Madagascar president Hery Rajaonarimampianina said on Wednesday that the government did not plan to go through with planned changes to its mining code which had alarmed investors.

Madagascar, one of Africa’s poorest nations, planned to increase royalty fees and claim 10 percent stakes in mining concessions under a draft code dated August 27 2015.

Mining executives in the Indian Ocean island state had raised concerns that the draft was less investor friendly than the previous one.

“For the moment there is no change, we are applying the existing code and any change will not happen in the near future,” Rajaonarimampianina said when asked about it at a media briefing at an investment conference in Pretoria.

He said if any changes were to be made they would not apply to existing investments or projects.

– By REUTERS