Masolo May 2014.indd - CONGO OPPORTUNITIES

MASOLO
Economic Newsletter
Nr. 16.
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kinshasa
May 2014
Signature of an air services agreement between the Netherlands and Congo-Brazzaville.
The ceremony took place on 30 April at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague. Congo was represented by its Minister of Transport, HE Mr. Rodolphe Adada and the Netherlands by
the Secretary General of the Directorate General for External Economic Relations, Mr Simon Smits. Through this agreement, each Contracting Party grants to the other including the right to ﬂy
across its territory without landing or while operating an Agreed Service on a Speciﬁed Route, the right to make stops in its Territory for the purposes of taking up an discharging, international
trafﬁc in passengers, cargo and mail, separately or in combination.
HEADLINES
2
The Dutch Trade Mission in Lubumbashi and Kitwe postponed in September 2014
The European Union allocates EUR 60 million for the rehabilitation of inland waterways
The president of the World Bank supported the Inga III project in Washington
BCC (Congolese Central Bank) maintains key rate at 2%
DRC wants to have a ﬂawless Petroleum legislation
The next FIKIN will be held from July 05 to August 04, 2014
International ﬂights forbidden for three more airline companies
Employment: Minister Bahati threaten to punish mining companies that do not pay the social security contributions
Sud-Kivu: The civil society denounces too many taxes imposed on ship owners
CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE
2
ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
3
Visit the 5th International Forum on Green Business!
The works of interconnection of Gabon and Congo to the optical ﬁber start in June
MTN and AIRTEL ﬁned
DRC could sign its ﬁrst contracts for the sale of carbon credits in 2016
Large oil deposits discovered in south of Kinshasa and Brazzaville
The DRC is likely to lose ground in the Doing Business ranking of 2015
Setting up of a commercial court in Boma
Katanga: Moïse Katumbi bans the import of hydrated lime
Slowdown in the Kwilu-Ngongo sugar company in Bas-Congo
Mbuji-Mayi: Police ﬁnd 250 kg of gold in a bag of peanuts
Production of tin oxide decreases in the province of Maniema
Should the SNCC be blamed for a train derailment in Katanga?
DRC wants to set up information and forest management system
Lake Albert: Illegal ﬁshing results in lower ﬁsh production
Fleuve Congo Hotel becomes “Kempinski Hotel Fleuve Congo”
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
11, avenue Nzongotolo
Kinshasa, Gombe
RD Congo
Tel. +243 99 6050 600
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://rdcongo.nlambassade.org
2
The Dutch Trade Mission in Lubumbashi and Kitwe postponed in September 2014
A statement from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kinshasa says that the business mission of
Dutch entrepreneurs initially scheduled for May will ﬁnally be held from 14 to 20 September.
The Embassy is still in touch with these potential Dutch participants to address their concerns
and thus remove any ambiguity preventing their participation in September.
The main reason for this delay is the request for clariﬁcation of several Dutch investors and entrepreneurs on issues related to the business climate in the DRC in particular the implementation of
the farming bill, and the levying of import taxes as well as property rights for foreign investors.
As a reminder, the sectors chosen for that business mission that will take place in Lubumbashi
(Katanga, DRC) and Kitwe (Copperbelt, Zambia) are agriculture, livestock farming, and renewable energy.
BCC (Congolese central bank) maintains key rate at 2%
The European Union (EU) allocates € 60 million
The president of the World Bank supported the
Deogratias Mutombo Mwana Nyembo the Governor of the Central for the rehabilitation of inland waterways
Inga III project in Washington
Bank of Congo, chaired the third regular meeting of the monetary
Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, supported the
The
EU
has
allocated
€
60
million
for
the
rehabilitation
of
policy committee and bank operations.
waterways in the DRC. Accidents take place each week on proposed hydroelectric dam Inga III in DRC in order to reduce
On the basis of these analyzes, the Monetary Policy Committee the Congo river because navigability is not provided on the the number of people who do not have electricity in Africa.
has decided to maintain the current system of monetary policy. waterways, said Daniel Legrand, the Head of Mission and
Thus, the rate in force since November 8, 2013 remains at 2%. The Coordinator of the European Union project for the rehabilita- The African continent is the victim of “a form of energy
apartheid” depriving its people of the widespread electri
Committee has also decided to leave unchanged the coefﬁcient tion of inland waterways.
