Energy in Cameroon comprises its oil and natural gas reserves, and hydroelectric energy. The major energy sources of Cameroon include fuelwood, electricity and petroleum. Production of energy in Cameroon is supported by international financial organizations like World Bank and IMF.
Oil is one of the chief industries of the country. The natural resource, oil, found in the reservoirs of Cameroon has been one of the chief export items of Cameroon. The exploration of the oil fields in the Douala basin of Cameroon started in the 1950s. The other companies like Royal Dutch or Shell, Total and Mobil also started taking interest in the Cameroon oil and became large oil-producers.
Though oil production of Cameroon has fallen over the years due to the depletion of the reserves, the country is still the fifth largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa. The agreements signed between SNH and companies like Shell International Ltd, Total, Energy Africa Ltd, Perenco, etc have proved to be beneficial for the oil industry of Cameroon. Hydroelectric energy in Cameroon is one of the major energies in Cameroon. Electrical energy in Cameroon is produced mostly by two major hydroelectric stations located on the Sananga river.
Finance and banking are significant to the Cameroonian economy. The banks of Cameroon constitute the most important financial institutions of the country. Catering to the population of Cameroon, the banks performs a wide array of functions and play a crucial role in the economic and commercial spheres of Cameroon. Concentrated mostly in the capital, Yaounde and in Douala, the banks of Cameroon are responsible for the financial transactions in the country.
The major banks in Cameroon include CLC, SCAC SA, Afriland First bank, Amity Bank, La Regionale, Standard Chartered, Ecobank, Credit Mutuel, union Bank of Cameroon, Credit Lyonnais, BICEC, CEC Cameroon, COMESI, C.E.P.I, Citibank, National Financial Credit etc. Besides containing various kinds of accounts of its customers, the Cameroonian banks also lend money, deal with foreign currencies, fund various organizations etc.
The currency of Cameroon is CFA franc. One CFA is equivalent to 100 centimes.
Cameroon currency is available in notes and coins.
The national stock exchange of Cameroon is known as the Douala Stock Exchange. Like the stock exchanges of other countries, the Stock Exchange of Douala is a major division of the commercial and financial sector of Cameroon and caters to a large public in the country.
Sale and purchase of shares and bonds comprise the principal activity of the national stock exchange of Cameroon. 58% of the shares are owned by the private sector, 23% of them by the parastatals, 13.3% by insurance companies and 5% by investment funds.
Douala Stock Exchange in Cameroon represents the performance of the business sector of the country. The creation of the stock exchange portrays that the country has entered into a new financial venture the future course of which will depend on the economic atmosphere of the country. The stock market was designed to increase the financial sources of Cameroon's economy.
With so many industries flourishing in Cameroon, the country offers a moderately favorable climate for investments and prospects in various fields of business. Doing business in Cameroon consists of a series of official and legal procedures that have to be fulfilled to establish and continue a business.
Entrepreneurs interested in doing business in Cameroon have to follow a number of steps from starting a business to registration, taxation, establishing contacts etc. Business sector in Cameroon is shaped by the economic atmosphere of the country.
To do business in Cameroon one has to have an adequate knowledge of the financial and economic conditions of the country. The various stages involved in doing business in Cameroon comprise dealing with licenses, employing the workers, registration of the property, acquiring credit, protection of investors, paying taxes etc.
Though Cameroon has an economy based on its oil resources and agriculture. But with the advent of modernization, this African nation too is struggling to make a place for itself in the global commercial field.
|
|
