The stock of investments of French companies in Gabon estimated at more than 492 billion FCFA

(Agence Ecofin) – 85 subsidiaries of French companies are established in Gabon according to statistics dated 2020 communicated by Alexis Lamek, Ambassador of France in Gabon. In a recent interview he gave to the media Les Echos de l’Ecothe diplomat explains that French companies are more present in Gabon than in Cameroon or Nigeria.

Over the reference period, these 85 companies achieved “a cumulative turnover of nearly 3 billion euros (1,969.9 billion FCFA, 12,500 employees, and an investment stock of 750 million euros [492,4 milliards de FCFA] », declares the French plenipotentiary.

Alexis Lamek specifies that at “With the exception of banking, all sectors of the Gabonese economy have a French player (subsidiary or company owned by a Frenchman living in Gabon), very often the leader. Until 2007, Gabon was the main recipient of French foreign direct investment (FDI) in the area, thanks to major investments by oil groups”.

In 2021, France remains Gabon’s leading supplier with a market share of 26%, ahead of Belgium and China. The main sectors of French exports to Gabon were the same as over the past 10 years: agricultural and food industry products (30%), capital goods (mechanical equipment, electrical, electronic and computer equipment) (27% of total in 2021), intermediate goods (chemical, metallurgical, rubber, wood, textile) (24%), and pharmaceutical products (13%), according to data from the French Treasury General Directorate.

The New Gabon reveals that Gabon meanwhile exported to France in 2021, mainly wood (46% of the total), natural hydrocarbons (25%) and metal ores (25%).

–