In EnglishLe Gabon a commencé à esquisser certains des principaux éléments de son nouveau code des hydrocarbures. Attendu depuis longtemps, il vise à actualiser la règlementation actuellement en vigueur, accroître les recettes publiques dérivées de la production et améliorer l’attractivité des ressources pétrolières des champs matures du pays.Si le détail des règlements et des mesures…
Faced with stagnating oil reserves, Gabon’s long-term economic growth depends on the successful diversification of the economy. Barring any major new discoveries, Gabon’s oil output is forecast to fall significantly over the course of the next 20 years, exerting pressure on a government that currently depends on oil revenues for 58% of its budget. To encourage non-oil growth, the authorities…
Oil refining has a long history in Gabon. Société Raffinage du Gabon (SOGARA) was the first refinery in Central Africa and has been in production for nearly half a century. In recent years, however, SOGARA has struggled with outdated equipment, limited capacity and an output that is not suited to local demand. Gabon’s refinery has not been able to turn a profit since it was required to pay…
Despite its relatively high GDP per capita, Gabon’s dispersed rural population, difficult terrain and institutional incapacity have all contributed to a glaring infrastructure deficit. Over the past two years, however, the government has poured massive public investment into infrastructure. The results have been encouraging, as evidenced by the completion of projects in preparation for the African…
With almost 14m ha of exploitable rainforest, 400 species of wood and one of the lowest levels of deforestation in the world, tropical rainforests are some of Gabon’s most abundant and promising resources. The forestry industry has traditionally been focused on raw timber exports, with over 60% of production going directly to markets in Europe and Asia. As part of its effort to diversify the…
Increased public and private investment is needed to revitalise Gabon’s agriculture sector and increase its contribution to GDP beyond the current level of 3.8%. Gabon’s rich natural environment, conducive to many agricultural products, has already drawn the attention of international investors. Two new joint ventures in cash crops set to begin in 2012-13 should help to harness the country’s…
The special economic zones (SEZs) of Guangdong are often referred to as the birthplace of the Chinese economic miracle. These export-oriented havens for foreign investment attracted multinational companies to the country with substantial provision of inexpensive labour and tax holidays. They also created jobs and, through the transfer of technology, helped move Chinese manufacturing up the value…
The African continent is synonymous with mobile banking. Ever since MP esa, the world’s first mobile banking service, was launched in Kenya in 2007 by Safaricom, millions of people have used their mobile phone as a banking device. Similar initiatives have spread throughout the continent, bringing banking and payment services to some of the world’s poorest people. Until recently, however, Gabon’s…
In April 2012 Fitch Ratings revised Gabon’s outlook to positive from stable, affirming its long-term rating at BB- and its short-term one at B. While the positive outlook was welcome news, it should not have come as a surprise to the international investors who have been following Gabon’s sovereign note since it was issued in late 2007, even if Standard & Poor’s revised the country’s…
With its many rivers – including the Ogooué River, the fourth-largest in Africa by volume – Gabon has a total estimated hydroelectricity potential of 6000 MW. Over the past two decades, however, hydropower has declined as the dominant source of electricity in Gabon; no major new dams have been built in more than 30 years, while the demand for power has grown substantially over the same period.…
