Day: June 27, 2024

Tunis: The COMESA Investment Forum (CIF 2024) was held Thursday for the first time in Tunisia under the theme of “Unleashing Potential: Cross-Border Trade and Investments” with the aim to spotlight the diverse business opportunities across COMESA member states, encourage cross-border trade and investments and foster an environment where business leaders from the region can explore and seize these opportunities.

Opening the forum, COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA) CEO Heba Salama said that “times are changing as some African countries continue to surprise the world with their economic progress and yet investment in Africa is still dominated by those based elsewhere in the world. There is so much untapped potential that we would like Africans to benefit from, hence the need to act by working together, opening networks and sharing ideas and this is the aim of this forum.”

Slama further indicated that Africans are the most genetically diverse people on earth, “but this forum will help us disucss our simil
arities”.

Africa is also on the rise with a bigger workforce, more private sector jobs, greater mobility and better policy. As such, she called on the investors and businesses to push the borders and take the risks and grasp the opportunities.

“Tunisia’s business ties with West Africa is very strong but COMESA will open a new horizon as since its accession to COMESA trade transactions with Kenya have grown substantially.

More opportunities await Tunisian private sector because the COMESA has 21 economies, 12 million square kilometres of which more than 90% is potentially arable land, almost 40% of Africa’s land mass, 640 million customers with significant purchasing power, access to global markets through regional and international trade agreements, a combined GDP of $1 trillion, diverse nature ressources and young and dynamic workforce, she highlighted.

Taking the floor, COMESA Assistant Secretary General Amb. Dr Mohamed Kadah expressed gratitude to the Tunisian government for hosting the 1st COMESA Inve
stment Forum in its new edition.

“COMESA continues to champion, encourage and facilitiate investment flows as this is the source of sustainable economic, industrial, infrastructural and technological development.” As such, COMESA undertakes to develop transformational strategies that prioritise investment promotion activities and implementation of measures for investment recovery, including enhancing the business environment and maximising the development impact of FDI to restore sustainable growth.

COMESA further strives to create a competitive business environment, increase international and local investment flows, and enhance participation in regional and global value chains as key measures to address the current challenges.

“These challenges include geopolitical tensions which have disrupted global supply chains, high commodity prices, financial crunch, etc,” he added

Kadah further indicated that the number of projects has decreased by 30% since 2019 while capital investment in Africa has risen by 2.5
times higher in 2022, compared to 2019. “The number of announced Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in Africa rose from 517 in 2021 to 734 in 2022. FDI in COMESA regions stood at US$ 23 billion in 2022 signifiying a positive development from the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic.”

“This forum provides a platform for interraction between investment promotion agencies in the region and private sector stakeholders,” he added, expressing hope the engagement among these stakholders will result in investment opportunites.

For his part, Head of the Economic Section of the European Delegation in Tunisia Marco Stella said that “this forum is yet another milestone in our relations based on the joint African Union/European Union partenrship and strategies and solidarity.”

“The EU will continue to support access to other markets and implement programmes to enhance competitiveness, market access and capacity building to achieve targets and support value chains,” he added.

The forum was attended by over 350 minist
ers, decision-makers, businessmen, investors, representatives of the Tunisian private sector and officials of investment authorities and agencies from 21 COMESA member states, as well as a number of international, African and Tunisian organisations, including the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: The stock market recorded its second consecutive bearish session. The benchmark index fell by 0.1% to 9,740.5 points on a low volume of TND 3.1 million, according to broker Tunisie Valeurs.

CIL was the best performer of the session. With a meagre flow of TND 3,000, the shares of the independent rental company gained 3.3% to TND 21.690.

SMART Tunisie shares also performed well during the session. The leading Tunisian IT distributor’s share price rose by 3.2% to TND 14.7. The stock livened up the market with transactions worth TND 162,000.

MIP’s financial performance continues to disappoint. The share price of the urban advertising specialist fell by 10% to TND 0.090, with no transactions.

