Increasing Agricultural Productivity:
Encouraging Foreign Direct Investments in the COMCEC Region
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Box 1 Example of a landmark FDI deal in Cameroon
Biopalm Energy subsidiary of Siva Group into Cameroon
In line with the objective of diversifying into high-growth sectors, SIVA Group’s foray into large-scale
agriculture viz., oil palm plantations through its associate Biopalm Energy, has seen substantial
progress within the first two years of inception.
In August 2011 Biopalm Energy (India) invested $1,907.24 million in Cameroon in the food &
tobacco sector in a manufacturing project. The company is planning to establish a 200,000 hectare
palm oil plantation in the south of Cameroon, as part of a joint venture with the National Investment
Corporation of Cameroon. The 1.9bn investment is expected to yield 80,000 tonnes of palm oil within
its first five years of production.
- Sub sector: Crop production
- FDI Project type: New / Greenfield from India into Cameroon
Biopalm Energy has been focusing on developing green-field oil palm projects and acquiring existing
palm plantations in Africa [mainly Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Cameroon and Mozambique], Asia [Indonesia and Papua New Guinea] and South America.
Further information on their Website
Other large-scale investments of Indian companies in the COMCEC Member Countries are listed
in Table 11.