VZCZCXRO3881
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHAS #0164/01 0480735
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170735Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7064
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT PRIORITY 6666
RUEHNM/AMEMBASSY NIAMEY PRIORITY 1857
RUEHBP/AMEMBASSY BAMAKO PRIORITY 0876
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ALGIERS 000164 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/MAG, PASS TO DOC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN EINV ELAB ETRD KTDB OPOC PGOV USTR AG
SUBJECT: ALGERIA 2009 INVESTMENT CLIMATE STATEMENT 
 
REF: 08 STATE 158802 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Algeria's population of roughly 35 
million, its energy wealth, and growing demand for modern 
infrastructure and consumer products have generated broad 
interest in this market from companies around the world.  But 
an often difficult business regulatory environment, 
symbolized by Algeria's failure to date to join the WTO or to 
modernize its banking sector, has impeded significant foreign 
investment outside the energy sector.  Statements in mid-2008 
by the president and prime minister blaming foreign investors 
for Algeria's "failed" economic reform measures and 
suggestions that future foreign investment will require a 
majority Algerian stakeholder signal a renewed government 
effort at economic nationalism.  This trend began in 2006 
with amendments to the hydrocarbons laws that backtracked 
from market liberalization and required the national oil 
company Sonatrach to be a majority partner in all oil and gas 
projects, and imposed a windfall profits tax on oil 
production.  Financial sector reform is incremental at best, 
and the world financial crisis resulted in the indefinite 
suspension of the privatization of the state-owned bank 
Credit Populaire d'Algerie (CPA).  In fact, privatization in 
general has stalled across all sectors.  Algerian ministers 
and government officials, nonetheless, urge U.S.-based 
companies to consider projects in Algeria, and they welcome 
trade delegations to explore such opportunities.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
OPENNESS TO FOREIGN INVESTMENT 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) While Algerian officials are quick to seek technology 
and know-how transfer, they have pursued efforts to secure 
greater returns for Algerian interests since the 2006 
amendments to the hydrocarbons law.  Algerian law now 
requires a majority state partnership in all oil and gas 
projects and imposes a heavy windfall profits tax on oil 
profits when prices are above USD 30 per barrel. 
 
¶3. (SBU) At least one American company successfully purchased 
the majority share of an industrial plant in early 2008, but 
statements from the president and prime minister since then 
indicate that future foreign investment in some sectors will 
require majority Algerian partnership.  In July 2008 the 
president publicly expressed anger over what he perceived to 
be massive profits expropriated to foreign capitals reaped 
from investments in Algeria.  Since that speech, the tax law 
was amended to require companies to re-invest within four 
years the equivalent value of any tax benefits they obtain as 
incentives to locate in Algeria, and a new 15 percent tax was 
imposed on foreign companies transferring profits out of 
Algerian. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Three agencies have mandates to encourage and manage 
investment in Algeria.  The National Agency for Investment 
Development (ANDI) (www.andi.dz) is responsible for 
facilitating investments and granting tax exemptions.  The 
National Investment Council (CNI) was created to define 
investment strategies and priorities, and approve special 
investment incentives by sector.  The Ministry for Industry 
and Investment Promotion (www.mipi.dz) maintains an office 
for investment policy and one for promotion of privatization. 
 The privatization process in Algeria has all but stopped, 
however, due in part to a lack of interest by foreign firms, 
and to a lack of confidence by the government in the process. 
 The government is now seeking to consolidate state-owned 
firms according to sector. 
 
CONVERSION AND TRANSFER POLICIES 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The Algerian dinar is considered fully convertible for 
all commercial transactions.  The Bank of Algeria (Banque 
d'AlgQrie, the nation's central bank) manages Algeria's 
foreign reserves, controls foreign exchange, and delegates 
most of these controls to the banks themselves.  Legally 
registered economic operators may have access to foreign 
currency to make payments, subject to bank domiciliation, 
without any pre-authorization. The same transfer procedures 
apply to both goods and services, including insurance, 
transportation, maintenance, technical assistance, and even 
training contracts related to imported or exported goods. 
 
