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INVESTING côte d’ivoire 2014

CÔTE D’IVOIRE2014

Doing Business in Africa

INVESTING CÔTE D’IVOIRE2014

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CONTENTS 6

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

KEY POINTS

© N. Zorkot

POLITICS & SOCIeTy HISTORY

OIl AND GAS

SOCIETY

30 33

POlITICAl lIFE

MINING 34 A pillar of emergence

14

16 19

Diverse but united peoples A renewed institutional framework

INFRASTRUCTURE

FACTFILE POLITICS

36 39

INTERNATIONAl

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23

Becoming a regional hub Economic maps © N. Zorkot

13

A long tradition of work and trade Geographic map

Transport is a priority

REAl ESTATE

FACTFILE INFRASTRUCTURE

56

Back on the international stage

POWER, WATER AND SANITATION

FACTFILE INTERNATIONAL

58

© N. Zorkot

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© N. Zorkot

COMPANIeS & MARKeTS

eCONOMy & BUSINeSS eNVIRONMeNT OUTlOOK

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29

A stunning economic recovery FACTFILE OUTLOOK

Foreign developers show strong interest

COMPANY lIFE

42 45 46

Performance-enhancing reforms FACTFILE COMPANY LIFE

Regional ambitions

BANKING AND FINANCE

48 51

Regional ambitions and priority projects

FACTFILE POWER, WATER AND SANITATION

SERVICES

62

The main driver of growth

EDUCATION AND HEAlTH

66

The government is mobilising minds and resources

TRAVeL DIARy 70

Your trip

The priority: supporting companies FACTFILE BANKING AND FINANCE

AGRO-INDUSTRY

52 At the heart of the emergence strategy 55 FACTFILE AGRO-INDUSTRY

© N. Zorkot

10

KEY POINTS With a population of nearly 23 million, GDP per capita above $1,100, unique infrastructure in West Africa and an

AN AMBITIOUS DEVELOPMENT PLAN Côte d’Ivoire has adopted a strategy that will make it an emerging

increasingly diversified economy, Côte

country by 2020. The country

d’Ivoire is the powerhouse of the West

Development Plan (PND) that sets the

African Economic and Monetary Union

has implemented a National amount of investment necessary to support economic activity during the

(UEMOA, French-speaking West Africa)

2012-2015 period at €17 billion. The

and a driving force in the Economic

in 2015-2020, defines many major

Community of West African States

PND, which will enter a second stage investments projects in the most promising sectors.

(ECOWAS), which has 15 Member States and 300 million people.

Boasting a 2012 growth rate of 9.8%, far outpacing the brightest forecasts, Côte d’Ivoire is one of the fastest-growing countries in Africa and the world.

In 2013, soaring public and private investment will keep up the pace, which will reach 10% in 2014 and 2015.

THE GATEWAY TO A HUGE MARKET The international community's strong backing has enabled Côte d’Ivoire to become West Africa's economic powerhouse. Its policy of tightening ties with neighbours in order to achieve real regional integration fuels the growth of trade and spurs Ivorian companies to export even more. Côte d’Ivoire is the gateway to a market of 300 million consumers where middleclass purchasing power is rising at a steady pace.

A FAVOURABLE BUSINESS CLIMATE

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Rapid improvement of the

Agriculture offers bright

business environment has

prospects in the areas of export

been one of the government's

as well as local consumption.

priorities. In 2013, the new

Much remains to be done to

investment code, one-stop

boost yields and increase the

window, implementation of

quality of cocoa (Côte d’Ivoire is

commercial courts, regulation

the world's leading producer),

on competition and property

coffee (number 3), oil seeds,

law reform ensure respect of

cashew nuts, rice and cotton

investors' interests and strict

harvests. Oil and natural gas

application of the law.

production is rising, the goal

• agriculture and mining

being to make Côte d’Ivoire

WELCOME INVESTORS Côte d’Ivoire, the engine of a booming region, benefits from the return of peace and the backing of African

a regional energy hub. The biggest international groups are eyeing the country's underground riches (gold, diamonds, iron, nickel, manganese, etc.).

and international economic cooperation institutions such

• manufacturing

as the International Monetary

Manufacturing activities remain

Fund, World Bank, African

confined to agro-industry,

Development Bank and many

fertiliser, building materials

others, making it a privileged

and automotive assembly. The

destination for investors from

textile industry needs a new

around the world.

lease of life. Agro-industry offers

considerable development potential, with assured outlets in the country and its neighbours.

The whole manufacturing sector requires diversification, especially in energy, construction and civil engineering. Infrastructure projects under way as part of the PND offer numerous opportunities.

• services The tertiary sector now accounts for around 50% of Côte d'Ivoire's GDP, a figure that is steadily rising. Growth should reach 13.7% in 2013 and will continue in the years thereafter. ICT, transport, financial services and retail lead the way, benefiting from the unquestionable knowhow of Ivorian professionals.

politiCS & sociEtY

10

POLITICS AND SOCIETY

HISTORY

A long tradition of work and trade

© Xavier SCHWEBEL/ JA

Côte d’Ivoire has boasted economic activity for over 100 years

The soil and climate are good for growing many tropical crops.

The 13

th

century The earliest waves of immigration

A PEOPLE OF TRADERS The earliest occupants of what is now Côte d’Ivoire seem to have come from the southwest (present-day Liberia) and the north (present-day Mali). In the 13th century, waves of migrating Mandingo, a people of traders, settled on edge

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of the great forest and developed activities such as gold mining. The country began to find its place in the "Gold Belt" stretching across the region.

In the north, where Islam became the predominant religion, big commercial towns such as Kong and Bondoukou

POLITICS AND SOCIETY HISTORY

11

became veritable city-states. Until the 18th century, their history was intertwined with that of the mighty empires that emerged in Ghana and Mali. The Baoulé people settled in the centre of the country, the Agni in the southeast. On the coast, the population came into contact as early as the 16th century with European seafarers lured to the area by gold, ivory and the slave trade.

PRODUCING AND EXPORTING France imposed a protectorate in 1843 before organising it into a production colony after the 1885 Treaty of Berlin, which split Africa up among the European powers. France's intention was to squeeze as much wealth out of the country as possible and exploit it for its profit alone. A railroad provided access to the hinterland's resources — timber, rubber, palm oil, cocoa and coffee — which were harvested and exported, in addition to gold and ivory.

The development of those activities was based on the exploitation of the local population for the colonists' profit alone, but nevertheless it laid the groundwork for the country's earliest economic infrastructure, the most important being the wharf, intended for large ships, in 1904, the railroad, from 1904 to 1926, the Vridi port canal connecting the lagoon to the sea, from 1936 to 1950, and the port of Abidjan, starting in 1951.

THE "IVORIAN MIRACLE" In 1960, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the first President of independent Côte d'Ivoire, took a decision that determined the country's future: economic development based on two cash crops, cocoa and coffee. By

1975, Côte d'Ivoire was Africa's most prosperous former French colony. But the "Ivorian miracle" ground to a halt by 1980, as plummeting raw material prices brought about a drastic fall in the country's revenues. Meanwhile, the single-party model, then the norm nearly everywhere in Africa, increasingly came under challenge. In 1990, the Parti Démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire, PDCI) relinquished its status as a party-State and made way for a multiparty system, heralding sweeping institutional reforms.

KEY FIGURES ◗ Area: 322,462 km2 ◗ Coastline: 520 km ◗ Population: 22.6 million ◗ Gross domestic product (GDP): $25 billion ◗ GDP per capita: $1,100 ◗ Currency: Franc CFA (1 euro = 656 FCFA)

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1960 Independence

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY HISTORY

in November 2010, with the backing of the international community. But the situation got even worse when Gbagbo refused to concede defeat.

The "post-electoral crisis", as this period is known, resulted in the loss of many lives and the destruction of much of the country's economic potential. It ended with Gbagbo's arrest on 11 April 2011 and the inauguration of president-elect Alassane Ouattara on 21 May.

A FRESH START A DIFFICULT DECADE

2012 End of the crisis

Félix Houphouët-Boigny died on 7 December 1993. His successor, Henri Konan Bédié, elected in 1995, was overthrown by a coup on 24 December 1999, ushering in over 10 years of unrest and violence. By late 2002, under the presidency of Laurent Gbagbo, Côte d’Ivoire was split in two, with insurrectional groups called Forces Nouvelles (New Forces) in control of the north. A quasi-civil war tore the country apart until the organisation of presidential elections which took place

The new president had a huge task before him. Two years later, the earliest results show that his policies have paid off. Most observers consider the crisis over. The new government is focusing all its efforts on national reconciliation, the reconstruction of infrastructure, economic recovery and the fight against poverty. The international community's trust in Côte d’Ivoire's future has been fully restored. Largescale financial support has enabled the government to modernise the country's structures, procedures and mentalities from top to bottom. ■

GEOGRAPHY AND A CLIMATE FAVORABLE FOR AGRICULTURE Côte d’Ivoire is on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. Its neighbours are Liberia (a 716km border) and Guinea-Conakry (610km) in the west; Mali (532km) and Burkina Faso (584km) in the north; and Ghana (668km) in the east. In the south, the country has an approximately 500km coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean. Côte d’Ivoire is a vast plateau rising from south to north, with mountain ranges in the west, culminating with 1,300m Mount Tonkui, near Man. The south has a wet equatorial climate and large plantations (coffee, cocoa, pineapple, rubber, banana, etc.).

The north features a tropical, Sudanese-type climate and tree-studded grasslands (mango, teak, etc.). Four large rivers — the Bandama, Comoé, Cavally and Sassandra — and many smaller ones give Côte d’Ivoire a particularly dense hydrographic network.

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY

TOWNS AND CITIES Number of inhabitants over 3,500,000 from 100,000 to 1,000,000 from 50,000 to 100,000 from 20,000 to 50,000 less than 20,000

RELIEF

National Park

ALTITUDE in metres over 500

Rapids

from 400 to 500 from 300 to 400 from 200 to 300 from 0 to 200

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100 km

COMMUNICATIONS Motorway Main road Secondary road Railway International Airport

© Cartographie, Les Éditions du Jaguar

0

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY

SOCIETY

Diverse but united peoples

© © Vincent Fournier / JA

A long tradition of tolerance and dialogue has forged a strong national identity

75% of Ivorians speak French

Félix Houphouët-Boigny (centre) during the proclamation of independence, 7 August 1960.

APPROXIMATELY 60 ETHNIC GROUPS Four main human groups stemming from successive waves of migration live in Côte d'Ivoire. The Mande (west and northwest), Voltaic

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(northwest), Krou (southern forest) and Akan (south, centre, east and southeast) peoples include approximately 60 ethnic groups.

All these peoples, who are rich in diverse cultures and have developed

POLITICS AND SOCIETY SOCIETY

HARMONIOUS COHABITATION Nearly 75% of the population is fluent in French, Côte d’Ivoire's only official language. There are also approximately 60 local languages, 17 of which are spoken by over 100,000 people, including Baule, Agni, Attie, Guéré, Bété, Senufo, Yacouba and Dioula, which gradually became the language of commerce and is spoken in all the country's regions. The harmonious cohabitation of different faiths is a strength of Ivorian society. The most widespread religions are Islam (38%), Catholicism (22%) and Protestantism (5.5%). Disciples of traditional belief systems and animism still account for approximately 17% of the population, but Evangelical churches are swiftly gaining ground.

Islam came to Côte d’Ivoire around 700 years ago, and every city has at least one mosque. Bondoukou has 32, making it a centre of the Muslim faith. The Grand Mosque in the heart of Abidjan balances out Our Lady

of Peace basilica, which President Félix Houphouët-Boigny built in Yamoussoukro.

THE HOMECOMING OF IVORIANS LIVING ABROAD Côte d’Ivoire was long a land of immigration and not emigration, as Senegal or Mali has been. The crisis sent many young, welltrained, often economically wellintegrated packing for France.

There were 126,000 of them in 2011, compared with approximately 20,000 in the 1980s. Today, Côte d’Ivoire needs their expertise to rebuild. Procedures have been set up in Paris and Abidjan to facilitate their homecoming. Hiring is based solely on qualifications and skills.

No stone has been left unturned to encourage the return of engineers, researchers, bankers and other skilled professionals living abroad, especially in France. ■

126 000 Ivorians were living in France in 2011

MAIN HUMAN INDICATORS ◗ Life expectancy: 56 years ◗ Population density: 48 inhabitants per km² ◗ Population growth: 3,3% a year ◗ Population over the age of 14 39.8%) ◗ Average age: 20 (in 2013) ◗ Urban/rural distribution 52%/48% (2012 estimate)

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SourceS : World Bank, cIa FactBook

different systems of political, economic and social organisation, have peacefully co-existed, with the exception of a brief period in recent history. They are receptive to the outside world and contributed to the economic take-off of the 1960s by enlisting the participation of men and women from every background working towards the edification of a strong national identity. That is why, since overcoming the postelectoral crisis, the government has stressed the need for deep national reconciliation, the cornerstone of civil peace and economic development.

