Bouchouareb: first Algerian car officially out of assembly plant on November 10th

Algeria will extend the 51/49 rule governing foreign investments to wholesale and retail trades, the Minister of Industry and Mines, Abdessalam Bouchouareb announced in a national radio statement on Monday.

“The 51/49 rule will be kept and will be strengthened since it will be extended to wholesale and retail trades,” he said.

This measure, he affirmed, is dictated by the need to help vulnerable or deficit-stricken sectors, due to harsh competition from the imported products with on focus in the manufacturing sector.

The overhaul of the investment code which intends to integrate this new measure will bring order in the wholesale and retail market, undermined by informal activities, the minister stressed.

Mr Bouchouareb has thus denied the information reported by some media outlets that Algeria could remove this rule in non-strategic sectors.

The cancellation of this rule governing partnerships in the foreign investments was raised by Algeria’s partners in the negotiations for its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

This measure was generalized in 2009, after being applied only to the oil sector governed by a specific investment code.

The industry minister thus reiterated there were no plans to change the 2009 law limiting foreigners to just 49 percent ownership of any operation in the country.

The law has been repeatedly cited by international companies for Algeria’s low rate of international investment outside its lucrative hydrocarbon sector.

Abdeslam Bouchouareb asserted that the law was the only way to protect the national economy..

Earlier, the Sellal government announced its plan to hike the volume of foreign investments in Algeria. Mr Bouchouareb said there would soon be “new initiatives” to ease restrictions on investment but they were still being reviewed.

Algeria’s oil and gas reserves are shrinking and the country has a heavy bill of imports.

The industry and mines Minister also confirmed that the first Algerian car of a “Symbol brand” (based on Dacia Logan II) would be out of the Tlilat vehicle assembly plant in western Oran province on November 10^th 2014.

The Tlilat factory is run by “Renault Algeria Production” as part of a partnership accord linking Algeria and the French car manufacturer.

The Algerian Ministry sponsors the project for Industrial Development and the joint venture is owned 51% by the Algerian partners and 49% by Renault. Initially, the plant would have a capacity of 25,000 units per year and provide direct job opportunities for 350 people. This capacity can be expanded to 75,000 units when there is a need for it.

Bernard Sonilhac, CEO of the joint-venture Renault Algérie Production said for his part: “We are proud, within the Renault Algérie Production joint-venture, to be contributing to the development of the automotive industry in Algeria through this ambitious project. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our team and our partners for their sustained efforts and total commitment in making this launch a real success.”