Tunísia: Invertir a Tunísia
In the context of social and political turmoil, FDI flows to Tunisia remain below their potential. According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2021, FDI inflows to Tunisia fell to USD 652 million from USD 845 million in 2019, a 23% drop, following the global economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. The manufacturing sector attracted the most FDI (54%), followed by energy (33%). The biggest impact of the pandemic on investment was in the services sector, where FDI fell by 44%, leaving its share of total FDI flows to Tunisia at only 9% in 2020. Tunisia's FDI stock was around USD 35 billion in 2019. The main investors in Tunisia are the UAE, France, Qatar, Italy and Germany. In terms of stocks, manufacturing is by far the sector that attracts the most investment, followed by tourism and telecommunications. According to preliminary data, FDI flows fell by -2% during the first nine months of 2021 and the main investors were France, Italy and Japan (FIPA-Tunisia).
The key assets of Tunisia are its proximity to Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, free trade agreements with the EU and much of Africa and an educated workforce. In recent years, the Tunisian government had carried out necessary structural reforms to improve Tunisia's business climate, including an improved bankruptcy law, an investment code and an initial 'negative list' and a law allowing for public-private partnerships. The government adopted laws allowing to start a business more easily (more services are available into the one-stop shop, fees decreased); registering property is now faster and more transparent and paying taxes is easier (implementation of a risk-based tax audit system). These improvements in return boosted portfolio investments and helped Tunisia progress in World Bank's ranking. Indeed, Tunisia gained 2 places in the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report, ranking 78th out of 190 countries. Nevertheless, there are still huge bureaucratic barriers to investment. State-owned enterprises are a major player in the Tunisian economy and several sectors remain closed to foreign investment. The informal sector, estimated at between 40% and 60% of the overall economy, is still a concern since legal businesses are forced to compete with smuggled goods. Moreover, the country is facing high political and social instability, unemployment, inflation, and rising levels of public debt. The current coronavirus crisis is nonetheless seen as an opportunity to attract more FDI from neighbouring countries in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, digital technologies and technical textile (FIPA-Tunisia).
Foreign Direct Investment | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
FDI Inward Flow (million USD) | 845 | 652 | 660 |
FDI Stock (million USD) | 31,605 | 35,006 | 33,440 |
Number of Greenfield Investments* | 31 | 10 | 8 |
Value of Greenfield Investments (million USD) | 2,519 | 474 | 268 |
Source: UNCTAD, Latest available data
Note: * Greenfield Investments are a form of Foreign Direct Investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.
Country Comparison For the Protection of Investors | Tunisia | Middle East & North Africa | United States | Germany |
Index of Transaction Transparency* | 6.0 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Manager’s Responsibility** | 7.0 | 4.8 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Shareholders’ Power*** | 5.0 | 4.7 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Source: Doing Business, Latest available data
Note: *The Greater the Index, the More Transparent the Conditions of Transactions. **The Greater the Index, the More the Manager is Personally Responsible. *** The Greater the Index, the Easier it Will Be For Shareholders to Take Legal Action.
Advantages for FDI in Tunisia:
Disadvantages for FDI in Tunisia:
Tunisia has free trade zones (known as Parcs d’Activités Economiques) in Bizerte and in Zarzis, where companies are exempt from taxes and customs duties and benefit from unrestricted foreign exchange transactions. The production in these zones has limited duty-free entry into Tunisia for the purpose of transformation and re-export.
Further information is available on the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) website.
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Actualitzacions: January 2023