ECONOMIC NEWSLETTER

EMBASSY OF

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

IN KINSHASA

ECONOMIC NEWSLETTER OF THE EMBASSY OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS IN KINSHASA & BRAZZAVILLE Design by MEDIALAB CONSULT

Nr 29 / Août-Sept 2015

MASOLOKingdom of the Netherlands

Nr 59 / February 2018* Masolo (word in Lingala) means “short news”

Connecting business to the African market !

From the Netherlands

PAGE 4 • Congo will join the Organization of Petroleum Producing and Exporting Countries• Budget for 2018 foresees a reduction of expenditure of 7.6%• 3.2% growth in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018 • Fintech startups took nearly a third of all African venture funding in 2017

Congo-Brazzaville & Africa

PAGE 2 • FMO has appointed Fatoumata Bouare as new CRFO• Netherlands second-largest agricultural exporter after US• Electric transport grows by 40% in two years• Dutch Africa Poultry Partners meeting to discuss poultry study

PAGE 3 • Heavy economic consequences after internet blockages • Ethiopian to start flights to Kisangani and Mbuji Mayi in the DRC• The Central Bank’s position on the monetary policy for 2018• World Bank regrets lack of energy policy in the electricity sector• Electronic payment of taxes in Goma

DRC Headlines

ECONOMIC NEWSLETTER OF THE EMBASSY OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS IN KINSHASA & BRAZZAVILLE Design by MEDIALAB CONSULT

• Factsheet – Membership of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UN Security Council 2018• Useful links• Practical information & Contact

PAGE 5

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Senate has approved legislation that raises taxes and royalties on metals including copper and cobalt under reforms that were fiercely opposed by the mining industry.

The document was finalized by a joint mixed commission representing both chambers of parliament which was formed to iron out several points of divergence between the versions passed by the National Assembly (Dec. 8th) and the Senate (Jan. 24th). The code permits Congo to raise the royalties on the metals in question to 5 percent if the government opts to categorize the mineral as a “strategic substance.”

While existing stability clauses mean companies with valid mining contracts won’t have to comply with most reforms for 10 years, the increased royalty rates will be applied to all projects immediately, Mining Minister Martin Kabwelulu said. The bill will now be sent to President Joseph Kabila to be signed into law. (Source : Bloomberg. Photo: Jeune Afrique)

Post Scriptum

Congolese Parliament Approves Reforms to Mining Legislation

Connecting business to the African market !

2 F r o m t h e N e t h e r l a n d s

On February 28th, the partners of the Dutch Africa Poul-try Platform are coming together to discuss the final draft of the poultry report that is being conducted by Mr. Ndambi – a researcher from Wageningen University. The Platform will provide Mr. Ndambi with advice on the draft version, taking into account their expertise of especially the Dutch interest in the international poultry sector.

One of the conditions of the financing of the study by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs was to receive in-put from the Dutch side of the poultry industry. After incorporating the advice and comments from the Dutch side, the report will be finalised in the coming weeks. The study is aiming to convince the DRC authorities of the benefits of motivating more local production.

The Dutch Africa Poultry Partners Platform is a platform that explores poultry business opportunities and market entry points on the African continent. Moreover, they have several local offices across Africa and they are part of the Netherlands Africa Business Council. (Source: NABC)

In 2017, the total Dutch export of agricultural products saw an increase of 7% compared to 2016, meaning The Netherlands exported a record number of 91.7 billion euros worth of agricultural products, making it the second larg-est agricultural exporter worldwide, after the USA. Not only exports but also imports reached a record high. Around 62 billion euros worth of agricultur-al goods were imported in 2017. The biggest category of exports were floral products (flowers, bulbs etc.). The second largest category was dairy and the third meat.

Of all these products, about 25% goes to our eastern neighbour; Germany. Af-ter Germany, the most important countries for Dutch agricultural exports are Belgium and the UK. Although Dutch exports grew to most countries, exports to the UK stagnated. This can be explained by the devaluation of the British Pound ever since the Brexit vote and the fact that Dutch products have con-sequently become more expensive relative to locally-produced UK products. (Source: CBS. Photo: Nu.nl)

Starting October 15, 2017, Fatoumata Bouare has joined Dutch Develop-ment Bank FMO as the new Chief Risk & Finance Officer (CRFO). Together with Jürgen Rigterink as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Linda Broekhu-izen as Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Bouare’s appointment completes FMO’s Management Board. Bouare joins FMO from the Bank of Africa Group where she held the position of Director Risk Management Head. In her new role, Bouare will succeed Rigterink, who observed the CRFO responsibilities in addition to his role as FMO’s CEO.

