R 221759Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANJUL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8466
INFO MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
CIMS NTDB WASHDC

UNCLAS BANJUL 000018 
 
 
STATE FOR EB/IFD/OIA 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO TREASURY FOR DO/JMACLAUGHLIN, 
USDOC FOR ITA/JKOZLOWICKI, USTR FOR JKALLMER, OPIC 
FOR RO'SULLIVAN, USTDA AND EX-IM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV EFIN ETRD ELAB KTDB PGOV USTR
OPIC, GA 
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: 2009 INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT 
 
REFTEL: 08 STATE 00123907 
 
¶1.  Per reftel, Embassy Banjul presents its 
Investment Climate Statement for 2009. 
 
------------------------------ 
Openness to Foreign Investment 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  The Gambian government publicly espouses a 
liberal, open economic environment and free-market 
pricing, with a firm commitment to private sector 
participation in all sectors of the economy. 
 
¶3.  The government recognizes the potential of the 
private sector as an engine of growth and 
consequently maintains formal restrictions on 
private-sector investment only in sensitive areas 
like television and defense.  There is no legal 
distinction between the treatment of foreign and 
domestic investors. 
 
¶4.  The government's drive to attract foreign direct 
investment leapt forward in February 2002 with the 
launching of the Gambia Gateway Project funded by 
the World Bank.  To implement the project, the 
government set up The Gambia Investment Promotion 
and Free Zones Agency (GIPFZA), whose primary task 
is to establish and manage Free Economic Zones 
(FEZs) around Banjul International Airport to 
promote private-sector development coupled with the 
core functions of an investment promotion agency to 
promote and facilitate investment.  The incentives 
and guidelines for both local and foreign investors 
are clearly outlined in the Gambia Investment 
Promotion Act and Gambia Free Zones Act, both of 
¶2001.  Other laws affecting foreign investment are 
the Companies Act of 1955 and the Business 
Registration Act of 2005.  The judicial system 
upholds the sanctity of contracts and there is no 
obvious discrimination against foreign investors. 
 
¶5.  The Gambia is one of eight Sub-Saharan African 
countries that took advantage of a U.S. Department 
of State initiative in 2002 to provide sovereign 
credit ratings to increase transparency and attract 
foreign direct investment.  Fitch granted The Gambia 
a C/CCC rating at the end of 2005 with a Stable 
Outlook. 
 
¶6.  There are no economic or industrial strategies 
that have discriminatory effects on foreign 
investors, neither at the time of the initial 
investment nor after the investment has been made. 
There are no limits on foreign ownership or control 
of businesses except in the operations of foreign 
exchange bureaus, as well as in television 
broadcasting and defense industries which are closed 
to private sector participation.  There is also an 
embargo on the setting up of private security 
companies, although existing firms are allowed to 
continue operating. 
 
¶7.  There is no mandatory screening of foreign 
investment but such screening may be conducted if 
there is suspicion of money laundering or terrorism 
financing. 
 
¶8.  Foreign investors are not denied national 
treatment (i.e. the same treatment as domestic 
firms) or MFN treatment (i.e. the same treatment as 
the most favored foreign investor) in any sector. 
In the country?s privatization program, foreign 
investors are treated equally with local investors. 
In some recent privatization moves, the bidding 
process was not made public even though the entity 
decided in favor of foreign investors. The only tax 
that specifically applies to foreign investors is 
the Payroll Tax, which is paid for every expatriate 
employee of the company. There are no laws or 
regulations that limit or prohibit foreign 
investment, participation or control. 
 
¶9.  Foreign investors are encouraged to participate 
in privatization programs, particularly as what is 
described as a "strategic investor" with majority 
shares.  In such cases, some shares are reserved for 
state corporations that are described as 
"institutional investors," some are reserved for 
Gambian private individuals and businesses, and a 
limited number of shares are reserved for the staff 
of the institution being privatized. 
 
