New Report: Investment Prospects in São Tomé and Príncipe

 
Press Contact: Erin Kelly, 212-854-1787 (o), 646-284-8549 (c), [email protected]
Public Affairs Office 212-854-2650

September 19, 2008 (NEW YORK) – The Earth Institute at Columbia University and the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment, a joint center of Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute, release their Investor’s Guide to São Tomé and Príncipe in New York, Washington D.C., Lisbon and São Tomé and Príncipe today.

“São Tomé and Príncipe is off the beaten track for most investors – they may well miss out on some interesting opportunities,” said Karl P. Sauvant, Executive Director of the Vale Columbia Center.

The Investor’s Guide to São Tomé and Príncipe analyzes opportunities for investors in agriculture (cocoa, flowers, fruits and vegetables for export), adventure and eco-tourism, fisheries, regional trans-shipment and in the petroleum sector. The country is a stable working democracy, with a vibrant multi-party system, one of the highest literacy and life expectancy rates in sub-Saharan Africa, and no serious ethnic, linguistic, religious or tribal tensions. It is strategically located in the Gulf of Guinea, the geographic center of the large markets in west and central Africa. The government is committed to promoting transparency, good governance, and to private sector-led growth.

“We offer excellent opportunities in agriculture, tourism, fishing, regional services, petroleum support and light manufacturing, and we are open to any other suggestions you might bring us,” said H.E. Fradique de Menezes, President of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. “We stand ready to assist potential investors to find opportunities that will benefit us mutually,” he said.

The Investor’s Guide to São Tomé and Príncipe is available at www.vcc.columbia.edu and www.earth.columbia.edu/cgsd/STP. It has the support of the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), the European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM) and Portugal’s Business Development Agency (AICEP); it was drafted with input from local and international stakeholders.

“While by no means the sole driver of growth and development, foreign direct investment does have a distinctive contribution to make,” said Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute. “Apart from much needed capital, it can bring know-how, technology and access to foreign markets. Furthermore, it helps improve the competitiveness of domestic enterprises, which must be the foundation of all growth.”

Sachs said that while The Investor’s Guide is intended to make São Tomé and Príncipe better known to investors, “we hope that it will also be useful to the development community, civil society, diplomatic missions and others.”

The Investor’s Guide describes in detail the multifaceted São Toméan economy from its high-quality organic cocoa and its abundant fish stocks to eco-tourism and its recently contracted deep-water port intended to make the country a regional shipping hub. São Tomé has also adopted a new investment code that allows investors to receive incentives and has signed several bilateral trade agreements, including those with Angola, Gabon and Nigeria. It also has preferential treatment from the European Union and access to the United States market.

For further information contact:
Columbia Law School
Erin St. John Kelly 212-854-1787 (o), 646-284-8549 (c), [email protected]
Public Affairs Office 212-854-2650

Earth Institute
Paulo Cunha 646-884-7422, [email protected]

Since mid-2003, The Earth Institute at Columbia University has led a diverse team of experts advising São Tomé and Príncipe on how best to achieve economic growth and sustainable development while promoting transparency and good governance.

The Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment promotes learning, teaching, policy-oriented research and practical work within the area of foreign direct investment, paying special attention to the sustainable development dimension of this investment.
It is a joint center of Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, stands at the forefront of legal education and of the law in a global society. Columbia Law School joins traditional strengths in international and comparative law, constitutional law, administrative law, business law and human rights law with pioneering work in the areas of intellectual property, digital technology, sexuality and gender, and criminal law.