With USD 400 Mn In FDI Reception For H1 2019, Tunisia’s Truly Becoming An Investment Hotbed
News from the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency says that Tunisia received a minimum of USD 400 Mn in direct foreign investments in the first half of 2019. This means that the North African country achieved 43 percent of its 2019 forecast of USD 1 Bn.
June this year, Tunisia launched a digital platform to support investors. Done on the sidelines of the 2019 edition of the Tunisia Investment Forum, the objective was to digitize the entire investment operations.
It was during the same period that the country’s Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said that Tunisia would become a hotspot for investment by 2030.
Chahad revealed that the business climate in the nation’s business climate was at the top of the government’s priorities. From him, we learned that 2018 was the best year for Tunisia in terms of investments. This was significantly due to the digitization of public tenders and the promulgation of the law on economic activities.
June 2019, it was reported that foreign direct investments in Tunisia increased by 15.7 percent for around USD 280 Mn. FIPA-Tunisia said that FDI increased by 16.3 percent during the same period, compared to about USD 250 Mn that was recorded last year.
The down-slide, which included a variety of economic activities chief amongst which were portfolio investments, was by 37.3 percent.
The concerned agency concerned said the decline occurred as a result of the impact of the Tunisian dinar exchange rate against the United States dollar. FIPA Director, Abdelbasset explained that foreign investors do not see high proceeds during currency fluctuations, ultimately not encouraging them to invest in Tunisia’s financial portfolio.
Per the H1 figures, FDI witnessed a hike in 16.6 percent compared to the same period of last year, as well as the 36.2 percent recorded in 2016.
The report also reveals that foreign investments in Tunisia’s services sector underwent a relapse of 34.7 percent, while energy funding dropped around 6.9 percent. Finally, FDI in the industrial sector developed by a minimum of 64.9 percent.
Early this year, China granted the Tunisian government a pair of donations reported to be worth more than USD 90 Mn (about 108 million dinars). Under two agreements, the funds were in line for the Asian country’s continued support in the development process of Tunisia.
Featured Image: World Nomads