¶6. (U) Algerian exporters outside the hydrocarbon sector must 
repatriate their receipts and can convert only 50 percent 
 
ALGIERS 00000164  002 OF 005 
 
 
into hard currency, receiving the other half in local 
currency.  Hydrocarbon export remuneration, by law, is 
remitted 100 percent in Algerian dinars to local accounts. 
 
¶7. (U) Foreign investors are allowed to repatriate their 
profits, even if revenues exceed the original amount 
invested.  Foreign investors can repatriate dividends, 
profits and real net income out of their assets transfer or 
through liquidation. In certain cases, due to the 
inefficiency of the banking system and the heavy bureaucracy, 
it may take longer to obtain official permission from the 
central bank to make transfers/payments, or for the local 
bank to proceed with the transfer. 
 
EXPROPRIATION AND COMPENSATION 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (U) The government of Algeria has not engaged in 
expropriation actions against U.S. or other foreign firms. 
 
DISPUTE SETTLEMENT 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (U) Algeria is a signatory to the convention of the 
Paris-based International Center for the Settlement of 
Investment Disputes (http://www.worldbank.org/icsid). 
Algeria ratified its accession 
(http://arbiter.wipo.int/arbitration) to the New York 
Convention on Arbitration and is a member of the Multilateral 
Investment Guarantee Agency (http://www.miga.org).  The code 
of civil procedure allows both private and public sector 
companies full recourse to international arbitration. 
Algeria permits the inclusion of international arbitration 
clauses in contracts. 
 
¶10. (SBU) An American oil company exercised the dispute 
settlement mechanism in its contracts with the state oil 
company to contest the implementation of a windfall profits 
tax that the company argued violates its contract.  The 
process for negotiation, non-binding conciliation and binding 
arbitration has been slow but apparently consistent with the 
dispute resolution clauses of the contract. 
 
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS AND INCENTIVES 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (U) Algeria does not impose general performance 
requirements on foreign investments.  However, the national 
energy company Sonatrach must be a majority shareholder in 
any venture in the hydrocarbons sector.  Furthermore, 
statements made by the president and prime minister in 
mid-2008 suggest that future foreign investments in Algeria 
in many sectors will require Algerian majority partnership. 
 
¶12. (U) The investment code provides a number of incentives 
for investment in Algeria, primarily related to VAT and other 
tax exemptions for periods of time that are dependent on the 
type of investment made and the nature of the package agreed 
two between the investor and the National Agency for 
Investment Development (ANDI).  Changes to ANDI's mandate may 
be changed, however, as the President referred to the 
agency's results as a "failure" for Algeria in his July 2008 
remarks. 
 
RIGHT TO PRIVATE OWNERSHIP AND ESTABLISHMENT 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (U) Foreign entities have largely equal rights to 
establish and own business enterprises in Algeria, and engage 
in most forms of remunerative activity within the framework 
of the requirements for Sonatrach participation in 
hydrocarbons ventures.  Private enterprises have equal status 
with public enterprises and compete on an equal basis with 
respect to access to markets, credit, and business operations. 
 
PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) Secured interests in property are generally 
recognized and enforceable, but court proceedings can be 
lengthy and results unpredictable.  Most real property in 
Algeria remains in government hands, and tumult over the 
years has resulted in conflicting claims for real estate 
title, making the purchase and financing of real estate 
difficult. 
 
 
ALGIERS 00000164  003 OF 005 
 
 
¶15. (U) As part of Algeria's negotiations for WTO accession, 
the government adopted new laws in July 2003 on copyright and 
related rights, trademarks, patent and integrated circuits. 
Implementation has been inconsistent, and enforcement remains 
spotty.  Nonetheless, the customs service has stepped-up the 
fight against counterfeit products. 
 
