INVESTIR AU CAMEROUN
General principles of Investment charters
Since the 90s, the private sector became the muscle of the Cameroonian economy. In a view to reinforce it, several 1 measures were taken, notably the adoption of a new investment code and the implementation of a vast programme for the privatisation of public companies.
Since then every physical or foreign corporate body no matter his place of residence can carry out economic activities in the country. It can, individually or in association with others exercise this activity, either under common law or on one of the special regimes instituted by laws and regulations in force. In any case, it benefits from the full protection of Cameroonian law.
To this effect, it receives an equal treatment as that of Cameroonian physical or corporate bodies, in the respect of legal and regulatory provisions concerning the companies of strangers as well as provision of treaties and agreements arranged between Cameroon and their respective countries.
It also enjoys, in the respect of laws and regulations in force, rights of ail nature concerning property, concession, and administrative authorisation.
No expropriation, nationalisation or requisition of a regularly established company or its goods can take place without the State having hired prior to that, the procedure of declaration of public utility, justifying it and without prior compensation, just and equitable, based on an adequate evaluation of the company or its goods, object to such an act by an independent third party.
ln the same light, every physical or corporate body regularly established in Cameroon can, in respect with laws and regulations in force, conclude and execute every contract it judges useful for its interests, notably on financial and commercial issues, determine its production, distribution and trading policy and, in a general manner, accomplish every act of management conform to rules of business practice in Cameroon.
To exercise an economic activity, it enjoys the freedom of hiring and firing which is done in respect with social legislation and work in force.
The State guarantees every investor, physical or corporate body regularly established, to its partners and leaders, to its foreign staff holder of a duly signed employment contract, as well their legal families, entry, stay and free circulation and exit from the national territory.
It thereby issues every necessary administrative document to them. It also guarantees every physical or corporate body non resident in Cameroon the right to freely transfer revenue of ail kind form invested capital, and in case of cession of activities, the liquidation product or cession of investment, while waiting that it should be in order with tax administration.
It also guarantees, in respecting the laws and regulations governing banking and exchange operations, the freedom to transfer out of the national territory, funds corresponding to normal and current payments for supplies and effective services, notably in the form of rights or other remunerations.
Every authorised investment benefits from the guarantee of non commercial risks on conditions of article 15 of the treaty to institute the multilateral agency for investment guarantee, ratified by Cameroon.
In its efforts to build a competitive and prosperous economy through the development of investment and savings, and performance objectives of its economic and social action, the Republic of Cameroon has set the following guidelines:
- The reaffirmation of the choice of the economy to walk as mode of privileged economic organisation;
- The reaffirmation of the essential role of the State for the promotion of social and economic development;
- The acknowledgement of the entrepreneur’s, investors and private company's key role as crucial factors of creation of wealth and jobs must be subject to particular attention from, not only the whole State machinery, but also from the entire society;
- The pledge to preserve the freedom of enterprise and the freedom of investment;
- The commitment to maintain a secure macroeconomic framework;
- The pledge to ensure flexibility and reversibility of decision making processes in the sense of building the competitiveness of the economy;
- The clarification of the role of the state and institutions in terms of economic and social issues, as collective actors seeking full employment of national resources through appropriate actions and taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the market, the private sector and the civil society in a bid to ensure a State of law and good governance;
- The re-centring and building of the role of the university and national scientific and technical research system as critical factors of transformation and mastery of economic and social structures;
- The promotion 6f entrepreneurship as bock bone of valorisation of the potential of creativity of Cameroon, a prior condition for the creation of viable and competitive companies and determinant factor to solve sustainably the problem of unemployment and poverty;
- The safeguard of the ecological environment and rational exploitation of natural resources of the soil and sub soil to develop safe and sustainable development;
- The promotion and active facilitation of investments and exploitations in coherence with the valorisation of the entrepreneurial potential;
- The taking into account of specific or particular sectors which need measures, mindful of constraints tied to conditions of exploitation and valuing of local resources;
- The preoccupation to establish an appropriate institutional and regulatory framework that guarantees security of investment, support to investors and equitable rapid settlement of disputes on investment and commercial and industrial activities;
- The necessity to dispose of an adequate financial system that enables a efficient financial intermediation and in particular, ensure a good mobilisation of saving and its orientation towards most productive activities and towards high yield investments;
- The interest to have a trust worthy and efficient information system using new information and communication technologies;
- The pledge to make effective every necessary measure recommended by coordination and supervision organs created by this law to create type charter of investment in the republic of Cameroon;
- The pledge to promote a real partnership between the State, private sector and the civil society as condition for the search of a better global efficiency of the economy;
- The putting in place of an inciting and attractive law for investors which shall take into account, on one hand, the specificity and imposition of production equipment and, on the other hand, demands of competitiveness to exportation.
DEFINITION
In considered as investor according to this law, every physical or corporate body From Cameroonian or foreign origin, resident or not, who acquires an asset for the exercise of its activities in view of obtaining yields.