The appointment is approved by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to informing FMO’s shareholders. “We are delighted with the addition of Ms. Bouare to our Management Board,” said Rigterink. “Not only does she bring a wealth of experience in risk management and finance, she has a deep un-derstanding of international commercial and investment banking in emerg-ing markets. Most specifically in Africa, a region of great importance to us. Last but not least, Ms. Bouare brings diversity of thought and culture to our Management Board.”. (Source: FMO.nl. Photo: ANP Pers Support)

According to research conducted by RVO (NL agency for en-trepreneurship), the sector of electric transport realised an in-crease of 40% percent in value and production. This research is conducted annually commissioned by the Ministry of Infra-structure and Water. The report shows that the Netherlands lands in second spot globally in terms of sales of electric vehi-cles for private use.

Moreover, Dutch companies continue to export an increasing number of electric transport products and services, for exam-ple technology behind charging stations. It is not surprising that the Netherlands scores well on electric transport, as the country is perfectly positioned for it due to its small size, solid infrastructure and high population density.

An interesting development is the fact that electric transport is starting to be used by a broader range of vehicles. Besides personal vehicles, an increasing number of buses are pow-ered electrically, in fact, since 2015 the number has doubled. (Source: RVO. Photo: Groen7)

FMO has appointed Fatoumata Bouare as new CRFO

Dutch Africa Poultry Partners meeting to discuss poultry study

Netherlands second-largest agricultural exporter after US

Electric transport grows by 40% in two years

3 D R C H e a d l i n e s

Ethiopian Airlines and SKYTRAX, is pleased to announce that it will launch new flights to Kisangani and Mbuji Mayi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as of March, 2018.

Ethiopian Group CEO, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, said: “We are delighted to include Mbuji-Mayi and Kisangani to our ever extending global and African network. This will also increase our gateways in the Democratic Republic of Congo to five which includes Kinshasa, Goma and Lubumbashi.”

“Our flights to Mbuji-Mayi and Kisangani will enable travellers from and to these two economically important cities to enjoy convenient and seamless connectivity to our global network of over 100 international destinations stretching across 5 continents in Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Mid-dle East. We thank the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo for the support extended to us for the launch of the new flights.” (Source: Incentivetravel)

The DRC was deprived of internet for three days in January, due to a deci-sion made by the government following the latest demonstrations called by the Catholic body of the DRC. These internet blockages amount to a loss of around 8 million USD per day for telecom companies.

“There is talk of lost earnings per telecom company…estimated between one and two million dollars per day”, says Eric Tshikuma, journalist, econo-mist and founder of Zoom-Eco.net. According to the strategist and economic analyst Al Kitengie, everyone is affected. The national economy loses up to 20 million USD per day: “It’s the possibility to work as normal…, we can easily calculate a loss of earnings between 15 and 20 million USD per day.”

The biggest problem for the national economy is the signals these internet blockages send to international investors regarding the business climate in the DRC. (Source: RFI. Photo: OOKAWA Corp. )

According to its report on “Integration of scenarios on the review of public expenditure management and financial empowerment in a general, balanced, calculable model”, the majority of investment expenditure is made in external re-sources, but remains insufficient to increase the access rate to electricity. Moreover, exploitation and maintenance costs surpass SNEL’s prescriptions.

The deficits and shortages in the electricity sector hold back growth and exclude certain potential entrepreneurs be-cause of the high costs of alternative solutions. The differ-ence between supply and demand of electricity affect the performance and yield of the economic sectors. To improve the quality and quantity of its service, SNEL has to resolve problems related to implicit subsidies, recoveries and high operational costs. Clear additional resources would allow to rehabilitate the turbines and with support of external fund-ing, to start the grand Inga project. (Source: ACp/MCN)

Heavy economic consequences after internet blockages

The first microfinance institution of the Democratic Repub-lic of Congo, Finca RDC SA, has concluded an agreement with the city hall of the city of Goma for the recovery of tax-es by electronic payments. The operation will be realized through its service Finca Mobile, the electronic currency branch of the financial institution.

The population in Goma will as such be able to sort their taxes through their mobile phones by connecting to the Finca RDC SA service. This service was launched in August 2017 in partnership with mobile phone operators Orange and Vodacom. The costs of these transactions for the peo-ple, as well as the commission costs collected by Finca RDC SA have not been specified.