¶10.  In two major privatizations in 2007, firms with 
Lebanese connections secured 50 per cent of the 
state-owned telecommunications and cellular phone 
companies and took over management of the state- 
owned electricity and water company.  However, the 
contract with Spectrum, a little known Lebanese 
company that bought 50 per cent of the shares of the 
state-owned telecommunications company (GAMTEL) and 
its cellular phone subsidiary (GAMCEL), was 
terminated by the Government of The Gambia in 
November 2008.  Prior to the termination, the 
government gave Spectrum a 72-hour ultimatum to 
provide an account of the state of affairs in 
GAMTEL.  Immediately after the deadline elapsed, the 
government announced that the arrangement had been 
terminated because of "a fundamental breach of 
contract at the expense of the Gambian people." 
 
-------------------------------- 
Conversion and Transfer Policies 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  There are no restrictions on the conversion of 
funds into any freely usable currency or their 
transfer of investment-related funds into and out of 
The Gambia.  There are no indications of an 
impending change of this policy.  As a signatory to 
Article 8 of the International Monetary Fund, The 
Gambia operates a fully liberalized capital account. 
However, under the Money Laundering Act of 2003, the 
authorities may investigate any suspicious 
transactions. 
 
¶12.  Foreign currency becomes scarce during certain 
periods of the year and this, rather than any other 
reason, would be responsible for any delays in 
remitting investment returns. Delays are unlikely to 
exceed a few weeks.  In 2003, the Gambian government 
launched a major crackdown on illegal money changers 
operating on the streets who were speculating on the 
value of the local currency and consequently caused 
serious currency depreciation and spiked inflation. 
Although a few petty moneychangers are still 
operating illegally in tourist areas, there are 
currently 44 licensed FOREX bureaus and money 
transfer agencies with 102 branches across the 
country.  Foreign investors are free to use the 
transfer agencies to both receive and remit funds. 
 
¶13.  Investors may repatriate profits and dividends 
through commercial banks or licensed money transfer 
agencies at prevailing exchange rates.  Most 
commercial banks in The Gambia now operate foreign 
currency denominated accounts (FCDs), which were 
introduced by the Central Bank of The Gambia in 2001 
to further facilitate international trade and 
foreign direct investment. 
 
¶14.  The banks do not issue dollar-denominated 
government bonds, but can issue cash or drafts drawn 
on overseas banks.  There is no limitation on the 
inflow or outflow of funds for remittances of 
profits, debt service, capital, capital gains, 
returns on intellectual property, or imported 
inputs.  However, travelers through Banjul Airport 
are advised not to carry more than 300,000 dalasis 
worth of foreign currency (about 11, 110 dollars) in 
cash. 
 
------------------------------ 
Expropriation and Compensation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶15.  The Gambian Constitution of 1997 provides the 
legal framework for the protection of private 
ownership of property and only provides for 
compulsory acquisition by the state if this is found 
to be necessary for defense, public safety, public 
order, public morality, public health, town and 
country planning.  Both the Constitution and the 
Compulsory Acquisition Act require the state to effect 
adequate and prompt compensation.  The provision has 
generally been respected and there are no reports that 
claimants have found such compensation inadequate. 
 
¶16.  However, in February 2008, the Government of 
The Gambia announced that it had cancelled the 
license it granted to a Chinese/Australian mining 
company, Carnegie Minerals (Gambia) Ltd., in 
December 2005 to extract and process heavy mineral 
sands containing zircon, ilmenite, and rutile.  The 
decision to cancel Carnegie?s mining license came 
nearly a month after the government gave the company 
a 24-hour ultimatum to provide information about the 
type and quantity of minerals it had mined and the 
international value of tonnage already exported. 
The deadline was later extended for two weeks and 
when it elapsed, the authorities arrested the 
British manager of the company, Charles Northfield. 
Both the manager and Carnegie Minerals were 
prosecuted on charges of economic crimes but the 
trial did not continue after Mr. Northfield jumped 
bail and left the country in September.  It is not 
known if Carnegie Minerals has brought the matter 
for arbitration and there is no information that it 
has been compensated for the equipment it left 
behind in place in The Gambia. 
 
