George Forrest (businessman)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other persons named George Forrest, see George Forrest (disambiguation).

George Forrest is a Belgian entrepreneur, of New Zealand descent, who is active mostly in Europe, oriental Africa, and Arabia.

Forrest is the head of "Groupe Forrest" of "Malta Forrest," "George Forrest International S.A.", etc. Malta Forrest was founded in 1922 by George Forrest's father in Katanga, and acts as a mother company of the other groups. The companies consist of diverse industrial activities, including mining, cement manufacturing, public works, hauling, and munitions manufacturing.

[edit] Controversies

George Forrest's activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been objects of great controversy.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has been ravaged by more than ten years of war, and particularly in the city of Lubumbashi, Forrest has been appreciated as one of the few contractors and a large provider of employment and stability. He operates the last cement factory in the country (located in the province of Bas-Congo), has repaired the principal roads in Katanga, and has inspired remarkable progress in Lubumbashi. He notoriously restarted exploiting the "Terril de Lumbashi" (loosely translated as 'Treasure Heap of Lumbashi'), recycling the numerous rejected pieces of precious metals in the city.

In Europe, Forrest is generally criticized both for feeding the war economy of the country, and for his activities in the munitions industry (one of his munitions companies was refused an export license by the Walloon Government on June 30, 2005).