Chinese Companies' Investment In The Gabonese Wood Sector

Like most of the African countries,Gabon is a country rich in natural resources.From its potential raw materials,Gabon is a country which is attracting many foreign investors especially those from Europe,Latin America and now those from Asia,especially Chinese investors.A long time ago,crude oil was the main resource-rich economy of Gabon,but after oil depletion,and with the arrival of the newly elected president in 2009 at the head of the Gabonese State,the new government's strategic plan was to diversify Gabonese economy focusing on other sectors such as a wood sector.This new strategic plan was set up in order the country stop mainly depending on a single natural resource,crude oil.The country is now investing in several sectors including the wood sector,which until very recently was unchecked and out of the political plans.Surprisingly,this sector is such important that it is attracting many foreign investors,including French investors,France being the colonizer of Gabon.However,investments made by Asian companies,especially Chinese companies in the Gabonese wood sector in the last twenty years appears every day more important.In this thesis,I am analyzing the Gabonese environment and its wood sector which is today one of the sectors where Gabon is tending to raise its economy after the depletion of oil,its main economic resource.The mentality is to analyze data collected in the wood sector and to report the findings to the foreign investors,especially Chinese investors since the objective is to attract them in order to strengthen or invest directly in the Gabonese wood sector with the purpose to give Gabonese wood an added value then create wealth and jobs locally.From this study,it appears that many Chinese-owned companies located in Gabon have become the main players in the wood industry.Indeed,the Gabonese economy is much more based on the extraction and the exportation of logs and sawn wood.As a result,this way of proceeding is not beneficial for the Gabonese economy.A long time ago and very recently,French industries have always been the principal importer of logs before and after colonialism with a total area of 1,495,000 ha of logged forest.However,the investments made by the Asian companies,especially the Chinese companies in the wood sector in Gabon over the past twenty years with a total area of 14,219,000 ha in 2013,is affecting the Gabonese economy.These corporations are mainly specialised within the acquisition of multinationals,permits or to the Gabonese capital and other corporations within the business farming with forest concessions of national operators.As China became a significant importer,with more than 60%of importation of Gabonese logs in the mid of the 1990s,Gabonese government has the vision to attract more Chinese investors in Gabonese land because China today is a large market and can be a good business option.Gabon is a blessed country with exceptional soil and underground resources,therefore,a land of opportunities for attracting foreign investors thanks to its overwhelming resource-rich economy.Eventually,despite all these assets,the findings revealed that the country benefits almost nothing of its wealth insofar as its economy is much more based on the extraction and exportation of its logs to Western countries and today in Asia,particularly in China,which is a great consumer of tropical hardwood.