¶17.  The Gambian government has no tendencies to 
discriminate against U.S. investments, companies or 
representatives in expropriation. 
 
¶18.  There are no sectors that are at greater risk 
of appropriation or similar action. There are no laws 
that force local ownership or instances of "creeping 
expropriation" or governmental action tantamount to 
expropriation. 
 
------------------ 
Dispute Settlement 
------------------ 
 
¶19.  The Gambia Investment Promotion Act and the 
Gambian legal code provide the mechanisms and legal 
framework for dispute settlement, either through 
negotiation or arbitration.  Appeals against 
decisions of district tribunals (or the industrial 
tribunal in the case of labor disputes) may be 
lodged with the lower courts, the High Court and the 
Supreme Court, which is the highest court of appeal 
in the country. 
 
¶20.  The Gambian Government has accepted all court 
rulings on investment disputes and has been willing 
to discuss and honor out-of-court settlements.  The 
last major dispute with foreign investors was with 
the Swiss group Alimenta over the assets of the 
Gambia Groundnut Corporation in 1998.  This 
groundnut processing plant at Denton Bridge is the 
biggest industrial complex in the country and the 
government takeover sparked off a protracted legal battle. 
The government eventually settled out of court and paid 
Alimenta compensation of $11.2 million.  There have 
not been any further investment disputes. 
 
¶21.  The country's legal system is based on English 
common law and there are effective means for 
enforcing property and contractual rights.  While 
there are instances of government attempting to 
interfere in the court system, the courts often 
resist such attempts and judgments of foreign courts 
are accepted and enforced by the local courts.  The 
Gambia has a written and consistently applied 
commercial law, which is found in the Companies Act. 
Monetary judgments can be made in both the 
investor's currency and local currency. 
 
¶22.  The government accepts binding international 
arbitration of investment disputes between foreign 
investors and the state and the courts recognize and 
enforce foreign arbitral awards.  International 
arbitration is accepted as a means for settling 
investment disputes between private parties.  There 
is no domestic arbitration body. 
 
¶23. The Gambia is a member of the International 
Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes 
(ICSID) and although there is no specific 
legislation providing for enforcement of ICSID 
awards, the government has honored the decisions of 
international arbitrators. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Performance Requirements/Incentives 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶24.  The Gambia Investment Promotion and Free Zones 
Agency (GIPFZA) administers The Gambia Investment 
Promotion Act, signed into law in 2001.  The act 
sets out the administrative and legal requirements 
for investing in The Gambia and makes provisions for 
business incentives, protection against compulsory 
acquisition, settlement of disputes and the transfer 
of funds.  The ultimate objective is to promote The 
Gambia as an investment haven by: 
 
-- providing an attractive business environment and 
incentives for business activities in The Gambia; 
 
-- establishing a "one-stop shop" for investors, 
where every government department, agency, or other 
relevant body, cooperates to provide permits, 
exemptions, authorizations, licenses, land, or other 
accommodation required to establish a business 
enterprise; 
 
-- attracting, promoting, and increasing the 
manufacture of goods and trade in goods and 
services; 
 
-- coordinating, promoting, and facilitating 
investment in The Gambia; and 
 
-- advising government on investment policy and 
related matters. 
 
¶25.  Investments must fulfill the following criteria 
to qualify for special investment status: 
 
-- investment outlay in fixed assets of at least 
$100,000 or its equivalent in Gambian dalasis or 
other freely convertible currencies at the time of 
application; 
 
-- investment activities targeted in one of the 
following priority sectors: agriculture, fisheries, 
tourism, forestry, manufacturing, energy, skills 
development, financial and off-shore services, 
health and veterinary, river and air transportation, 
information technology, minerals exploration and 
exploitation, and communications; 
 
-- expectation of new earnings or savings of foreign 
exchange through exports, resource-based import 
substitution, or other activities; 
 
-- utilization of local materials, supplies and 
services; 
 
-- creation of employment opportunities in The 
Gambia; 
 
-- introduction of advanced technology or upgrading 
of indigenous technology; and 
 
-- contribution to locally or regionally balanced 
socio-economic development. 
 
