Mauritania is committed to ensuring all necessary measures to promote direct foreign investments (DFI), estimated at US$141 million in 2006, holding the country back at the 148th rank globally, an official source told PANA.
Deputy head of the General Delegation to Private Investment Promotion (DGPIP), Abou Seddigh Ould Mohamed Hacen, presented the plan of action of DGPIP Wednesday for the next six months, saying this initiative to attract new direct foreign investments will be materialised through the revision of the investment code by September.
The reform of the code will particularly enable the introduction of new incentives, more flexible procedures for the creation of more businesses, and an improved business environment.
The previous code of investment adopted in 1989 and amended in 2002, provided two regimes of direct foreign investments: the duty-free regime, which was described as relatively favourable, and the basic common regime, which investors deemed unattractive.
The lack of development banks, as well as the high interest rates used by the commercial banks, was identified as the other constraints.
About 80% of the direct foreign investment in 2006 included the oil and mining sectors, while the fishing sector represented the rest.
