The Gambia - Foreign investment

Joint ventures have been encouraged in The Gambia, but with the stipulation that a portion of the profits must be reinvested. Under an ordinance passed in 1964, developing industries are exempt from profits tax for five years.

In 2002 the government embarked on a new effort to attract foreign investment, called the Gateway Project, financed by a World Bank loan. The Gambia Investment Promotion and Free Zone Agency (GIPZA) was established, with the first free zone planned for Banjui Airport. Gambia's foreign investment regime is open door and non-discriminatory, with foreign companies treated the same as local companies. Incentives for locating in the free zones include exemptions from taxes and customs duties, a ten-year tax holiday, and a reduced 10% corporate income tax rate for investments in the tourist sector. The government's priorities for foreign investment are agriculture, fisheries, tourism, light manufacture and assembly, energy, mineral exploration and exploitation, and telecommunications.