¶26.  The Act requires special investment status be 
conferred on approved investment proposals.  Such 
investments will be awarded special investment 
certificates (SIC) and will be entitled to the 
following incentives: 
 
-- exemption from customs duties and sales tax on 
importation of capital equipment, machinery, 
appliances, furniture, and fittings to be used in 
establishing the investment; 
 
-- exemption from customs duty and sales tax on 
approved quantities of semi-furnished products, 
spare parts, raw materials and supplies and 
consumables involved in the production process; 
 
-- exemption from withholding tax on dividends for 
five years; 
 
-- exemption from turn-over tax for five years; 
 
-- preferential treatment for the allocation of land 
for the site of the proposed investment and 
infrastructure facilities (utilities and telephone); 
and 
 
-- a special scheme of accelerated depreciation. 
 
¶27.  The Act provides for additional incentives 
above those specified for S.I.C. package for 
strategic investments.  The Act makes no 
discrimination between foreign and local investors 
and there are no requirements that nationals own 
shares or that the share of foreign equity be 
reduced over time. 
 
¶28.  There are no visa, residence, or work permit 
requirements that inhibit the activities or mobility 
of foreign investors. 
 
¶29.  The Gambian Government does not maintain any 
measures that it has notified the WTO to be 
inconsistent with TRIMs or that violate the TRIMs 
text. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Right to Private Ownership and Establishment 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶30.  The Gambian Constitution guarantees the right 
of private ownership.  Under the Company Act of 
1955, there are no restrictions on the minimum or 
maximum share capital of a business venture, nor is 
there any compulsory requirement for equity 
participation by Gambian nationals in foreign-owned 
enterprises, except as described in Paragraph 9 in 
relation to privatization programs.  Businesses maybe 
wholly owned by foreigners or jointly owned with 
participation by local investors. Organizational 
forms include: 
 
- limited liability companies; 
- unlimited companies; 
- guarantee companies; 
- partnerships; 
- co-operatives; 
- institutions established by act of the National 
Assembly (e.g., parastatals); 
- branches of foreign businesses; and 
- sole proprietorship. 
 
¶28.  In those sectors where private businesses are 
in competition with public enterprises, there is no 
undue discrimination with regard to access to markets, 
credit, and other business facilities, such as 
licenses and supplies. 
 
----------------------------- 
Protection of Property Rights 
----------------------------- 
 
¶31.  Property rights are protected by the 
Constitution and secured interests in property, both 
movable and real, are recognized and enforced.  The 
concept of a mortgage does exist and the banks 
execute it, and there is a recognized and reliable 
system of recording such security interests.  The 
legal system fully protects and facilitates 
acquisition and disposition of all property rights 
including land, buildings and mortgages. 
 
¶32.  The Gambia is a signatory to both the Paris 
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 
and the Berne Convention for the Protection of 
Literary and Artistic Works.  In 2003, the country 
enacted its own Copyright Act.  This law provides 
adequate protection for intellectual property, 
patents, copyrights and trademarks.  The Government 
has also signed and ratified both the WIPO 
Copyrights Treaty and WTO TRIPS agreement.  However, 
enforcement of these regulations and treaties is 
sometimes inadequate due to a lack of resources and 
expertise. The Gambia has not yet ratified the WIPO 
Internet Treaties. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Transparency of the Regulatory System 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶33.  A Fair Competition Law was enacted in 2007. 
None of the existing laws and policies relating to 
tax, labor, environment, health, and safety are 
known to impede investment.  Bureaucratic 
procedures, including those for obtaining licenses 
and permits are streamlined. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Efficient Capital Markets and Portfolio Investment 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶34.  There are no policies in place that impede the 
free flow of financial resources in the product and 
factor markets.  On the contrary the authorities 
facilitate the free flow of resources to support the 
government's growth agenda. 
 