It is the law of 23 February 2013 on the reforms of fiscal procedures which introduced the electronic payment of taxes and levies in the DRC. (Source : Agence Ecofin. Photo: Bankassur Afrik)

The Central Bank of Congo has waived the option to keep the monetary policy which it applied in 2017 unchanged. It gave its view on the direction of the monetary policy for the year 2018. Taking into account the good pattern expected of the rates of commodities exported by the DRC, especially copper and cobalt, and based on the economic activities, the Central Bank of Congo maintains its target inflation rate of approximately 7.0% for 2018.

It intends to sustain the current stability of the exchange rate and consequently to proceed with relaxing the monetary conditions by lowering its benchmark rate around 10%. In 2017, this rate raised from 7% to 20%. The factors of the mandatory reserve would globally have to stay at their cur-rent rates. Measures of de-dollarization of the economy will be reinforced by integrating prudential measures. (Source and Photo: Zoom Eco)

World Bank regrets lack of energy policy in the elec-tricity sector

The Central Bank’s position on the monetary policy for 2018

Electronic payment of taxes in Goma

Ethiopian to start flights to Kisangani and Mbuji Mayi in the DRC

4 C o n g o - B r a z z a v i l l e & A f r i c a

Almost a third of funding raised by African startups in 2017 was in the fintech sector as investors bet on consumers turning to more formal financial services in a region where just 17% of the population have bank accounts. Venture funding for African startups jumped by 51% to $195 million in 2017, according to a report from Disrupt Africa.

Fintech was the biggest attraction for investors, the report says, with 45 startups raising one-third of total funding. The success of mobile money tech-nology like M-Pesa in Kenya and across East Africa has long shown the potential for other underserved markets. While fintech is seen as disrupting the tra-ditional financial sector in more advanced econo-mies, in Africa it is bridging gaps that have not been addressed by the banking industry to begin with.

Between 2015 and 2017, African fintech startups in-cluding names like Flutterwave and Paystack joint-ly raised more than $100 million. Overall, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya remained the countries with highest funding raised. (Source: Quartz Africa. Pho-to: Afro Hustler)

The Congolese government has presented its draft finance bill for 2018, with reduced ex-penditures of 7.6%, after having cut the budget for 2017 by 44%. The Council of Ministers adopted the budget for 2018 last December. It amounts to 1,603 billion CFA Francs (2.4 billion €) on revenues and 1,384 billion CFA Francs (2.1 billion €) on expenditure.

The draft financial bill for 2018 foresees a budgetary overflow of 219 billion FCFA (334 million €). The Congolese government anticipates a treasury deficit of 778 billion FCFA (1.2 billion €) in 2018, which will be refinanced through the budgetary overflow of 219 billion FCFA and through a “contribution of international donors” of 559 billion FCFA.

Prime Minister Clément Mouamba has indicated that the draft budget for 2018 falls with-in the outlines of the program that will soon be concluded with the International Mone-tary Fund. (Source : Jeune Afrique. Photo: 30J60.com)

Congo has decided to join the Organization of Petroleum Producing and Ex-porting Countries (OPEC) in order to place the country in “the ranking of global leaders bearing proposals in international negotiations”, a statement from the presidency of the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville indicated.

According to the statement, “the full membership statute bears witness of Con-go’s commitment to join a cartel which has, amongst other things, fixed produc-tion quotas which influences the sales price of petroleum, and this in the interest of the member states.”

“Through this approach, the Republic of Congo intends to ensure itself of the means to take its place in the definition of policies and decision making in this organization”, the statement continued. The membership initiative to OPEC “was commended by the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs during his work”, according to the same source. (Source: Journal de Brazza. Photo: Sputnik International)

In the “Global economic prospects”, the World Bank foresees a growth upturn for Sub-Saharan Africa. Af-ter a net decline of 1.3% in 2016, growth in Sub-Saha-ran Africa showed a decline of 2.4% in 2017.

This growth reflects a mild recovery of the three major economies of the region: Angola, Nigeria and South Africa. This should continue in 2018. For the first time since the global economic crisis, growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to continue to grow 3.2% in 2018 and 3.5% in 2019, fired by the strength-ening of commodity prices and a gradual strengthen-ing of domestic demand.

