India remains the top Asia-Pacific source country for FDI into Africa, according to first-quarter 2013 figures from fDi Markets. Since records began in 2003, India has been top of the table every year bar 2005 and 2008, when it was beaten marginally by China.

With all the media attention on Chinese investment in Africa, it may come as a surprise that India has comprehensively outperformed China since 2008. In 2011, India recorded 63 projects compared with China’s 23 projects. Last year saw the gap between the two countries narrow, when projects from India slumped to 39 and China saw an increase to 35 projects recorded. Results from the first quarter of 2013 suggest India's dominance will continue, with 19 projects recorded compared with two from China.

The top destination country in Africa for Indian FDI has been South Africa, which has attracted 18% of Africa-bound projects since records began in 2003. The top India-based investing company so far in 2013 has been the telecoms firm Bharti Group, with 13 projects recorded, as it rolls out its large-scale wi-fi network across several African countries.