¶35.  Foreign investors can acquire credit on the 
local market at prevailing interest rates if they 
are able to provide the requisite collateral or 
guarantee.  There are limited credit instruments 
available to the private sector because the only 
money market instruments available are the 
government treasury bills. 
 
¶36.  Portfolio investment is also very low because, 
among other reasons, there is no formal stock market 
such as a stock exchange for trading equity 
securities.  Only one Gambian bank is listed on the 
Ghana Stock Exchange. 
 
¶37.  The estimated total assets of the country?s 11 
commercial banks are $11.4 billion.  There is a 
sound banking system sound and only seven per cent 
of loans are non-performing. 
 
¶38.  There is limited "cross-shareholding" and no 
incidents of hostile takeovers. 
 
------------------ 
Political Violence 
------------------ 
 
¶39.  The Gambia has generally benefited from a 
peaceful political climate since independence in 
¶1965. The country's only successful coup d'etat 
occurred in July 1994 and was accompanied by minimal 
violence. The military officer who took power in 
1994 was elected president in October 2001 through 
elections, which foreign observers (Commonwealth, 
EU, U.S., etc.) deemed generally free, fair, and 
transparent, albeit with some shortcomings.  As a 
result, the U.S. Government lifted section 508 
sanctions shortly thereafter in April 2002.  In 
September 2006, the country held a presidential 
election that was judged to be partially free and 
fair and in which the incumbent, President Yahya 
Jammeh, was returned to office for a further term of 
five years. National Assembly elections were in held 
in January 2007 and local government elections were 
scheduled for late January 2008. 
 
¶40. There have been no incidents of politically 
motivated damage to projects or installations. 
Various political parties are active, but there is 
no indication that civil disturbances are likely 
because of this.  There are no nascent insurrections 
and relations with the country?s neighbors are 
generally peaceful. 
 
 
---------- 
Corruption 
---------- 
 
¶41.  Corruption exists, and the government continues 
its efforts to combat it.  The Criminal Code 
provides the legal platform for combating corruption 
and this is occasionally buttressed by regulations 
and directives from government.  For example, in 
2007, two permanent secretaries at the Department of 
State for Agriculture were dismissed, arrested and charged 
with economic crimes relating to the sale of 
fertilizer which was said to have caused the 
government a loss of more than 6.3 million dalasi 
(about 274,000 dollars). 
 
¶42.  In 2004 the President established a commission 
of inquiry to look into suspected cases of 
corruption as well as investigate ill-gotten wealth 
acquired by government officials.  A number of civil 
servants and senior officials indicted by the 
commission's report lost their jobs and, in some 
cases, property that they were suspected to have 
acquired illegally.  Many more had to pay back 
varying sums of money to the state. 
 
¶43.  Also in 2004, the President set up a commission 
of inquiry to investigate mismanagement and 
corruption in connection with the collapse of a $3 
million fiber-optic cable project by the national 
telecommunications company, GAMTEL.  Two senior 
officials who were involved in the projects were 
later dismissed from their jobs. 
 
¶44.  In 2003, the government's anti-corruption 
campaign, "Operation No Compromise" resulted in the 
imprisonment of a key figure in the government, the 
deportation of others and the dismissal of senior 
officials of the Central Bank who had used their 
positions to defraud the state.  However, the 
deported businessman was later allowed back into 
the country. 
 
¶45. U.S. firms have not identified corruption as a 
serious obstacle to foreign direct investment in The 
Gambia.  The most recently reported case of 
corruption occurred in the collection of fees for 
government services.  Traffic police and other 
junior police and immigration officers are often 
accused of corruption and solicitation of bribes. 
Accepting a bribe, irrespective of source, is a 
criminal act and the penalties are fines and 
imprisonment depend on the magnitude of the amount. 
Senior government officials take anti-corruption efforts 
seriously, even though some of them have been 
investigated for corruption. 
 
¶46.  The police, the National Intelligence Agency 
and the Department of State for Justice are 
responsible for combating corruption.  Transparency 
International has a local representative in the 
country, and The Gambia was ranked 158 with a score 
of 1.9 in the 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index. 
The Gambia has signed and ratified the African Union 
Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption 
and Related Offences, but has ratified neither the 
UN Convention Against Corruption nor the OECD 
Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public 
Officials in International Business Transactions. 
 
