TANZANIA'S POLICIES EXCITE INVESTORS - TIC

TIC Executive Director, Ms Juliet Kairuki

TANZANIA's investment laws and policies have excited investors making the country the top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the East Africa region.

Recent data produced by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that in 2013, Tanzania had USD 12.7 billion in FDI stock, eclipsing both Kenya and Uganda which stood at USD 3.4 billion and USD 8.8 billion respectively.

UNCTAD statistics also reveal that in 2013, Tanzania attracted USD 1.9 billion in FDI inflows far outstripping its neighbour, Kenya, which only received USD 514 million of inflows for the same period.

Commenting on this news, the Executive Director of Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), Ms Juliet Kairuki, welcomed the revelations. "I think Tanzania can be proud herself with this achievement - it's no small feat," she said.

She said that the latest figures demonstrate the success of the government's investment policies and measures to make Tanzania an even more attractive investment destination.

"Our leaders, including the Prime Minister's Office which is responsible for investment, have worked extremely hard to implement reforms which were sorely needed and Tanzania is now reaping the fruits of its labour," she said.

She explained that Tanzania has put in place a variety of investment incentives which are available to both foreign and domestic investors and that these fiscal incentives and non-fiscal incentives are aimed at making it easier to do business in the country.

"TIC believes that increased investment into the country will lead to greater prosperity for the people of Tanzania through the creation of new jobs, greater tax revenues as well as skills and technology transfers," she said.

Reflecting on the country's achievements, Ms Kairuki sounded a note of caution amid the celebration: "As much as we celebrate these strong FDI figures, we must note that investment into new projects in the country, so-called green-field projects, is down," she said.

She explained that greenfield investments are very important as they represent new projects in the country and feed into further investments in the future.

"We must work hard to ensure that we are creating viable new opportunities that attract new capital, noted Ms Kairuki.

TIC was established in 1997 by the Tanzania Investment Act to be the Primary Agency of the government to coordinate, encourage, promote and facilitate investment in the country and to advise the government on investment policy and related matters.

The agency deals with all enterprises whose minimum capital investment is not less than USD 300,000 if foreign owned or USD 100,000 if locally owned.