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Speech of Dignitary |
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International Conference on Trade Investment —Yandja YENTCHABRE,
——The investment environment in Togo and accompanying measures for Investors |
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组委会新闻中心
2008-9-8 15:29:00 |
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Ladies and Gentlemen，
Allow me to speak on behalf of the Togolese delegation and myself, to thank from the bottom of my heart the Government of the People's Republic of China and especially my friend, His Excellency the Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce for his kindly invitation for us to attend the international conference on trade finance.
I would like to thank the Chinese authorities for the quality of the welcome and the attention which my delegation and I have received since our arrival in Xiamen. This doesn’t surprise us and it demonstrates once again the legendary hospitality that we know of China.
Our conference is held right after that your great and beautiful country hosted the Olympic Games which has been a perfect success and a great appointment of sport, an opportunity of sharing, of friendship and of peace for people all over the world.
I wish, on behalf of the government of my country, to express my warmest congratulations to the Chinese authorities for this great success.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The organization of this international conference on trade finance gives me the opportunity to talk about the open policy of my country Togo, the business environment, the investment policy and the incentive measures that our country offers to foreign investors.
The objective throughout this presentation is to present our country Togo, its advantages and numbers of investment opportunities it offers.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Togo is located in West Africa, covering an area of 56,800 km2 with an estimated population of about 6.0 million. This population is composed of more than 50% of young people.
In terms of economy, our country derives its main resources from agriculture and mining. Agriculture provides food for self-consumption and export products such as cotton, coffee and cocoa.
As for mining, it concerns mainly phosphate and limestone, while other resources are subject to production of handicrafts (marble, gold, kaolin) and mining indices highlighted in recent times are under research (oil, diamonds, platinum, zinc,).
With the state policy of disengagement in the production sector, the private sector is becoming increasingly important in the national economy.
Like other developing countries in Africa, Togo is faced with the structural constraints of its economy where the primary, secondary and tertiary industries accounted separately for about 40%, 24%, and 36%.
In terms of macroeconomic development, the economic performance of Togo is improving. The economic growth rate in 2007 is 2.1%.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Togo, under the leadership of President of the Republic, His Excellency Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE, has opted for economic liberalism which is characterized by choosing the open policy. This choice explains its membership of subregional or international economic groups such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA) under the agreements of WTO.
Under the open policy, institutional arrangements and regulations are taken at the domestic level to promote the spirit of private initiative and free enterprise.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
This open policy has been translated into reality by lightening the finance pressure of the state through liquidations of state-owned enterprises, the transfer of assets, stocks or shares, privatizations of management and capital lease to investors.
The State then coupled to create favorable conditions for promoting the private sector to enable it to effectively play its role as the dynamic of economic development.
It also assured other accompanying actions for development such as training, education and professional development in order to fill the economy with human resources and skilled manpower.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All countries live in the phase of economic globalization which no country can evade. Togo is firmly committed to the modernization of its structures. This economic modernization aims specially to pursue competitiveness and attract foreign direct investment by improving the business environment. This improvement focuses on various fields such as the political domain, the legal and judicial framework, the regulatory framework, the labor code, and the investment code, the law on free zone, the mining code and the economic infrastructure.
In terms of politics: One of the prerequisites for the implementation of policies which are conducive to creating a more sustained wealth of jobs is no doubt maintaining socio-political stabilization, prior to any development policy. This includes strengthening the democratic process and good governance.
Togo, led by its President, His Excellency Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE, is resolutely and irreversibly embarked on the path of democratization of its institutions.
Today in Togo prevail peace, security and stability, which are fruits of the policy of peace, reconciliation and dialogue led by the President of the Republic.
The Togolese authorities are determined to consolidate social cohesion through democratic practices in order to give investors a sufficient clarity about the future of our country.
In terms of legislation and jurisdiction: the strengthening of legal and judicial systems is also essential for the development of individuals as well as individual enterprises, and the decision making in a more predictable economic environment. In response to this imperative, the Togolese authorities have undertaken the restructuring and strengthening of the capacity of the legal and judicial frame of business in emphasizing the reform of the institutional framework to promote the private sector.
Special measures to this effect have been taken to bring national laws into conformity with the existing acts of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA, abbreviation in French), to create Commerce Court, to make available the means of human resources and materials for the benefit of the judicial system for speeding up the processing of cases.
It is also worth noting that Togo has ratified since 1967, the ICSID Convention (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes).
In terms of regulation: the pursuit of competitiveness of firms located in Togo also requires the revision of the Investment Code. Put on hold in the meantime because of the drawing up of an Investment Code of the UEMOA, the code of Togo has been reactivated to inform potential investors who are interested in our country. It includes substantial tax and non-tax benefits for companies hoping to settle in customs territory.
For those who want to settle in the industrial free zone to produce and export, they will benefit from the advantages of customs, taxation, preferential rates for water, electricity and telephone as well as the freedom to transfer profits.
The particular advantage of the free zone of Togo is the availability of Free |
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