------------------------------- 
Bilateral Investment Agreements 
------------------------------- 
 
¶47. The Gambia has bilateral investment agreements 
with Mauritania, Morocco, the Netherlands, 
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom; however, only 
the agreement with Switzerland has come into force. 
 
¶48. The Gambia does not have a bilateral investment 
treaty or a bilateral taxation treaty with the U.S. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
OPIC and other investment insurance programs 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶49.  The Gambia is a member of the Multilateral 
Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).  The Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) was not opened 
for business in The Gambia until the lifting of 
restrictions on bilateral assistance in April 2002. 
In 2003, OPIC conducted a study of The Gambia and 
listed it as having significant potential for 
investment. 
 
¶50.  The Gambian currency, the dalasi, is generally 
stable against all currencies. However, in the 
second half of 2007, the dalasi rapidly appreciated 
by 30 per cent against most other currencies 
including the dollar, the pound, the Euro and the 
CFA Franc.  Various reasons were given for the 
unexpected rise, including reports of large inflows 
of foreign currency. By end 2007, the currency had 
begun to gradually return to its normal exchange 
rate level against all currencies.  The current 
exchange rate used by the Embassy is 26 dalasi to 
the dollar. 
 
¶51.  It is unlikely that the local currency will 
depreciate significantly or be devalued in the 
coming year.  However, the country is likely to 
adopt the proposed common currency of the five- 
nation West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ), the ECO, 
if and when it is formally launched. 
 
----- 
Labor 
----- 
 
¶52.  The Gambia's total economically active 
population is estimated at 400,000.  About 75 
percent are engaged in agriculture; 19 percent in 
industry, commerce and services; and 7 percent in 
government.  The Gambia suffers from high 
unemployment and underemployment, compounded by a 
shortage of skilled workers and trained 
professionals.  Many of the skilled workers in the 
construction and mechanical industries are 
foreigners from neighboring countries.  These 
workers are required by law to pay an annual 
registration fee of about $54 and a work permit fee 
of about $11. 
 
¶53.  The Labor Act of 1990, the 2007 amendments to 
the act, and its regulations, provide the legal 
framework for labor relations in The Gambia.  The 
Department of State for Trade, Industry and 
Employment enforces the act.  It covers most 
conditions of employment, including dismissals, 
recruitment and hiring, registration and training, 
protection of wages, registration of trade unions 
and employees' organizations, and industrial 
relations in general. The Act also contains procedures 
for the settlement of disputes, including an 
industrial tribunal. Minimum wages and working 
hours are established through six joint industrial 
councils: commerce, artisans, transport, port 
operations, agriculture and fisheries. Private-sector 
employees receive between 14 and 30 days of paid 
annual leave, depending on length of service. 
 
¶54.  Labor and trade unions exist but are not very 
active. Most workers are not unionized.  The most 
active unions are for dock workers and workers in 
the transport sector.  The Gambia Workers 
Confederation, formed in 1985, coordinates union 
activities.  The confederation is a member of the 
International Labor Organization (ILO). 
The confederation is not political but is increasingly 
active in negotiations on pay and employment conditions. 
 
¶55. After being criticized for not implementing the 
ILO conventions banning the worst forms of child 
labor, the Gambian government took steps to pass new 
legislation updating the labor code to conform to 
the signed agreements. The Children's Act of 2005 
raised the minimum labor age from 14 to 16 and holds 
corporate entities accountable for exploitative 
labor practices involving children on their premises 
with executive officers of these entities subject to 
fines and criminal liability for violations of the 
Act. 
 
¶56.  A regulation that set up the Expatriate Quota 
Board is intended to encourage businesses to hire 
qualified Gambian staff.  For hiring an expatriate 
for a job that can be done by a Gambian, they are 
required to pay the equivalent of $345 in tax 
annually. An amendment to the Payroll Tax Act 
approved by the National Assembly in April 2008 set 
the limit of non-Gambians that businesses can employ 
to 20 per cent, except in the case of specialized 
professionals. A police regulation in 2005 banned 
all non-Gambians from driving taxis in the country. 
 
