Foreign investment fell by 6.5% during the first four months of 2013, reaching a total of 549.3 million dinars against 587.6 million dinars in the same period of 2012, said the Director General of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) Noureddine Zekri.
This decrease is due to the “events experienced by the country since the beginning of the year, including the growing phenomenon of violence (the killing of Chokri Belaid and the events of Mount Chaambi)” n he explained.
“Until the end of April 2013, 32 foreign companies operating in Tunisia stopped their activities.” “25% of these companies have suspended their activities due to the volatile security situation and the difficult economic climate,” he argued. However, “the number of companies that are facing social problems has reached 10,” he added.
According to him, “Most of these problems are in the process of resolution through discussion between the parties involved, namely the employers’ organization, the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) and the Ministry of Development and International Cooperation and the agency. »
He said that “only 30 new foreign companies were created during the first four months of this year, against 35 in the same period of 2012, while in contrast 101 already installed units have conducted extension operations against 88 during the same period in 2012.» These new creations and extensions generated 1,669 jobs against 2729, during the same period of 2012.
The textile and clothing industry has the lion’s share with 69% of these jobs.