ASSURANCES MAGHREBIA VIE was one of the biggest losers of the session. Shares in the life insurance company backed by the MAGHREBIA Group fell 3% to TND 5.510. The share traded a limited volume of TND 8,000 during the session.

POULINA GROUP HOLDING was the most dynamic share of the session. The holding’s share pri
ce rose by 0.2% to TND 9.130, providing the market with capital of TND 486,000.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: “We chose Tunisia specifically to hold the COMESA Investment Forum (CIF 2024) as it has just joined COMESA four years ago, hence the need for awarness about COMESA, its programmes and platforms,” COMESA Assistant Secretary General Amb. Dr. Mohamed Kadah told TAP on the fringes of the CIF 2024 held Thursday in Tunis.

There is also need for engagement with stakeholders, government and the private sector, he added.

“This forum is designed to give a special priority to the needs of private sector stakeholders by holding a lot of Business-to-business (B2B) meetings between business entrepreneurs in Tunisia and other COMESA member states and officials from investment promotion agencies from 21 COMESA member states.”

This forum “reflects very clearly COMESA’s vibrant landscape and potential,” he further said.

The forum, held under the theme of “Unleashing Potential: Cross-Border Trade and Investments,” was attended by over 350 ministers, decision-makers, businessmen, investors, representatives of the Tuni
sian private sector and officials of investment authorities and agencies from 21 COMESA member states, as well as a number of international, African and Tunisian organisations, including the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The forum’s agenda also includes B2B and government-to-business (B2G) meetings.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Phosphate production grew 8.4% year-on-year to 789,812 tonnes in Q1 of 2024, as shown by data released by the Gafsa Phosphate Company (GPC) and reported by the Tunisian Institute of Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies (ITCEQ) in its report on the economic situation in Q1.

Phosphate ouput shrank 48% in 2023 to 2.9 million tonnes compared to , initial forecasts of 5.6 million tonnes and 9.4% on 2022 (3.2 million tonnes).

The exports of the sector of mines and phosphate and derivatives, according to National institute of Statistics (INS) figures, fell 21.9% at the end of March 2024, 26.3% in the first four months of 2024 and 31.1% at the end of May 2024.

Once a strategic pillar of the national economy, the phosphate sector has been experiencing hard times for years now, mainly structural difficulties in relation to rail transportation, which have taken their toll on the level of production and its contribution to the GDP and national exports.

Minister Fatma Chiboub told MPs at a heariong last May
10 of the Finance and Budget Commission at the Assembly of People’s Representatives the contribution of phosphate sector to the GDP and exports dipped from 3% and 10% to 12%, respectively, before 2011 to 1% and 3% currently.

A TND 172. 7 million loan agreement (US $55 million) was signed last February 22 by Tunisia and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to co-finance a project to revamp the railway network for phosphate transportation was approved by the parliament on June 12, 2024.

The TND 518 million project, managed by the Tunisian National Railways Company (SNCFT), seeks to renovate and improve a section of the railway line (190 km) to secure the transportation of more phosphate and optimise costs.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Prospects of cooperation and exchange as part of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) took centre stage as Minister of Economy and Planning Feryel Ouerghi met with Assistant Secretary General of COMESA Mohamed Kadah.

The meeting, attended by Director General of RIA- the Regional Investment Agency- and COMESA advisers, takes place on the sidelines of the COMESA Investment Forum (CIF 2024) which is set to take place ON June 27 in Tunis.

Emphasis was laid on the need to spotlight the role of the regional grouping in stepping up integration and development in member countries.

The Assistant SG said this forum will help economic operators take stock of oppotunities of investment, exchange and cooperation in each member state

Investment flows to Africa are still low in spite of the huge potential of the continent, he added, thus the need for increased effort to promote this potential through regional investment mapping. The COMESA is working on this, Kadah said.

Tunisia is ready to
put in place all the necessary facilities to foster economic cooperation under COMESA, the minister said. Joigning this regional groupig demonstrates Tunisia’s commitment to its African dimension.