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY

POLITICAL LIFE

A renewed institutional framework

Goal: irreproachable governance

Eleven parties fielded candidates in the April 2013 regional and municipal elections.

THE NORMALISATION OF POLITICAL LIFE After President Alassane Ouattara entered office on 21 May 2011, the December 2011 legislative elections and February 2012 legislative by-elections gave his party, the Rassemblement des RĂŠpublicains

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(Assembly of Republicans, RDR) the absolute parliamentary majority.

On 21 April 2013, the municipal and regional elections took place simultaneously for the first time in the country's history. The number of political parties participating in local elections rose from just

six in 2001 and 2002 to 11 in 2013, demonstrating the vote's mobilising and inclusive character, which is just what officials had wanted. The RDR won 32% of the vote for the General Councils (33% for Municipal Councils), the Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (Houphouëtist Assembly for Democracy and Peace, RHDP) 29% (but just 1.55% in the municipal elections). The Independents won 20% of the vote (37% in the municipal elections) and Parti Démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire PDCI-RDA) 13% (25% for the Municipal Councils). All observers agree that the elections closed the postcrisis political normalisation process, although national reconciliation, which necessarily takes longer, continues.

THE PARLIAMENT PLAYS ITS PART As of mid-2013, the RDR held 138 of the National Assembly's 255 seats, the PDCI 86, the Independents 17, the UDPCI eight, and the RHDP and Mouvement des Forces d’Avenir (Movement of the Forces of the Future, MFA) three each. The state second-ranking figure, president of the national assembly Guillaume Soro, wants to reposition the country's parliament, which has lost its lustre, "in the service of the people of Côte d’Ivoire" and bring it back into the concert of the world's parliamentary institutions. He started by urging the deputies to get closer to their constituents and visit them on a regular basis. Moreover, throughout 2012 he set parliamentary diplomacy in motion, participating in the 38th session of the Assembly of FrenchSpeaking Parliaments in Brussels and the 127th meeting of the Inter-

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© Falonne / JA

POLITICS AND SOCIETY POLITICAL LIFE

A view of the administrative capital, Yamoussoukro, north of Abidjan.

Parliamentary Union in Quebec. During the legislature's first year, the National Assembly passed 24 laws, including several that amended articles of the Civil Code in order to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women.

SYSTEMATIC REFUSAL OF IMPUNITY Based on the French model, Côte d'Ivoire's judicial system includes trial and appeals courts, a high court and a supreme court. It is independent of the executive and legislative branches, but plays a strategic role in the reconciliation process under way.

Officials have undertaken the task of modernising and professionalising the system so that justice is meted out in a completely independent and impartial manner. Structures, equipment and staff have been strengthened; courthouses damaged during the crisis have been rehabilitated. Today the country has 25 court divisions,

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255

deputies in the national assembly

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY POLITICAL LIFE

© Vincent Fournier/JA

CREDIBLE AND IMPARTIAL JUSTICE

Côte d'Ivoire's president with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in Yokohama in May 2013.

eight magistrates' courts and three appeals courts. The signing of an agreement with the bar association on 11 December 2011 was the first step in a programme to improve legal aid and free legal counsel for the poorest members of society.

Another goal is to change mentalities in order to boost the courts' efficiency, transparency and accessibility. The systematic refusal of impunity has become a guiding principle and the general inspectorate has been re-energised in order to increase monitoring and sanctions.

Judges' deviations are no longer be tolerated, and in October 2012 individuals suspected of corruption were suspended. The government's message is clear: respect for human rights and the rule of law depend on credible justice. The decision to merge justice and human rights into a single super-ministry sends a strong signal in that regard. So does Côte d’Ivoire's ratification of the Treaty of Rome, the founding text of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in February 2013. ■

PRESIDENT ALASSANE OUATTARA the president of côte d’Ivoire, alassane ouattara, was born in dimbokro, in the centre of the country, on 1 January 1942. He attended primary school in côte d’Ivoire, secondary school in upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) and earned a Ph.d. in economics at the university of Pennsylvania. then Mr. ouattara held various positions in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before joining the central Bank © Vincent Fournier/JA

of West african States (Bceao), becoming vice-governor in 1983 and governor in

President Alassane Ouattara.

1988. He was prime minister of côte d’Ivoire from november 1990 to december 1993 and deputy managing director of the IMF from July 1994 to July 1999. on 28 november 2010, he was elected president of côte d’Ivoire with 54% of the vote in a second round with a turnout of over 80%. Since entering office, Mr. ouattara's priorities have been national reconciliation and economic recovery, with the goal of making côte d’Ivoire an emerging country by 2020.

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FACTFILE THE CONSTITUTION of the second republic of côte d’Ivoire, adopted by referendum on 23 July 2000, defines the country as secular and democratic, with a presidential system. It abolished capital punishment, erected barriers against corruption, set the voting age at 18 and established a single-chamber parliament. In 2012, article 85bis on the International criminal court was inserted in title VI.

THE FLAG features three vertical stripes. orange symbolises the northern savannas, white stands for peace and green represents both hope and the forests of the south.

THE NATIONAL MOTTO union, discipline, work

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC is elected by universal suffrage to a five-year term renewable once. He is the head of state, chief executive and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has the power to appoint or dismiss the prime minister, who is responsible for carrying out and coordinating the government's action.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY has 255 deputies elected by universal suffrage to five-year terms. the legislative elections of december 2011 and by-elections of February 2012 handed the absolute majority to the President's party, the rassemblement des républicains (assembly of republicans, rdr,

POLITICS 138 seats), and his allies in the Parti démocratique de côte d’Ivoire (democratic Party of côte d’Ivoire, PdcI, 86 seats).

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL has a purely consultative function but plays a major role. the president appoints its 125 members on the basis of their recognised skills, and may ask them for studies or advice.

THE MEDIATOR OF THE REPUBLIC tries to settle disputes of all kinds through mediation, without prejudice to the recognised competences of other State institutions and departments.

THE GENERAL STATE INSPECTORATE (IGE) independently ensures that the state's structures and services run smoothly. It has the power to investigate, inform and arrest.

ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE tel.: (+ 225) 2034 73 11 www.infrastructures.gouv.ci MINING, OIL AND ENERGY tel.: (+225) 20 21 50 03 www.energie.gouv.ci AGRICULTURE tel.: (+225) 20 21 08 33 www.agriculture.gouv.ci TRADE, CRAFTS AND SMES tel.: (+225) 20 21 76 35 www.commerce.gouv.ci TOURISM tel.: (+225) 20 34 79 08 www.tourisme.gouv.ci CONSTRUCTION, HOUSING, SANITATION AND URBAN PLANNING tel.: (+225) 20 21 74 78 www.construction.gouv.ci

THE MAIN MINISTRIES

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY tel.: (+225) 20 34 75 73 www.telecom.gouv.ci

THE GOVERNMENT'S PORTAL www.gouv.ci

TRANSPORT tel.: (+225) 20 34 48 57 www.transports.gouv.ci

THE PRIME MINISTER'S PORTAL www.premierministre.gouv.ci FOREIGN AFFAIRS tel.: (+ 225) 20 32 08 88 www.diplomatie.gouv.ci PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT tel.: (+225) 20 32 14 48 www.plan.gouv.ci ECONOMY AND FINANCES tel.: (+ 225) 20 30 50 90 www.finances.gouv.ci INDUSTRY tel.: (+225) 20 21 64 73 www.industrie.gouv.ci

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATION ◗ Political capital: Yamoussoukro ◗ Economic capital: abidjan ◗ Autonomous districts: 2 ◗ Districts: 12 ◗ Regions: 30 ◗ Departments: 95 ◗ Sub-prefectures: 498

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY

INTERNATIONAL

Back on the international stage

© AFP ImageForum

The "Elephant" restored relations with its international partners in less than two years

Côte d'Ivoire's president with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in Yokohama in May 2013.

2013

President Ouattara is re-elected head of ECOWAS

A STRONG-MINDED REGIONAL POLICY Combined with satisfying early political and economic results, the strong-minded foreign policy Côte

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d’Ivoire launched in late 2011 has helped the country quickly restore its rank as West Africa's secondleading economic power and the French-speaking sub-region's biggest

POLITICS AND SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL

21

© AFP ImageForum

economy. Côte d’Ivoire can once again live up to its nickname the "Elephant of Africa", which is based on its history and economic power and the fact that the pachyderm was also the symbol of the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (African Democratic Assembly), a party founded by Félix HouphouëtBoigny. Bilateral cooperation with all its neighbours, some of which had been suspended, has resumed and is stronger than ever. President Ouattara's regional policy translates an economic goal: the widening of regional and African markets.

PRESIDENCY OF ECOWAS In 2012, President Ouattara was elected head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This is the first time in the organisation's 37-year history that an Ivorian has been its leader: in March 2013, his peers re-elected him to a second one-year term. The first one mainly focused on settling crises in Mali and Guinea-Bissau; the second, says President Ouattara, will address economic issues and the building of an "ECOWAS of peoples" to strengthen the "ECOWAS of states, which has existed since the community began. Priorities include widening the electricity supply.

DIPLOMACY AT THE SERVICE OF THE ECONOMY As soon as Mr. Ouattara was elected, he met with the world's top leaders in order to convince them that Côte d'Ivoire has entered a new era of seriousness, good governance and economic development. They listened to him everywhere he went. The

With Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, his Liberian counterpart, at an ECOWAS summit.

international community unanimously backed the major political, economic and social reforms he undertook and assured the country of steadfast financial support, which enabled it to launch an ambitious 11-trillion-FCFA National Development Plan (PND) that will help Côte d’Ivoire achieve emerging country status by 2020.

MANY SUMMIT MEETINGS President Ouattara attended many summit meetings in 2012 and 2013, each time seizing the opportunity to forge or strengthen ties of active cooperation, for example at the third Africa-South America Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in February 2013 and the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in Yokohama, Japan in May 2013. He has increased contacts in Europe, America, Asia and the Gulf States and pleaded for

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40%

Côte d’Ivoire's share of WAEMU's GDP

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POLITICS AND SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL

© AFP Image Forum

STRENGTHENING REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Côte d'Ivoire's president with Barack Obama at the May 2011 G8 summit in Deauville.

2020 Côte d’Ivoire is an emerging country

more resources and investments in his country. His efforts have usually paid off. The African Development Bank (AfDB), which is preparing to bring its headquarters back to Abidjan, and the International Office of Coffee and Cocoa, which is planning to locate its head office there, are two examples.

Côte d’Ivoire belongs to three regional organisations in which it plays an active role in boosting their efficiency and achievements. With roughly 40% of French-speaking West Africa's total GDP, it has traditionally been the driving force behind the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA). In February 2013, the Council of Ministers decided to relaunch Côte d’Ivoire's participation in the Conseil d'Entente, which should speed up decisions on the rail loop project to connect Benin (Cotonou and Parakou), Niger (Niamey) and Burkina Faso (Kaya and Ouagadougou) with Abidjan. On 30 April at the 22nd Mano River Union Summit in Monrovia, decisions were made to connect major motorways in the region. At the event president Ouatarra reasserted the urgent need to upgrade infrastructure, particularly in transport. ■

MEETING THE SECURITY CHALLENGE alassane ouattara, the acting president of ecoWaS, is calling for a common defence and security policy by modernising ecoMoG, the organisation's defence instrument, and stronger regional cooperation on intelligence and action, especially against piracy, a growing problem off its coast. He played a major role in launching the counter-offensive against the Islamists in northern Mali in early 2013. côte d’Ivoire has provided troops for the International Support Mission to Mali (MISMa); the first contingent, assigned to logistical missions, reached Bamako in May 2013. these actions are driven by the president's desire to anchor the "elephant of africa" to the great liberal states and participate in world affairs, but they also attest to a firmness that is turning out to be useful at home. there is still a long way to go, but the outstretched hand policy is starting to pay off as exiles return, veterans find gainful employment and a new army is takes shape.

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FACTFILE REGIONAL ORGANISATIONS ECOWAS the economic community of West african States (ecoWaS), created in 1975 on the initiative of nigeria and togo, aims to promote the cooperation and integration of its member states — Benin, Burkina Faso, cape Verde, côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, GuineaBissau, liberia, Mali, niger, nigeria, Senegal, Sierra leone and togo — until they set up a common market.

In 1990, its power was extended to include the maintenance of regional stability with the creation of ecoMoG, a military intervention group. according to the IMF, ecoWaS, with its 300 million people, is the world's 25th economic power UEMOA the West african economic and Monetary union (WaeMu/ ueMoa), founded in dakar in 1994, include eight States — Benin, Burkina Faso, côte d’Ivoire, GuineaBissau, Mali, niger, Senegal and togo — with a population of over 80 million (25% in côte d’Ivoire). the ueMoa commission manages the organisation on a day-to-day basis. the members have a common currency, the cFa franc (100 FcFa = 0.15 euro). the central Bank of West african States (Bceao) manages the common monetary policy.

