Business round up

Land ownership to trigger investments The Chief Executive Officer of RDB, John Gara, this week, said that there is a plan of contract farming thus land ownership and title, is vital for the business. The official said land titles will help investors know how to deal with terms of lease and out grower’s scheme. In a related development, Rwanda`s Minister of Environment and Lands, Stanislas Kamanzi said, “Sustainable management of natural resources is seen as a quick foundation of improving livelihoods and one critical asset in this connection is land.” Kamanzi highlighted that the on going land registration will provide legal ownership of land hence encouraging productivity. According to him, the exercise will boost the investment in agricultural hence increase in production. KLM launches operations in Kigali The Dutch airline KLM Royal launched its operation in Rwanda. This will see the Airline operate flights between Kigali and Amsterdam five times a week with an intermediate stopover at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. In its statement, KLM said starting operation in Rwanda based on the country’s fast growing economy and the growing passenger traffic. KLM penetrating into Rwanda Airline market makes its 64th intercontinental destination. “The new Kigali-Amsterdam route offers passengers a unique and new direct service within Air-France-KLM Network,” the statement read in part KLM anticipate that the services to Amsterdam will be attractive to passengers transferring at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to the United States, Canada and Europe. Bralirwa Unveils Plastic Bottles for Soft Drinks Rwanda’s largest beer and soft drinks manufacturer and distributor, Bralirwa, started packaging its soft drink products including Coca-Cola, Fanta Orange and Sprite in plastic bottles. Manufactured and bottled by Uganda’s Century Bottling Company under the authority of Coca-Cola Company, Bralirwa is licensed to distribute it in Rwanda.Alexander Koch, the company’s Commercial Director, said that the new brands will now be available in 50cl plastic bottles. Koch said, “With the new packaging, consumers will be able to enjoy refreshments ‘on the go’ in a convenient plastic bottle since they can carry the bottles with them unlike the glass bottles which must be returned to Bralirwa.” Three World Bank Group Vice Presidents in Rwanda Three World Bank Group Vice Presidents were in Kigali to help catalyze support for increased investments in Rwanda’s private sector through the Investors’ Forum. Obiageli Ezekwesili, the World Bank Regional Vice President for Africa, the Executive Vice President for the Multilateral Investment Guarantee (MIGA), Izumi Kobayashi, and Thierry Tanoh, the Vice President for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) represented the World Bank Group at the Forum. The three also attended the 9th meeting of the government and development partners. The investors’ forum highlighted on trade and investment opportunities open to domestic and foreign investors in the horticulture and tea sectors in Rwanda while the 9th meeting revised the progress registered in economic development and agreed on various actions to deal with challenges to ensure effectiveness. It also developed a strategy to further enhance synergies between aid and private investment for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. IMF impressed with Rwanda’s performance The delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that was in the country hailed the country’s performance as being satisfactory under the first review of its programme. Led by Catherine McAuliffe the team visited Rwanda last month to conduct the 2010 Article IV Consultation and the first review under of the Policy Support Instrument programme which is supported by IMF. Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, John Rwangombwa, and the Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, François Kanimba are among the government officials the team met during the visit. According to the statement issued by IMF, Rwanda’s structural reforms are on track, public financial management has continued to improve with a further roll-out of the government financial information system, while revenue administration has been strengthened through a consolidated revenue collection arrangement across all agencies. Gov’t pledges to facilitate investment in agriculture During the opening of a two-day high level agribusiness investment forum in Kigali, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Claire Mukasine, said government will put up the infrastructure required to attract and sustain the much needed investments to commercialise the agriculture sector. “The aim is to supply, cost-effective and appropriate energy services to households and to all economic sectors on a sustainable basis,” she said. Her affirmation comes amidst reports that Rwanda has one of the highest electricity tariffs in the region. The Economic Consulting Associates (ECA) Ltd said last month that an ordinary Rwandan customer pays Rwf132 (22 USc) per/kWh plus VAT, higher than what their regional counterparts in Kenya and Uganda pay. The conference aimed at forging partnerships between local producers, foreign buyers, investors, and financiers as well as the donor community to stimulate growth and increase trade flows in the sectors. EABC cautions agencies frustrating trade within EAC The East African Business Council (EABC) showed concern over government institutions over the lack of coordination among border clearing authorities saying it frustrates cross border business. According to a statement by the Body, export bans instituted by Tanzania and Kenya Ministries of Agriculture have, denied producers access to markets that would instead guarantee them higher returns. “We have written to all Government institutions and agencies concerned requesting them to abolish or suspend the reported barriers. We want to encourage all businesses to continue reporting such trade barriers,” Agatha Nderitu, the Executive Director of EABC, said in the released statement. In Rwanda, the EABC says Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) does not recognise EAC certificate of origin particularly on goods originating from Uganda for electro-welded black tubes. “There is need to continue on the path of harmonising and ensuring single data capture that would reflect at all border points,” Nderitu said. WB urges on competitiveness to boost private investment The Vice President for the World Bank’s Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili, Rwanda’s huge infrastructure gap, particularly, in areas of energy and transportation dampens private sector productivity and are a major obstacle to attracting private investment into the countryAddressing the press, Ezekwesili, highlighted that addressing these gaps is critical to raising the country’s potential to attract private investment that the country so badly needs to sustain economic growth and reduce poverty. The official said that “You can have the regulatory framework, policy environment very attractive but the fact is that investors have many countries that they could choose to go to and they see many opportunities. What would make a particular economy extra-ordinary attractive would be much more than just the basics.” Ezekwesili was in the country to help catalyze support for increased investments in Rwanda’s private sector. She added,“Rwanda has a good record upon which it needs to build the right kind of policies over the last decade; it has been able to position itself as an economy that can grow.” RwandAir launches Dubai flights RwandAir launched its first flight to Dubai via Mombasa, a development that brings the Airlines destination to 6.The national carrier is operating the route with its newly acquired Boeing 737-500. leased from the world’s largest aircraft leasing company, General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), it was configured with 12-business class and 90 economy class seats. Speaking at the launching ceremony, RwandAir’s Chairman and CEO, John Mirenge, said that the company is excited about the national carrier’s prospect of connecting Rwanda to the busiest port of Mombasa and a major business hub in the Middle East. He said that RwandAir is looking forward to tapping into the potential presented by connecting Kigali to these two key business and holiday destinations. “These are two important destinations to the business community in Rwanda and the region, so its important for the carrier to be connecting these routes as we continue to grow,” Mirenge said. Ends