KAMPALA, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Uganda increased to 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 from 803 million dollars in 2017, new figures showed on Tuesday.
While opening the South Africa-Uganda Business Summit here, Uganda's Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said compared to the 2016 figures, the South Africa FDI in the east African country has more than double from 626 million dollars.
"This rise in inflows has helped to grow the country's FDI stock to 13.3 billion dollars in 2018, which is equivalent to about 48 percent of the country's GDP," Rugunda told the business people, technocrats and other government officials meeting under the theme -- Trade; The connector and driver of inclusive growth in Africa.
Rugunda said more than 70 South African companies are registered in Uganda and are estimated to have total assets of over 3 billion dollars.
"Through these investments, South African businesses have contributed to Uganda's growth through creation of jobs, skills transfer, contribution in taxes and growth in various sectors of the economy," he said.
The prime minister however said the trade imbalance between the two countries has to be addressed.
"By 2016, Uganda's imports from South Africa were valued at 215 million dollars against Uganda's exports worth 17 million dollars. This forum presents a platform for dialogue between South African businesses who are interested in creating investment partnerships to bridge that gap," he said.
He also called for joint venture partnerships to increase exports to bigger markets.
"Given the size of South Africa's economy as one of the biggest economies in Africa, we are keen to ensure that favourable policies are put in place to continue the collaboration we have established," he said.
"I believe this summit will give both Ugandan and South African businesses an opportunity to explore the possibilities for partnerships and enhance trade between both nations," he added.
