Seduced by Togo’s national development plan, Chinese giants announce investments in the country

Economic governance

Tuesday, 04 September 2018 13:43

Seduced by Togo’s national development plan, Chinese giants announce investments in the country

(Togo First) - In preparation for the opening ceremony of FOCAC, the forum on Africa-China cooperation, Togo’s delegation led by the president Faure Gnassingbé, continued meetings with investors on Monday 3, September 2018 in Beijing. The stated objective of these meetings is to invite those investors into participating in the implementation of Togo’s 5- year action plan which is mainly focused on the private sector.

After meetings (the previous day) during which two giants of the construction sector announced their intention to invest in main projects of the National development plan, four other large investors also signified their interests in investing in the country during Monday’s meetings.

CRBC: a world-class civil engineering interested in the road infrastructure sector

With the first investor Du Fei, president of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the discussions were essentially focused on the logistics corridor namely, the connection between Lomé port and the countries of the Hinterland and projects around nationale n°1. CRBC, a world-class civil engineering company, has already proved its worth with the construction of Amakpapé bridge within a record time. This long-time partner has also built many road infrastructures such as Lomé and Alédjo bypasses as well as the Lomé-Vogan road under construction.

China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Group to invest in the railway sector

To boost the dying railway sector, various opportunities in the sector notably Togo’s strategic position in West Africa were presented to China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Group during a meeting. The company specialized in railway infrastructures and already present in many large infrastructure projects in Africa expressed its will to invest into the infrastructure sector in Togo, for construction of the 600 kilometers long Lomé-Cinkassé railway notably.

Towards a partnership with YTO Camaco to accelerate modernization of the agriculture sector

Zhang Ting, director of YTO Camaco in West Africa, discussed investments in the agriculture sector. The world leader of farm machines commercialization is already selling equipment in Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Nigeria where it established subsidiaries. It is planning to set an assembly plant to manufacture ground preparation (tractors and its hitches) machines for agriculture products transformation and post-harvest equipment, in the country. Shortly, upon Faure Gnassingbé’s instructions, the two parties will start the negotiations to accelerate the support this company can provide to the second axis of the national development plan, focused on the promotion of a modern and green agriculture which will provide massive jobs.

Power China interested in the energy sector

Already present in Togo via its African subsidiary in charge of the joint Togo-Benin energy project, Adjarala wishes to accompany Togo in the implementation of its electrification strategy. It promises to include the social dimension (allowing to contribute to the population’s well-being) in its investment plan.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) pledges support to Chinese investors in Togo

Before attending the official launch of FOCAC 2018 at Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Togo’s president Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, accompanied by his ministers visited AIIB’s headquarters to meet Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). After he was informed of the three key points of Togo’s national development plan, Jin Liqun praised the development's institutional framework Togo elaborated and assured that AIIB would be ready to back Chinese investors willing to invest in Togo.

Fiacre E. Kakpo

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.