International Business Digest
Center for International Business Education
ISS UE | 3
VOLUM E | 11
M AR C H | 2 01 5
Cameroon – “Africa in Miniature”
- contributed by Dr. Louis Ngamassi, Assistant Professor, PVAMU College of Business
Cameroon ‐ Africa in
Miniature
Page 1
Editor’s Note
Page 2
Latest Trade Sta s cs for
U.S. and Texas
Page 4
O en referred to as “Africa in Miniature”, Cameroon is a
country located in Central Africa. It is situated at the
mee ng point of Equatorial Africa to the south and
Tropical Africa to the north. Cameroon shares common
boundaries with Nigeria to the west, Chad to the
northeast, the Central African Republic to the east,
Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to the south. It has
a coastline of 402 km bordering the Gulf of Guinea, an
area of 475,650 km2, of which 466,464 km2 is land and
8,546 km2 is water. Es mated at 22 million, the
popula on of Cameroon currently is made up of
Chris ans (40%), Muslims (20%) and animists (40%).
Global Trade and
Business: Current News
& Events
Page 6
Contact Informa on
Page 7
Cameroon is a former German colony. A er the First World War in 1919, Cameroon
was mandated to the Bri sh and French rule by the League of Na ons. In 1946, it
became a trust territory of the United Na ons Organiza on s ll under Bri sh and
French rule. As a result of this colonial heritage, both French and English are currently
the official languages in Cameroon. In addi on, a large number of local languages are
spoken among the more than 200 ethnic groups in the country.
Cameroon belongs both to the tropical humid zone and
the Sahel zone and is blessed with a wide variety of
climates, contours and vegeta on. The outcome is a
geographical diversity which offers it a remarkable
richness in areas as varied as agriculture, livestock,
fishery, forestry, water energy and mines.
The produc on of agricultural food crops (corn, cassava,
plantain, rice, millet, sorghum, etc.) and cash crops
(cocoa, coffee, co on, rubber, banana, pineapple etc.)
make the Cameroonian agriculture one of the richest in
Central Africa. Cameroon also possesses large reserves of oil and forestry resources.
The presence of all these resources argue in favor of an industrial base on which the
country could stake its accelerated development.
(Con nued on page 3).
Editor’s Note
Gree ngs. It gives us great pleasure to bring to you the 43rd issue of the Prairie
View Interna onal Business Digest, an electronic quarterly newsle er produced by
the Center for Interna onal Business Educa on.
This issue features three sec ons. In the first ar cle (Cameroon ‐ “Africa in
Miniature”), Dr. Louis Ngamassi, a professor of Management Informa on Systems
at PVAMU, presents a short narra ve of the geography, history and economy of his
na ve country. The second sec on (Latest Trade Sta s cs for U.S. and Texas)
presents up‐to‐date merchandise trade sta s cs for the U.S. and Texas for the last
five years (2010‐2014). The final sec on highlights current global business/trade
news and events. Please note that all URL links are ac ve and you can go directly to
a sec on from the table of contents on the first page.
We hope you con nue to find this e‐newsle er a valuable channel for important
informa on rela ng to interna onal business. We also hope our efforts will inspire
greater number of local firms to seek out new global business opportuni es.
Should you have any ques ons or sugges ons, please feel free to contact us.
Dr. Rahim Quazi
Editor
Thank you for your support,
Rahim Quazi, Ph.D.
Editor, Prairie View Interna onal Business Digest
Center for Interna onal Business Educa on
Prairie View A&M University
E‐mail | rmquazi@pvamu.edu
A Preview of Things to Come
The College of Business will be
moving to a brand new loca on on
campus in summer 2015 along with
the Center for Interna onal
Business Educa on.
Prairie View Interna onal Business Digest
Page 2
Volume 11| Issue 3
Cameroon – “Africa in Miniature”
- contributed by Dr. Louis Ngamassi, Assistant Professor, PVAMU College of Business
(Con nued from page 1).
Foreign Direct Investment in Cameroon
Cameroon has always been ac vely seeking to a ract foreign direct investment (FDI) in order to create economic growth
and employment. The GDP per capita is currently es mated at USD $2,400. Since the independence of the country in 1960,
there has been con nuous effort by the Cameroon government to encourage more foreign direct investment into the
country.
Over the years, Cameroon enacted a series of laws and regula ons to encourage
and boost FDI inflow in the country. Such laws and regula ons include the
Investment Code of 1990, amended in 1994; the Patent Rights Act, the Paris
Conven on for the Protec on of and promo on of Industrial Property of 1883;
and bilateral investment trea es for the protec on and promo on of investments
signed in 1966.