INTERNATIONAL border between liberia and Sierra leone, groups together three West african countries for the purposes of regional cooperation and integration. It was founded in 1973 to promote economic cooperation between liberia and Sierra leone, that were joined by Guinea in 1980. the unrest that has rocked all three countries mean the union only has a theoretical existence. In 2004 it was revived at a summit of the three heads of state and took on a new dimension under the impetus of côte d’Ivoire, but its achievements are no more remarkable than those of the entente council.

MANO RIVER UNION the Mano river union, named after the waterway forming the

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côte d’Ivoire belongs to specialised regional institutions including the african development Bank (afdB) and the West african development Bank (Boad).

REPRESENTATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL BODIES ●

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BCEAO tel.: (+225) 20 20 84 00 www.bceao.int ●

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BOAD tel.: (+225) 20 21 80 80 www.boad.org ●

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THE WORLD BANK tel.: (+225) 22 40 04 94 www.worldbank.org ●

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ECOWAS MISSION tel.: (+225) 22 40 96 55 www.ecowas.int ●

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UEMOA tel.: (+225) 66 50 71 48 www.uemoa.int ●

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INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)) tel.: (+225) 20 30 01 65 www.imf.org

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) tel.: (+225) 20 31 74 00 www.ci.undp.org AFRICAN UNION tel.: (+225) 22 52 75 60 www.africa-union.org

DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIONS

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

ENTENTE COUNCIL this regional organisation set up in 1959 is primarily involved in economic affairs. It includes Benin, Burkina Faso, côte d’Ivoire, niger and togo, which joined in 1966. the headquarters is in abidjan. neither its dynamism nor its results have been noteworthy.

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GERMANY tel.: (+225) 22 40 20 30 www.abidjan.diplo.de BELGIUM tel.: (+225) 22 48 33 60 www.diplomatie.be/abidjanfr CANADA tel.: (+225) 20 30 07 00 www.canadainternational.gc.ca CHINA tel.: (+225) 22 44 59 00 www.ci.chineseembassy.org SPAIN tél. : (+225) 22 44 48 50 E-mail : emb.abidjan@mae.es UNITED STATES tel.: (+225) 22 49 44 00 www.french.cotedivoire. usembassy.gov FRANCE tel.: (+225) 20 20 04 04 www.ambafrance-ci.org INDIA tel.: (+225) 22 42 37 69 E-mail: indemabj@afnet.net ITALY tel.: (+225) 22 44 61 70 www.ambabidjan.esteri.it JAPAN tel.: (+225) 20 21 28 63 www.ci.emb-japan.go.jp UNITED KINGDOM tel.: (+225) 20 44 26 69 www.fco.gov.uk

eCONOMy & BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

26

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

OUTLOOK

A stunning economic recovery

© Vincent Fournier / JA

The IMF forecasts a "second Ivorian miracle"

The port of Abidjan is one of Africa's most efficient logistics hubs.

9.8%

The growth rate in 2012

GLOWING RESULTS Speaking before the national assembly in Abidjan in January 2013, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde congratulated the country's new administration for the results Côte d’Ivoire achieved in less than two years.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

She even mentioned the prospect of a "second Ivorian miracle" if the reforms under way are carried out to a successful conclusion. In 2012, real GDP growth outdid the most optimistic forecasts, reaching 9.8%, a figure the IMF confirmed in late March 2013. A

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK

similar rate — between 9% and 10%, if not more — is expected for 2013 and 2014.

27

sector, which accounts for 18% of its GDP.

A BOOMING SERVICE SECTOR ALL INDICATORS ARE UP The normalisation of the security situation, resumption of international cooperation and incentives for productive sectors account for these outstanding results. The outlook is bright. Côte d’Ivoire has regularised its foreign debt for the first time in 30 years. The public investment rate will rise above 7% in 2013 for the first time, while inflation, limited to 1.3% in 2012, is forecast to remain below 3% in 2013.

If the political and security situations continue to evolve favourably, President Ouattara's strategic goal "to make Côte d’Ivoire an emerging country by 2020", by generating enough growth to double national revenue by 2020, will be more credible.

The tertiary sector turned out to be the main engine of growth in 2012, accounting for nearly half of GDP. Steps to improve the security situation, enhance maritime transport and launch the new airline, Air Côte d’Ivoire, in October 2012, spurred transport and logistic activities, which bounded ahead by 23%. Trade, which fell by 7% in 2011, rose by 11% in 2012 thanks to the return of confidence, restoration of the government's authority throughout the country, re-establishment of freedom of movement and increase in farmers' incomes after the reform of the coffee-cocoa sector. The recovery has benefited all services. The banking, insurance, tourism and hotel industries grew by 17% each. In 2012, GDP stood at 1.26 trillion FCFA ($25 billion).

CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURING LEAD THE WAY

A PLAN FOR EMERGENCE

GDP growth in 2012 more than made up for the 4.7% decline in 2011, the year of the post-electoral crisis. The primary sector expanded only slightly (2.3%), but the secondary (19.2%) and tertiary (13.5%) sectors have boosted the economy. Construction and manufacturing are remarkably buoyant, fuelled in particular by an 83.3% rise in investment, both public (infrastructure) and private (renewal of production tools). Construction has benefited from the launch of major infrastructure projects, rural road maintenance, the rehabilitation of public buildings, and the construction of classrooms and health centres: revenues rose by 30% in 2012 after shrinking by 12% the previous year. Côte d'Ivoire boasts the ECOWAS zone's leading manufacturing

The government's three-year (20122015) National Development Plan (PND), based on the assumption of brisk growth fuelled by a sharp rise in public and private investment, has become the only document of reference for the country's economic policy. Real GDP growth forecasts are reasonable: 8.6% in 2012 (the goal was actually surpassed), 9% in 2013 and 10% in 2014 and 2015. Investments are expected to rise from 12.5% of GDP in 2012 (of which 5.4% is public) to 23.5% in 2015 (9% public). Some goals are quantified, such as the desire to cut the poverty rate in half (from 50% to 25%) and to improve the Human Development Index (HDI), in which Côte d'Ivoire ranks 168th out of 184 countries. Others are strategic, for example, creating

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

€16

billion The PND budget

28

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK

BACKED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Construction and civil engineering earnings rose by 30% in 2012.

2,145

The number of businesses created in 2012

one of the best business climates in Africa, strengthening economic competitiveness and joining the top of the list of African countries in terms of good governance and the fight against corruption.

The PND integrates all the other economic and financial plans and programmes under way. For example, it will benefit from the sums saved by France's cancellation of its bilateral debt, which will be earmarked for social programmes.

Likewise, reaching the completion point of the HIPC initiative (64% of the multilateral debt, or over four billion FCFA) in June 2012 allows the government to fund priority projects. The PND, the overall cost of which is more than 1.1 trillion FCFA (€16 billion), is financed in part

by Côte dʼIvoire's government and in part by its main development partners, who showed their support at a December 2012 meeting in Paris granting the country 4.319 billion FCFA (around €6 billion) in aid, twice as much as expected. A second PND spanning the 2016-2020 period is being studied. ■

THE 2012-2015 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN'S GOALS AND INVESTMENTS I.

Citizens will live in harmony in a safe society and under good governance (9.56% of investments).

II. More wealth will be steadily produced and its fruits will be fairly distributed to all (63.82%).

III. Everyone, in particular women, children and other vulnerable groups, will have equal access to quality social services (14.58%).

IV. People will live in a healthy environment and decent conditions (9.37%).

V. Côte dʼIvoire's position on the regional and international scene will be effectively restored.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

FACTFILE

OUTLOOK THE RESUMPTION OF GROWTH

The "Ivorian miracle"

Raw materials crisis

Recovery after FCFA devaluation

Political and military crisis

Post-electoral crisis

Economic renaissance

1980-1993

1994-1999

2000-2010

2011

2012

10% 5% 0% -5% -10% 1960-1970

1970-1980

STEPS TO IMPROVE THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT ●

●

●

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creation in october 2012 of a one-stop window at the centre for the Promotion of Investment in côte d’Ivoire (cePIcI), which has cut the time it takes to set up a business from 32 days to 48 hours. creation of special commercial courts. the one in abidjan has been operating since october 2012. there is also a pending bill on dispute resolution.

In-depth reform of the justice system to increase efficiency, transparency and independence. creation of the national Public contracts regulation authority (anrMP) to clean up management methods and the attribution of public contracts, and creation of a public-private sector convention committee.

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Specific measures to fight racketeering and corruption.

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adoption in June 2012 of a new Investment code and gradual rollout of specific codes for the oil, electricity and telecommunications industries.

creation of a one-stop window for foreign trade. ● Implementation of regulations on consumption and strengthening competition. ●

A MORE ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT CODE In June 2012, the new text granted investors in côte d’Ivoire 16 guarantees instead of the three in the 1995 code. they involve: ●

Freedom to access to currency

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State aid for companies affected by natural disasters access to developed industrial areas total Vat exemption during the investment stage exemption from all registration fees on all acts subject to registration Special rates for water, electricity and new technology services extension of the period companies can benefit from breaks in free zones Partial exemption of the employer's share of employee payroll taxes

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A 2013 BUDGET GEARED TOWARDS INVESTMENT côte d’Ivoire's 3.814-trillionFcFa 2013 budget, based on an expected growth rate of 9%, is 17.7% bigger than the 2012 budget. It is characterised by the overwhelming preponderance of domestic resources (81.6%), including 73.3% of tax revenues, and the consolidation of investment credit, up by 155% compared to the previous year. expenses include the public debt service (1.026 trillion), civil servant salaries and payroll contributions (1.039 trillion), other operating expenses (715.1 billion) and investments (1.027 trillion). the latter, which play a crucial role in balancing the Pnd and ensuring its success, account for 26.4% of the total budget, compared to 20.5% the previous year, and 7.2% of GdP (5.2% in 2012). they cover all the economy's sectors and are earmarked mainly for the rehabilitation and construction of basic economic infrastructure.

USEFUL ADDRESSES ●

THE ONE-STOP INVESTMENT WINDOW THE CENTRE FOR THE PROMOTION OF INVESTMENTS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE (CEPICI) tel.: (+225) 20 21 40 70 www.cepici.gouv.ci

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NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN CONSULTATIVE GROUP Presentation of public and private Pnd projects www.gcpnd.gouv.ci

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INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR INVESTMENTS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE abidjan, 29 January - 1 February 2014 www.ici2014.com

30

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

OIL AND GAS

Becoming a regional hub

© DR Petroci

Deep reforms are under way

The country's natural gas is used to fuel its power plants.

300,000

barrels/day

Oil output forecast by 2020

EXPORTING CRUDE OIL SINCE 2002 Côte d’Ivoire became an oil producer in 1980 but did not start exporting crude with quality close to that of North Sea Brent until 2002. Since then, it has been reserved for export.

With economic recovery in full swing, the government intends not only to correct past mistakes — in particular,

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

the inefficiency and opacity of technical and financial management — but also to boost this highly strategic sector's production and revenues. Although oil output fell from 12.3 million barrels in 2011 to 10.7 million in 2012, earnings rose slightly from $345 million to $347 million during the same period.

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OIL AND GAS

31

In 2013, the government is counting on deep offshore discoveries, encouraged by those announced by the US company Vanco (in partnership with Russia's Lukoil and the UK's Tullow) in December 2011, as well as by France's Total in April 2013.

The French group's positive results, obtained near the territorial waters of Ghana, also an oil producer, are encouraging: it proves that Ghana's Tano oil basin stretches to the coast off Côte d'Ivoire. Total, which already has several prospecting licenses in the country, has drilled a 5,000m-deep exploration well in the western part of block CI-100 that detected a layer of "good quality" oil there. The prospecting license is 60% owned by Total, 25% by the private Ivorian company Yam’s Petroleum and 15% by the national company, Petroci. The French group, present in Côte d’Ivoire for a very long time, has also decided to invest 80% to 100% of its net earnings, or nearly six billion FCFA, locally to develop and modernise its service stations.

THE NEW FRONTIER: ULTRA-DEEP Côte d’Ivoire is not a major oil producer, but ultra-deep offshore technologies and the general boom they give way to, especially in Africa, could boost its capacity. The quest for emergence by 2020 has also determined another government goal: producing 300,000 barrels/ day. After the Baobab field started producing in 2005, output reached 70,000 barrels/day, but fell to less than 30,000 barrels/day in 2012. The

© DR : Petroci

FROM ONE DISCOVERY TO THE NEXT

France's Total has announced promising discoveries offshore.

main reasons are the postponement of investments planned in Blocks CI-11 and CI-40 in 2011 and the closure of some wells in Block CI-26 for maintenance. So far, oil accounts for just 4% of GDP and crude makes up only 15% of the country's total exports. The State's share of oil profits is 14%. Estimated recoverable crude oil reserves were put at 339 million barrels in 2012. The country owns 32 concessions, but no more blocks are available offshore and the drawing up of boundaries currently under way only involves ultra-deep deposits.

