After meeting with the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, last Thursday May 26, a delegation of Singapore business men on a nine-day (May 21 – 30) business mission in Cameroon and Gabon last Friday May 27 held talks with business people in Cameroon. The rendezvous at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel, which took the form of a dinner, was organised by the Standard Chartered Bank, a market-leading financial services brand in the country, operational in Cameroon since 1986.

In a speech, the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mathieu Mandeng, described Cameroon as a land of peace and promise and that partnering with a business giant like Singapore is synonymous with accelerating development in all forms. Singapore, he said, according to the last World Bank Doing Business Rating, is the best in the world and Cameroon occupying the 168^th position has a lot to gain from the country. “What development should look like is Singapore”, the Standard Chartered Bank CEO said. Describing the visit of the Singapore business delegation as unprecedented, Mr Mandeng told them that Cameroon is an island of peace endowed with enormous resources which could be transformed into business opportunities. He also cited ongoing government moves to make the business climate friendlier to investors, notably the introduction of One-stop-shop system for business creation.

Like Mr Mandeng, the British High Commissioner to Cameroon, Bharat Joshie, said Cameroon is reputed for having good business potentials and its location in Central Africa arguably makes it a business hub. Investing in it, he added, is investing in the Central African sub-region. In response, the leader of the visiting Singapore delegation, Elson Ng, said they were looking seriously into Cameroon. The visit of Cameroon of the delegation came after that of Gabon.