------------------------------ 
Foreign Trade Zones/Free Ports 
------------------------------ 
 
¶57.  The establishment of free zones is an integral 
part of the Gambia Gateway Project, and the 2001 
Free Zones Act provides the necessary legal 
framework.  The Act provides for free zones to be 
established in separate selected areas to which 
special customs territory status shall be conferred. 
The Act also provides for the establishment of single 
factory free zones for which GIPFZA will be the 
regulator. Such free zone status was granted to two 
companies dealing in the important groundnut (peanut) 
sector: Gambia Agricultural Marketing Company (GAMCO) 
and Premier Agro, which has now closed down. 
 
¶58.  The main objective of the project is to 
transform The Gambia into a major gateway to the 
West African coast through significant improvements 
of its port and airport, and through onshore 
facilities to support export-related manufacturing. 
An area measuring 164 hectares at Banjul 
International Airport has been designated a Free 
Economic Zone (FEZ).  The first phase of this $6 
million project was completed in December 2005.  An 
area of almost 9 hectares has been fully developed 
with factory space, access roads and electricity. 
It is now designated as a mixed ?use business park 
instead of a FEZ to allow for non FEZ operations and 
is currently occupied by a garment , diaper and 
tissue manufacturing company.  There are also some 
bonded warehouses at the Banjul port which 
have not yet been designated as FEZs. 
 
¶59.  The following concessions are extended to 
investors in the FEZs: 
 
--  exemption from import duty, excise duty and 
sales tax on raw materials, intermediate goods and 
supplies for manufacturing imported into the zones; 
 
-- exemption from import duty, excise duty and sales 
tax on goods produced within or imported into the 
zones except those for consumption inside the 
customs territory; 
 
-- exemption from import duty on capital equipment; 
 
--  exemption of corporate tax or income tax for 
business involved in trading activities in the zones 
for the first 10 years, and thereafter the rate 
shall not exceed six percent per annum; 
 
-- corporate tax on business in tourism activities 
within the zones will be charged flat corporate tax 
rate of 10 percent, and this rate will be guaranteed 
over a period of 20 years; 
 
-- exemption from withholding tax from dividends and 
other payments during the tax holiday period; and 
 
-- licensed companies will be free to bring in 
foreign staff, whose work permits will be arranged 
by GIPFZA. 
 
¶60.  Foreign-owned firms have the same investment 
opportunities as local companies. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Foreign Direct Investment Statistics 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶61.  Foreign investment is present and visible in 
all sectors of the economy.  Almost all the 
commercial banks operating in The Gambia have 
majority foreign ownership. Out of the 11 commercial 
banks, five are Nigerian-owned, two are regional, 
one is British, one is Malaysian, one is Arab-owned 
and only one has majority Gambian shares. The 
telecommunications industry has also considerable 
Lebanese presence with two of the three cellular 
phone companies owned by Lebanese interests. The 
national electricity and water company, NAWEC, is 
also managed by a company with Lebanese interests. 
The tourism sector is dominated by Scandinavian, 
British, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch and 
Lebanese investments. A Kuwaiti firm, M.A. Kharafi & 
Sons, also has significant investments in the 
tourism sector having bought the Kairaba Beach Hotel 
and built the country's first Sheraton-flagged hotel 
and conference center.  This was the venue of the 
African Union Heads of State Summit in June/July 
¶2006. There has also been a recent inflow of Libyan 
investment in the tourism sector in the form of 
hotels and amusement centers. 
 
¶62.  The trading sector has a heavy presence of 
Lebanese, Mauritanian and Senegalese businesses. 
Kuwaiti-owned M.A. Kharafi is the biggest foreign 
investor in The Gambia at the moment. It has 
invested heavily in agriculture and has also secured 
contracts for extending the runway and refurbishing 
the terminal building at Banjul International 
Airport as well as upgrading most of The Gambia's 
trunk roads network. 
 