NATURAL GAS FOR ELECTRICITY The production of natural gas, under since 1995, allowed Côte d’Ivoire to achieve a spectacular

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

32

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT OIL AND GAS

35

billion M3 Natural gas reserves in 2013

rise in electricity production. The indispensable increase in power output now largely depends on the natural gas industry's growth. New wells will be drilled in the existing fields (Mahi, Foxtrot, Marlin, Manta, etc.) and the capacity of old wells is being increased, in particular by removing silt. Exploration activities are being intensified while the construction of new natural gas pipelines and a multi-purpose pipeline is in the planning stages.

Côte d’Ivoire's confirmed natural gas reserves stand at 30 to 35 billion cubic metres, equivalent to 20 years of consumption at the present pace.

Three companies share exploitation: FOXTROT, CNR and AFREN. All the output is consumed within the country, mostly by thermal power plants, which generate 70% of the power produced in Côte d’Ivoire.

TRIPLING OUTPUT BY 2020 Between 2011 and 2012, natural gas production climbed by 9.1% to 1.777 billion cubic metres, but that covers less than 90% of demand, which is rising at a steady pace, especially since the goals set by the National Development Plan (PND) — building infrastructure, boosting industrial growth and meeting the population's basic needs — requires tripling electricity output while improving service and lowering costs. Talks under way between the government and the three producer companies in late 2011 led to lower prices. The oil industry offers many development prospects, in particular the increase of natural gas storage capacity, construction of service stations, laying of AbidjanBouaké pipelines and extension of the gas distribution network to manufacturers. ■

THE OIL INDUSTRY'S GOALS ●

attract the most dynamic international companies

●

Foster national companies' participation in the sector's growth by training high-level managers and technicians

●

Widen the scope of action of the national company, Petroci, in particular by acquiring stakes in exploration and exploitation consortiums

●

Modernise and boost the capacities of the Société Ivoirienne de raffinage (SIr)

●

Build an urea production plant based on natural gas

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connect abidjan to Ghana with a gas pipeline in order to benefit from nigeria's natural gas

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Build a natural gas pipeline to northern côte d'Ivoire to foster its development and consider a junction with the networks of north africa

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

0

INDUSTRY

Oil pipeline

Gas

Oil pipeline under construction

Oil

Gas pipeline

Oil project

Hydroelectric plant

Oil refinery

Thermal power station

Planned refinery

MINES

100 km

Savannah

Chemicals industry

Mined deposit

Rainforest

Timber industry

Known deposits

Heavily exploited rainforest

Agribusiness, brewing Textiles and leather Mechanical engineering Cement works and construction materials Cotton ginning Rubber production Tobacco manufacture

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

Iron Nickel Gold Diamonds Bauxite Columbite tantalite (coltan)

National Park

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS Railway Seaport Tanker terminal

© Cartographie, Les Éditions du Jaguar

ENERGY

33

34

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

MINING

A pillar of emergence The long-neglected mining industry offers major development prospects

The Tongon gold mine in northern Côte d'Ivoire will be producing 1.2 million ounces a year by 2015.

670 million tonnes of iron reserves at the Mount Klahoyo mines

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME Between independence in 1960 and the 1990s, the national company, SODEMI, found large deposits of gold, iron, manganese, nickel and other metals in Côte d'Ivoire, but a lack of financial means and the 2000-2011 politicalmilitary crisis made it impossible to

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

seriously consider developing this sector. In mid-2013, manganese and gold are the only industrially extracted ores. The government plans to earmark 2.758 billion FCFA to develop mining between now and 2020, with the aim of making it a pillar of emergence.

The private sector makes productive

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS MINING

35

investments, while the state, according to its doctrine, fulfils its sovereign role by setting and enforcing rules. In 2013 a new Mining Code, particularly favourable to investors, replaced the 1995 text.

MAJOR PROJECTS UNDER WAY

A HUGE GOLD-MINING POTENTIAL Côte d’Ivoire appears to have West Africa's biggest gold-mining potential: rock likely to contain deposits cover more than one-third of its area.

Authorisations already granted have been audited and the mining registry has been purged of inactive permits.

Around 30 sites have been listed and approximately 20 prospecting licenses were granted in 2012. So were two mining permits: to Endeavour Mining in Agbaou (centre) and Occidental Gold

The Tongon gold mine entered into service in October 2011.

in Sissengué (north). They join South Africa's Randgold Resources, which has invested $425 million to operate the gigantic Tongon gold mine since mid-2010, Australia's Newcrest Mining in Bonikro (centre) and Canada's La Mancha in Ity (west). ■

GOlD pRODUCTION

* forecast

25 t.

20 t.

15 t.

10 t.

5 t.

2010 2011 2012 2015* 2020*

MANGANESE pRODUCTION 500,000 t.

400,000 t.

300,000 t.

200,000 t.

150,000 t.

100,000 t. * forecast

Iron mining at Mount Klahoyo, in the west, is one of the most promising projects in terms of revenues for the State and benefits for the local population. The deposit has 670 million tonnes of ore with an iron content of 36%. The Sipilou nickel mine, operated

by Canada's Sama Resources, is located in the same region. The nickel-copper Samapleu project and the Mount Gao iron project carried out by India's Tata Steel were relaunched in 2011. These mines offer development prospects in the region with the upcoming construction of a railway that will link to the port of San Pedro. Chinese companies, such as Minmetal, which is interested in nickel, also work in Côte d’Ivoire. Other mineral resources in the prospecting or exploitation stages are gold, manganese, diamonds, lithium, beryllium, colombo-tantalite, ilmenite, heavy metals (zircon) and phosphates.

50,000 t.

2011 2012 2015*

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

36

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

INFRASTRUCTURE

Transport is a priority

mproving infrastructure for regional benefit

A billion euros have been invested in building and rehabilitating roads.

300 km of new roads per year

GREASING THE WHEELS OF COMMERCE The rehabilitation and development of the country's infrastructure, which suffered from a lack of investment between 2000 and 2011 and the consequences of the 2011 postelectoral crisis, are the PND's biggest

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

project: it plans to spend seven billion euros on the effort in four years (20122015). The top priority is transport infrastructure, much of which is performing below capacity or badly deteriorated, despite being vital for national commerce and international trade. The government is working not

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

37

only on restoration and rehabilitation, but also on solving problems that hinder trade. For example, it is cutting port and customs red tape, by creating a one-stop window for all services.

Road projects alone account for over a billion euros. The south-north axis connecting Abidjan to Yamoussoukro, Bouaké, Korhogo and the border with Burkina Faso is undergoing rehabilitation and maintenance. Two roads from Abidjan and Bondoukou (in the centre-east of Côte d’Ivoire) to the west and the border with Ghana are also involved, as well as the southnorth axis linking San Pedro to Man and the border with Mali, and the coastal route connecting Abidjan to San Pedro and Tabou (near the border with Liberia). In 2012 alone, 52 billion FCFA (€80 million) were spent on maintaining and rehabilitating nearly 20,000km of roads — nearly one-third of the network. Work on the 30km Abidjan-Grand Bassam motorway (63 billion FCFA) began in August 2012. Lastly, modern coach stations are under construction, starting with the one in Adjamé, the gateway to Abidjan.

RAIL: MAKING A BIG COMEBACK SITARAIL operates the country's only railway, which is 1,156km long and links Abidjan to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. The line plays a major economic role but has become largely obsolete, so the government has decided to launch a $230-million rehabilitation project.

The Lenders' Collective approved the public-private partnership (PPP)

© Vincent Fournier/JA

A THIRD OF ROADS REHABILITATED IN 2012

The port of Abidjan handles 70% of neighbouring landlocked countries' trade.

in Paris in December 2012. Other projects include the construction of a mineral railway from San Pedro to Man and an ore-carrier dock at the Port of San Pedro. The development of western Côte d’Ivoire greatly depends on these €1.33-billion projects.

A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE POR OF ABIDJAN The Autonomous Port of Abidjan (PAA) is West Africa's biggest port and the second-biggest on the continent after Durban, South Africa. It handles 70% of the trade to and from neighbouring landlocked countries — Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — and weighs heavily in Côte d’Ivoire's economy, accounting for 90% of customs revenues and 60% of state revenues. The port processes 90% of Côte d’Ivoire's foreign trade,

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

1,156KM

of railway will link Abidjan to Ouagadougou

38

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT INFRASTRUCTURE

© AFP Image Forum

THE PORT OF SAN PEDRO: GROWING AT A BRISK PACE

Air Côte d’Ivoire made its first commercial flight in November 2012.

accounts for 70% of its industrial activities and provides 40,000 direct and indirect jobs. By 2012, activity was back to normal, with total traffic at 23 million tonnes, compared to 16.6 million tonnes in 2011 and 22.5 million tonnes in 2010. In March 2013, France's Bolloré Africa Logistics, which operates the biggest container terminal (TC 1), was chosen to build the second (TC 2), which will be able to handle 1.5 million TEU a year, doubling the PAA's processing capacity. The Maersk/Bolloré/Bouygues consortium will invest approximately $500 million in this facility, the only one of its kind in Africa (18m deep).

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

The exploitation of mineral wealth throughout western Côte d’Ivoire is fuelling brisk growth of the Autonomous Port of San Pedro (PASP), the world's biggest cocoa export facility. The main investments in the PASP involve three projects totalling around €500 million: the construction of a new container terminal, infilling and development of the port complex, and construction of a hydrocarbon storage depot. The government aims to boost traffic at the country's two ports from 25 million tonnes in 2012 to 50 million in 2015 and 100 million in 2020.

RAISING AIR TRANSPORT TO NEW HEIGHTS Abidjan's Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport is undergoing accelerated modernisation: two specialised terminals (freight and pilgrimages) have been built and, above all, a nearly one-trillion-FCFA 3,700-hectare airport city project is under construction. The 118-room Onomo Hotel is already operational on the site. Abidjan will become a regional air hub as soon as its airport receives — probably in early 2014 — American certification, which will have flights from Côte d'Ivoire to the United States. ■

FACTFILE

INFRASTRUCTURE

MAJOR ROAD pROJECTS UNDER WAY ●

Extension of the North Motorway

●

Construction of a third bridge in Abidjan

●

Expansion of the autonomous ports of Abidjan and San Pedro

●

Stage III of the Azito thermal power plant

●

The Soubré dam and hydroelectric power plant

●

The Man-San Pedro mineral railway

REVITAlISING AIR TRANSpORT Before the 2002 crisis broke out, Côte d'Ivoire had three international airports, 14 operational regional airports and 27 public or private aerodromes. Around 15 airport sites have been rehabilitated, but just six have an asphalt runway.

The government is carrying out a 9.6-billion-FCFA emergency works programme in order to improve domestic service while planning to revitalise the sites by grouping them together or selling them off to private operators.

AIR CÔTE D’IVOIRE Air Côte d’Ivoire, which is 65%-owned by the State, 20%

by Air France and 15% by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, rose up from the ashes of Air Ivoire on 16 May 2012. The airline inaugurated its first route on 12 November 2012 (Abidjan-Dakar) before extending service to 10 African destinations in 2013. It is planning to connect Abidjan with every African capital and gradually open its network up to the world.

lOW COST Encouraged by the success of its Paris-Dakar route, in April 2013 the low-cost airline Corsair began regular service between Paris and Abidjan, following in Air France's footsteps and forcing the bigger company to cut its fares. Several other low-cost airlines are ready to open up new domestic and international connections within and to Côte d’Ivoire.

FOUR BIllION DOllARS INVESTED IN THE TRANSpORT SECTOR Road infrastructure (in millions of dollars) Abidjan-border with Burkina Faso

510

Abidjan-border with Ghana

367

San Pedro-border with Mali

362

Abidjan-San Pedro-Tabou axis

196

Port of Abidjan infrastructure Ore-carrier dock

69

Grain terminal at the port of Abidjan

6

Development of a 181ha port zone

169

Second container terminal

264

Rail infrastructure Rehabilitation of the Abidjan-Ouagadougou-Kaya axis San Pedro-Man mineral railway

230 1,740

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

COMPANIES & MARKETS INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

42

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

COMPANY LIFE

Performance-enhancing reforms

State policy is geared towards companies' needs

Food and drink company earnings grew by 25% in 2012.

+ 150%

increase in coffee production in two years

CONFIDENCE AND DYNAMISM The crisis may have rocked Côte d’Ivoire's companies, but they are back down to work with a fresh burst of confidence. Their 2012

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

earnings attest to their amazing ability to rebound. The overall improvement of the macroeconomic framework, return of lenders willingness and slow-

but-sure improvement of the socio-political situation point to a bright outlook. A late 2012 survey conducted by the Côte d’Ivoire General Confederation of Enterprises (CGECI) attests to the economic players' optimism despite the challenges they face, including dried up cash-flow and trouble finding qualified labour to keep pace with the recovery. They appreciate the government's decision to settle its domestic debt as soon as possible, but would like to see local banks play a more active role in financing them, especially small and mediumsized enterprises. They also want a jobs policy that would give the economy's most profitable sectors priority.

