Gabon

Transport and logistics in Gabon are in the midst of a major transformation. The condition and availability of infrastructure have long been a stumbling block – in particular, the shortage of paved roads, which in effect cuts off much of the country’s interior from the capital and other key cities, especially during the rainy season. Congestion at its ports, too, has...

With the recent arrival of a fleet of new buses, Gabon’s capital city of Libreville is set for a welcome relief to the traffic congestion that clogs its main thoroughfares. To maximise efficiency, the country’s transport authority is in the planning stages of widening streets and dedicating a special bus lane on main routes.

What can financial institutions do to improve the banking penetration rate, especially in rural areas?

Excess short-term liquidity is a chronic challenge for banks operating in Central Africa, creating significant mismatches between the maturity of liabilities and the economy’s longer-term needs. Banks now account for about 85% of financial assets in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Communauté Économique des États de l’Afrique Centrale, CEMAC);...

Despite the high level of competition in Gabon’s insurance market, strong margins and steady growth in the last five years continue to attract new players. Most recently, Wafa Assurance, Morocco’s main insurance provider by market share, signalled in March 2014 that it plans to launch operations in Gabon and three other countries in the Central Africa region.

The regional stock exchange based in Gabon is beginning to see an uptick in activity. Since the first listing in 2008, the market has been dominated by bonds. This is in part a result of factors common across most African economies: limited transparency among eligible corporates, for example, and a preference to avoid diluting ownership – both of which limit the number...