¶63.  A small number of U.S. firms have invested in 
The Gambia, and most projects are still in their 
early stages.  A private U.S. investor has opened a 
casino and hotel in the tourism area and is 
continuing to finance a cattle cross-breeding 
project. The American corporation Seaboard is 
pursuing its plans to build a flourmill in The 
Gambia in partnership with a Gambian businessman. 
Also in 2005, a Maryland-based firm, BTI Holdings, 
launched a scheme to promote a prefab-housing 
development project in collaboration with the 
Gambian Social Security Housing and Finance 
Corporation. 
 
¶64.  Since the establishment of GIPFZA in 2002, 50 
of the companies awarded the Special Investment 
Certificate by the agency have become fully 
established and operational. They operate in various 
sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, 
manufacturing, ICT, tourism and services. They have 
created nearly 3000 direct jobs.  By the end of 
2008, total actual investment of all projects 
registered with GIPFZA is estimated at about $130 
million. 
 
¶65.  LIST OF OPERATIONAL PROJECTS WITH INVESTMENTS 
OF $0.5 MILLION AND ABOVE REGISTERED WITH GIPFZA 
QQ(as of end December 2008) 
 
 
Name of Company     QQCountry of Origin  QSector 
 
West African Resort & Casino   US/Gambia     Tourism 
West Africa Cattle Company       US 
Livestock 
Sheraton Resort & Spa            Kuwait      Tourism 
West African Aquaculture         Sweden 
Fisheries 
International Commercial Bank    Malaysia 
Financial Services 
Africell                         Lebanon      IT 
Jerma Company Ltd.               Libya 
Tourism 
Gam-Petroleum Storage Depot      Lebanon/Gambia 
Services 
Gamwater Company Ltd             Gambia 
Manufacturing 
TAF Holding CompanyQQ     Gambia 
QHousing 
Access Bank (Gambia) Ltd         Nigeria 
Financial Services 
Atlantic Seafood Company         Netherlands 
Fisheries 
Walo Development Enterprises     Gambia/UK 
Agriculture 
Knitswear Ltd              Netherlands/Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Comfort Quality Services         Gambian 
Manufacturing 
Kafuta Fresh Produce Limited     Kuwait 
Agriculture 
Mecalite Ltd                     Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Golden Beach Hotel               Gambia 
Tourism 
Fine Beverage Company Limited    Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Cosmos Industrial Company Ltd.   China 
Manufacturing 
African Safari Company           Libya 
Tourism 
West African Pearl               China/Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Quantum Net                      Gambia          IT 
Salam Company Limited            Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Swami India International Ltd.   India       sand 
mining 
Global Electrical Group Ltd.     Lebanon/Gambia 
Energy 
Gamveg Oil Ltd.               Gambia/Lebanon 
Manufacturing 
Reliance Financial Services      Gambia 
Financial Services 
Nice Gambia Ltd                 Netherlands      IT 
Lemon Creek Company Ltd.Q    DenmarkQQTourism 
Comium                            Lebanon        IT 
Unique Solutions                  Gambia         IT 
Radville Farms Ltd.                UK 
Agriculture 
Basma Industrial Ltd.             Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Hydara Foam Manufacturing Co.     Gambia 
Manufacturing 
Royal Enterprise Ltd.             India 
Manufacturing 
Kombo Farms Company Ltd.          Gambia 
Agriculture 
EcoBank                           ECOWAS 
Financial Services 
Sandele Eco-Retreat                UK 
Tourism 
AHS Holding Ltd.                  China 
Manufacturing 
Rue Chicken Company Ltd.QQGambia 
QPoultry 
A & A Industries Ltd.             Pakistan 
Fisheries 
Takaful Gambia Ltd.               Gambia 
Services 
Rue Chicken Ltd.                  Gambia 
0.80 
Source: The Gambia Investment Promotion and Free 
Zones 
Agency (GIPFZA) 
 
WELLS