THE STATE IS SETTLING ITS DEBTS In January 2013, the government asked the Treasury and Public Debt Department to pay off its domestic debt as quickly as possible. Over 35 billion FCFA was allocated: nearly 14 billion for central suppliers, five billion for administration, two billion for the suppliers of the National Public Health Establishments (EPN), 3.5 billion for those of the National Urban Hygiene Agency (ANASUR) and 836 million for those of the Houphouët-Boigny Polytechnic Institute (INPHB). Other amounts will be disbursed later for suppliers in sectors considered social priorities.

The government has two aims: to show that it intends to meet the 90- day deadline for paying its suppliers' bills; and to provide private companies, in particular SME, with the cash flow they need in order to drive growth.

43

© Vincent Fournier / JA

COMpANIES AND MARKETS COMpANY lIFE

A bottling plant owned by Solibra, the country's 14th-biggest company.

A PRO-ACTIVE, REALISTIC JOBS POLICY Putting people back to work is one of the government's priorities. Officially, Côte d'Ivoire's unemployment rate is between 20% and 30%, 50% of the population still lives in poverty, and young people, whether or not they have degrees, pay a heavy price for the lack of jobs. A new job creation scheme involving the government, development partners and private sector has been devised. The profitability of the jobs created matters, but other factors must also come into play, such as the need to give young people who have newly returned to civilian life work through the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reinsertion Programme (DDR).

Integrating them into mainstream society will help strengthen the country's stability. The World Bank,

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

44

COMpANIES AND MARKETS COMpANY lIFE

Dispatching centre of the CIE (Ivorian Power Company).

the programme's leading financial partner, has contributed 25 billion FCFA to the effort to match career training with the job market.

TRAINING: THE RIGHT FIT The World Bank also participates in the Youth Employment and

THE pRIVATE SECTOR IN FIGURES ●

85% of the creation of national wealth

●

5 million jobs

●

1 trillion FCFA in taxes and customs duties

Skills Development Project (PEJEDEC), which trains thousands of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 at the Electricity Professions Centre in Bingerville, on the outskirts of Abidjan. The centre offers them training and apprenticeships in response to the needs expressed by privatesector entrepreneurs. The concern with job creation has also led the government to re-open universities after being shut for two years due to the post-electoral crisis: approximately 100 billion FCFA have been earmarked to rehabilitate infrastructure and overhaul curriculum. Civil society also plays a role: the Ivorian Council for Work as a Social Contract (CITCS) demands the right to have a say in any project involving unemployed people and ensures that it matches companies' actual needs. ■

HOW COMPANIES STARTED GROWING AGAIN Businesses in the primary sector, especially agriculture, posted good results in 2012.

Coffee production soared nearly fourfold in one year (and by 150% compared to 2010). In the secondary sector, the start-up or resumption of big projects and launch of many real estate projects has fuelled the rise of the construction and civil engineering industries. Agro-food companies have seen their sales increase by 25%. The same upward trend has been observed in textiles, footwear and, with the improvement of the security situation, ground transport. Despite the woes of the Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage (Ivorian Refining Company), which suffers from a structural deficit, sales of petroleum products have surged by over 50%. Tertiary-sector companies are buoyant, whether in retail trade (+30% compared to 2011), air transport (+ 49% for passengers, 22% for freight) or maritime transport (+ 25%).

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

FACTFILE

COMpANY lIFE

Rank

Name

Activity

Turnover

Hydrocarbons

1,819.3

Agro-food

1,078

Energy

632.4

1

Société ivoirienne de raffinage (SIR)

2

Sifca

3

Compagnie ivoirienne d’électricité

4

Cargill West Africa

5

Orange Côte d’Ivoire

6

Sania Cie

7

MTN Côte d’Ivoire

8

Petroci

9

Société des mines de Tongon

10

PalmCI

Agro-industry

400

11

SAPH (Société africaine de production d’hévéas)

Agro-industry

347.7

12

Côte d’Ivoire Télécom

Telecoms

347.2

13

IPS

Textiles

316.4

14

Solibra (Société de limonaderies et brasseries d'Afrique)

Drinks

302

15

Eurofind Afrique

Agro-industry

296.5

16

Total Côte d’Ivoire

Hydrocarbons

289.1

17

Compagnie de distribution de Côte d’Ivoire

Distribution

263

18

Outspan Ivoire

Agro-industry

248.4

19

Société multinationale de bitumes (SMB)

Hydrocarbons

243.9

20

Prosuma (Société ivoirienne de promotion de supermarchés)

Distribution

225.7

Agro-industry

629.7

Telecoms

552.6

Agro-industry

516.7

Telecoms

427.8

Hydrocarbons

425.3

Mining

425.1

2011 turnover in millions of dollars (2012 turnover in bold) Data: Jeune Afrique, Africa's 500 biggest companies

CÔTE D’IVOIRE'S 20 BIGGEST COMpANIES

Rank

Name

Rank in West Africa (French and English-speaking)

Rank in Africa

1

Société ivoirienne de raffinage (SIR)

3

81

2

Sifca

11

145

3

Compagnie ivoirienne d’électricité

25

217

USEFUl ADDRESSES ●

●

CONFéDéRATION GéNéRALE DES ENTREPRISES DE CôTE D’IVOIRE (CGECI) Tel.: (+225) 20 30 08 20 www.cgeci.org

THE CGECI IN FIGURES ●

FéDéRATION IVOIRIENNE DES PETITES ET MOYENNES ENTREPRISES (FIPME) Tel.: (+225) 21 35 29 28

CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE ET D’INDUSTRIE (CCI-CI) Tel.: (+225) 20 33 16 00 - www.chamco-ci.org

●

500 companies

●

80% of activities in the formal modern sector

●

100,000 formal jobs

●

5 trillion FCFA in turnover

Data: Jeune Afrique, Africa's 500 biggest companies

IVOIRIAN COMpANIES IN AFRICA

46

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

COMPANY LIFE

Regional ambitions

The companies searching for new markets

Côte d’Ivoire is the world's fifth-leading palm oil exporter.

30, 0 00 people SIFCA is the biggest private employer

REFINING The Société ivoirienne de raffinage (Ivorian Refining Company, SIR), created in 1962, is Côte d’Ivoire's biggest company. Its shareholders are the Ivorian state (48%, through the national company Petroci), the states of Angola and Burkina Faso, and private groups. SIR processes crude oil imported from Nigeria into various

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

fuels and holds the monopoly for the distribution of finished products on the Ivorian market. Ministerial decrees set prices. The country's estimated petroleum needs are put at a million tonnes a year.

AGRO-INDUSTRY Approximately 30,000 people work for SIFCA, Côte d’Ivoire's biggest private

COMpANIES AND MARKETS COMpANY lIFE

47

group, which operates plantations and processes as well as sells vegetable oil, rubber and cane sugar. Turnover, up by 46% in two years, passed the billiondollar mark in 2012. SIFCA focuses on refining palm oil and wants to become Africa's leader. Its subsidiary, Sania CIE, which specialises in the production of cooking oil, boasts the continent's biggest refinery. In the long-term, it plans to double its current output of 700 tonnes a day.

ENERGY The CIE (Compagnie ivoirienne d’électricité, the Ivorian Power Company) holds the concession to manage the public service of distribution and transport of electricity in Côte d’Ivoire, where it has over a million customers. It also operates the country's five hydroelectric dams and a thermal power plant. Independent producers supplement output: CIPREL (Compagnie ivoirienne de production d’électricité, the Ivorian Power Generating Company), which operates a gas-thermal plant and, with the SODECI (Société de distribution d’eau de la Côte d’Ivoire, the Côte d’Ivoire Water Distribution Company) and CIE, belongs to the Finagestion group, the capital of which is mainly Ivorian and Senegalese.

The national refinery company SIR is the biggest in the country and third largest in West Africa.

OIL The Société nationale d’opérations pétrolières (National Petroleum Operations Company, Petroci) was created in 1970 with the aim of becoming the Ivorian State's technical operator in the oil industry.

Diversification and activities abroad shielded the company from the crisis; 2012 turnover stood at roughly $400 million. Petroci has big goals: its new MD wants "to make Côte d’Ivoire the petroleum product business hub in the sub-region, if not Africa." ■

IDENTIFYING AND MODERNISING SMES Ivorian small and medium-sized enterprises and industries account for 98% of the country's companies but just 18% of GDP and 20% of jobs. The government has rolled out many efforts to improve financing, but in general these companies are too poorly organised to reap the full benefit. To improve the situation, officials have drawn up a roadmap aiming to identify SMEs in order to facilitate their access to information and sources of financing that could help them. A law defining terms (micro, small and medium-sized enterprise) launched the process in September 2012. This is one of the few laws of its kind in force in Africa.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

48

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

BANKING AND FINANCE

The priority: supporting companies

A sound financial sector in the service of economic activity

BRVM is the eight WAEMU/UEMOA Member States' stock exchange.

37

companies are listed on the BRVM

A MAJOR FINANCIAL MARKET Côte d’Ivoire has been a key financial market for a long time: it is home to nearly 25 banks, the headquarters of the BRVM (the regional stock

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

exchange for eight French-speaking West African countries) and a major office of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO); the African Development Bank (AfDB), which left

COMpANIES AND MARKETS BANKING AND FINANCE

49

Abidjan in 2003, is returning in 2014.

Foreign banks have understood the importance of boosting their presence in the country. Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank) opened up a branch in April 2012, followed in June by Morocco's second-biggest banking group, Banques centrales populaires (BCP), which has joined forces with Atlantic Financial Group, present in seven of the region's countries.

FIVE PRIVATISATIONS UNDER WAY Before them, Nigeria's Diamond Bank, Gabon's BGFI Bank and Morocco's biggest financial institution, Attijariwafa Bank (which acquired SIB from Crédit Lyonnais in 2009), among others, established an active presence in Côte d’Ivoire, threatening the historic positions of two French bank subsidiaries, SGBCI (Société générale) and BICICI (BNP Paribas). Following agreements with the main lenders, five banks are in the process of privatisation: the Banque nationale d’investissement (BNI), Banque pour le financement de l’agriculture (BFA), Banque de l’habitat en Côte d’Ivoire (BHCI), Caisse nationale de crédit et d’épargne (CNCE) and Versus Bank.

THE GROWTH OF E-BANKING Just 10% of the population has an account, but that does not put a damper on fierce competition or stop banks from opening up branches. By late 2012, 560 of them covered the country with a relatively dense network. The BCEAO has launched a regional e-banking awareness-raising campaign.

Meanwhile, UEMOA'S Interbank

Over 20 international banks are present in the country.

Electronic Banking Group (GIMUEMOA), headquartered in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire accounts for over 40% of its activity), is standardising many operations, such as e-payment and internet payment of taxes and utility bills.

FINANCING THE PRIVATE SECTOR The government expects the financial sector to contribute more to financing companies, especially SMEs. It is counting on the financial soundness of international banks present in the country and on the brisk growth it has nurtured to swiftly increase banks' support for the economy. They loaned over 3.11 trillion FCFA ($6 billion) in 2011, a time when most of them had to rebuild their networks and forgive certain debts. The government itself relies on the financial market: it launched its fourth bond issue, totalling 93 billion FCFA, on 30 May 2013.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

50

COMpANIES AND MARKETS BANKING AND FINANCE

But it lists just 37 companies — less than five per member state.

However, the BRVM ranks seventh in Africa's 23 stock exchanges for capitalisation. It has drafted an action plan including the implementation of regional and international promotional and new services (24-hour trading, new indices and international certification) in order to boost the number of companies, investors and borrowers.

HEALTHY INSURANCE COMPANIES

The Agriculture Financing Bank is being privatised.

12%

the insurance industry's growth rate in 2012

REVITALISING THE BRVM Created in 1998, the BRVM, a stock exchange common to eight Frenchspeaking West African countries, has shown its ability to manage the regional financial market.

In 2012, insurance companies in Côte d'Ivoire posted 208 billion FCFA in turnover, up 12% in one year. Life insurance, which accounts for nearly 40% of the total, is growing by approximately 15% a year, outpacing coverage of risks.Big infrastructure projects, as well as coffee and cocoa planters' gradual return to the fold of Ivorian insurance, point to a bright outlook. ■

REINSURERS: STRENGTHENING THEIR PRESENCE The creation of African reinsurance companies responds to the determination of governements to curb capital flight to the developed countries, where most of the major reinsurance companies are located. In 1981, 12 French-speaking African nations, including Côte d’Ivoire, created CICA-RE, headquartered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, which reinsures by law 10% of the premiums paid locally in each country. In October 2012 the company opened a regional office in Abidjan in order to increase the number of insurance premiums kept there. AVENI-RE, Côte d’Ivoire's second-biggest reinsurance company, which groups together 14 African countries, has undertaken the same approach and also hopes to benefit from the major construction projects the Ivorian government has launched.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

FACTFILE

BANKING AND FINANCE CÔTE D’IVOIRE'S EIGHT BIGGEST BANKS Subsidiary of

2012 rank in West Africa

Total assets

Groupe Banque Atlantique et Banques centrales populaires (Morocco)

21

1,760

Groupe ivoirien

22

1,506

Ecobank (African group)

32

1,012

NSIA (Ivorian group)

33

885

Groupe Banque Atlantique

38

775

Rank 1

Atlantic Financial Group

2

SGBCI

3

Ecobank CI

4

BIAO CI

5

BACI

6

BNI

Public Ivorian group

38

766

7

BICICI

BNP Paribas (France)

40

739

8

Société ivoirienne de banque (SIB)

Attijariwafa Bank (Morocco)

45

673

Data: Jeune Afrique, Africa's TOP 200 banks, 2011 amounts in millions of dollars

THE FIVE BIGGEST INSURANCE COMpANIES Rank

2012 rank in Africa

Total premiums

1

NSIA Participations

17

272

2

Colina Participations

25

164

3

Union des Assurances – Vie

31

138

4

Colina Côte d’Ivoire

61

50

5

NSIA Côte d’Ivoire

82

29

Data: Jeune Afrique, Africa's Top 200 banks, 2011 amounts in millions of dollars

THE 10 BIGGEST BANKS' MARKET SHARE Others: 13% ●

USEFUl ADDRESSES ●

ASSOCIATION DES PROFESSIONNELS DE BANqUES ET éTABLISSEMENTS FINANCIERS (APBEF-CI) Tel.: (+225) 20 32 68 42 www.apbef-ci.org

●

ASSOCIATION DES SOCIéTéS D’ASSURANCES (ASA-CI) Tel.: (+225) 20 32 16 52 www.asa-ci.ci

● SGBCI: 18.3%

Citibank: 3% ● CNCE: 3.3% ● ● BACI: 10.6%

BOA-CI: 4.8% ● SIB: 8.2% ● BICICI: 8.8% ●

● Ecobank CI: 10.2% BIAO CI: 9.8% ●

Data: APBEF-CI

● BNI: 10%

52

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

AGRO-INDUSTRY

At the heart of the emergence strategy

© C. Millerand / JA

Boosting yields and on-site processing rates

The Sania plant, Africa's biggest cooking oil refinery.

40% agriculture's share of exports

HIGH GROWTH POTENTIAL Since independence, Côte d'Ivoire has based its development on agriculture, which has always been the bedrock of its economy. In 2013, two-thirds of households still lived

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

off of farming, which accounts for approximately 22% of GDP: 17% for food crops and 5% for exports.

The sector is one of the top job creators and offers investors fruitful prospects. Although 75% of the

COMpANIES AND MARKETS AGRO-INDUSTRY

53

land is arable, just 40% is farmed.

The average farm size is only 10 hectares. Soil quality and climate are particularly favourable to a wide variety of tropical crops.

FOUR BILLION DOLLARS BY 2015 This outstanding potential puts agriculture at the heart of the economic strategy aiming to make Côte d’Ivoire an emerging country by 2020. Agriculture even has its own investment programme as part of the 2012-2015 National Development Plan (PND), which provides over $20 billion for infrastructure, education and health. The National Agricultural Investment Programme (PNIA) will earmark two trillion FCFA (nearly $4 billion) for agriculture — at least 10% of the national budget, compared to less than 2% previously.

Planned PNIA projects aim to boost the yield and quality of all crops in order to lower costs and make food more affordable for Ivorian households.

Rice production will reach 1.9 million tonnes a year by 2016.

and plantain bananas, for which the country is self-sufficient and could export if it can boost yields (from 10 to 30 tonnes per hectare for bananas, for example).

STRENGTHENING EXPORT CROPS PROFITING FROM PRODUCE Demand for produce is high due to the large share of the population living in cities (around 50%). Rice is the top seller: Côte d’Ivoire imports over 50% of its annual consumption of 1.5 million tonnes. By 2016, the local production of 1.9 million tonnes will make Côte d’Ivoire a rice exporter again, a position it lost in the 1970s. Maize offers an excellent potential for export to neighbouring countries, all of which are suffering severe shortages despite yields higher that those in Côte d’Ivoire (1,500 kilos/hectare compared to 900). The same goes for manioc

The PNIA also involves cocoa, of which Côte d'Ivoire is the world's leading producer, and other products that altogether account for 40% of export earnings, including coffee (130,000 tonnes a year), cashew nuts (450,000 t), natural rubber (255,000 t), palm oil (390,000 t) and cotton, a sector that was especially hard hit by the decade-long crisis: production fell threefold between 2002 and 2008, but bounced back to 350,000 tonnes in the 2012-2013 season. The distribution of better seeds, construction of storage areas and renovation of roads and infrastructure are some of the ways

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

35%

of cocoa is processed locally

54

COMpANIES AND MARKETS AGRO-INDUSTRY

AGRO-INDUSTRY: ON THE CUTTING EDGE

Cotton production was back up to 350,000 tonnes in 2012-2013.

being sought in the PNIA's framework to boost cocoa output fivefold to two tonnes a hectare by 2015.

Côte d’Ivoire boasts West Africa's second-biggest industrial sector after Nigeria, accounting for around 20% of GDP, compared to 11% in Senegal and 8% in Ghana. It is overwhelmingly dominated by agroindustry. The share of processed products in total agricultural and agro-industrial exports rose from 28% in 1995 to 36% in 2008. With the goal of emergence by 2020 in mind, officials have set the target of processing at least 50% of the crops grown in the country on site, instead of barely 30% today. For example, the government is encouraging private cocoa growers to turn 40% of the harvest into cocoa butter, liquor and powder by giving them breaks such as reduced export taxes.

Less than 10% of Ivorian coffee, 3% of cashew nuts, 2% of natural rubber and 2% of cotton is processed on site. ■

REFORMING PRICE FLOORS In November 2011, Côte d'Ivoire rolled out a sweeping cocoa industry reform aiming to end long-standing abuses and guarantee farmers stable, higher earnings. It establishes a guaranteed minimum price for producers, replacing the old system, where unscrupulous buyers often manipulated them. In the 2012-2013 season, the price, set at 725 FCFA a kilo, was observed everywhere and provided remuneration for the four million people whose livelihoods depend on the crop. The system also helps to set up a reserve fund, for example to finance plantation maintenance work. It received 40 billion FCFA in 2012-2013. The newly created Cotton and Cashew Nut Regulation Authority (Areca) has also established price floors for those two crops.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

FACTFILE

AGRO-INDUSTRY

CÔTE D'IVOIRE lEADS THE WAY IN AGRICUlTURAl pRODUCTION Crop

Annual production

Position in 2011

Cocoa

1.4 million tonnes of beans

1st in the world

Rubber

255,000 tonnes

1st in Africa

450,000 tonnes of raw nuts

1st in Africa and world's leading exporter

Sweet bananas

300,000 tonnes

1st in Africa

Palm oil

300,000 tonnes

2nd in Africa and 5th in the world

Cashew nuts

Data: Jeune Afrique

●

MINISTRY OF AGRICUlTURE Tel.: (+225) 20 21 08 33 www.agriculture.gouv.ci

●

COFFEE AND COCOA COUNCIl Tel.: (+225) 20 25 69 69 www.conseilcafecacao.ci

●

COTTON AND CASHEW NUT REGUlATION AUTHORITY Tel.: (+225) 22 52 75 80 www.areca-ci.ci

●

NATIONAl ASSOCIATION OF pROFESSIONAl AGRICUlTURAl ORGANISATIONS Tel.: (+225) 22 44 11 76 www.erails.net/CI/anopaci/ anopaci/

●

NATIONAl AGRONOMICAl RESEARCH CENTRE Tel.: (+225) 23 47 24 24 www.cnra.ci

●

NATIONAl RURAl DEVElOpMENT SUppORT AGENCY Tel.: (+225) 21 35 46 99 www.anader.ci

●

INTER-pROFESSIONAl FUND FOR AGRICUlTURAl RESEARCH AND CONSUlTING Tel.: (+225) 22 52 81 81 www.firca.ci

●

NATURAl RUBBER TRADE ASSOCIATION Tel.: (+225) 22 41 46 16 www.apromac.ci

●

INTER-pROFESSIONAl COTTON TRADE ASSOCIATION Tel.: (+225) 22 51 05 33 www.intercoton.org

●

INTER-pROFESSIONAl OIl pAlM TRADE ASSOCIATION Tel.: (+225) 21 27 39 45 www.aiph.ci

●

NATIONAl ASSOCIATION OF RICE-GROWERS Tel.: (+225) 20 48 00 06 www.anariz-ci.org

THE 10 BIGGEST AGRO-INDUSTRIAl GROUpS Turnover

Rank

(millions of dollars)

1

SIFCA (oil seeds, rubber, sugar)

997.1

2

Cargill West Africa (cocoa)

629.7

3

Société africaine de cocoa

206.9

4

Cocaf Ivoire (cocoa)

199.5

5

Nestlé Côte d’Ivoire (cocoa)

186.4

6

Cémoi Côte d’Ivoire (cocoa)

154.6

7

Société ivoirienne des tabacs (tobacco)

152.4

8

Olam Ivoire (oil seeds, cashew nuts, coffee, cocoa,...)

150.7

9

Soc. d’étude et dév. de la culture bananière (bananas)

139.3

10

Les moulins modernes de Côte d’Ivoire (flour)

118.8

© Kalalo - Fotolia

Data: Jeune Afrique

56

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

REAL ESTATE

Foreign developers show strong interest Subsidised housing gives the market a decisive push

A HOME FOR ALL The estimated shortage of housing units in Côte d’Ivoire is put at 20,000 a year, half of which is in Abidjan alone.

Housing for low-income households, especially young people between the ages of 25 and 40, is a priority for the

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

government, which has decided to build 60,000 subsidised units by 2015.

They accounted for 428 billion FCFA ($856 million) in the list of PPP (PublicPrivate Partnership) projects presented to the Lenders' Collective in December 2011. In addition, a 100-billion-FCFA

COMpANIES AND MARKETS REAl ESTATE

57

($200 million) programme aims to build 5,000 housing units for police officers, gendarmes and the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire.

TOUGH ELIGIBILITY TERMS

© nfrPictures - Fotolia

Housing applicants must be Ivorian citizens whose total household income is under 400,000 FCFA. They cannot own or co-own property in Côte d’Ivoire. They must be taxpayers with no arrears and have a bank account. The pre-registration drive launched on 28 March 2013 saw 20,400 households apply in just three months; they had down payments ranging between 10% and 70% of the housing unit's purchase price. By April, the Ministry of Construction, Sanitation and Urban Planning had already seen interest from 30 variously sized real estate development companies and 225 construction businesses and building contractors.

INTEREST FROM MANY FOREIGN PLAYERS By emphasising the seriousness of transactions and its determination to solve the housing crisis, Côte d’Ivoire has laid the groundwork for a buoyant housing market attracting a significant number of new partners, starting with Addoha, the Moroccan leader, which has committed to 2,600 units; the US African Business Development Group (ABD), which will invest $52 million in the construction of 3,000 subsidised units; and China's Henan Guoji Construction Group, which plans to invest $1 billion and build 10,000 units by 2015. They are all betting that the building boom will have a snowball effect on high-end housing, malls and office buildings.

Henan Guoji Construction Group will invest a billion dollars between now and 2015.

BANKS: PLAYING THE GAME Improvements on real estate development are also likely. Certain innovations that have proven effective in other countries might be adapted in Côte d’Ivoire, for example Morocco's "one-stop window", which allows buyers to take care of all the formalities involved in purchasing a home (banks, administration, etc.) in a single place. The government and Ivorian banks are gradually setting up a partnership based on new concepts of financial mechanisms to achieve that goal. ■

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

20,000 subsidized housing units to build each year

58

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

POWER, WATER AND SANITATION

Regional ambitions and priority projects

© N. Zorkot

An electricity exporter and a model of environmental development

SODECI (l.) and CIE headquarters in Abidjan.

75%

Rise in power production in five years

ONE OF WEST AFRICA'S THREE BIGGEST GRIDS In 2012, Côte d’Ivoire's electricity production capacity stood at 1,421 MW, with thermal power plants accounting

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

for 817 MW and hydroelectric for 604 MW. A concessionary company, the CIE (Compagnie ivoirienne d’électricité, the Ivorian Power Company), provides the public service of electricity with a

COMpANIES AND MARKETS pOWER, WATER AND SANITATION

transport and distribution monopoly.

It operates and maintains all five hydroelectric dams as well as a 100MW thermal power plant. Two independent producers, Azito Énergie (206 MW) and Ciprel (321 MW), and a service provider with its own gas-plant and generators (Aggreko), supplies the rest. Azito, Ciprel and the CIE each account for a third of national output.

TOWARDS A DOUBLING OF POWER PRODUCTION The government has programmed 175 power development projects totalling 9.514 trillion FCFA, 70% of which comes from private investment and 30% from public funds, to boost the country's installed power to 2,500 MW in five years. The biggest project is the 275MW Soubré hydroelectric dam financed by China's Eximbank, which will be operational in 2017. By then, Ciprel will have raised its production capacity to 543 MW and Azito Énergie to 427 MW; a new plant in Abatta, near Abidjan, will add 330 MW. A PPP with various international players, including US Contour Global, will carry out each of these projects. Most of the thermal plants will run on natural gas extracted in Côte d'Ivoire.

AT THE HEART OF A REGIONAL ENERGY HUB Côte d’Ivoire has been exporting power to neighbouring countries since 1984.

High-voltage lines connect it to Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso and Mali. New lines are planned via Liberia and Sierra Leone to Guinea. Côte d’Ivoire's role as a regional energy hub will acquire a new dimension as the 15 ECOWAS countries gradually set up the West African Power Pool (WAPP).

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

59

60

COMpANIES AND MARKETS pOWER, WATER AND SANITATION

FCFA in investments. The amounts earmarked for the sector until now have been insignificant in comparison: approximately 36 billion FCFA over the past decade.

UPGRADING LIVING CONDITIONS

Azito Énergie's gaz thermal plant.

MAKING DRINKING WATER AVAILABLE TO ALL According to official data, the drinking water access rate is satisfactory (between 70% and 75%) compared to the regional average, but wide gaps exist between urban and village communities. The PND aims to boost the national rate to 82.5% by 2015 with an estimated 600 billion

Analysing the quality of distributed water in SODECI's laboratories.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

The main goals of the government's "Living Together" programme include "ensuring healthy, sustainable living conditions for present and future generations". The PND aims to give 60% of the population access to basic sanitation by 2015. In late 2012, the government created a Ministry of the Environment, Urban Hygiene and Sustainable Development, whose most symbolic measure has probably been the ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags in May 2013. Cutting down on food waste, reducing the use of mercury in gold mining and making equipment to collect household waste available are also on its programme.

URBAN HYGIENE: A PRIORITY In October 2012, the government enacted a decree establishing the "polluter pays" principle. Other texts require all economic and social projects and programmes to take strategic environmental data into account. Waste treatment, including pre-collection, collection, transport, selective sorting and burying in landfill sites, is becoming more professional. In Abidjan, major projects involving sanitation, pollution clean-up in the lagoon and the development of access roads are under way to solve problems that have been building up for decades. Threats to nature parks and reserves, where refugees from neighbouring countries lived during the years of crisis, are also being addressed. ■

FACTFILE

pOWER, WATER AND SANITATION CHANGE IN pOWER OUTpUT CApACITY 2012

2017

Five hydroelectric dams (managed by the CIE)

604 MW

Thermal power plant (managed by the CIE)

100 MW

Buffer plants (including Aggreko)

190 MW

+ 100 MW

Vridi thermal plant (managed by Ciprel)

321 MW

+ 222 MW

Azito Energy thermal plant

206 MW

+ 221 MW

Abatta thermal plant

-

330 MW

Soubré hydroelectric dam

-

275 MW

1,421 MW

2,500 MW

USEFUl ADDRESSES ●

MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT, URBAN HYGIENE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Tel.: (+225) 20 22 66 35 www.environnement.gouv.ci

●

ELECTRICITY REGULATION AUTHORITY Tel.: (+225) 20 20 60 10 www.anare.ci

●

CIE (COMPAGNIE IVOIRIENNE D’éLECTRICITé) Tel.: (+225) 21 23 33 00 www.groupecie.net

●

SODECI (SOCIéTé DE DISTRIBUTION D’EAU DE LA CôTE D’IVOIRE) Tel.: (+225) 21 23 30 00 www.sodeci.ci

●

CIPREL (COMPAGNIE IVOIRIENNE DE PRODUCTION D’éLECTRICITé) Tel.: (+225) 21 23 63 62 contact@ciprel.ci

●

AZITO éNERGIE Tel.: (+225) 22 40 02 40 www.azitoenergie.com

KEY FIGURES: pOWER IN THE ECOWAS Number of Member States Population

300 million

Energy demand coverage rate

50%

Installed production capacity (available potential) Exploited share of available potential

26,000 MW 16% or 4,160 MW

Average electrification rate

30 % of the population

Average electrification rate in rural areas

8%

KEY FIGURES: pOWER AND WATER IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE POWER Number of customers (CIE)

1.2 million

Network length (transport and distribution)

40,578 km

Installed power

1,421 MW 16% of sales

WATER AND SANITATION

2,500

Number of drinking water customers (SODECI)

708,000

Number of sanitation customers (SODECI)

368,000

Number of localities served Production of drinking water 2012 data

3,000

807 200,000

2,000 1,500 1,000 500

2011 2012 2013 2014* 2015*

* forecast

Export (Ghana, Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali)

CÔTE D'IVOIRE'S pOWER EXpORTS TO THE ECOWAS COUNTRIES (GWH)

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

SERVICES

The main driver of growth ICT, retail and tourism will expand at a brisk pace

© SOCOCE

62

Côte d’Ivoire boasts the region's biggest retail network.

TELECOMS ACCOUNTS FOR 6% OF GDP The service sector accounted for nearly half of Côte d'Ivoire's growth in 2012. Transport and logistics surged ahead by 23%, commerce by 11% and tourism-hotels by 17%.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

telecoms alone made up 6% of GDP and mobile phone companies created 2,478 direct jobs in 2012. Altogether, ICT accounts for 300 companies, roughly one trillion FCFA in turnover, approximately 5,000 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect jobs. Côte

COMpANIES AND MARKETS SERVICES

63

d'Ivoire has six mobile telecoms operators, two landline operators, 10 internet access providers and roughly 120,000 Internet subscribers.

The most widely used technology is Wimax (62%), followed by ADSL (33%).

There are approximately 20 million mobile telecoms service subscribers (88% of the population). The arrival of 3G has made tough competition even fiercer.

MAKING THE COUNTRY A DIGITAL HUB The government has rolled out an ambitious ICT development plan focusing on five main areas: the regulatory environment, infrastructure, content production, accessibility and availability of skilled human resources. Moreover, it is digitising administrative procedures in order to make them more efficient and facilitate public access. Several sector-based projects in education, health, agriculture, etc. are under way, and regulations on the identification of subscribers, electronic transactions, the protection of private data and cyber-security and electronic commerce are rising in order to make digital-related activities more readable and transparent. The construction of a 6,500km wideband network covering the entire country has been launched; a 2,000km segment is already working.

AN ICT FREE ZONE The 800-hectare Information Technology and Biotechnology Village (VITIB), a free zone dedicated to tech companies of all sizes, from SMEs to multinationals, aims to become an international excellence and competitiveness cluster in a setting

The country has six mobile and two fixed telecoms operators.

conducive to the growth of highpotential activities. The pilot site — the 60-hectare VITIB Academy, which hosts a dozen companies — is already up and running. VITIB SA, a private company with capital owned mostly by private and public tech businesses of reference, including Atlantique Telecom and India's UTL and Shapoorji Pallonji, has signed a 25-year public service delegation concession agreement with the Ivorian government.

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

19.

8 MILLIon mobile phone subscribers

64

COMpANIES AND MARKETS SERVICES

HIGH-VOLUME RETAIL IS BOOMING European-style high-volume retail caught on in Côte d’Ivoire with the 1996 opening of West Africa's first shopping mall, the 20,000m2 Espace Latrille.

The return of growth, relative stability of household purchasing power and Westernisation of consumer patterns are spurring the model's swift growth; the main players have many expansion plans. The phenomenon even affects local shops. In 2013, Côte d’Ivoire already had, with Ghana, the region's biggest network and longest experience of high-volume retail, but the main brands are opening up new stores in their traditional locations while setting out to conquer parts of the country where they had been absent until now.

TWO LOCAL "MAJORS" The main two high-volume retailers are the Société ivoirienne de promotion des supermarchés (Ivorian Supermarket Promotion Company, Prosuma) and Compagnie de distribution de Côte d’Ivoire (Côte d’Ivoire Retail Company,

CDCI). Prosuma has 16 brands and over 100 stores, including a chain of convenience shops (Bonprix). With 1,800 employees and 125 billion FCFA in turnover, it was the country's 19thbiggest company in 2012. CDCI can be found nationwide under its convenience stores' brand name, King Cash, and is developing a policy of targeted brands in Abidjan (Espace Latrille, Socoprix, CDCI Gros and CDCI Demi-gros). Other operators, such as the Top Budget discount chain, round out the landscape, surfing on the growth of Côte d’Ivoire's middle class.

THE GIANT CARREFOUR IS COMING! The 2015 arrival of Carrefour, the word's second-biggest food retailer, is likely to further shake up and modernise the industry. In partnership with CFAO, Africa's leading specialised retailer (cars and automotive supplies), it plans to build a hypermarket in Abidjan that will anchor a huge, 200m-long, 18,000m2 mall featuring international brands, leisure centres, restaurants

KEY ICT FIGURES IN CôTE D’IVOIRE (2012 ATCI DATA) ◗ 6 mobile telecoms operators - 19.8 million subscribers (85.43% of the population) - Orange 40%, MTN 30%, Moov 20%, Comium/Koz 7%, Green and Café Mobile ◗ 2 fixed telecoms operators - 280,000 landline subscribers - Orange-Côte d’Ivoire Télécom 76%, MTN 24% ◗ 4 internet access providers (Afnet, Aviso, VIPNet and Alink Telecom) - 120,000 internet subscribers (Afnet 60%, Aviso 37%)

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

COMpANIES AND MARKETS SERVICES

65

The convention centre at the Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan.

and around 50 stores that will be open from 10am to 10pm seven days a week, offer 650 parking spaces and employ 500 people. This prospect will spur the organisation and growth of Ivorian agro-food industries, guarantee the quality of food products and ensure the authenticity of international brands. The Carrefour/CFAO partnership also plans to build two malls and four supermarkets in the country's hinterland.

BOOSTING TOURISM Fewer than 300,000 tourists a year visit Côte d’Ivoire, but the government plans to raise that figure to 500,000 by 2015 — a tall order. In 2013, none of the world's several hundred tour operators offered Côte d’Ivoire in its catalogue of destinations. Côte d’Ivoire Tourisme, a non-profit public company, has set out to attract a share of France's eight million tourists (2012 data) and tap into the rising numbers of Russian, Polish, Indian and Chinese (95 million by 2020) tourists.

Côte d’Ivoire Tourisme is carrying out

promotional operations and launching new products like the "cocoa roads", but must further raise its international profile: it has five tourist offices in Europe and the United States but none in the emerging countries.

DEVELOPING HOSPITALITY TRADES AND MAKING THEM MORE PROFESSIONAL Quality hotels are a tradition in Côte d’Ivoire, but demand outstrips existing capacity. The number of rooms is expected to double, if not triple, by 2020. The country's tourism potential is based on its rich cultural heritage, its beaches and seaside activities, and its 10 natural parks. Taï Park is world-famous as home to a chimpanzee species that can use tools. The country needs professionals with skills ranging from construction to professional training and hotel management in order to preserve, maintain and develop these assets as well as rationally integrate them into an ambitious tourism policy. ■

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

1 trillion

FCFA

in investments planned in the service sector

66

COMpANIES AND MARKETS

EDUCATION AND hEALTh

Raising the level of human resources The government is mobilising minds and resources

Felix Houphouët-Boigny university, Abidjan Cocody.

3.7% HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in 2012

2013: "THE YEAR OF HEALTH" Based on the idea that only an educated, healthy population can produce and support steady growth, the Ivorian government has decided to earmark a large share of

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

the 2012-2015 development plan's investments for education and health. It is committed to cutting the poverty rate from 50% to 25% during that period, which requires tackling health issues, and declared 2013

COMpANIES AND MARKETS EDUCATION AND HEAlTH

67

the "Year of Health" in order to raise awareness and mobilise maximum resources. Health facilities exist, but they are often in poor condition, under-equipped or unevenly spread out across the country. Human resources are available but often concentrated in areas where needs are already met. In compliance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), the infantile mortality rate must be cut from 125 per 1,000 births to 50 and maternal mortality from 543 deaths per 100,000 mothers to 150. Strengthening the healthcare system is also vital in order to meet new challenges such as ageing, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.

Treatment of children under five, pregnant women (deliveries and caesarean sections) and people with malaria and HIV/AIDS, the prevalence of which fell from 4.7% in 2005 to 3.7% in 2011/2012, became free in February 2013. Rehabilitation work and recruitment of medical and paramedical workers improved the country's health situation in 2012.

