UK Seeks To Remain Top Tanzania Foreign Direct Investor

According to Mark Simmonds, the UK visiting minister for Africa, the UK government intends to maintain its current position as the largest Tanzania foreign direct investor. Mr. Simmonds, who spoke while attending the launch of the British Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on July 8th 2014, indicated that the British Chamber of Commerce will help increase bilateral trade and investment to benefit both countries thereby helping to achieve the objectives of the Tanzania-UK High Level Prosperity Partnership. Additionally, Mr. Simmonds indicated that the UK government is seeking to double its exports worldwide to EURO 1 trillion annually by 2020 while, at the same time providing assistance to 100,000 UK companies to become exporters. “Creating a new network of British Chambers of Commerce in important markets like Tanzania is part of our plan to achieve these objectives,” said Mr. Simmonds. According to Dianna Melrose, the British High Commissioner to Tanzania, the role of the new British Chamber of Commerce in Tanzania will be to provide increased support to UK companies who are looking to conduct business in Tanzania and to help facilitate business to business networking and partnerships between Tanzania and UK companies. Figures from the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) confirm the UK as the largest foreign investor in Tanzania with a 35 percent market share followed by China with a 15% market share.