city enjoyed by the European and American countries”, he
of the reserve requirement; that is 8% and 7% on ﬁxed term and
sight deposits in foreign currency; and 7% and 3% on ﬁxed term This three-year project has already started with the markup regretted.
and sight deposits in national currency.
on the Kasai River and the Congo River. Through this funding, “Today, the energy consumption of the billion people on the
the EU plans to facilitate the transport of goods and people entire African continent is equivalent to what Belgium offers
its 11 million inhabitants,” said Jim Yong Kim.
In order to better support all these measures, the Committee urges by river and lake.
the Government to implement the necessary structural reforms to The World Bank has also allocated $ 2 500 000 for marking
the consolidation and expansion of the productive base of the Luwa and Mongala rivers (in Equateur), river Lualaba on the To try to reduce this gap, Kim supported a vast hydroelectric
economy.
Bukama-Kongolo sections (in Katanga) and Kindu-Ubundu (in project in the Democratic Republic of Congo for which the
Maniema). This work will be carried out from next July by the World Bank has just given 73 million dollars. Its total cost is
International ﬂights forbidden for three more airline companies Project Implementation department.
estimated at approximately $ 12 billion.
The Government has just withdrawn the operating licenses of three
airlines for failing to meet the requirements for recertiﬁcation; DRC wants to have a ﬂawless Petroleum legislation
something that all airlines should do. This was a recommendation of The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to create an attractive petroleum legislation that will help to have a rational developthe International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
ment potential of hydrocarbons including its three large basins covering more than 800,000 km ².
These airlines are Biega Airways, Congo Express, and Okapi Airlines. The Minister of Transport Mr. Justin Kalumba Mwana-Ngongo,
stated that four other airlines “are being watched.” These airlines
should correct minor deﬁciencies in their organization. These airlines are Doren Air Congo, Mango Airlines, Transair Cargo Ser
vices, and Will Airlift.
MPs recently exchanged on the issue of oil legislation of the country while the bill on hydrocarbons is in the Parliament for being
passed. MPs debated on fundamental legal and tax aspects of an attractive oil legislation that will help to maximize income
from the exploitation of hydrocarbons in the country, stressing that the hydrocarbon potential of the DRC is virtually unexplored
and continues to attract domestic and foreign investors.
Government seeks the most appropriate tax and contractual laws on the oil and gas potential in order to ensure sustainable
They were given a month to comply with the standards. If they do economic development in the DR Congo.
not comply with the standards within a month, these four companies
will also be removed from the recertiﬁcation process. », said Mr. CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE
Justin Kalumba.
Visit the 5th International Forum on Green Business!
Employment: Bahati Lukwebo threaten to punish mining companies that do not pay the social security contributions
The Congolese Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Welfare, Bahati Lukwebo, threatened to punish some mining companies
in Katanga that are levying social security money on the salaries
of their employees without paying this money to the social security
fund.
The conference of the 5th International Forum on Green Business planned from 20 to 23 May 2014 in Pointe -Noire, the economic capital of Congo will gather a group of business men from around the world. For three days, environment experts will try
to understand the need for an economy that induces the enhancement of human well -being and social equity, while reducing
signiﬁcantly the environmental risks and the lack of resources.
Through four round tables, nine interactive workshops led by more than 30 speakers from around the world, participants will
bind themselves to the policy of sustainable management of forest ecosystems.
Among these companies that owe more than ten million U.S. dol- The organizers of the meeting are the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Crafts of Pointe -Noire, the Ministry of
lars of contributions to the National Social Security Institute (INSS) Forest Economy and sustainable Development, and the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC).
for their employees, Bahati Lukwebo names KCC, Tenke Fungurume
mining and Mutanda mining.
The works of the interconnection of Gabon and Congo to the optical ﬁber start in June
For Bahati Lukwebo, not paying the social security contributions is The works of the interconnection of Gabon to Congo to the optical ﬁber will start in June 2014. They will last 18 months for
preventing workers from living when they are retired. He added operability of the network expected in January 2016. This project falls within the framework of the large project to interconthat these companies will be punished if they do not comply with nect Central African countries to the ﬁber optics: the Central African Backbone (CAB).
the law.
