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By Alexander Woollcombe

FREETOWN, March 4 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's economic growth will slow to 6 percent or less in 2009 as revenues from mining and foreign investment slump, the West African nation's new finance minister said on Wednesday.

Samura Kamara, the central bank governor named this week as finance minister, forecast the economy would expand by 5.5 to 6 percent in 2009, down from 7 to 7.5 percent growth last year.

"There has been a sharp drop in mining revenues, remittances appear to be declining although we are still studying this data, and foreign direct investment is also likely to fall in 2009," Kamara told Reuters in an interview in the capital Freetown.

Kamara was handed the finance portfolio in a wide-ranging reshuffle by Sierra Leone's President Ernest Bai Koroma late last month, the first since he came to power in 2007.

No reason was given for the reshuffle in the diamond-rich nation, which is starting to attract serious investor interest as it recovers from the effects of a 1991-2002 civil war.

Despite overall improvements since the end of a conflict that killed some 50,00 people, the country did not escape the impact of the high cost of food and fuel in early 2008 and is starting to feel the impact of the global financial crisis.

"Central bank foreign reserves are over $200 million, within IMF boundaries. The Government's fiscal space was decreased in 2008 due to reductions in import tariffs and use of strategic funds to mitigate the impact of high fuel and food prices," Kamara said.

The World Bank rates Sierra Leone amongst the 40 countries "highly vulnerable" to the impact of the global crisis due to pre-existing poverty levels and anticipated drops in growth.

However, with world oil prices less than a third of their July 2008 record highs <CLc1>, Kamara said Sierra Leone's inflation was projected to drop to high single digit figures this year from 13.4 percent in 2008.

Aside from diamonds, which helped finance the main rebel movement during the civil war, the tiny nation is also rich in gold, bauxite and titanium ore.

But Koroma has said he wants to shift the focus of economy away from mining to agriculture and tourism.

REMITTANCES DOWN

Sierra Leone has managed to improve its business environment, with the country rising seven places to 156 out of 181 in the World Bank's "Doing Business" ranking in 2009.

But Trade and Industry Minister Alimany Koroma said the combined food, fuel and financial crises have already hit hard.

"I've received fewer visitors coming to discuss investment opportunities in recent months than I did this time last year."

With foreign aid funding some 40 percent of the government's annual budget, the government is concerned donors will cut aid budgets to ensure development objectives are met.

Foreign governments have not yet cut back but anecdotal evidence in Freetown suggests Sierra Leoneans abroad are already doing so.

"Every year my sister sends $200 around Christmas from America which I use to do small business selling food in the market," said Olamatu Bangura in Susan's Bay, a shanty town.

"This year she only sent $50 which makes it more difficult to pay for school fees and clothes for my children," she added. (Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Alistair Thomson)

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