Olam

Olam: may benefit from Gabon’s launch of the biggest special economic zone (SEZ) in West and Central Africa, which aims to attract US$1.1b a yr (25% of Gabon’s annual budget) in foreign invmts via tax breaks.
Firms that set up in the 1,126-ha zone in the town of Nkok 27 km outside the capital Libreville will be exempt from taxes on profits for 10 years, after which they will pay a rate of 10%.
Officials said the zone, a JV btwn the Gabonese state and Olam, will focus especially on timber processing activities. The sector is one of the industries on which President Ali Bongo Ondimba is counting to diversify Gabon's largely oil-based economy.
The govt aims to have a processing capacity of 1m cubic metres of wood a year, and create 9000 jobs.
Other investors include Indian conglomerate Abhijeet, which plans to invest nearly US$1.2b in the next 36 months - US$800m to build a 300k tpa iron alloy plant and US$400m on construction of a 300MW power station.