TRANSPARENCY OF REGULATORY REFORM 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶16. (U) Algeria's regulatory system is largely transparent, 
even if decision-making authority remains opaque.  Each 
ministry defines the rules for doing business in the sectors 
it manages, and regulatory bodies are established to 
administer them.  Challenges arise in managing the 
bureaucracy because authority is generally vested at the top 
of every organization, and access to decision-makers is often 
limited.  Furthermore, the bureaucracy is slow and 
protocol-oriented, such that even minor deficiencies in 
paperwork can lead to significant delays and frustration.  In 
some cases, authority over a matter may rest within multiple 
ministries, adding additional bureaucratic steps and the 
likelihood of inaction in the face of a problem or unusual 
circumstance.  Efforts were undertaken in 2008 and early 2009 
to begin modernization of the bureaucracies of the tax 
administration and customs service. 
 
EFFICIENT CAPITAL MARKETS AND PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶17. (U) After ten years, the Algerian stock exchange remains 
nascent, with only three companies listed.  Long-term 
treasury bonds were listed on the stock market in 2008, but 
trading seems to have declined sharply due to the increased 
number of fees required to trade the bonds.  Shorter yield 
bonds continue to be managed through bond dealers. 
 
¶18. (U) To absorb excess liquidity, some stated-owned 
companies have launched corporate bonds to finance their 
development projects.  More recently, Sonatrach projects are 
also being financed through a bank investment pool, rather 
than bond markets.  The pool is guaranteed by the federal 
government.  Private bond vehicles are launched periodically 
for large-scale construction or venture projects, such as a 
2009 harbor and marina development that offers the Algerian 
public 6.5 percent interest for shares purchased to 
capitalize the project. 
 
POLITICAL VIOLENCE 
------------------ 
 
¶19. (U) Political violence has declined since the brutal acts 
of terror that took place in the 1990s.  The government's 
efforts to reduce the terrorist threat through military 
engagement and societal reconciliation have achieved results. 
 Algeria has mostly defeated terrorism as a political threat 
to the country, but U.S. firms should be aware of the 
security risks they face when visiting and working in Algeria. 
 
¶20. (U) Algerian terrorists aligned themselves with Al Qa'ida 
in 2007.  Since late 2006, there have been a series of 
suicide bombings against mostly government installations, but 
also against several foreign targets, including within the 
Algiers metropolitan area. 
 
¶21. (U) The U.S. Embassy in Algiers maintains a high level of 
security, and security preparations must be considered when 
doing business in Algeria.  Visitors should read the State 
Department's Consular Information Sheets and Travel Advisory 
before traveling to Algeria, at www.travel.state.gov. 
 
CORRUPTION 
---------- 
 
¶22. (U) Corruption is not as blatant of a problem in Algeria 
as it is in many countries, and foreign companies generally 
do not complain of being asked to pay bribes or that 
contracts were lost because of corruption.  Algerian citizens 
believe that corruption is a problem in the upper reaches of 
government, however, and anecdotal evidence suggests that 
bribes are used to manage the vast Algerian bureaucracy, or 
to avoid the reach of government. 
 
¶23. (U) The Algerian government adopted an anti-corruption 
bill in 2006.  The law reinforced existing legislation to 
bring Algeria into compliance with the U.N. Convention 
 
ALGIERS 00000164  004 OF 005 
 
 
against Corruption, which Algeria ratified August 25, 2004. 
The law was designed to promote transparency in government 
and public procurement, introduced new crimes such as illicit 
enrichment, and reinforced existing penal sanctions.  A 
national anti-corruption body under the direction of the 
presidency has not yet been established. 
 
¶24. (U) Algeria is not a financial center and financial 
transactions are tightly regulated.  However, it is estimated 
that half of the country's economic transactions are done 
within the informal sector, effectively escaping the purview 
of state auditors.  The government adopted anti-money 
laundering legislation in 2005 and established a financial 
intelligence unit to monitor suspicious financial 
transactions and refer violations of the law to prosecutorial 
magistrates. 
 
BILATERAL INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶25. (U) The United States and Algeria signed a Trade and 
Investment Framework agreement (TIFA) in 2001 to create a 
forum for involved discussion.  TIFA council meetings were 
held in 2001 and 2004. 
 
