Africa takes lead in BRI investment, report says

Africa retained its position as the leading destination for the Belt and Road Initiative investment in the first half of this year, attracting $33.5 billion in Chinese investment, up 254 percent from the same period last year, as manufacturing and energy projects gathered pace amid shifting global trade dynamics.

A report, jointly published by the Green Finance & Development Center at Fudan University in Shanghai and the University of Queensland Business School in Australia, said Africa's strong performance was driven by increased investment in manufacturing, energy and infrastructure.

Ethiopia recorded the largest growth in BRI engagement globally, attracting more than $18.9 billion.

The East African country has secured the world's largest Chinese energy investment through green energy development agreements worth more than $14 billion between the Ethiopian Investment Commission and China's Ming Yang Smart Energy Group.

The project is expected to greatly facilitate Ethiopia's green transformation. In the first phase, the project will include a $7.5 billion 8.4-gigawatt renewable energy project comprising both wind power and solar energy.

In the second phase, the Chinese company will invest an additional $7.3 billion in green ammonia production, as well as the manufacturing of electric transmission and wind turbine equipment.

The investment is expected to accelerate industrial development, create jobs, facilitate technology transfer and boost foreign exchange earnings.

Egypt also recorded a sharp rise in Chinese investment announcements in the first half of the year, reaching $12.2 billion during the period, according to the report.

China's Xinfeng Steel is investing $10 billion in Egypt to develop an industrial and steel manufacturing complex in the Ain Sokhna industrial zone. The facility will focus on producing automotive steel and other large-scale industrial steel products.

Since its launch in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative has significantly boosted infrastructure development, trade, and investment across Africa. Flagship projects continue to expand their positive impact on local development.

Highest level

Globally, BRI engagement reached its highest level for any first half since the initiative was launched, totaling $49.8 billion in investments and $76.5 billion in construction contracts.

Energy remained a major driver of Chinese overseas engagement. Total energy-related BRI investment reached $36.3 billion in the first half of this year, nearly double the level recorded during most first-half periods since 2013, surpassed only by 2025.

Investment in green energy reached a record high, with $14.3 billion committed to wind, solar and waste-to-energy projects, alongside $5.3 billion in hydropower. Overall, China's investment in green energy and hydropower more than doubled in the first half of the year, compared with the same period last year.

Since the launch of the BRI, cumulative Chinese engagement has exceeded $1.5 trillion, comprising $926 billion in construction contracts and $614 billion in investments.

Christoph Nedopil Wang, founding director of the Green Finance &Development Center, said he expects BRI engagement to remain strong through the rest of the year despite global economic uncertainty driven by US trade measures and volatility in fossil fuel markets linked to tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

"With strong engagement in sectors requiring significant investment such as mining, manufacturing, and increasing ability to scale energy investment as well as data centers, I expect deal size to also remain large (in the future)," he said.