HC Deb 12 March 2002 vol 381 cc891-2W
Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much private sector investment has been committed through the PPP of the Commonwealth Development Corporation. [41985]

Clare Short

CDC was transformed in 1999 into a public limited company which as yet remains wholly Government-owned. CDC already joint-manages a number of funds containing private capital.

Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the(a) existing and (b) target rate of return is on development projects undertaken by CDC Capital Partners. [41986]

Clare Short

Since CDC was transformed into a public limited company in 1999, no target rate of return has been set by the Government. The existing rates of return on CDC's investments vary between industry sector and region. CDC invests in commercially viable businesses and aims to generate attractive rates of return.

Dr. Tonge

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 17 December 2001,Official Report, column 5W, how much of each sum invested in poorer countries by the CDC was invested in countries in sub-Saharan Africa in the five years from 1996 to 2000; and if she will break these investments down by country. [34314]

Clare Short

The total value of CDC's investments in sub-Saharan Africa in the five years from 1996 to 2000, broken down by country, was as follows.

£million
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Malawi 9 10 7 4
Mozambique 2 3 8 17 6
Zambia 17 13 5 14 11
Zimbabwe 10 4 5 7 3
Kenya 2 1 7 7 10
Tanzania 6 13 21 3 18
Uganda 4 8 3
Swaziland 19 1 2
Cote d'Ivoire 11 2 4 14 3
Ghana 7 17 11 4 3
Nigeria 1
Sierra Leone 0
Total 87 73 72 74 56