7 reasons to invest in Congo
Source: apicongo.org/raisons-pour-investir-au-congo/

• The Congo serves as an access route for Central African countries such as the Central African Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Gabon;
• The autonomous port of Pointe Noire, in deep water, the Congo Ocean Railway being rehabilitated and the traffic on the Congo-Oubangui River improved are assets that allow the country to play its role as a transit country, they are real opportunities for investors.
• The autonomous port of Pointe-Noire has the greatest potential in the southern Gulf of Guinea and allows imports of manufactured goods and exports of the main products of the Congolese economy.
• The Congo has an important network of river communication routes: the Congo basin is navigable all year round.
• In addition to its national roads, there are sub-regional integration roads linking Congo to Cameroon, Gabon and Angola: the Ketta-Sembé-Souanké-Ntam road; the Obouya-Boudji-Okoyo-Lékony road; the Pointe Noire-Ndzassi-Angola border road.

• 6 billion barrels of crude oil reserves;
• 130 billion in potash reserves;
• Other reserves: iron, tin, uranium, phosphate, limestone, zinc, lead, copper, manganese, gold, silver, diamonds, oil sandstones, geometrical...
• Very high energy potential estimated at 14000MW in hydroelectricity;
• Enormous potential for animal and plant production
• Ten (10) million hectares of Arab land and diversified fishery resources;
• Immense natural forests of 22.5 million hectares covering 65% of the national territory;
• Abundant and diversified fauna and flora;
• Important potential in ecotourism with savannahs, mountains, plateaus, caves, lakes...

To invest in Congo Brazzaville is to benefit from :

• Congo's domestic market;
• the CEMAC and CEAC markets;
• Brazzaville and Kinshasa, separated by the Congo River, are the closest capitals in the world. This geographic proximity potentially gives Congo access to a market of 77.3 million consumers in the DRC.

• Freedom of enterprise is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Investment Charter;
• Any natural or legal person, regardless of nationality, is free to:

• undertake on the territory of the Republic of Congo, an agricultural, mining, industrial, forestry, artisanal, commercial or service activity in compliance with the laws and regulations of the Republic;
• import or export raw materials or consumables, semi-finished products, capital goods, equipment and tools necessary for economic activities;
  
• to determine the policy of production and to lead that of hiring and marketing relating to it;
• to choose its customers and suppliers and to fix prices;

• the Congo guarantees the property rights related to land, buildings, movable assets and intellectual property;
• the existence of legal remedies or treaties with arbitration centers;
• the existence of tax treaties between the Congo and other countries
• the existence of sub-regional conventions for the protection and settlement of investment disputes
• the existence of bilateral and multilateral investment protection agreements.

1) The privileged regimes
National and foreign companies can benefit from the advantages of the Investment Charter according to three (3) regimes:

• Regime G: Support regime for large companies making an investment equal to or greater than 100 million CFA francs;
• Regime S: Promotional regime for small and medium-sized enterprises making an investment of at least 30 million CFA francs and less than 100 million CFA francs
  
• Preferential development zone regime

2) Incentive measures
There are four (4) incentive measures: export incentives, reinvestment of profits, establishment in landlocked areas, social and cultural investment.

• a. Incentive to export
• b. Incentives for reinvestment of profits
• c. Incentive to locate in remote areas
• d. Incentives for social and cultural investment

The Congo contains four (4) special economic zones, namely :

1. The special economic zone of Oyo/Ollombo which covers an area of 760,318 hectares.

The activities retained in this zone are : Production of food and cash crops; Livestock breeding; Processing of agricultural products (edible categories); Processing of agricultural products (non edible categories); Forestry; Fish farming; Commercial services; Tourism, Research, Financial services.

2. The special economic zone of Pointe-Noire , which covers an area of 3150 hectares.

The activities selected are: refined petroleum products; metals and engineering; chemicals; food and beverage industry; non-metallic mineral products; wood and wood products; paper and paper products; production of plastic products and glassware; etc.

3. Ouesso Special Economic Zone covering an area of 64,520 hectares.

The activities retained are: the industrial transformation of wood into sawn timber and plywood, the production of furniture and real estate; the development of coffee and cocoa crops and the creation of an agro-industry through the transformation of these crops; the cultivation of the palm tree sector; research and financial services

4. The special economic zone of Brazzaville which covers an area of 164,100 hectares.

The activities selected are: palm oil processing, edible oil and soap; horticulture (flowers, fruits and vegetables); construction materials (cement, aggregates, bricks/tiles); logistics (transport, packaging, storage, etc.); renewable energies, with the production of bioethanol from sugar cane and biodiesel from palm oil; etc.

In an effort to continuously improve the business environment, the Congolese government has set up an inter-ministerial committee for the improvement of the business climate since 2017. This is the implementing body for the government's policy on improving the business climate in Congo.

This committee is responsible for :

• analyzing and proposing administrative and legal measures to improve the business climate ;
• promoting and supporting all actions to improve the business climate;
• ensuring the coordination of all the actions of the ministries in matters of improvement of the business climate;
• Ensure the proper implementation of all measures likely to improve the business climate;
• to challenge and constrain the structures that do not apply the measures aimed at improving the business climate;
• ensure the improvement of the position of the Congo in international rankings related to good business practices.

The said committee met for the first time on February 13, 2018.
In recent years, the Congolese government has taken several texts in the framework of improving the business climate. Among which we can cite, the one relating to the domiciliation of the company at the personal address of the director. Indeed, from now on, any individual company or limited liability company can have for place of exercise of its activities or head office, the residence of its manager, with precise geographical address, declared to the Congolese agency for the creation of companies at the time of the creation or the modification of the statutes.

Moreover, the Congolese State has instituted the electronic signature at the Congolese agency for the creation of companies. An agency that now centralizes the formalities of creation, various modifications and cancellation of companies.

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