In the ranking of African financial centres, Johannesburg is the leading destination for FDI inflows, while Casablanca leads the way in terms of outflows. 

Johannesburg is the African financial centre that has attracted the largest volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the three years to the end of March 2015, with a total of $234.8m directed to its financial services sector, as estimated by database fDi Intelligence. No projects have been recorded in the South African city since August 2014, however, a reflection of the lacklustre performance of South Africa's economy last year.

The country is yet to see a return of the higher growth rates that it experienced before the financial crisis hit seven years ago. In 2014, gross domestic product grew by only 1.5%, down from 2.2% a year previous, and the lowest figure since the 2009 recession.

Ahead of the pack

Accra secured second place in the ranking thanks to $214.5m-worth of FDI in its financial services sector. Ghana’s capital may not be an obvious financial hub, as the country is better known for its rich natural resources than its financial services sector, but the city benefited from a large investment by South Africa-based Standard Bank, which invested $138m on a new data centre in Accra. The project accounts for almost two-thirds of the city's total inward FDI in financial services in the period. 

In third position is the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, with $175.8m-worth of inward FDI. It is followed relatively closely by fourth placed Casablanca, which recorded $160m.

The Moroccan city leads the ranking of African source cities for FDI in the financial sector. With more than $1bn of capital expenditure in the sector, Casablanca’s outward FDI in financial centres was almost double that of second placed Johannesburg, which recorded $654.4m-worth of investment. Moroccan lender BMCE Bank accounted for 36 of the 38 projects originating in Morocco, with its activity predominantly in Europe. France was the most popular destination for BMCE's investments, with 12 projects recorded in the country. 

On an aggregate level, African financial centres have been net receivers of FDI; with $4.6bn of inward investment in the three years to March, compared with outflows of $3.8bn in the same period.

Top African IFCs

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