Jointly ﬁnanced by the World Bank and the Congolese government, the Gabon-Congo border optical ﬁber network will extend
from Pointe-Noire to Mbinda (Gabon-Congo border). It will run along the Railway Congo-Ocean (CFCO) and will have a total
The next Fikin will be held from July 05 to August 4, 2014
Mr. Eugène Bokopolo the acting CEO of the International Fair of six links: Pointe-Noire, Dolisie, Mont Mbelo, Makabana, Mossendjo, Mbinda. It aims to give people access to the Internet
of Kinshasa (Fikin) announced that for this year the Fikin will be at a reasonable cost.
held from July 5 to August 4, 2014 in its facilities located in the
municipality of Limete.
It will be managed in a public-private partnership mode. For private company, it will be selected by public tender. Luc Missidimbazi, the project coordinator said that it could be a “neutral operator or a group of local operators.”
He said that the 2014 Fikin theme will be “Small and medium enterprises and small and medium industries, the driving forces of the MTN and Airtel ﬁned
development of the Democratic Republic of Congo.”
Because of the non-compliance with their obligations of providing a high quality service in the Republic of Congo, the Post
and electronic communications Regulatory Agency (ARPCE) clamped down on the mobile operators MTN and Airtel again.
Sud-Kivu: The civil society denounces too many taxes imposed Both companies will pay a total ﬁne of more than 2 billion FCFA.
on ship owners
The Chairman of the Sud-Kivu civil society, Mr. Descartes Mponge
These ﬁnancial penalties are 1% of the turnover of each of them. It’s Yves Castanou the Managing Director of ARPCE who
said it during a meeting of civil society on the consequences of the
ship owners’ strike to protest against the imposition of the tax on revealed this information. He said that prior to these sanctions; several inquiries and notiﬁcations of formal notice were sent
boarding the ship. Descartes Mponge promised to initiate a large- to these two companies.
scale action to bring the authorities to solve this problem in a short
time. For him, the authorities should remove some taxes to enable “We have repeatedly reminded the operators of their obligations regarding the maintaining of networks and services qualthe recovery of the economic activity in these two provinces that ity indicators complying with international norms and standards, » he said.
have experienced armed conﬂicts.
3
Katanga: Moïse Katumbi bans the import of hydrated lime
The governor of Katanga, Moïse Katumbi, announced on April 22
the ban on importing hydrated lime used by mining companies to
separate metal salts from other mineral impurities. He said that this
measure comes into force in twenty-ﬁve days.
DRC could sign its ﬁrst contracts for the sale of carbon credits in 2016
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could sign the ﬁrst contracts for the sale of carbon credits in 2016, said Jean-Robert
Mbuangoy, President of the NGO ERA-Congo, operating in the province of Bandundu. The area covered by this funding is the
District of Mai Ndombe which covers an area of 12 million hectares of which 8 million of forest.
Carbon credit funds will help the DRC to develop programs to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, since the country was
admitted to the carbon funds at the end of the 9th session of the participants committee held in Brussels in Belgium from 9 to
The governor explained that the decision is intended to encour- 11 April. In Africa, still under the REDD project, Tanzania has already received 100 million U.S. dollars.
age the activity of the cement plant of Katanga (CGK), the only The DRC, which has the largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon, does not have carbon credit yet despite its forest
local company that produces this lime. Moïse Katumbi made the area which is a solution to climate change. Admission to the World Bank carbon fund will allow DRC to conceive projects to
announcement during a visit to the premises of this private company receive substantial funding.
based in Likasi.
Setting up of a commercial court in Boma
Should the SNCC be blamed for a train derailment
in Katanga?
