EXPERT ANALYSIS
COMESA RIA Other advantages are the various institutions and schemes which support
investor operations. I’ve already mentioned the African Trade Insurance Agency. Others include: the PTA Bank, a COMESA institution responsible for providing a large array of trade financing facilities to businesses operating in the region; ZEP-RE, another COMESA institution charged with the task of promoting trade, development and integration within the region through the trade of insurance and reinsurance business; and the COMESA Court of Justice, the judicial organ of COMESA which has jurisdiction to adjudicate upon all matters pursuant to the COMESA Treaty.
Another is the COMESA Clearing House which allows businesses to
invoice their exports in national currencies. The region’s central banks, in turn, offset these transactions on a daily basis through the Clearing House and to settle net debtor balances in hard currencies every two months.
If you could offer one piece of advice to foreign investors looking at COMESA, what would it be? Many have already said it: not investing in Africa at this time is like missing out on Japan and Germany in the 1950s and Southeast Asia in the ‘80s. Do not wait, as you will be left behind.
What are COMESA RIA’s top priorities for the coming 12 months to support FDI into the region? To continue working on promoting the COMESA region as an attractive investment destination and in supporting member states’ efforts to do the same. As such, we are keen to continue playing our role as an information hub for investors and other stakeholders, organising promotional events, and working with IPAs.
Heba Salama Director, COMESA Regional Investment Agency
Cairo, Egypt W:
www.comesaria.org
About the contributor Heba Salama is an expert on business and investment promotion and cooperation, with a specialised focus on African countries and regional economic communities. With over 20 years experience working in the region, she launched and now heads the COMESA Regional Investment Agency’s operations. Her role sees her promote the COMESA region as a single market and as an attractive investment destination, and she manages initiatives aiming to further improve the business and investment climates of COMESA member states.
Salama has provided leadership for various initiatives and promoted increased cooperation in the field of investment promotion and capacity building for investment promotion agencies in cooperation with various development partners. In 2012 she was appointed as the Trade and Investment Representative of the Republic of Seychelles in Egypt and is a steering committee member of the Africa Investment Promotion Agencies Network. She has spent most of her life in Zambia where she set-up, managed and owned various businesses.
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IFLR REPORT | FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT 2014
WWW.IFLR.COM
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