Investor info

Please capture in this section information on all investors involved in a land deal and, where possible, document the complete investor network / investment chain of the deal.

Note: Investor-related ID numbers are shown in blue.

Investor levels

Each investor can be on each of the following levels:

1) Operating company (mandatory; one per deal)

The operating company is directly involved in acquiring and operating the land (i.e., it is the on-the-ground entity responsible for implementation). Operating companies are often domestic companies and may be owned or financed by domestic or foreign parent companies.

The operating company is always the lowest level in the investor hierarchy for a deal.
Only one operating company can be recorded per deal.

2) Parent companies (none or multiple; multi-level possible)

A parent company is an entity (or an individual entrepreneur) that partly or wholly owns the operating company and can therefore influence its operations. Several parent companies can collectively hold shares in the operating company.

Parent companies can themselves be owned by other parent companies. This can create multiple parent-company levels within one deal.

Enter the lowest-level parent company first (closest to the operating company).
If multiple parent levels exist, the highest parent company must be entered as the last parent-company level.
- The “highest” parent company is the topmost entity that still influences the operation or is directly engaged in the business activities.
A single parent company can be linked to multiple operating companies across different deals.

3) Tertiary investors / lenders (optional)

A tertiary investor/lender (e.g., a bank or investment fund) provides financing for the land acquisition but is not involved in decision-making regarding the acquisition or operation of the land. A tertiary investor/lender can be linked to the operating company or to any parent company level.

Example (fictional)

Alpha Rubber Co Liberia owns 300 ha of land in Monrovia.

80% of its shares are held by Alpha Rubber Co Africa (which is 100% owned by Alpha Rubber Co Global)
The remaining 20% is held by the Liberian government (10%) and Mr BC Delta (10%)
In 2016, Alpha Rubber Co Liberia received a loan of USD 2 million from the Echo Monetary Fund.

Investor levels in this example:

Operating company: Alpha Rubber Co Liberia
Parent company level 1: Alpha Rubber Co Africa (80%); Liberian government (10%); Mr BC Delta (10%)
Parent company level 2: Alpha Rubber Co Global (highest parent company)
Tertiary investor: Echo Monetary Fund

Adding an investor

When adding an investor to a deal, the operating company, parent company, or tertiary investor/lender may already exist in the database (e.g., due to involvement in another deal). To avoid duplicates, first determine whether you should:

Select an existing investor,
Edit an existing investor, or
Create a new investor.

Adding an existing operating company

In “Search investor”, click the dropdown arrow.
Enter at least three characters.
Select the correct investor from the auto-suggest list.

Tip: Spelling may vary across sources. Try alternative spellings before concluding that the investor does not exist.

Important check: Although the operating company is often already linked to the correct parent company, you should verify this by clicking the green pencil (edit) icon. This opens a window with the investor details, where you can confirm correctness or update information (see section 2.5.2.4 before editing, as changes may affect other deals).

You can then:

Record actors involved in the negotiation/admission process (people or institutions) and describe roles in the comment field.
If the investment project name differs from the operating company name, record it under “Name of investment project” (useful when an operating company has multiple deals in the target country).
Add notes under “Comment on investment chain”.

Adding a new operating company

If the operating company cannot be found, create a new investor:

A) General info

Name (operating company)
Country of registration
Classification
Investor homepage
OpenCorporates link

B) Parent companies
C) Tertiary investors/lenders

Country of registration: usually the target country, but in some cases the operating company is registered elsewhere.

Classification (choose the best primary fit)

Select the classification that best reflects the investor’s primary function (and add secondary aspects in the comment field if needed). Common options include:

Private company
Stock exchange-listed company
Individual entrepreneur
Investment fund
Semi state-owned company
State/government(-owned)
Government / Government institution
Multilateral development bank
Bilateral development bank / development finance institution
Commercial bank
Investment bank
Insurance firm
Private equity firm
Asset management firm
Non-profit organisation (e.g., church, university)

If none apply, select “Other” and specify in the comment field.

Caution: Do not infer classification too quickly; some entities that appear private may be listed or partially state-owned.

Adding parent companies

As with operating companies, first check whether the parent company already exists:

Use “Search investor” next to “Existing parent company” and select from auto-suggest; if not found, click “+” to add a new parent company.

Country of registration: if unclear, select the country where headquarters are listed.
Classification: record a classification for each parent company.

Order rule: Enter the lowest-level parent company first (closest to the operating company). Use “Add another parent company” to create additional levels (Parent Company #2, #3, etc.).

After completing entries:

Add an action comment if needed
Check “I have read and agree to the data policy”
Click “Submit” (reporter/editor) or “Approve” (administrator)

Back on the operating company page, you can also record:

Investment type (Shares/Equity or Debt financing)
Ownership share (%)
Loan amount
Loan date
Comments (e.g., doubts, conflicting information, notes about tertiary investors)

Parent relation (to operating company):

Subsidiary of parent company (parent holds controlling interest; separate legal entity)
Local branch of parent company (not a separate legal entity; office operating on behalf of parent)
Joint venture of parent companies (two or more parent companies hold shares in the same operating company)

Adding a tertiary investor/lender

The process is the same as for other investor levels (search existing first, otherwise add new). In addition to name, country of registration, and classification, you can record:

Investment type (shares/equity or debt financing)
Ownership share (%)
Loan amount
Loan date

If you want, I can also convert this into a shorter “in-app help text” version (more concise, fewer examples) and a separate “full guidance” version for documentation.