Building a Bridge to Gabon

There are considerable investment opportunities in Gabon. This is largely due to the exceptional diversity of the country's natural resources and President Ali Bongo Ondimba's determination to diversify the industrial economy. Resources such as gas, timber, oil, manganese, iron, gold, silver, diamonds, niobium, phosphates, lead, zinc, baryte and talc are all found abundantly in Gabon. 

 

The emerging Gabonese economy is based on the domestic conversion of these raw materials, as explained by President Ali Bongo Ondimba in his agenda for social change: "The Industrial Gabon component will draw on the domestic conversion of our raw materials into goods. For it is true that no country can grow solely by exporting raw materials. The dynamic trend started with the ferromanganese production will thus be consolidated, thanks to the exploitation of new manganese deposits, the construction of new railway sidelines and the exploitation of iron from Belinga. In the long term, Gabon has the vocation to become a metallurgy center, with a dynamic fabric of SMEs exporting iron-based products to the whole sub-region and beyond. Similarly, a petrochemicals center will develop, with the conversion of hydrocarbon resources and the production of fertilizer."

 

Business

Gabon maintains a favorable legal and tax framework for foreign investments.


The country's economic prosperity, its prime geographic location, its political, social stability and development of natural resources have encouraged many foreign investors to establish business in Gabon.

 


 

President Ali Bongo Ondimba intends to continue in this vein to promote investments by further easing administrative procedures: “a favorable legal and regulatory framework for public-private partnerships will quickly be implemented to encourage substantial involvement from the international and national private sector in all projects”.

 

The Economic Zones

 

In order to provide Gabon with an industrial base that delivers real added value and creates jobs, the state has made the decision to create economic and special economic zones that will facilitate the emergence of new economic growth zones across the country that will act as a magnet for investors. Two zones have been launched: The Special Economic Zone of Nkok with 1,100 hectares mostly dedicated to the timber industry close to the capital Libreville, and the special tax concession zone of the island of Mandji, right beside the economic capital of Gabon, Port-Gentil, with a surface area of 1,500 hectares.

The creation of special economic zones offers a number of fiscal benefits to investors

The current and future Special Economic Zones will make it possible to build diversified clusters, “New, specialist cities”, with a significant potential for creating direct and indirect jobs. In this way, Emerging Gabon will allow diversified investment and foster the development of enterprises that are champions in their domain, with influence at regional and international level, which in turn will boost the activity of the entire SME sector. Tomorrow’s emerging Gabon will be integrated into global economic networks, no longer only through its oil and mineral resources, but also through its enterprises and the influence of its citizens.