A United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report has shown that foreign direct investment inflows to sub-Saharan Africa has increased to $36.9 billion from $29.5 billion in 2010. The report was released on Thursday.

According to the UNCTAD report released on Thursday, a rebound in FDI to South Africa accentuated the recovery and the report predicts continuous inflow of foreign investments in 2012 which will be mainly driven by interest from Asia.

UNCTAD said the promising investment prospects of sub-Saharan Africa could be associated with the continent’s strong economic growth, ongoing economic reforms, and high commodity prices, which had improved investor perceptions of the continent.

The report showed Nigeria is leading with $8.9 billion in FDIs in 2011 followed by South African whose FDI inflows amounted to $5.8 billion from $1.2 billion in 2010.

However, the report suggested that in line with each country’s development strategy, investment policies are required to establish open, stable and predictable entry conditions for investment; it also recommends regular reviews to ensure effectiveness and relevance.