Algeria executed a European Union association agreement in 
¶2005.  The agreement provides for the gradual removal of 
import duties on EU industrial products over twelve years, 
and removed duties immediately on 2,000 other products. 
 
Algeria signed bilateral investment agreements for the 
protection and promotion of investments with the following 
countries in the indicated years: Belgium/Luxembourg (1991), 
Italy (1991), France (1993), Romania (1994), Spain (1994), 
China (1996), Germany (1996), Jordan (1996), Mali (1996), 
Vietnam (1996), Egypt (1997), Bulgaria (1998), Mozambique 
(1998), Niger (1998), Turkey (1998), Denmark (1999), Yemen 
(1999), Czech Republic (2000), Greece (2000), and Malaysia 
(2000).  There is no bilateral investment treaty between 
Algeria and the United States. 
 
Algeria has also signed bilateral treaties to prevent double 
taxation with the following nations: United Kingdom (1981), 
France (1982), Tunisia (1985), Libya (1988), Morocco (1990), 
Belgium (1991), Italy (1991), Romania (1994), Turkey (1994), 
Syrian Arab Republic (1997), Bulgaria (1998), Canada (1999), 
Mali (1999), Vietnam (1999), Bahrain (2000), Oman (2000), 
Poland (2000), Ethiopia (2002), Lebanon (2002), Spain (2002), 
and Yemen (2002).  There is no double taxation treaty between 
Algeria and the United States. 
 
In 1990, Algeria signed both investment protection and double 
taxation agreements with the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) 
countries (Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia). 
 
OPIC & OTHER INVESTMENT INSURANCE PROGRAMS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶26. (U) The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation 
(OPIC) (http://www.opic.gov), the U.S. Export-Import Bank 
(Ex-Im) (http://www.exim.gov), and the U.S. Trade and 
Development Agency (USTDA) (http://www.ustda.gov) support 
projects in Algeria. 
 
A USD 250-million water desalination project in Algiers was 
completed in 2008 with OPIC support, and Ex-Im supported the 
U.S. content of a power project in Skikda in 2003. 
 
LABOR 
----- 
 
¶27. (U) Algeria's labor force consists of roughly 10 million 
people out of a total population of some 35 million. 
According to the National Office of Statistics, over 70 
percent of the population is under age 30.  The monthly 
minimum wage is DA 12,000 (USD 200).  The official 
unemployment rate is near 11 percent, but international 
organizations speculate it is much higher, perhaps as high as 
27 percent. 
 
¶28. (U) Algeria's labor code sets minimum work standards, 
including a minimum work age (16 years), a 40-hour workweek 
and rates for overtime pay.  Employers pay 26 percent of 
gross salaries in social security taxes, including provisions 
for both retirement and health/accident insurance. 
 
 
ALGIERS 00000164  005 OF 005 
 
 
¶29. (U) U.S. companies are able to hire trained technical 
staff.  However, recruiting and retention have become more 
difficult, as well-educated and trained Algerians are 
increasingly being lured to higher salaries offered in the 
Gulf region.  English speakers remain difficult to find. 
Arabic is the official language, and French is the most 
common language of business. 
 
¶30. (U) There are no restrictions on the number of expatriate 
supervisory personnel a company may establish.  Entry visas 
for foreign workers must be requested through the Ministry of 
Employment and Social Solidarity (http://www.massn.gov.dz). 
Foreign workers must then obtain work permits from the 
Ministry of Labor (http://www.mtss.gov.dz) and a residency 
card from the local police office in the district where they 
will be working.  The employer is responsible for submitting 
all tax payments for individual workers to the proper local 
tax collection authorities. 
 
Algerian regulations allow foreigners to repatriate 50 
percent of their salaries. 
 
FOREIGN-TRADE ZONES/FREE PORTS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶31. (U) There are currently no free trade zones in Algeria. 
 
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT STATISTICS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶32. (U) The latest data available from the Central Bank shows 
foreign inflow to Algeria was USD 1.8 billion for 2006.  The 
CIA World Factbook estimates the total FDI stock to be USD 
10.6 billion. 
PEARCE