The BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – are crucial to the development and growth of African economies.

In research conducted by Standard Bank economists, Simon Freemantle and Jeremy Stevens, it was noted that Africa's trade with BRIC grew from 4.6% of its total external trade in 1993 to just more than 19% last year, which produced a $20.2 billion (R147bn) trade surplus for Africa.

China-Africa trade has risen from $3.5bn in 1990 to more than $100bn last year, which represented about two-thirds of Africa's total BRIC trade. China figures among the top five export destinations for 20 African countries, while 32 list China among their top five sources of imports.

BRIC countries are also major investors in Africa, led by China which has invested $28.7bn between 2003 and this year. India is the next biggest investor and, unlike China, the foreign direct investment came largely from multinationals that had invested in more than 130 projects worth on average $192 million each. It is followed by Brazil, with $10bn and Russia's $9.3bn.

Reported by Business Report