The forum is a business-to-business (B2B) and government-to-business (B2G) gathering, bringing together leading policymakers with captains of industry, financiers, major industrialists, and investors from across the COMESA region, focusing on strategic sectors, namely agribusiness, pharmaceutical, renewable energy, IT, among others.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: President of the National Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs (CNFCE), Leila Belkhiria Jaber, was elected vice-president of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) on Thursday.

The election took place at the COMFWB General Assembly in Madagascar, according to a press release issued by the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA).

CNFCE is a member of COMFWB and represents the Federation in the North African region.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Tunisia will start implementing the national plan to phase out the consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) in the refrigeration sector, as of July 1, 2024, following the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol approved at the end of May 2024, said Mohamed Naceur Jeljeli, director general of the National Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPE).

Speaking at a workshop held in Tunis to mark World Refrigeration Day on June 26, he added that this plan mainly concerns the refrigeration and air conditioning sector at the industrial and service levels.

He went on to say that the implementation of this strategy would reduce CO2 emissions by around 5.1 million tonnes by 2045.

Jeljeli added that the implementation of the national programme on ozone-depleting substances and the programme to phase out the import and consumption of substances with a high global warming potential (HFCs) will enable Tunisia to reduce these substances by 80% by 2045.

He also pointed out that the ANPE is working to supp
ort all stakeholders in the refrigeration sector by implementing the second phase of the programme to phase out the import and consumption of HFCs by 2029.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Office for Arab States, Abdallah Al-Dardari, stated UNDP’s readiness to continue supporting Tunisia in the implementation of its development programmes.

During a working meeting held in Tunis on Wednesday with Minister of Economy and Planning, Feryel Ouerghi Sebai, Al-Dardari added that cooperation would include human development through the provision of technical assistance and expertise.

The meeting was attended by a number of advisers to the programme as well as the UNDP Resident Representative in Tunisia, Celine Moyroud, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Planning on Thursday.

It was an opportunity to discuss the existing cooperation between Tunisia and the UNDP, as well as ways to further strengthen it in the next phase through technical support for development projects related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In this context, Sebai pr
aised the UNDP’s support for several development projects, particularly those related to human development, social progress, economic empowerment of vulnerable groups and poverty reduction.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Some 167 specifications relating to the exercise of economic activities will be revised over 18 months, while preserving economic systems and taking into account social aspects, announced Mohamed Ben Abid, director general in charge of improving the business climate at the Ministry of Economy and Planning.

Speaking at a workshop held on Thursday on the methodology for revising the specifications for the exercise of economic activities, “combating the cash economy and facilitating market access”, Ben Abid stressed that all sectors of the economy will be affected by this measure, citing agriculture, tourism, transport and communication technology as examples.

He added that priority would be given to the most complicated specifications, which were paralysing the national economy.

The ministry started to abolish licences to carry out economic activities in 2018, with the aim of unleashing entrepreneurship, simplifying procedures for investors, and combating the cash economy, Ben Abid pointed out.

He re
called the abolition of a first list of 25 authorisations, followed by a second list of 27 authorisations, stressing that the ministry is currently working to abolish 33 authorisations in the near future.

For his part, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Abdelmonem Belatai, called for a climate conducive to investment.

He warned against the spread of corruption in the country, stressing the need to combat this phenomenon, particularly in the administration, which has become a nightmare for investors and hinders the development of their projects because of bureaucracy.

“Several investors have left the country and invested in other destinations,” he added.

He said that his department was working to make it easier for investors to obtain licences if their applications complied with the procedures in place.

Belati added that several licences had been withdrawn and 21 new specifications had been issued, bringing the total number of specifications in the ministry to 49.

Source: Agence Tun
is Afrique Presse

Tunis: Temperatures on Thursday night will range between 22 and 28 degrees Celsius in the north, centre and south-east, between 30 and 34 degrees in the south-west and up to 36 degrees in the far south.

According to the National Institute of Meteorology, the sky will be covered with a few clouds in most regions tonight, with locally dense clouds in the western highlands of the north.

Winds will blow from the southern sector in the north and centre and from the eastern sector in the south, relatively strong in the region of Sirat and light to moderate in the rest of the regions.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse