International investments in Tunisia reached the amount of 1,388.9 MTND* at the end of the first half of 2024, according to a report made public in mid-August by FIPA Tunisia. Compared to the last three years, these investments recorded variations of +13.8% compared to 2023, +34.2% compared to 2022 and +42.0% compared to 2021.

The flow of non-energy FDI recorded during the first half of 2024 made it possible to carry out 610 investment operations with a total value of 1,057.2 MTND, creating 4,820 new jobs.

Among these investment projects:

• 34 (6%) are related to creation projects worth 77.2 MTND (7%) allowing the creation of 783 (16%) new job positions, and
• 576 (94%) are related to extension projects worth 980.0 MTND (93%) which made it possible to create 4,037 (84%) new job positions.

The distribution of incoming flows by country-of-origin places France in first position with 344.2MTND, or more than 32% of total FDI excluding energy. Italy is in second position with 141.3MTND, Germany third with 115.3MTND, Spain fourth with 79.6MTND and Qatar in fifth position with 72.5MTND.

• 1TND = 0.30 euro as of 8/16/2024
• 1TND = 0.32 US dollars as of 8/16/2024

On 27 June 2024, Tunisia will host for the first time the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Investment Forum (CIF 2024), with the participation of 21 African States and international organisations.
Organised by the COMESA Regional Investment Agency Agency (COMESA RIA), the forum will be attended by a number of African Tunisian and international organisations and parties, including the European Union delegation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as the Ministries of the Economy and Planning, Trade and Export Development and the Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and Handicrafts (UTICA), and the Investment Promotion Agency, according to a press release issued by COMESA RIA.
The Director General of the COMESA RIA, Hiba Salama, said that this forum, organised this year for the first time in Tunisia following its accession to COMESA in 2018, aims to encourage trade and investment between the COMESA States, and to inform Tunisian businessmen of the investment and trade opportunities in the COMESA countries, in particular the advantages offered by the organisation and its member companies in the field of investment and trade.
COMESA, Africa’s largest regional economic community, comprises 21 member states with a population of over 640 million and a combined GDP of $1 trillion. Notified as a Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) to the World Trade Organisation in 1995, COMESA continues to work towards becoming a fully-fledged economic community, promoting both internal and external trade.
COMESA member states are Tunisia, Egypt, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Union of Comoros, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Habemus Solutions, the German company specialising in electronic engineering and embedded software, which has been operating in Sfax since 2020, has just announced the opening of a second office in the Tunisian capital, Tunis. The announcement was made by its Managing Director, Gottfried Fisher, during his meeting with Mr Jalel TEBIB, Managing Director of FIPA Tunisia, on Tuesday 15 April.

This expansion confirms the favourable propensity for growth in digital activities and the availability of conditions conducive to the exploration of new markets in Tunisia. With an annual growth rate of around 11%, the digital sector now contributes 4.3% of GDP, making it one of the three most attractive sectors for international companies, alongside the automotive and aeronautical sectors, as well as textiles and clothing.

Mr Fischer, CEO of Habemus Solutions, expressed his satisfaction with the high-level skills and favourable regulatory framework offered by Tunisia, opening up promising prospects for the company’s future. He stressed that from the Tunisian platform, development opportunities easily extend to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The new site will enable Habemus to increase its workforce to around forty engineers based in Sfax and Tunis, reinforcing its commitment to the country’s economic and technological development.

On 12 April 2024, Visteon Tunisia, which specialises in electronic automotive components, inaugurated a new unit in Bir El Bey, Tunisia, in the presence of Sachin Lawande, Group Executive Director.

The new unit was set up by 100% Tunisian skills in the space of ten months, with a 60% integration rate, to create 400 additional jobs by 2024. The new plant is expected to create 1,000 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs by 2028, at an investment cost of $50 million.

The Visteon Tunisia group is an exporting company that has been operating in Tunisia since 1991, manufacturing automotive electronic components and employing 350 people.

Headquartered in Van Buren Township, Michigan in the United States of America, Visteon is present in 17 countries around the world, where it employs 10,000 people. At the end of 2023, Visteon had annual sales of approximately USD 3.95 billion and had recorded USD 7.2 billion in new business.

The Japanese giant and global leader, Sumitomo, has begun construction on its third automotive wiring harness factory in Tunisia, following the installations in Jendouba and El-Fejja. The new production unit, Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze Tunisia, will focus on manufacturing wiring harnesses for Mercedes electric vehicles. It will be located in the Ertiyah 2 industrial zone in Jendouba, covering a total area of ​​10 hectares, with 5 hectares being covered.
The investment in this new factory will amount to 91 million Tunisian dinars (MDT), and production is expected to start in 2025, creating 1,920 jobs. The inauguration and monitoring of Sumitomo’s activities were marked by the on-site visit of the Japanese Ambassador to Tunisia, Takeshi Osuga, the CEO of Fipa, Jalel Tebib, the President of the Industrial Land Agency (Afi), Kais Mejri, and the CEO of the Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nacef Belkhiria.

The Swiss group Zühlke Engineering, which specialises in strategy, innovation and the development of digital solutions and applications, has decided to set up in Tunisia, according to Predrag Poposki, the group’s projects and investment manager, at a meeting on Wednesday with Jalel Tebib, Director General of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA Tunisia).

“In the immediate future, Zühlke Engineering, which has operations in around ten countries, plans to recruit around thirty Tunisian engineers in specialised fields, with a view to doubling this number in the medium term,” FIPA said in a press release issued in Tunis on Thursday.

