§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates his Department has made of the current value of British investments in African countries south of the Sahara, distinguishing between (a) South Africa and (b) the remaining countries.
§ Mr. EnnalsIt is difficult to estimate the current value of British investment in Africa south of the Sahara. As a result of differing methods of calculation there are wide disparities in the figures produced by various sources. Our estimate at the end of 1971, the latest for which details are available, put our investment in South Africa and Namibia at about £652 million compared with £586 million in the remaining countries. These figures excluded investment in oil, banking and insurance. I should emphasise that such figures can only be very approximate.