The enactment of these laws has not yet yielded the expected results. The laws
helped Cameroon to a ract more FDI inflow. However, the increased FDI inflow
did not generate enough economic growth. Some of the challenges preven ng
Cameroon to fully benefit from the FDI inflow include:
Transparency of Regulatory System ‐ Bureaucracy and a lack of transparency make business forma on costly and
burdensome. Although Cameroonian business laws exist, implementa on of these laws can be challenging. Under the
current judicial system, local and foreign investors have found it complicated, me‐consuming, and costly to enforce
contractual rights, protect property rights, obtain a fair and expedi ous hearing before the courts, or defend themselves
against frivolous lawsuits. Cameroon’s financial, legal and regulatory systems are solid, but enforcement is inconsistent and
o en arbitrary.
Efficient Capital Markets and Por olio Investments ‐ The cost of capital in Cameroon is high and
repayment terms are short. Some large lenders to major companies have been able to extend the
term beyond five years.
Corrup on ‐ Corrup on is endemic in Cameroon, which consistently ranks as one of the most corrupt
countries according to Transparency Interna onal’s Corrup on Percep ons Index
(h p://www.transparency.org/country).
_______________________________________
Sources:
Akwaowo, E. (2013) “Exploring Foreign Direct Investments in Developing African Countries: Their Effects on the Economic
Growth in Cameroon (2006‐2011)”. iBusiness, 2013, Vol. 5(1), 18‐35.
Cameroon, The World Factbook, CIA (h ps://www.cia.gov/library/publica ons/the‐world‐factbook/geos/cm.html).
Kum, E. B. (2009) “A Study on Foreign Direct Investment in Cameroon.” MBA Thesis submi ed to KDI School of Public Policy
and Management.
Prairie View Interna onal Business Digest
Page 3
Volume 11| Issue 3
Latest Trade Sta s cs for U.S. and Texas
The tables below show selected merchandise trade sta s cs for the U.S. and Texas for the last five years (2010‐2014).
These data were collected from the website of the Office of Trade and Industry Informa on (OTII), Manufacturing and
Services, Interna onal Trade Administra on, U.S. Department of Commerce (h p://tse.export.gov).
Table 1: Total U.S. Merchandise Exports and Top 5 Export Items (Billions of $)
Item
Total Exports
1. Transporta on Equipment
2. Computer & Electronic Products
3. Chemicals
4. Machinery, Except Electrical
5. Petroleum & Coal Products
2010
1,278.49
190.89
190.44
179.50
137.80
61.44
2011
1,482.51
210.28
198.04
197.47
150.92
101.93
2012
1,545.70
241.38
203.15
197.54
159.59
111.15
2013
1,579.59
258.25
204.68
199.43
150.17
119.61
2014
1,623.44
273.02
208.97
200.11
152.15
118.54
Table 2: Top 5 Merchandise Export Markets for the U.S. (Billions of $)
Partner
1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. China
4. Japan
5. U.K.
2010
249.26
163.66
91.91
60.47
48.41
2011
281.29
198.29
104.12
65.80
56.03
2012
292.65
215.91
110.52
69.96
54.86
2013
301.61
226.08
121.74
65.21
47.35
2014
312.13
240.33
124.02
66.96
53.87
Table 3: Total U.S. Merchandise Imports and Top 5 Import Items (Billions of $)
Item
Total Imports
1. Computer & Electronic Products
2. Transporta on Equipment
3. Oil & Gas
4. Chemicals
5. Machinery, Except Electrical
2010
1,913.86
325.05
241.17
280.20
176.33
105.56
2011
2,207.95
335.50
271.31
353.11
201.85
138.36
2012
2,276.30
347.79
318.04
326.73
197.91
151.26
2013
2,268.32
351.37
334.10
286.29
195.44
146.85
2014
2,345.19
366.10
355.76
261.57
205.84
160.67
Table 4: Top 5 Merchandise Import Partners for the U.S. (Billions of $)
Partner
1. China
2. Canada
3. Mexico
4. Japan
5. Germany
2010
364.95
277.64
229.99
120.55
82.45
2011
399.37
315.32
262.87
128.93
98.68
2012
425.63
324.26
277.59
146.44
109.23
2013
440.45
332.55
280.53
138.57
114.34
2014
466.66
346.06
294.16
133.94
123.18
(Con nued on page 5).
Prairie View Interna onal Business Digest
Page 4
Volume 11| Issue 3
Latest Trade Sta s cs for U.S. and Texas
(Con nued from page 4).
