Hedge funds are behind "land grabs" in Africa to boost their profits in the food and biofuel sectors…the Oakland Institute said hedge funds and other foreign firms had acquired large swathes of African land, often without proper contracts. It said the acquisitions had displaced millions of small farmers…It said hedge funds and other speculators had, in 2009 alone, bought or leased nearly 60m hectares of land in Africa - an area the size of France…The report said the contracts also gave investors a range of incentives, from unlimited water rights to tax waivers…However, not all companies named in the report accept that their motives are as suggested and they dismiss claims that their presence in Africa is harmful…One company, EmVest Asset Management, strongly denied that it was involved in exploitative or illegal practices. [also refers to Addax Bioenergy (Part of Sinopec)]