASE
BEI/13/72
Rabat, May 24, 2013
The LTIC is looking at investment opportunities in Africa
“The time has come to start complementing “development finance” by “investment
finance”, says EIB President Werner Hoyer.
The Long-Term Investors Club organized its 5th international conference in Rabat on May 24, 2013
on the theme of Investment Strategies and Opportunities in Africa, attended by many experts from
the world of politics and economics.
Mr. Omar Kabbaj, adviser to H.M. King Mohamed VI, Dr. Ulrich Schröder, president of the KFW and the
Long-Term Investors Club and Mr. Anass Houir Alami, managing director of the Moroccan Caisse de Dépôt
et de Gestion, were the opening speakers at this conference devoted to the attractiveness of the African
continent for investment.
Africa is a continent in full expansion
Considered to be among the most robust economies in the world, the economies of Africa offer substantial
advantages for investment:

Economic and political stability in many countries ;

A boom in worldwide demand for raw materials where the African continent is one of the top
suppliers.
In addition, the whole continent is undergoing substantial development of its social and physical
infrastructure and possesses an ever-growing pool of smart entrepreneurs, all of which combine to create a
business environment favoring direct foreign investment. During the world economic recession of 2009,
Africa was the only region, apart from Asia, to record positive growth - of about 2%. Since then the continent
has shown continuing growth, averaging 4.5% in 2012 (compared to 3.2% worldwide, 1.3% in the USA and 0.4% in the euro zone). With it being an increasingly more attractive center for investors, especially after
recent economic, political and social reforms, Africa is on the way to having the world’s second strongest
regional growth rate.
Real investment opportunities
This 5th conference of the Long-Term Investors Club, organized by the Moroccan Caisse de Dépôt et de
Gestion, took the form of 4 discussion panels:

new players and instruments in long-term finance and investment;

challenges posed by infrastructure in Africa ;

supporting countries in energy development ;

promoting African SME and how they are financed.
Opening the 1st panel, the President of the EIB Werner Hoyer pointed out : “Despite enormous potential,
formidable challenges to development remain in Africa – a large infrastructure gap, the development of a
banking system, and the need to improve the investment climate and regulatory environment, to name but a
few. (…) The time has come to start complementing “development finance” by “investment finance”. The
needs of African countries are far greater than what can be covered by grants alone. (…) The blending of
grants and loans is therefore increasingly sought after. Also, co-operation among stakeholders is required to
increase the impact and effectiveness of financing. (…) Furthermore, with existing and new initiatives meant to attract long-term investment finance from other public and private sources of the kind assembled in
the LTIC – we can achieve “long-term view” vs “short-termism.” He concluded : ”Together, we are able to
contribute to projects of public interest that would otherwise not see the light of day (…).”
These debates, involving top level experts from more than 15 countries from Africa, Europe, America and
Asia, explored investment opportunities in Africa, their risks and challenges, as well as implementation
strategies.
A summary of these discussions will be available at www.ltic.org and www.cdg.ma from 28/05/2013.
About the Long-Term Investors Club
Founded in 2009 by 4 European public financial institutions (Caisse des Dépôts, Cassa depositi e prestiti,
European Investment Bank (EIB) and KfW), the Club has quickly transformed itself into a worldwide platform
including top international financial institutions. Today the Club is made up of 18 institutions representing
assets of USD 4600 mn, making it one of the most important investment groups in the world.
Its aims are to :
-
agree on practices ;
-
encourage long-term investment research ;
-
promote partnerships and simplify joint initiatives.
Under the guidance of its members, the Long-Term Investors Club promotes the implementation of projects.
More info : www.ltic.org
Members of the Long-Term Investors Club
Canada : Caisse de Dépôt et de Placement du Québec / Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement
System (OMERS)
China : China Development Bank
European Union : European Investment Bank (EIB)
France : Caisse des Dépôts
Germany : Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
India : IDFC Ltd
Italy : Cassa Depositi e Prestiti
Japan : Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) / Development Bank of Japan (DBJ)
Morocco : Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion
Netherlands : Algemene Pensioen Groep (APG):
Poland : Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK)
Russia : Vnesheconombank
Spain : Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO)
Turkey : Türkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi AS (TSKB)
United Arab Emirates : Mubadala Development Company
United States : Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund
(TIAA-CREF)
Background information :
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its
Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU
policy goals.
Press contacts :
Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion - Morocco
Hatim Seffar
Email : [email protected]
European Investment Bank :
Sabine Parisse, [email protected], +352 621 459 159
Website : www.eib.org/press - Press office: +352 4379 21000 – [email protected]