Underdeveloped countries look to China

Over 40 of the world's least developed countries (LDCs) sent representatives to the China Overseas Investment Fair Tuesday to promote their countries and attract investment.

An LDC is a country designated by the United Nations to exhibit some of the lowest socioeconomic indicators in the world.

The fair, held jointly by the China Industrial Overseas Development and Planning Association and the China Development Bank, was dedicated to promoting cross border investment.

Danilo Nala, director of economics and development in Mozambique, gave several reasons for investors to invest in his country's agriculture and mining.

Mozambique has unlimited sources of water for agriculture, a large work force at competitive cost and legislation encouraging the inflow of foreign direct investment, said Nala.

Rwanda highlighted its investment incentives.

"Investors that bring more than $250,000 into Rwanda are eligible for a number of incentives including duty free importation of raw materials, machinery, equipment and specialized vehicles," said Albert Rugaba, chief representative of the Rwanda Investment & Export Promotion Agency China Office.

Rugaba said there are many business opportunities in the country's construction industry, adding the country imports more than $300 million worth of construction and installation materials every year.

Rugaba also commented on the idea of "resource looting" that has been propounded by some western countries.

We should view China's investments more as business rather than something political, Rugaba said on the sidelines of the fair.

Rwanda can to some extent satisfy China's ever-growing domestic demand for energy. And China will bring us jobs, advanced technology and management experience, Rugaba said.

The Rwandan representative expects a $300 million investment this year coming from China.

Liang Huijiang, director for international finance of the China Development Bank, said at the fair that cross border investment is a major driver of the LDCs' economy.

China has attracted the most foreign direct investment of any developing country for the last 16 years, and now it has started to spread some of its money around the world. As of the end of 2008, total outbound foreign investment from China reached $184 billion.

The country's total direct investment in Africa, which has nearly 70 percent of the world's LDCs, reached $7.8 billion as of the end of 2008.

The figure of the first nine months of 2009 was $875 million, up 77.5