Congo, republic of the Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in congo, republic of the, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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A strategic link in the region, the Republic of the Congo boasts Central Africa’s only deepwater port, the Port of Pointe-Noire, which complies with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code.  Pointe-Noire hosts a modern airport that opened in 2019.  A railway connects Pointe-Noire to the capital of Brazzaville.  A new airport in Pointe Noire opened in 2018.  The African Development Bank is working to facilitate the construction of a road-rail bridge to across the Congo River that would connect Brazzaville with Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) affords the Republic of the Congo duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 1,800 products.  Another 5,000 products are eligible for duty-free access under the Generalized System of Preferences program. 

Years of overinvestment in the petroleum sector have opened opportunities in a number of markets that are ready to grow.  Agriculture, tourism, transportation, and energy are promising sectors.  While only a fraction of the size of the oil industry, forestry is currently the second-largest sector of the economy and continues to expand. The Republic of the Congo has much unused arable land, providing potential for mechanized agriculture and associated food processing endeavors.  According to recent estimates only four percent of the Republic of the Congo’s arable land is being farmed.

As a member of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, the Republic of the Congo uses the Central African franc (CFA).  The CFA is pegged to the Euro (CFA 656 = 1 Euro) and offers predictability to investors although there are potential limitations on repatriating profits. 

Finally, the Republic of the Congo currently offers relative stability in a sensitive and volatile region.  Nevertheless the country has historically experienced instances of localized fighting and a civil war in the mid to late 1990’s.

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