Industry & Retail
From The Report: Algeria 2013
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Improving economic conditions are leading to strong domestic demand for products, which is in turn spurring growth in Algeria’s manufacturing and retail sectors. However, industry’s contribution to GDP decreased from 18% in the 1980s to around 5% in 2013 due to the growing role of hydrocarbons production and under-investment in the country’s manufacturing facilities. Recent government efforts, such as a number of tax incentives aimed at foreign investors, hope to reverse this trend. To help ensure that manufacturers have sufficient access to suitable industrial real estate, the government is also establishing an additional 42 industrial zones, distributed throughout the country.

This chapter contains interviews with Abderrahmane Benhamadi, Chairman, Condor; and Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former French Prime Minister and Special French Envoy for Franco-Algerian Affairs.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Call for manufacturers: Authorities seek to increase the sector’s weight and establish new industrial clusters
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After decades of heavy dependence on hydrocarbons exports, Algeria has been working to increase value-added activity and local manufacturing, reduce its import bill, provide a buffer against commodity volatility and create more employment opportunities. GROWTH ORIENTED: Key segments such as pharmaceuticals, construction materials and agro-industry, have seen a steady expansion in recent years and are witnessing an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), driven in part by the attractiveness…

Interview

OBG talks to Abderrahmane Benhamadi, Chairman, Condor
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Interview:Abderrahmane Benhamadi What obstacles does Algeria face in moving manufacturing production up the value chain? ABDERRAHMANE BENHAMADI: Moving up the value chain is a process where a country experiences a rise in production (and potentially exports) of added-value products and a substantial decrease of its basic goods production. Countries such as South Korea and Taiwan have applied this strategy successfully; it has supported the economic development of these countries. In Algeria,…

Interview

OBG talks to Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former French Prime Minister and Special French Envoy for Franco-Algerian Affairs
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Interview:Jean-Pierre Raffarin How attractive is Algeria to French industrial firms? JEAN-PIERRE RAFFARIN: France is Algeria’s main economic partner, which proves how close the ties are in trade, investment and technology. Shared interests in employment and wealth creation underline our determination to contribute to the development of Algeria. This is being reflected in the realisation of major joint projects. Algeria needs to diversify and intensify its economic fabric, and industrialisation…

Analysis

A homemade pill: Plans for new manufacturing units will increase local pharmaceuticals production
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Long seen as a market with untapped potential, Algeria’s pharmaceuticals sector is poised to benefit from a series of investments to expand local production capacity. “The recent slate of partnerships between domestic and foreign pharmaceuticals players is a testament to the industry’s positive outlook,” Cherif Benguerba, the country manager for Sandoz Algeria, told OBG. Additionally, a wave of new manufacturing units is on the way, resulting from a combination of elements that will likely…

Analysis

In the driver’s seat: Knowledge transfer and job creation help to establish a domestic automotive cluster
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With large domestic demand, an available workforce and emerging industrial capacity, Algeria is set to restart its automotive manufacturing sector after years of being out of operation. Despite growing sales of vehicles over the past few years, the country has lacked local manufacturing facilities. However, interest in supplying the rising demand for private cars has been increasing the appetite of foreign car manufacturers, which see Algeria as an attractive base that can help offset losses…

Overview

More modern shoppers: New retail spaces and brands are opening up the market
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Rising incomes facilitated by Algeria’s economic development, coupled with increasing exposure to international brands and modern outlets, are combining to create the right environment for retail expansion. Although most sales are still channelled through the informal sector and small, family-owned stores, growing examples of successful, large-scale retail shopping developments over the past few years have been paving the way for modern shopping ventures. PAY DAY: Much of the country’s…