A
commercial
court
was
installed
in
Boma,
after
a
double
oath
He explained the need to support local production of hydrated
lime. This which would preserve the three thousand jobs at CGK. renewal ceremony of a permanent judge named Nymi Patience, The train from Lubumbashi was going to Mwene Ditu in
The governor of Katanga stated that mining companies have been and the swearing-in of 9 consular judges before the President of the province of Kasai Oriental. It was a freight train that
that court, Ms. Kitete Losamba, during a swearing-in ceremony was not supposed to carry passengers. But being unpaid
asked to use the lime produced locally for two years now.
for several months, the crew of the SNCC (the Congolese
railway company) wanted to make money by permitting ilMs. Kitete urged those judges to perform their duties in strict legal boarding.
compliance with the law and the principles and rules of ethics
It is not known whether the cause of the accident was a
associated with the profession.
human error or a technical failure. People are waiting for
The installation of a commercial court in Boma ﬁlls a great need the results of investigations; but it is known that due to lack
for legal and judicial security. It also makes the business climate of well running locomotive, the SNCC has almost stopped its
fair. The Commercial Court of Boma will temporarily sit in the activities like many other state companies. Furthermore the
rails were not repaired and the SNCC ofﬁcers were then
building of the high court.
forced to use secondhand locomotives.
held at the High Court of Boma.
Slowdown in the Kwilu-Ngongo sugar company in Bas-Congo
The sugar company of Kwilu-Ngongo in the province of Bas-Congo
is currently experiencing a slowdown in its activities due to the obsolescence of facilities, lack of competitiveness and the huge losses
of its capital.
The company ended 2013 with a net loss of nearly $ 10 million
while the last renewal of its facilities took place only in 1998. The
products of the sugar company of Kwilu Ngongo on the Congolese
market face competition from many unlabeled sugar imported from Large oil deposits discovered in south of Kinshasa The DRC is likely to lose ground in the Doing
Business ranking of 2015
and Brazzaville
Brazil and Southeast Asia by private traders.
Mbuji-Mayi: Police ﬁnd 250 kg of gold in a bag of peanuts
More than 250 kg of gold, hidden in a bag of peanuts, were found
on April 16 by the anti-fraud brigade of Bipemba Airport in MbujiMayi, in Kasai-Oriental, one of the richest mining provinces in DR
Congo.
The parcel that contained the gold from artisanal mining in the area
of Kanyama, Katanga province, on the border with Kasai Oriental,
was to be fraudulently taken to Goma in North Kivu, according
to the provincial Minister of Mines, Mr. Joseph Kazadi Ngoyi. DR
Congo, a country harboring immense mineral resources, is facing
severe exploitation that feeds unorthodox import channels that is a
real loss to the country.
A long wait of the Government of national unity would
not favor DRC in the Doing Business ranking in 2015, due
in October. The experts of the Steering Committee for the
improvement of the business climate and investment (CPCAI) fear that DRC, which is ranked 183rd out of the 189
“In southern Brazzaville and Kinshasa there is basin called the countries in 2013, do not move in the next ranking.
Congo basin that is full of oil reserves. Its exploitation requires
collaboration between the DRC and Congo / Brazzaville”, said They regret that the reforms undertaken by the governan expert of Total participating in this meeting in Brazzaville. ment have suddenly stopped with the announcement last
According to him, the future is bright for both Congo as far as October by the head of state, of the formation of a go
the exploration and exploitation of oil in the southern region of vernment of national unity.
Kinshasa and Brazzaville is concerned.
This uncertainty, has led to stopping of some reforms that
The experts said that the exploration of this deposit could start in require a strong state involvement.
2018 with the agreement of the governments of the two Congos.
During the Second International Conference and Exhibition on Oil
in Congo (CIEHC -II) held in Brazzaville, experts announced the
discovery of large oil deposits in south of Brazzaville and Kinshasa
over the valley overhanging the majestic Congo River.
DRC wants to set up information and forest management system
The Congolese government wants better governance in the forestry sector. It is in this context that the Minister of the Environment,
Earlier this year, a UN report showed that 98% of the gold mined Nature Conservation and Tourism, Mr. Bavon N’Sa Mputu launched the popularization campaign on the control, production and
in the DRC during 2013 fraudulently went out of the country, repre- wood marketing program across the country. He said that the campaign, which will last two months, will help the DRC to implement an information and forest management system (SIGEF).
senting between 383 million and 409 million dollar loss.
