ITOCHU Announces Establishment of Local Subsidiary in Cote d'Ivoire
October 10, 2013
ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU will establish a local subsidiary in Abidjan, the largest city in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire.
Continuous economic growth at an annual rate of 5% or more and the steady expansion of consumption with population growth are expected in Sub-Saharan Africa (*1), a region blessed with vast land and abundant natural resources. Opportunities for new businesses that support Japanese companies’ forays into Africa are also likely to expand in this region. The number of such companies is predicted to rise sharply going forward.
With the base established in the West African city of Abidjan, ITOCHU will be able to cover the region with a three regional hub offices consisting of the Nairobi Liaison Office in Kenya and the Johannesburg Branch in South Africa, in addition to the new Ivorian subsidiary. ITOCHU is committed to applying this system to strengthening its organization for developing new businesses all over sub-Saharan Africa.
- (*1) Sub-Saharan Africa is the region of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, excluding the area known as North Africa.