ZAKENDOEN IN WEST- AFRIKA GOUDEN BERGEN BESTAAN EN LIGGEN IN WEST-AFRIKA

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2 ZAKENDOEN IN WEST- AFRIKA GOUDEN BERGEN BESTAAN EN LIGGEN IN WEST-AFRIKA JEAN MARIE de MEESTER

3 First, the boring stuffs Even mezelf voorstellen Jean Marie de Meester Advocaat 1993 Curator rechtbank koophandel Gent afdeling Brugge 2004 Road transport manager 2016 Legal advisor EAE BVBA

4 Enkele cijfers over West-Afrikaanse kernlanden Westelijk West-Afrika : Senegal Cijfer BBP groei Demografie Zuidelijk West-Afrika : Nigeria, Ivoorkust, Ghana Cijfer BBP groei Demografie

5 What you really need to know about West- Africa before you go Paspoortvereisten/visa Inentingen Reisduur Verblijf

6 Your Connections in West-Africa Luchthavens Wegeninfrastructuur Havens

7 Your Connection To The World Internetnetwerk in West-Afrika GSM netwerk in West-Afrika Satellite tv in West-Afrika

8 ECOWAS, geen milieuvriendelijk wasproduct! ECOWAS, de West-Afrikaanse variant van de EER

9 Do not be afraid of black man Veiligheid in West-Afrika Blank in Zwart-Afrika West-Afrika een beetje Europa

10 Voor die prijs kun je het niet laten Arbeidskost in West- Afrika Productiviteit Arbeidswetgeving Aanwezigheid van geschoold personeel

11 Money, money, money, Krediet in West-Afrika Banken B2B en B2C Over munten, CFRANC en wisselkoersrisico s

12 Sun, Sun, Sun & Some Wind Mega opportuniteiten voor investeringen in alternatieve energie Zonneenergie windenergie

13 C O R R U P T I O N Last but not the least

14 U, het publiek Woord van dank

15 Ghana welcomes Flanders By Mr. Joshua Azure, Minister Counsellor at the Ghana Embassy in Brussels 1. The Political stability: Ghana is the most attractive country in West Africa for trade and investment! 2. The One District, One Factory Program: A program which calls for both foreign and local investors! 3. President Nana Akufo-Addo s vision: Ghana as a country repidly developing beyond aid, with emphasis on trade and investment! 4. The establishment of a Flanders Investment & Trade Office in Accra 1

16 Facilitating your business in WEST AFRICA Legal & tax considerations Flanders Investment & Trade EXPORT FAIR 13 June 2018

17 Who is ALTIUS and TIBERGHIEN (WTS)? Independent business law firms based in Belgium co-operation Very active in Sub-Saharan Africa (Francophone & Anglophone) Focus is on the larger infrastructure and investment projects Dedicated Africa team that is regularly on the ground in Africa Working very closely with colleagues in Africa on the basis of sharing of know how to achieve top quality Committed to and passionate about Africa 2

18 Map of West-Africa 3

19 Legal & tax environment West-Africa- 10 years ago Business unfriendy legal, regulatoy and tax environment Legal systems characterized by outdated and fragmented laws (colonial inheritance) resulting in legal uncertainty Unreliable judicial system due to a lack of adequate and continued training of judges and lack of resources and support Less focused on law relevant for businesses and laws significantly differing from country to country Confidence of the national and international investor is undermined when the rule, its interpretation and its application is uncertain 4

20 Legal environment in West-Africa- now Civil law countries move towards OHADA Common law mix with customary law Islamic law new laws Initiatives of international organisations similar laws Laws regularly include a level of flexibility Difference between laws and day-to-day practice Pay attention to legal matters it can save you! 5

21 Organisation pour l Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA) Ouagadougou, April 1991, Ministers of Finance, feasibility study Port Louis, Mauritius, 17 October 1993, signing of the OHADA Treaty Legal system to restore investors confidence in Francophone Africa 17 Member States : Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Central African Republic, Mali, Comoros, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Côte d Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo 6

22 Uniform Acts - Features Supranational nature: direct and mandatory application in all Member States, priority over local law without ratification Covering business transactions from the beginning to the end: Formation Operation Dissolution Modern approach: clear wording enshrinement of legal concepts that we in Belgium only have in legal practice Legislation as well as institutions: the Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier AND: single Supreme Court advisory - arbitration 7

23 The OHADA Uniform Acts Adoption of 9 Uniform Acts, i.e. comprehensive pieces of legislations, each covering a specific area of business law. The Uniform Act on: - Accounting law and financial reporting - Insolvency law - Commercial companies and the economic interest group - General Commercial law - Organising Security - Co-operative companies - Contracts for the Carriage of Goods by Road - Arbitration law - Simplified debt recovery procedures and enforcement proceedings - Mediation (entry into force 15 March

24 OHADA facilitates business Creation of a single legal market Stability and predictability of the law Promotion of arbitration as an alternative mechanism to solve disputes and mediation is now also available Positive side effects on other aspects of doing business 9

25 OHADA: YOUR SPECIFIC BENEFITS OHADA is civil law based / inspired and therefore recognizable for us in civil law countries (French and Belgian case law very often applied to interpret OHADA law) Efficiency: commercial contracts can easily be replicated in the different OHADA countries Investing is itself a risk, you do not need the additional risk of legal uncertainty Distrust in local courts is solved by arbitration and now also mediation is available Strong protection of unpaid creditor there is of course more to it, but OHADA is a unique and impressive realisation! 10

26 Tax considerations Where is turn over generated, where are profits generated, where are profits taxed? Does Europe take into account local taxation at source? If there is a Convention on the Prevention of Double Taxation? If there is not? Desirability of having exporters pay taxes at source? What are the consequences of working in Free-Trade Zones (FTZ)? Creation of local entities v. European companies with permanent establishments in West-Africa? Necessity/risks to link local entities to European holding companies (NL, Lux, Cyprus)? 11

27 Tax considerations Impact of local agreements exempted from tax? Deductibility of losses? Link with export credit? What about Credendo products (OECD rules on ECA s)? Profits generated per definition repatriated to Europe? Any solutions? 12

28 Summarizing: Legal environment is improving, but remains challenging: be diligent States see tax as a tool to generate more local revenues: be smart Thank you for your attention. We take questions now, time permitting, or do not hesitate to contact us later on.

29 See you in Africa! Yves Brosens ALTIUS law firm Partner Head of Africa Team + 32.(0) (0)