Continuities and changes in patterns of direct investment flows between South America and Africa

Scientific Paper nº. 01

The countries of Africa and South America have been experiencing in the last years a substantial growth in their direct investment flows, deepening their integration into the international economy. Recently, we notice the emergence of new partners, who gained weight in Africa and South America direct investments flows, to the detriment of their traditional partners – the
European Union (EU) and the United States (US). Both Africa and South America are diversifying their direct investments towards emerging countries, which includes deepening their own bilateral relationship. The main objective of this paper is to present a general analysis of direct investment relations between South America and Africa, and its relations with the world as well as with the two other important actors in the Atlantic space, the US and the EU. The paper also presents an analysis of Brazilian direct investments in Africa as well as a brief review of South African