Besides that, Sub-Saharan Africa will have to imple-ment indispensable structural reforms, if the con-tinent wants to boost its growth over the following decade. Continuation of geopolitical conflicts and a weakening of the petroleum price could slow down this economic growth. (Source : Le Point Afrique)

Congo will join the Organization of Petroleum Producing and Exporting Countries

Fintech startups took nearly a third of all African venture funding in 2017

Budget for 2018 foresees a reduction of expenditure of 7.6%

3.2% growth in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018

POST SCRIPTUM

ECONOMIC NEWSLETTER OF THE EMBASSY OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS IN KINSHASA & BRAZZAVILLE Design by MEDIALAB CONSULT

P R A C T I C A LI N F O R M A T I O N

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Embassy in Kinshasa Contact133, Boulevard du 30 Juin (croisement Blvd 30 Juin & av. des Jacarandas), Kin-Gombe

Phone: +243 99 6050 600 Emergencies: +243 99 818 62 24Fax: +243 99 6050 629E-mail: kss@minbuza.nl

Postal addressLokatie 309 / ZMA Kinshasa Postbus 12200 - 2500 DD Den Haag

Opening hoursMonday - Thursday 08:00 – 16:30 Friday 08:00 – 13:30

Opening hours consular department Monday & Wednesday 09:00 -12:00 Otherwise by appointment only

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Consulate in BrazzavilleAddress30, Blvd Denis Sassou N’Guessou B.P 277 M’Pila - Brazzaville

Opening hoursMonday - Friday 09:00-16:00 (Consulate)Tuesday & Thursday 09:00-12:00 (Consular affairs)

Honorary Consul Ms. Hilly-Anne FumeyPhone: +242 06 924 14 07E-mail: hamvanbaggum@yahoo.fr

Connecting business to the African market !

For comments, suggestions and remarks on this Newsletter, or any others business, please contact the Embassy’s eco-nomic policy officer:

Phone: +243 99 060 50 627E-mail: kss-hb@minbuza.nl-----------------------------------Disclaimer

You have received this Newsletter because you have had previous contact with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kinshasa, DRC. Please send an email to kss-hb@minbuza.nl with “remove from mail list“ in the subject line if you no longer wish to receive this newsletter.

The content of this newsletter does not reflect the views of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kinshasa. It is merely a resume of news articles, from both national and interna-tional newspapers and news agencies.

Credit photos: internet----------------------------------- Join our network at & Mr Robert Schuddeboom (Ambassador) @rschuddeboom

Mrs Corina van der Laan (Head Ec./Dev. Aff) @CorinaMushika

Ms Hilly-Anne Fumey (Honorary consul)

Mr Francis Wilanga (Sr Economic policy officer) @FrancisWilanga

Ms Sandy Makola (Economic policy officer) @Sandytalo

Mr Jordi Calje (Intern)

Factsheet – Membership of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UN Security Council 2018

Membership

The Kingdom of the Netherlands• Will be a non-permanent member in the UN Security council for the whole of 2018. • Will chair the Security Council for one month (march) in 2018. • Has been a non-permanent member five times before (1946, 1951–1952, 1965–1966,

1983–1984, 1999-2000).

Core message

• The Netherlands uses its membership to contribute to international peace and security.• Delivers pro-active and professional input, stemming from its values and interests, to

debates and decision-making in the security council, where possible with EU partners, for all agenda points,

• In light of an increasing connectivity with foreign countries.

DNA of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

In the security council, the actions of the Kingdom of the Netehrlands will be shaped by the ‘DNA of the Kingdom’, which will advocate:

- Conflict prevention and attention to the causes of conflicts- An integrated approach in dealing with conflicts - Rule of Law, accountability, human rights- An effective UN-system (especially peace-keeping operations) - Gender-perspective (Women Peace and Security)- Humanitarian imperative- Input civil society

UN in the 21st centuryInternal (armed) conflicts, cross-border phenomena such as migration, terrorism and climate change are inseparably linked with international peace and security. The Kingdom of the Netherlands advocates that the Security Council gives these themes the due attention they require. The Kingdom of the Netherlands will continue to commit itself in the General Assem-bly of the UN to reform the Security Council to become more representative.

Useful links

(Source: UN Security Council)

- Dutch Africa Poultry Platformhttps://www.nabc.nl/dutch-poultry-africa-platform

- FMO – Entrepreneurial Development Bank https://www.fmo.nl/

- Global Economic Prospects report – World Bankhttp://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/01/09/global-economy-to-edge-up-to-3-1-percent-in-2018-but-future-potential-growth-a-concern