The_Open_Door_deel1

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A major improvement of the Agreement was the clause providing
for a minimum royalty to be paid by B.M.C. and amounting to 3?
of the company's sales revenue. This royalty has to be paid
each quarter and at the end of the year the Government receives
corporate income taxes amounting to 50? of the company's net
profits whereby royalties paid act as a credit against tax
payments. Thus, in years when profits are low or even zero, the
Government is sure of receiving a minimum of 3? of the total
sales proceeds from the venture (107).
Some aspects of B.M.C.'s performance
Despite the above, B.M.C's performance both with respect to the
Liberian economy in general and in terms of cooperation between
private investors and the Government of an underdeveloped
country which possesses valuable natural resources still ranks
among the best when compared with the activities of other
foreign investors. B.M.C. is the only foreign concessionaire
which keeps complete financial and operational records in
Liberia. Documents pertaining to operations in Liberia and
transactions and expenditures in the F.R.G, are kept in the
company's offices in Bong.
The company's administration is entirely computerized. Warehouse
inventories, the handling of materials, payrolls, expenses,
depreciation, the fixed assets records etc. are all maintained
on the computer. All payments made by Exploration und Bergbau
and data with respect to sales transactions are punched onto
computer tape in Germany and sent to West Africa for processing
on Bong' computer. B.M.C.'s "on-line" computer system, in use
since August 1976, was reported to be the first of its kind in
West Africa (108). Given Liberia's poorly developed manpower
potential the use of advanced technologies increases the
country's dependency on foreign manpower - the more so as the
country's educational system fails adequately to respond to
these changing circumstances. At the same time it hinders the
immediate access of Liberians to essential data with respect to
the company's performance.
B.M.C. represented Germany's largest single private investment
in tropical Africa (109). As of November 30, 1976 total investments
in Liberia amounted to $ 246.5 million which constitutes
this country's second most important private investment (the
first being LAMCO J.V. whose investments roughly totaled $ 360
million on the same date). Replacement values of these investments
are of course substantially higher than these amounts
and may be estimated at twice the amounts mentioned above.