August 7th, 2023
Gabon has been on a quest to diversify its economy away from its dependence on oil for some years now. Crude oil sales, along with manganese, account for 98% of the export revenues generated by the country every year. One of the areas it has focused on is ecotourism, taking advantage of its natural resources, since 88% of the country is covered by rainforests. The country’s sovereign wealth fund Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Stratégiques (FGIS) is now making investments in the sector including a new partnership with investors to build upmarket “eco-friendly” hotels on a waterfront area called Baie des Roi in Libreville, the capital city. Part of the strategy is to also encourage more business tourism. The partners include Gabonese tourism operator Luxury Green, Kasada group, a real estate private equity group backed by Qatar, and French hospitality group Accor which has a $500 million hospitality fund dedicated to Africa.
Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.