CONGOLESE MINISTER WOOS SA BUSINESSES TO THE
DRC SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE
The Minister of Industry and Small and
Medium Enterprises in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mr Remy Musungayi
has urged South African businesses to consider investing in the country’s first
special economic zone. Musungayi was speaking in Kinshasa
where he was taking a delegation from South Africa
“The DRC is endowed with an abundance of
natural resources that are untapped or under-exploited. That is the reason why government has
decided to establish a special economic zone in order to do manufacturing and
beneficiate our natural resources to the benefit of all of the people of the
DRC,” said Musungayi.
He added that the 850 hectare economic
zone, which is a pilot project aimed at testing the feasibility of the special
economic zone programme in the country, offered various opportunities for the
South African companies to invest in. This, he said, would contribute to the
development and growth of the Congolese economy, boost the country’s
industrialization efforts, and improve the well-being of the DRC population in
general.
Musungayi said he was pleased that
thirty South African companies, who were part of the Investment and Trade
Initiative (ITI) to the DRC organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (the
dti), had already shown interest in doing business with his country. This,
he emphasized, bode well for the enhancement of bilateral trade relations
between SA and the DRC, and the possibility of establishment of partnerships
and joint-ventures.
“I am optimistic that the companies that
have shown keenness to trade with us and invest here will consider this special
economic zone as a destination for their investments. The government will offer
significant benefits for companies investing here,” said Musunganyi.
Earlier in the day, a South African
delegation comprising of officials from the
dti, SA Embassy in the DRC and Brand South Africa ,
held talks with senior officials from the Office of the Congolese Prime
Minister Mr Augustin Matata Ponyo.
According to the Acting Deputy
Director-General of Trade and Investment at the
dti, Mr Yunus Hoosen, who led the delegation, the purpose of the meeting
was to discuss issues related to the business climate in the DRC and possible
areas of collaboration.
“We came out of the meeting happy after
learning from the Congolese that their government was working hard to make the
business climate in the country conducive for companies to invest and do
business. This will stand the South African companies who are already operating
in the DRC and others from other parts of the world in good stead as we recognize
that investment opportunities in the DRC are unlimited. The right business environment in the
country will go a long way in stimulating trade in the region and the continent
in general as the DRC’s economic potential is huge,” said Hoosen.
He added that the Congolese also
indicated that they were working on a one-stop shop authority to deal with the
country’s taxation system, which would make it easier for companies to do
business in the DRC.
The South African delegation proceeds to
Lubumbashi
.
No comments:
Post a Comment