African governments have been hit hard by a withdrawal of investor money from the continent and need to make sure they remember reforms and avoid high inflation in their attempts to protect their economies, says Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered Bank in London.

Africa gets 3 percent of the world’s cross-border flows, but BIS end-2008 data shows the region suffered the world’s largest decline in cross-border financing due to the global financial crisis, Khan told a breakfast audience of politicians, bankers, investors and journalists in London today.

Africa needs the economic environment that will lure investors back in, she says.

“Financial markets in Africa have not shown signs yet of a significant recovery. “Maybe there is going to be some longer-term support for commodity prices, but governments have to guard against a deterioration of the fundamentals that have been in place to support growth,” she says.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa will withstand the global recession better than other countries, she adds.

“African growth is still likely to be positive, but macro-economic stability is more of a risk in some countries than in others.”