Hideki Uyama, the head of a 13-man Japanese business delegation that visited Cameroon recently, has disclosed that lack of transparency by the Cameroon administration discourages foreign investors.

Uyama, the Director of Second Country Assistance Division at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, was speaking in Douala after a meeting organised by the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Crafts with the Japanese business delegation.

He said that Japanese businessmen know very little about the economic potentials of Cameroon, for they do not have much information on the country. According to him, they rely on reports by credible institutions like the World Bank. "According to the latest World Bank study, Cameroon is ranked 154 out of 178 countries, regarding the business climate," he said.

He noted that the positions that Cameroon has been occupying on Transparency International's corruption perception index does not speak well of the country to potential foreign investors.

The Japanese official stated that in the face of such a situation, much has to be done to attract Japanese private sector investments to Cameroon. He recommended that administrative procedures be simplified and made transparent.

Uyama also advised that a serious fight against corruption be launched as well as improvement on governance.On the purpose of the visit, Uyama said they intended to get more information about the economic potentials and business climate of the country.

"Our Prime Minister made a commitment to ensure that Japanese investments in Africa double in five years. Our visit to Cameroon is a follow up to that commitment," Uyama said.

He disclosed that the Japanese businessmen were interesting in a number of domains, especially energy and mines and ore.On his part, the Japanese Ambassador to Cameroon, HE Kensuke Tsuzuki, told reporters that during his two-year stay in Cameroon, he has been trying to link Japanese businessmen to the country.

Thus, he said he was happy to receive the business delegation which he described as on a very special mission to Cameroon.

The Vice President of the Cameroon Chamber of Commerce, Ekoko Mukete, who headed the Cameroonian economic operators at the meeting, noted that while the Japanese Government has done much in Cameroon, very little has been seen of the Japanese private sector.

"Apart from one or two companies that have come here, we have not seen direct Japanese involvement in the private sector here. We feel that the visit of the Japanese business delegation is a sign that the private sector in Japan is beginning to take interest in coming directly to Cameroon," he said.

According to him, the visit of the Japanese is a sign of good things to come. "Now that the Japanese businessmen have come here, we will do everything to show what the Cameroon business sector has to offer. There are lots of opportunities here".