The Minister of Trade and Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing has announced the publication of the first edition of a guide to investing in Lesotho.

Mr. Popane Lebesa made the announcement at the Ministry's offices on Wednesday. The publication guide is entitled 'A Practical Guide to Doing Business in Lesotho: Gain your share of the high ground'.

The Minister said, being the first edition, the ministry will be looking to expand and develop the content and coverage of subsequent publications, adding that the manual will provide a good starting point for those, who want to know more when considering Lesotho as an investment destination.

He stated that the guide is essentially aimed at three key business groups, which are foreign investors who may be considering Lesotho as a destination of choice for new investments and economic activity and buyers, who are looking for suppliers and manufacturers to provide services to their companies.

The third group, he said is domestic businesses that may be looking to expand and diversify their existing activities, and the guide will give all the groups an attractive climate and investment friendly policies being introduced by the Government.

He said, "With the publication guide, the ministry intends to bring together in one publication all the information that a potential investor may require and to point people in the right direction, when it comes to finding a new partner or supplier as well as to provide a step by step guidance on how to establish a legal presence."

Mr. Lebesa therefore, called upon public' commends about the guide with a view to improve it and to develop future editions to make them even more user-friendly.

He expressed gratitude to the ministry's development partners, in particular, the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) through the Priority Support Programme, who provided financial support to the initiative and all who made the initiative a success.

Source: LENA 19/09/2007