Is considered as investment, according to this law, an asset held by an investor, in particular:
- A company
- Shares, parts 01 the capital or other participations to capital of a company
- Obligations and other forms of claims
- Monetary claims
- Intellectual property rights
- Rights to medium and long term contracts, notably management, production, commercialisation contracts
- Rights given by law and regulations to concessions, licences, authorisations or permits
- Every other corporeal and non corporeal property, movable or immovable, all related property rights.
ELIGIBLE BUSINESS SECTORS
The scope of the Investment Code includes the following activities:
- processing raw materials into semi-finished or finished products;
- extraction and processing of mineral resources;
- processing of hydrocarbons;
- logging and wood processing;
- agricultural and agro industrial fish farming, industrial and artisanal fishing;
- Storage and food preservation activities;
- manufacture of materials necessary for construction, building construction and implementation of public works;
- maintenance of industrial equipment access on the manufacture of spare parts;
- technological research activities and data management, laboratory hospital as well as pharmaceutical analysis training;
- testing laboratory for analysis and control of raw materials and semi-finished products used or produced by industry;
PREFERENCE SCHEDULES GRANTED AND BENEFITS
The basic schedule: Granted for a period of8 years to businesses that create a certain level of employment and export at least 25% of their production and / or use national resources up to at least 25% of the value of inputs,
SME schedule: Granted for a period of 10 years to companies that meet the following three conditions: creation of a given level of employment; achieving a level of investment less than or equal to one billion five hundred million CFA and contribution of a Cameroonian or a Cameroonian corporation to the company's capital for up to at least 35%.
Strategic schedule : Granted for a period of 17 years to any investment activity carried out in a field declared as strategic and that meets one of the specific criteria below;
- Annual export activities of at least 50% of the company's turnover tax-free;
- use of local natural resources to a maximum of 50% of the value of inputs;
- creation of permanent jobs in Cameroon up to at least one job for twenty million CFA francs of investment planned.
Are guaranteed:
- The freedom to exercise an economic activity in Cameroon for every physical or corporate body, of Cameroonian of foreign nationality;
- The benefit of full protection of Cameroonian right to every foreign investor:
- The enjoyment in the respect of laws and regulations in force of rights of every kind in terms of property, concession, and administrative authorisation to every physical person or corporate body no matter his nationality;
- The free transfer out of the territory of revenue of every kind coming from capitals invested;
- The free choice of the legal procedure for arbitration and dispute settlement;
- The free conclusion and execution of contracts useful for the interest of the investor in terms of finances and commerce.
Since 1990, Cameroonian parliament has adopted a number of texts translating the will to liberalise public life and the economy. Also, for most economic activities, the regime of simple declaration replaced that of prior authorisation.
To improve the legal and institutional frame, in a bid to create an appropriate environment to business, to attract more direct foreign investments, formalities in different administrations have been reduced very much.
The charter of investment of CEMAC signed by member States on 17 December 1999 has come to reinforce this regulatory framework. To this effect, it stipulates that member States shall ensure the promotion of le901 protection, and reinforce the State of law. The community court of justice ensures the rights and duties of treaty creating CEMAC and acts taken in virtue of the treaty.
States adhering to the treaty of the Organisation for harmonisation of Business law in Africa (OHADA), guarantee the application of procedures and orders of the common court of justice and arbitration of this regional institution. They adopt their national laws and their legal policies to the rules and regulations of OHADA.
Cameroon's economic needs and potentials are such that there are a great variety of good investment sectors. Amongst other can be cited:
- The transformation of materials which leads to the production of a finished or semi finished goods;
- Extraction and transformation of mineral resources;
- The transformation of hydrocarbons;
- Forest exploitation assorted with the transformation of wood;
- Agricultural production;
- Production;
- Stock breeding;
- Industrial and local fishing;
- Transformation of agricultural products, animal or halieutic;
- Stocking and conservation activities of food products;
- Making of necessary materials for public buildings;
- Maintenance of industrial equipment focused on the making on spore ports;
- Naval repairs, technological research activities and the management of data;
- Hospitals and pharmaceutical laboratories;
- Trial, analysis and control of raw material laboratories for finished or semi finished products used or produced by the industry;
- Touristic restoration areas when they are integrated in a touristic pack or implanted in a touristic site known by touristic administration.
Favourable conditions to investment
The economy has enjoy a growth rate of 5% for some years, which has to increase;
- Democratic institutions and the political stability make of Cameroon a country where the risk concerning investment of minimal;
- Its geographical location between west and central Africa, gives it a unique statistic position in terms of trade exchanges. It gives access to several central African countries and some regions of Nigeria;
- Its extension of 1200km gives it a great variety of natural potentials;
- It has abundant and qualified labour, which is cheap and endowed with a great adaptation and initiative capacity which is indispensable for companies;
- Cameroon has a diversified industrial fabric in expansion, presenting a permanent network of sub contracts;
- It has a regulatory and legislative frame which gives freedom to invest and the free transfer of industrial and commercial benefits as well as salaries;
- It has numerous natural resources (petroleum, gas, bauxite, iron, nickel, wood) and agricultural products (cocoa, coffee, cotton, banana, hevea, palm oil, pineapple);
- It has a vast privatisation programme of public and Para public companies whose list is detailed in the chapter of privatisation.
