Areas of Investment

Wood:

Liberia has the most extensive remaining tropical rainforest in West Africa. A gradual shift towards higher value added wood processing will help generate incomes and employment, . African forestry offers potentially high returns because they will help lay the foundations for sustainable forestry sector management in Liberia 

Trees:

The price forecasts for Liberia’s main export crops are good. Although prices are expected to soften somewhat after their recent increases, they should remain relatively attractive in the medium-term. The continuation of high crude oil prices is likely to maintain natural rubber prices (strongly correlated to petroleum-derived synthetic rubber prices) at a high level. A strong demand for vegetable oils (in particular with the emerging bio-fuel market) should also support high prices for palm oil. Similarly, prospects for cocoa are reasonably favorable in the short to medium term, with the international market expected to show sustained (2-3%) growth.  

Rubber. Rubber is totally exported, after processing within the country. The sector is dominated by a few well established industrial operators but also includes a large number of large private farms and a growing number of smallholders. Liberia has a strong “rubber culture” and few farmers, large or small, have never had contact with the crop. 

Oil palm. Palm oil has excellent medium-term prospects on the international market, and Liberia has a very good agro-climatic comparative advantage for its production, probably the best in West Africa. Cocoa never developed into a major industry in Liberia, essentially because of Government’s neglect and mismanagement. It certainly offers a major opportunity to diversify Liberia’s productive base away from an over-dependence on rubber. 

Mining 

Iron ore mining was at one stage Liberia’s economic mainstay contributing as much as 64 % of total exports which provided nearly 25 % of the country’s GDP

Diamonds:Diamond Fields of Canada is actively exploring in its Nimba concession and has entered into an option agreement with Ducor Minerals under which it may earn an interest in Ducor’s exploration licenses covering two properties: 

Fishery 

Liberia has a wide range of fish resources including large pelagics, small pelagics, demersal fish, and shrimp/lobster, which can be exploited for domestic, regional and international trade. If carefully managed, this trade has the potential to make significant contributions to both poverty alleviation (in the form of poverty reduction and poverty prevention) and food security at the household level, in local communities, and at the national level for Liberia as a whole. 

Trade and Investment

Liberia is Rich in culture. African attire, jewels and other cultural items abound. They are in high demand outside and inside Liberia. Investors would find investment opportunity of different scale in these areas. 

Travel & Resort

From wild life, gaming, to fishing Liberia provides resort in about any demand. Great for romantic escape. Beauty boutique to furnish your cultural inquisitions are all over.  Liberia is home of art. 

Electricity

The electricity sector of Liberia was extensively damaged during the period of conflict. The damage extended to diesel power plants, the hydro power station, transmission & distribution networks, and administrative support systems such as communication and metering. Following studies carried out in co-operation with the European Commission, the government has made a policy decision to liberalize the sector. 

There are thus opportunities for independent power producers (IPPs) to produce electricity and connect it with the national grid. There are also opportunities in transmission & distribution, with concessionaires being sought to function as distributors in specific geographic locations. 

Investing in telecommunication in Liberia 

In early 2007, there was no fixed-line telecom service in Liberia, although the government had plans to restore it soon. But there were four mobile telecom operators in Liberia, serving over 350,000 customers — i.e., over 10 mobile subscriptions per 100

Liberians. The companies were Cellcom, Comium, Libercell and Lonestar. The company offers a variety services, including pre-paid and post-paid service,roaming service, SMS, scratch cards ranging from USD 3 to 100, etc. The initial investment was about USD 16 million; now it is over USD 20 million. The company believes that there are opportunities for foreign investors in just about every field in Liberia. 

Construction

Many kinds of construction activity are growing in Liberia, as reconstruction progresses. One kind of special significance to the residents of Monrovia is the construction of affordable housing. The National Housing Authority has identified 150 acres (about 60 hectares) of land on the Robertsfield-Monrovia highway for the Gban Gbar Town project, to construct over 400 housing units at an estimated cost of USD 1.8 million. The Authority’s longer-term five-year plan calls for the construction of housing estates of about 470 units each in all 16 counties of Liberia, at an estimated cost of USD 188 million. FDI is invited into both these projects. 

Tourism

Liberia’s potential for tourism is very considerable when one considers its remarkable natural assets. Its 570 km Atlantic coastline offers numerous beautiful beaches, a staple of tourism around the world. It has Lake Piso, an open coastal lagoon west of Monrovia that has been designated a Wetland of International Importance. The lake has a surface area of 76,091 hectares (761 sq km or 294 sq miles) and is both a nursery and spawning ground for fish and sea turtles and a feeding and roosting place for large numbers of sea and shore birds. 

Privatization opportunities

The government is committed to a market economy in Liberia and has made a policy decision to privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Potential candidates for privatization include the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) and the Liberia Telecommunication Corporation (LTC). There are a number of other state-owned entities in various sectors, e.g., oil palm plantations, which might also be candidates for privatization. Liberia does not discriminate against foreign investors when it comes to privatization.