The decision to locate in Tunisia was based on a number of factors, including the availability of engineering talent, strategic positioning, proximity and cultural diversity, added Poposki.

For his part, Tebib congratulated the representative of Zühlke Engineering on his choice of Tunisia, while confirming that the specific features of the Tunisian business climate and the regulatory framework for investment militate in favour of such a decision.

The CEO of FIPA also presented the role of FIPA-Tunisia in terms of advice, guidance and assistance, reiterating the commitment of the Agency’s team to monitor the establishment of Zühlke in Tunisia under the best possible conditions.

According to the BMI Tunisia Country Risk Report, Q2 2024, forecasts indicate a modest improvement in real GDP growth from 0.5% in 2023 to 1.3% in 2024, driven by factors such as increased household consumption and controlled import growth. According to BMI’s Tunisia Country Risk Report for the second quarter of 2024, forecasts point to a modest improvement in real GDP growth from 0.5% in 2023 to 1.3% in 2024, supported by factors such as an increase in household consumption and restrained import growth. The diversification of the economy through services, agriculture and manufacturing contributes to its stability.

In addition, the BMI report mentions that Tunisia’s high level of human capital development and its geographical proximity to European markets make it an attractive destination for foreign investment, particularly in sectors such as energy. The report also points out that long-term growth opportunities exist in sectors such as tourism, subject to sustained security and sufficient foreign investment. Reform efforts, supported by organizations such as the IMF, have the potential to improve investor confidence and unlock financing from bilateral and multilateral sources.

Despite recent constitutional changes, the Tunisia Country Risk Report highlights Tunisia’s reputation as the only democracy to emerge from the Arab Spring that continues to facilitate access to international aid, loans and investment, notably from the EU. Closer ties with wealthier markets, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, offer prospects for financial support and investment, contributing to economic growth and job creation. Overall, despite persistent challenges, Tunisia’s economic outlook remains promising, underpinned by ongoing reforms and strategic partnerships.

The first subsidiary of “ETILOG”, based in Presov, Slovakia, and specialized in the manufacture of special packaging for the automotive and aerospace industries, will soon be set up in the Sbikha2 industrial zone in Kairouan (central Tunisia). The first phase will create 210 jobs, according to the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA-Tunisie).
In anticipation of this imminent establishment, the first of its kind in Africa, a delegation from this company, European leader in packaging systems with 3 production sites in Eastern Europe, recently visited Tunisia to “pursue discussions concerning the progress of the implementation of its subsidiary”, indicated the same source on Monday.
ETILOG is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of special packaging for the automotive and aerospace industries.
The automotive components industry is a fast-growing sector and one of the pillars of the Tunisian economy.
Today, Tunisia has around 200 companies active in the automotive sector, generating 16% of the country’s exports. In recent years, the automotive components sector, with its electrical and electronics branch, has become the leading industrial sector for foreign direct investment.

The company PSZ Electronic, specialized in the manufacture of electrical and telephone cables, intends to expand further in Tunisia by opening in January 2024 its 4^th unit at the Ghezala industrial Zone in the Bizerte governorate.

A working session, aimed at monitoring administrative and land developments, was held on December 12, 2023 by the Director General of the External Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA-Tunisia) Jalel Tebib, the President and CEO of the Industrial Land Agency (AFI) Kais Mejri, the Head of PSZ Béchir Labben and the Delegate of the city of Ghezala Mrs. Ibtissem Hamri as well as their collaborators.

The representatives of PSZ Electronic Tunisie have informed that the new unit is installed on a plot of 20,000 m2 of which 6,500 m2 is covered. The number of jobs planned to end in 3 years will be 3000 people. PSZ is a German group World leader in the manufacture of cable harnesses for public vehicles and industrial equipment of the largest brands such as Glaass, Clark … The company has three units already installed in the Sahel region which employ 1800 people. The PSZ Group manufactures 80% of its world production in Tunisia.

This good news confirms that the interior regions of Tunisia remain very attractive for FDI especially for the availability of human resources, logistics and financial and tax advantages.

The External Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA-Tunisia) and the Tunisia Investment Authority (TIA), in collaboration with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, organized a training and evaluation action from October 23 to 27, 2023. ​This event was marked by the presence of Jalel Tebib, Director General of FIPA-Tunisia, Namia Ayadi, President of the TIA and representatives of the IFC- World Bank.

According to a press release from the FIPA, said training was mainly focused on workshops on assistance to “AfterCare” companies and direct canvassing of “Lead Generation” companies. ​Targeting FIPA and TIA executives, this training was an opportunity to exchange and discuss best practices for the development of these aspects. Two visits with the heads of the IFC-World Bank and the executives of the two institutions were organized on the sidelines of this training and evaluation action.

These are two leading companies that have benefited from the support during their implementations in Tunisia, namely :

Selt Marine, specialized in the cultivation and treatment of marine algae in several sectors (agri-food, parapharmacy, cosmetics…),

Desert Joy, specialized in the cultivation of tomatoes of several varieties with highly developed techniques.

Moreover, FIPA recalls that in 2022, 81% of FDI operations in Tunisia come from expansion operations, a sign of satisfaction and renewed confidence from foreign companies that have already invested in Tunisia. In addition, 430 extension projects generated 1,587.9 MTND (92%) and created 9,134 (69%) new job positions.

Source: https://www.entreprises-magazine.com ​