Production of tin oxide decreases in the province of Maniema
The monthly hand-crafted production of tin oxide drastically
dropped from 18 to 8 tons in Kailo in Maniema province, according to a publication by the company Maniema Mining Company
(MMC).
To implement this system, more than 80 employees of the Ministry of Environment are deployed throughout the national territory.
They are responsible for identifying through scanners all shipments of sawn timber exported from the eastern part of the territory. The purpose of this campaign is to stop illegal logging and allow better traceability of its production.
Lake Albert: Illegal ﬁshing results in lower ﬁsh production
According to the provincial Minister of Agriculture (Province Orientale) Mr. Milton Lonu Lonema, it is important to regulate
ﬁshing to allow ﬁsh to grow. “We strongly condemn the use prohibited mesh nets, especially nets that catch even small ﬁsh,” he
The heavy rains that ﬂood the mines and the minerals labeling op- said. According to him, the ﬁshermen also use other practices such as herbs that kill ﬁsh.
eration launched by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI) have caused the decrease of production for six months now. This practice also contributes to the rapid extinction of certain species of ﬁsh. In January, the Human Rights NGO Equitas based
However, the level of production may go up the slope with the ex- in Bunia reported that several ﬁsh species were endangered in Lake Albert. According to the NGO, this river has now only
ploitation of the wolframite planned for June.
seven species of ﬁsh out of forty that were previously recorded. Equitas thinks that the extinction of these ﬁsh is due to the
violation of the ﬁshing regulation in this lake.
Fleuve Congo Hotel becomes “Kempinski Hotel Fleuve Congo”
This was made possible following the signing of the partnership agreement between the Chinese ﬁrm Hoi Mor Industrial Limited
and Kempinski, a world-class Swiss hotel chain with an experience of 112 years.
This twelve-years partnership with a possible extension does not affect the concession contract signed between the DRC and
the Chinese company Hoi Mor, that rehabilitated the building of the former CCIZ (Centre de Commerce International du Zaire)
transforming it into a 5-star hotel for 30 million U.S. dollars.
Photos - King Day - Kinshasa, April 24, 2014
Excerpt from speech by His Excellency Cor van Honk, Ambassador of the Netherlands. The few words I want to express [about the economy, the
need to improve the business climate and the role of the state in the structuring of the economy as well as the mobilization of ﬁnancial resources]
is that a state that wants to relaunch a diversiﬁed economy should consider entrepreneurship as a partner. We [The Netherlands] are convinced that
with a massive and sincere support of the private sector that the country will recover. (Photos: Etienne Kokolo)
PRACTICAL
INFORMATION
Embassy in Kinshasa
Contact
11, avenue Nzongotolo
Immeuble Residence 55, Kinshasa-Gombe
Phone
Emergencies
Fax
E-mail
+243 99 6050 600
+243 99 818 62 24
+243 99 6050 629
[email protected]
Postal address
Lokatie 309 / ZMA Kinshasa
Postbus 12200
2500 DD Den Haag
Opening hours
Monday – Thursday
Friday
08:00 – 16:30
08:00 – 13:30
Opening hours consular department
Monday – Thursday
08:00 -12:00
Friday
08:00-13:30
Les autres jours sur RDV téléphoniques.
Consulate in Brazzaville
Adress
30, Blvd Denis Sassou N’Guessou
B.P 277 M’Pila - Brazzaville
Opening hours
Monday - Friday
Tuesday & Thursday
09:00-16:00 (Consulate)
09:00-12:00 (consular services)
Honorary Consul
Ms. Hilly-Anne Fumey
Phone
+242 069 241 407
E-mail
[email protected]
For comments, suggestions and remarks on this
Newsletter, or any others business, please contact the
Embassy’s Economic policy ofﬁcer:
Tel. +243 99 060 50 627
E-mail : [email protected]
Disclaimer
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The content of this newsletter does not reﬂect the views
of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kinshasa. It is
merely a resume of news articles, from both national
and international newspapers and news agencies.
Join our network at www.linkedin.com to receive more news
M. Cor van Honk (Ambassador)
M. Norbert Moerkens (Chef de mission adjoint)
M. Francis Wilanga (Economic policy ofﬁcer)

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