Table 5: Total U.S. Merchandise Trade Balance (Billions of $)
Partner
World Total
2010
2011
2012
2013
‐635.36
‐725.45
‐730.60
‐688.73
U.S. Merchandise Trade Surplus: Top 5 Partners
2014
‐721.74
1. Hong Kong
2. Netherlands
3. U.A.E Emirates
4. Australia
5. Singapore
22.27
31.99
32.01
36.66
15.68
18.77
18.36
23.34
10.52
13.48
20.31
22.15
13.22
17.38
21.59
16.86
11.58
12.17
10.29
12.83
U.S. Merchandise Trade Deficit: Top 5 Partners
‐273.04
‐295.25
‐315.11
‐318.71
‐34.30
‐49.39
‐60.43
‐66.98
‐60.08
‐63.13
‐76.47
‐73.37
‐66.32
‐64.58
‐61.69
‐54.45
‐28.38
‐34.03
‐31.61
‐30.94
35.08
22.86
19.31
16.00
14.07
1. China
2. Germany
3. Japan
4. Mexico
5. Canada
‐342.63
‐73.74
‐66.97
‐53.83
‐33.94
Table 6: Top 5 U.S. Merchandise Expor ng States (Billions of $)
2010
1,278.49
206.99
143.21
53.35
69.68
50.06
U.S. Total
1. Texas
2. California
3. Washington
4. New York
5. Illinois
2011
1,482.51
251.10
159.42
64.80
85.00
64.90
2012
1,545.70
264.67
161.75
75.66
81.34
68.16
2013
1,579.59
279.49
168.04
81.64
86.52
66.09
2014
1,623.44
289.02
174.13
90.65
86.01
68.18
Table 7: Total Merchandise Exports and Top 5 Export Items from Texas (Billions of $)
World Total
1. Petroleum & Coal Products
2. Computer & Elec. Products
3. Chemicals
4. Machinery, Except Electrical
5. Transporta on Equipment
2010
206.99
33.06
39.25
38.86
26.38
18.72
2011
251.10
51.84
42.17
46.65
27.54
21.91
2012
264.67
56.88
45.13
46.96
29.44
25.10
2013
279.49
60.61
48.17
47.87
29.96
24.40
2014
289.02
59.09
46.61
46.11
29.86
23.25
Table 8: Top 5 Merchandise Export Markets for Texas (Billions of $)
Partner
1. Mexico
2. Canada
3. Brazil
4. China
5. Netherlands
Prairie View Interna onal Business Digest
2010
72.69
18.76
7.15
10.27
5.92
2011
87.19
22.12
10.06
10.95
8.82
Page 5
2012
94.44
23.86
10.04
10.30
9.60
2013
100.92
26.08
10.86
10.85
9.55
2014
102.63
31.12
11.76
10.99
8.91
Volume 11| Issue 3
Global Trade & Business:
Current News and Events
Export Earnings Hit New Record: Total U.S. export earnings
reached $2.35 trillion in 2014, se ng a new record. Merchandise
exports from Texas also hit a record high at $289 billion.
Doing Business 2015, Going Beyond Efficiency
The World Bank has recently released this annual report on
business regula ons in 189 economies across the world.
Explore Africa Business Opportuni es Webinar Series: Cost ‐ $40 each session
April 1, Angola and Mozambique: Record Growth From Port to Port
April 15, Ethiopia: Looking Ahead to Growth and Transforma on
April 29, Nigeria: Export Opportuni es in the “Giant of Africa”
Asia/Pacific Business Outlook Conference, April 13‐14, Los Angeles, CA
This is a premier conference for exporters and investors targe ng Asian markets.
Texas EU Business Summit, April 22‐23, Aus n, TX
This is a premier event for Texas businesses, entrepreneurs and economic development professionals seeking to expand
their footprints in Europe.
Discover Global Markets: The Americas, May 12‐14, Miami, FL
Senior U.S. diplomats and business leaders will discuss new market opportuni es and effec ve business strategies in the
region.
Export News from Tradeology (Interna onal Trade Administra on Blog)
A Record Year for American Exports, Further Proof of American Greatness
African Ambassadors Make the Case for U.S. Companies to Do Business in Africa
U.S. Manufacturing A racts Foreign Investment
How Trade Stats Can Help US Businesses Expand Abroad
U.S.‐China Rela ons: Great for TV, but Greater for the U.S. Economy
Sources:
Export News, U.S. Export Assistance Center, Houston
Export News, U.S. Export Assistance Center, Aus n
Tradeology, Interna onal Trade Administra on Blog
Prairie View Interna onal Business Digest
Page 6
Volume 11| Issue 3
Next Issue Available: June 2015
If you would like to receive an electronic version of this newsle er, contact
Dr. Rahim Quazi at 936‐261‐9225 or rmquazi@pvamu.edu
Visit our website!
PVAMU College of Business | www.pvamu.edu/business or
CIBE |h p://www.pvamu.edu/business/alumni‐friends/center‐for‐interna onal‐
business‐educa on/
PVAMU College of Business
Vision and Mission Statements
Vision Statement
Our vision is to empower students from diverse backgrounds to become produc ve and ethical business professionals who
are among the best in the world.
Mission Statement
We provide a diverse student body with an educa on that creates highly produc ve professionals who are ethical,
entrepreneurial, and prepared to succeed in the global economy. The College achieves this through excellence in teaching,
research and service, and engagement with the business community and other stakeholders. The student experience is
dis nguished by personal a en on, teamwork, leadership training, and apprecia on of the social responsibility of
business.