Business Profile
Economy
Equatorial Guinea produces timber, cocoa, coffee, bananas and spices for export, and is self-sufficient in other basic food products. Manufacturing industry is confined to timber processing. During the 1990s, the long overdue development of the country’s oil and gas reserves – which now account for about a quarter of GDP – produced spectacular economic growth (up to 20 per cent annually) and such growth has persisted at a steady rate. Equatorial Guinea also has confirmed deposits of gold, uranium, iron ore, tantalum and manganese. Intervention by the IMF in the mid-1990s has led to restructuring of the public and financial sectors. A long legacy of maladministration, corruption (the country’s largest companies are still largely owned by members of the ruling family) and the lack of even the most basic services have made progress difficult. Nonetheless, Equatorial Guinea has made considerable economic progress in the last decade and will continue to do so for some time yet, on the basis of its oil infrastructure. The USA, Cameroon, Liberia and Spain are the country’s main trading partners. Equatorial Guinea is a member of the Central African Customs and Economic Union (CEEAC) and the CFA Franc Zone, and receives large injections of foreign aid from a variety of sources.
Commercial Information
The following organisation can offer advice: Cámara de Comercio, Agrícola y Forestal de Malabo, Avenida de la Independencia 43, Apartado Postal 51, Bioko (tel: (9) 2343; fax: (9) 4462).
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