HL Deb 16 March 1992 vol 536 cc85-6WA
Lord Judd

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is (a) the annual value of direct foreign investment to Sub-Saharan Africa from OECD countries between 1979 and 1990 and (b) the annual value of commercial loans to Sub-Saharan Africa and OECD countries between 1979 and 1990.

The Earl of Caithness

Statistics are not kept in the form requested. Available information on OECD countries which are members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is as follows:

(A) Direct investment in Sub-Saharan Africa by OECD DAC countries
US $ million
1979 425
1980 995
1981 1,809
1982 2,239
1983 337
1984 -290
1985 -218
1986 613
1987 1,174
1988 523
1989 2,518
1990 n/a

(B) Securities and claims (other than private export credits) extended to Sub-Saharan Africa by OECD DAC countries
US $ million
1979 681
1980 1,199
1981 1,284
1982 1,605
1983 1,293
1984 123
1985 -173
1986 -160
1987 -309
1988 59
1989 -1,400
1990 1-286
1 Provisional.

Notes:

1. Figures consist mainly of commercial bank flows, which are calculated as the change in banks' claims on the region between the beginning and end of the year. The net flow figures, both in years where the balance is positive and where it is not, overstate actual repayments by debtors because under accounting conventions, the way that certain transactions, such as debt write-offs, are recorded make them appear as repayments rather than cancellations. Actual repayments are also included in these figures, and are an essential prerequisite to a return to creditworthiness and access to additional commercial finance.

These flows form only a part of the overall financing picture. The lastest OECD survey of financing and external debt of developing countries, which covers the years 1982–90, indicates that worldwide net resources transfers to Sub-Saharan Africa, including official development finance, export credits and private flows, remained positive throughout.

OECD members Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Luxembourg and Iceland were not members of the DAC during the period 1979–90, although Spain and Portugal have since joined. The total figures provided exclude those of Ireland and New Zealand, who did not provide data to the DAC. In addition, several other DAC members did not provide data for one or more of the years involved.