http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=241154
Investment climate in Africa
Naeem Khan
Sunday, May 11, 2014 - Africa hosts numerous investment opportunities, many
of which are in Sudan, knowingly the second investment attraction location
in the continent. The government of Sudan established the Ministry of
Investment in 2002 after realizing these facts. Investment Act of 2013 of
Sudan was considered to be one of the best in the region. Sudan is rich in
natural resources and comprises more than one climate. Along its excellent
agricultural nature and resources, the country petroleum industry adds an
important dimension. The geographic location of Sudan having common
boarders with Egypt, Libya, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Central African
Republic and more recently South Sudan and having shores on the Red Sea.
This location gives the country a lead in the distribution network within
the region.
Sudan has approximately 300-400 million acres of fertile land. Its crop
portfolio is incredibly diverse, including cereals such as wheat and rice,
oil-seeds, beans, lentils, and others. It produces cotton, hemp, fodder,
and forestry resources as well. Moreover the land of Sudan is suitable for
animal husbandry, with its horticultural offerings of vegetables and fruits
and it is rich with herbs used in fragrances and medicines.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations present
circumstances and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy trends reflect a
promising and emergent climate for sustained investment in Sudanese
agriculture. This huge and diversified spatial view of Sudan's natural
endowments should not only attract foreign direct investments but in fact
provide a long and diversified menu of investment opportunities for foreign
investors to choose from. The vector of profitable agricultural investment
undertakings ranges from crop production to animal production, fodder,
poultry, organic vegetables, fruits, and even tropical flowers.
Sudan introduced two substantial investment reforms in the last few years,
lowering the corporate tax rate and capital gains tax and improving the
timeliness of customs clearances. The Economic Development Sector of the
Cabinet passed the National Investment Encouragement 2013 bill in January
2013. An Investment Encouragement Act was passed to ban discrimination
based on the explicitly source of investment in 2003. That still sustained
in the more recent Act of 2013 prohibit discrimination against foreigners.
The African country has various trade and bilateral investment agreements
with more than 25 countries and bilateral taxation treaties with Egypt,
United Kingdom, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey and Syria. While China,
Malaysia and India have major investments in the Sudanese oil sector and
some of the GCC countries have major investments in the agriculture sector.
The government is said to be working on the development of infrastructure,
services and facilities in light of the investment attraction polices. Some
of these are said to include a shift towards enhancing the state of
industrial areas as well as building new industrial cities. However Sudan
already has free zones like Suakin and El-Jaili cities which grant
encouraging exemptions to investors. Sudan also features the availability
of banking and insurance sectors, auditing, financial, technical and legal
consultancy services. In addition to high standard education and health
facilities. The country is politically stable and despite some conflicts
along the borders the core was always stable and the growth was always
sustained. The federal system ran by the central government in capital
Khartoum have been sustaining consistency in government policies for a
quarter of century. Moreover the judicial system is said to be
indiscriminate among Sudanese citizens and foreigners. Some of main
investments attractions are said to be, complete exemption from customs
fees for capital projects, freedom of capital transfer, grant exemptions
from profit taxes of 5 to 10 years for investment projects, grant customs
exemptions for strategic projects and non-strategic capital goods,
strategic projects are given the necessary land free-of-charge,
on-strategic projects are given land at an encouragement price, the
investor has the right to operate without a Sudanese partner.
The investment law has provided fundamental guarantees such as no
confiscation of property will occur except through the legal system and
after payment of a reasonable compensation, the investor has the right to
re-transfer the capital in case the project isn't executed or is
liquidated, transfer of profits and costs of finance will be executed in
the currency of import and on the date due, the project is automatically
included in the registry of importers and exporters.
-- The writer is Islamabad-based research scholar.
Received on Sun May 11 2014 - 09:13:34 EDT