(TAP)- Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Tunisia edged up 17.7% in H1 of 2018, against a 23.3% rise in 2017 and a 4.5% drop in 2016.
FDI flows reached 1 141, 9 MTD by the end of June in comparison with 970. 4 MTD during the same period last year, statistics of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (French: FIPA) showed.
The volume of FDI in foreign currency amounts to 461.1 million dollars and 380 million euros. It is made of foreign investments to the tune of 1 072.8 MTD and 69.1 MTD in portfolio investment. An upward trend is reflected in a 16.8% rise compared to the same period in 2017; it is observed for the second quarter in a row.
Other investments in the form of expansion projects will be undertaken in the coming months: new equipment will be purchased and additional jobs will be made available.
Energy takes on lion's share with 526 MTD in investments:
The sectoral breakdown of FDI shows that the energy sector has the lion's share with 526 MTD against 495.1 MTD in H1 of 2017.
The pace of foreign investments picked up again as sits-ins and strikes came to a halt in several oilfields.
The sector of industry attracted foreign investments amounting to nearly
403 MTD, that is a 21.6 % increase in comparison with last year.
FDI in services reached 137.8 MTD against 89.3 MTD in 2017, while agriculture took 5.8 MTD in H1 of 2018 compared to 2.5 MTD in the same period last year.
Investments consisted in expansion projects carried out by foreign companies in such areas as geothermal water and glasshouses.
Exclusive of energy, 378 investment operations worth 546.7 MTD were carried out; they generated 3,101 direct jobs.
Regional disparities in FDI distribution
It emerges from FIPA statistics that 59% of FDI, that is a total of 322. MTD, were injected in Greater Tunis (Tunis, Ariana, Ben Arous and Manouba).
The geographical breakdown of FDI reveals that France comes as the first foreign investor in Tunisia with 39% of overall investments, i.e. a value of 214 MTD exclusive of energy, followed by Qatar with a total amount of 87 MTD, Italy, Germany and Great Britain.