A programme to build, rehabilitate or re-equip 1,000 local health centres will be completed by 2015.

Côte d'Ivoire has four university medical centres (Cocody, Yopougon, Treichville and Bouaké), 17 regional hospitals and 54 general hospitals; all will be rehabilitated and reequipped. Four general hospitals and a national radiotherapy and oncology medical centre will be built.

Construction on a national institute of nuclear medicine in Abidjan is already under way.

© Raymond

AN IMPROVING SITUATION

A thousand health centres will be built or rehabilitated by 2015.

INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS AND OVERTURES TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR On the legislative level, all laws relating to the health professions are being revised and the reorganisation of the public health pharmacy is under way. The Public

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

68

COMpANIES AND MARKETS EDUCATION AND HEAlTH

all" policy, which translates into free tuition and distribution of textbooks in public primary schools, boosted the gross enrolment rate from 76.2% in 2008/2009 to 89.3% in 2011/2012.

The distribution of free school kits to the poorest families (500 to 1,000 FCFA each) has contributed to this improvement. Around 2.4 million kits were handed out in 20112012 and 2.5 million the following year.

UNIVERSAL ENROLMENT BY 2015

Four universities and 40 colleges are under construction in the 2012/2013 school year.

2.5 MILLIon

Number of free school kits distributed in 2012/2013

Health Code dates back to 1945 and has only been updated once, in 1965. A universal healthcare coverage system will be set up soon.

The government, which wants to see the private sector participate more in healthcare, plans to adapt the investment code to the medical sector's specificities. Among the PPP (Public/Private Partnership) projects that the Lenders' Collective approved in Paris in late 2012, 45 of 53 involve health infrastructure, at a cost of $330 million. The PND allocates $117 million to healthcare (58.25 billion FCFA).

FREE SCHOOL FOR ALL Not a single new classroom was built between 2000 and 2010, but in the 2011/2012 school year alone, 1,500 classrooms, or around 250 schools, were built and equipped and 5,000 teachers and assistants hired. The average class size is 43 pupils. The "free school for

INVESTING CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2014

The government wants to boost primary schools' accommodation capacity, offer girls and boys equal opportunity to attend school, bring schools closer to local populations and improve pupils' and teachers' working conditions. In addition to creating new jobs, this strategy aims to steadily improve the primary school completion rate and the gross enrolment rate until achieving universal enrolment by 2015. The PND has allocated 360 billion FCFA to education between 2012 and 2015. In the 2012-2013 school year, it plans to hire 8,000 primary and 3,000 secondary school teachers, build and equip 25,000 primary school classrooms, rehabilitate 30,000 secondary and vocational school classrooms, and build and equip 40 middle schools as well as four regional universities. It also aims to rehabilitate the universities of Cocody, Abobo-Adjamé, Bouaké and Korhogo as well as the HouphouëtBoigny National Polytechnic Institute (INPHB) and the Inter-African Advanced School of Electricity (ESIE) in Bingerville. ■

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TRAVEl DIARY

Your trip

Hôtel Tiama.

hOTELS IN ABIDjAN

© N. Zorkot / Les éditions du Jaguar

HOTEl IVOIRE Built in 1970, Côte d'Ivoire's premiere hotel is undergoing major refurbishment. Its tower opened in 2011, and the main building is expected to re-open in late 2013.

The Accor group's Sofitel brand manages the Hotel Ivoire complex, which stands on the banks of the Ébrié lagoon, boasts a magnificent convention centre and intends to once again become the symbol of the country's success, which it was for a long time.

Tel.: (+225) 22 48 26 26 www.hotelivoire.com

HOTEl TIAMA The Tiama, which opened in 1972, has undergone major refurbishment making it one of the nicest, if not the nicest, places to stay in Abidjan.

The staff's skill and kindness, as well as the location on the Plateau in the middle of the business centre near most of the ministries, make it especially popular.

Tel.: (+225) 20 31 33 33 www.hoteltiama.ci

GOlF HOTEl The Golf Hotel complex, located on the banks of the lagoon in the Riviera quarter, is ideal for travellers wishing to combine business with pleasure (tennis, swimming pool and spa). It was built on one of Abidjan's most beautiful sites, 10 minutes from the city centre.

Tel.: (+225) 22 43 10 44 www.golfhotel-ci.com

pUllMAN The Pullman is undoubtedly the city's quietest five-star hotel because it stands just outside the

© DR

© N. Zorkot / Les Éditions du Jaguar

TRAVEl DIARY

Hôtel Ivoire Plateau quarter. Two restaurants

CASE ÉBÈNE

make it the best-equipped in

A Mecca of African cuisine, with masks and dedicated photos on the walls. All the Ivorian kédjénous, as well as maffé, assay, ndole and sakasaka from West and Central Africa, are served in terracotta pots.

Tel.: (+225) 20 21 21 20 www.caseebene.ci

catering facility. It is also the most expensive, but the quality of the service and welcome are worth it.

Tel.: (+225) 20 30 20 20 www.pullmanhotels.com

RESTAURANTS IN ABIDjAN ABOUSSOUAN Its menu of African specialities including mâchoiron (a delicious fish from the lagoon), fine wines and exceptionally skilful owner, the very affable Adou Sapim, make this one of the best restaurants in Côte d’Ivoire's economic capital.

Tel.: (+225) 21 24 53 12 www.adousapim.com

l’AMBASSADEUR

NOT TO MENTION… BEllINI, Plateau (Italian cuisine).

CHEZ AMOUNA, Zone 4 (Lebanese cuisine).

KAITEN, Zone 4 (Japanese cuisine).

A gastronomic restaurant in the heart of the Plateau featuring fine, and generally imported, products.

The food and value for money are never disappointing.

Tel.: (+225) 20 31 30 44

l’ESCAlE KREYOlE, Plateau (Afro-Caribbean, African and Europeane cuisine).

CHEZ NICOlE

NORIMA, Deux-Plateaux (American cuisine).

French cuisine and a piano bar in the residential quarter of Cocody. A quiet atmosphere. Guests may take their meals in private rooms.

Tel.: (+225) 22 41 12 03

lA CROISETTE, Plateau (French cuisine).

NUITS DE SAÏGON, Zone 4 (Asian cuisine).

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© N. Zorkot

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© N. Zorkot

72

Plage d’Assinie.

BARS IN ABIDjAN ESpRIT lOUNGE, boulevard ValéryGiscard-d'Estaing, carrefour Prima.

lA CAVE, Zone 4, rue du Canal. lE BAR BlANC, Zone 4, Biétry. lE CAFÉ THÉÂTRE, Deux-Plateaux. lE CASTING BAR, rue des Jardins, aux Deux-Plateaux

lE ClUB QUARTZ, quartier Riviera 3

lE HAVANA, Zone 4 lE QG, Cocody...

NIGhTCLUBS BEST OF, Deux-Plateaux.

ClUB AlIZÉE, Zone 4, Biétry.

ISY ClUB, Zone 4.

ISpA

lA RAMBlA plUS, Zone 4.

Beauty and well-being Immeuble Ivotel, Plateau Tél. : (+225) 20 25 66 66

lE MIX, Zone 4, Biétry. lE ClUB pRIVÉ, bd de Marseille, Biétry.

lE SCOTCH, Zone 4, Biétry.

VIp DISCOTHÈQUE, DeuxPlateaux...

IN ABIDjAN, DON'T MISS IVOIRE GOlF ClUB 4 courses, from 9 to 18 courses bd de France, Cocody.

Tél. : (+225) 22 43 08 44

lE CAlAO Centre multisport Rue des Foreurs, Zone 4, Marcory Tél. : (+225) 21 35 67 64

24 hOURS OR MORE IN ABIDJAN, DON'T MISS In the taxi driving you from the airport to downtown, you will discover the 100m-wide, 8km-long boulevard Valéry-Giscard-d’Estaing, the city's main artery. Of course, at one time or another you will go to the business district, the Plateau, nicknamed "the Manhattan of the Tropics". A visit to the Hotel Ivoire will bring you to the residential neighbourhood of Cocody, where you will discover large gardens, beautiful houses and the Espace Latrille, West Africa's biggest mall. Cocody is very appealing and its extensions (Riviera, Deux-Plateaux and Angré) are nice places to live.

© N. Zorkot / Les éditions du Jaguar

© N. Zorkot / Les éditions du Jaguar

TRAVEl DIARY

Traditional dancer.

BANCO FOREST

a major tourist attraction. Every

Located at the gateway to Abidjan,

weekend, thousands of people

this 3,000-hectare vestige of the

from Abidjan flock here for the old

huge primary forest that covered

colonial houses, sandy beaches, rich

the whole region until the early 20th

crafts, hotels, restaurants, relaxing

century offers 84km of trails. Banco

atmosphere and sea breezes. The

National Forest boasts many species

"quartier de France", Grand Bassam's

of butterflies, monkeys and birds

historic heart, became a UNESCO

as well as an arboretum with over

World Heritage site in July 2012.

tree over 500 years old. Major work

A WEEKEND IN ASSINIE

has been under way since October

Assinie, a seaside resort featuring

2012 to develop the park as an eco-

a dreamlike landscape, is beyond

tourist destination with financing

Grand-Bassam, 80km from Abidjan.

from Japan, the World Bank and the

This 15km-wide strip of land

Global Environment Facility. The

between the lagoon and ocean was

project includes the construction of

probably the first point of contact

hotels and playgrounds as well as

with French missionaries in 1637.

the installation of a protection and

Today's visitors can see luxury

video surveillance system.

villas, high-end hotels, white sandy

A WAlK IN GRAND-BASSAM

hotels have reasonable rates and

beaches and coconut trees. Many Grand Bassam, the capital of Côte

offer access to an ideal environment

d’Ivoire from 1893 to 1900, lies

for swimming and water sports in

35km east of Abidjan. Today it is

total safety.

© N. Zorkot / Les éditions du Jaguar

800 species, including a kossipo

73

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TRAVEl DIARY

PRACTICAL INFORMATION ●

VISA

In addition to a valid passport, all travellers need a visa for Côte d’Ivoire. ●

HEAlTH

Yellow fever vaccination required.

Vaccinations against Hepatitis A and B and typhoid are recommended.

CLIMATE

Abidjan and the coast have a subtropical climate with temperatures of 25°C to 32°C and 80% to 90% humidity. The most pleasant period is from November to mid-March, one of the two dry seasons.

The middle of the country has a tropical humid climate, with temperatures of 14°C to 33°C and a humidity of 60% to 70%.

There is a hot and dry Sudanese type climate in the northern part of the country, with the dry, cool Harmattan wind blowing from December to February.

CURRENCY As in all African franc zone countries, the CFA franc is the currency in Côte d'Ivoire.

Its exchange rate is pegged to the euro: 1 euro = 656 CFA francs 1,000 CFA francs = 1,52 euros

SECURITY Abidjan is safe as long as you respect some basic principles that apply in many other countries around the world: do not go out alone at night, avoid carrying large sums of money or valuables, carry ID, and remain polite during any police or security check.

hOURS Working days are from Monday through Friday, although some shops and services are open on Saturday morning from 9am to midday.

Shops are open from 8am to 6pm.

Office hours are 8am to 5pm.

Banks are open from 8am to 11am and 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

Government offices are open from 8am to 6pm.

USEFUL NUMBERS ◗

International dialling code: 225

◗

Emergency services Tel: 185 / 22 44 53 53

◗

police rescue Tel: 111 / 170

◗

General Directorate of police Tel: (+225) 20 22 48 23

◗

police headquarters Tel: (+225) 20 21 00 22

◗

Avicennes polyclinic Tel: (+225) 21 21 13 00

◗

Sainte Anne-Marie International polyclinic (pISAM) Tel: (+225) 22 48 31 31

AIRLINES AIR CÔTE D’IVOIRE Tel: (+225) 20 25 10 30 AIR FRANCE Tel: (+225) 20 20 24 24 CORSAIR Tel: (+225) 20 21 72 44 EGYpTAIR Tel: (+225) 20 32 57 13 EMIRATES Tel: (+225) 20 25 62 50 ETHIOpIAN AIRlINES Tel: (+225) 20 21 93 32 KENYA AIRWAYS Tel.: (+225) 20 21 01 10 MIDDlE EAST AIRlINES Tel.: (+225) 20 22 62 82 ROYAl AIR MAROC Tel.: (+225) 20 21 20 38 SOUTH AFRICAN AIRWAYS Tel.: (+225) 20 21 82 93 SWISSAIR Tel.: (+225) 21 33 66 66 ABIDJAN INTERNATIONAl AIRpORT Tel.: (+225) 21 75 79 04 www.aeria.ci

Note: In 1985 the Ivorian government asked all countries to use the French name Côte d’Ivoire (in a similar way to Costa Rica or Sierra Leone, whose names are not translated). Diplomats and many media generally follow this rule, except in countries without a Latin alphabet

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