Foreign investment doubles in 2010 -gov't

Foreign direct investment in Ghana doubled to $1.11 billion in 2010, with China leading the number of investment projects, the government said on Tuesday.

"The year 2010 ended with a total of 385 projects with a total estimated value of $1.28 billion. The FDI component of this figure is $1.11 billion, a significant increase compared to $551.30 million recorded in 2009," the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre said in a release.

China led the number of registered projects with 67, it said, and came in fourth in terms of estimated cost of the projects behind Bermuda, Nigeria and Trinidad.

Ghana, one of a handful of sub-Saharan countries with a Eurobond, is expected to post Africa's fastest rate of growth in 2011 after starting commercial oil production last month.

The West African country is also the continent's second-largest gold miner and the world's No. 2 cocoa grower.

China has expanded its presence across the resource-rich continent in recent years as it seeks to lock up long-term energy and commodities supplies to fuel its rapid growth.