South Africa Reports Significant Foreign Direct Investment Inflows in Q4

South Africa experienced a notable shift in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the fourth quarter, recording inflows of 7.5 billion rand ($411.76 million). This contrasts with the previous quarter's outflows of 3.2 billion rand, according to data released by the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday, March 27th. The central bank attributed the increase to heightened equity investment in domestic subsidiaries by non-resident parent entities. Portfolio investments saw inflows of 33.4 billion rand in October-December, a decrease from the 45.6 billion rand recorded in the third quarter. The Reserve Bank noted that non-residents' net acquisition of debt securities, including proceeds from the national government's issuance of $3.5 billion in international bonds, exceeded their disposal of equity securities.