Dar, Beijing to boost trade

Ally Mayala

• VP aspires trade volume to hit 51tri/- by 2030

TANZANIA: VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango on Wednesday expressed Tanzania’s

optimism to further increase trade volume with China from around 9 billion US dollars (23tri/-) to 20 billion US dollars (about 51tri/-) by 2030.

He said on-going regulatory reforms to improve business environment and improvements in transport and energy infrastructure will spur production, which is the key component of heightening investment and trade volume.

“I would like to see the volume of trade between China and Tanzania increasing from the current average of around 9 billion US dollars (23tri/-) to at least 20 billion US dollars (about 51tri/-) by 2030. And in term of Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs), I would to see an increase from the current 221 million US dollars (about 563.9bn/- ) to 500 million US dollars (1.3tri) within the next six years,” he said.

Closing the China-Tanzania Investment Forum and China (Jinhua) Tanzania Trade and Investment Promotion Conference, in Dar es Salaam, Dr Mpango said the country is ready for business and firmly committed to ascend as the most attractive investment destinations in the continent.

He said for a long-time, China has been a leading strategic investor and major trading partner of Tanzania, noting the annual FDI flows from China increased from 92 million US dollars (about 234.7m/-) in 2019 to 221 million US dollars in 2021 (about 563.9bn/-).

Mr Mpango said President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan has been championing a transformative agenda to sustain a vibrant economy underpinned by 4Rs philosophy namely Reform, Reconciliation, Resilience and Rebuilding.

Highlighting the 4Rs, he said the reforms focuses on consolidating policy, legal, institutional and regulatory reforms to improve the business environment, seeking to promote consistency and predictability of policies as well as transparency.

He said some of the legal reforms encompass the enactment of the Tanzania Investment Act of 2022 to replace that of 1997, noting the new Act under the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) provides fiscal incentives and a level playing field for all investors.

He said the government also has scaled up efforts in fighting corruption through among others giving stern warning to government officials who are seemingly slowing investment.

Furthermore, he said the pillar of rebuilding targets in growing economy through improvement and expansion of infrastructure, mining, energy and agriculture sectors and others which will create more jobs for citizens.

He said Tanzania continues to undertake major investments in physical infrastructure notably power supply including the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric-Power Project (JNHPP) which is expected to generate 2,115 Megawatts (MW) upon completion.

On boosting transport, he said concurrently the government has expanded capacity of the Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara ports as well as the Kwala Dry Port to support operations and decongest the Dar es Salaam Port. Moreover, he said the country has concessioned the operations of the Dar es Salaam Port to DP World, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based shipping company in bid improving port efficiency.

He said the infrastructure transformation also involves construction of the Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) from Dar es Salaam to the Lake Victoria’s port in Mwanza via Dodoma, the administrative capital city.

“The SGR will subsequently be extended westwards to Musongati and Gitega in Burundi and Kindu in DRC. This will allow for exploitation of the lithium and nickel deposits in Burundi as well as facilitate transport of other cargo to and from the Port of Dar es Salaam” he noted.

Similarly, he said the efforts are made in revamping the tourism industry through various promotional initiatives such as the iconic Royal Tour which initiated by President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan.

For her part, the China Ambassador to Tanzania, Ms Chen Mingjian noted that Tanzania is among the fastest growing economy in Africa and even in the world commending the on-going proactive reforms.

Reflecting the long built diplomatic relations between the two nations spanning about 60 years, she said the bilateral relations has consistently deepened, with China emerging as the largest Tanzania trading partner for eight years consecutively.

She said that last year, trade volume between the two countries reached 8.8 billion US dollars with a year in year increase of 5.7 per cent with the China investment in the country increased by over 60 per cent.

“Chinese entreprises see Tanzania as the promising land of wealth creation, treating Tanzania as an important production base,” Ms Mingjian said.

The forum that was organised by TIC brought together about 200 Tanzanian companies, 40 local Chinese companies which are already investing in the country and other new 60 companies from Jinhua in the counterpart searching opportunities for investment.

Through presentation, dialogues, networking and Business to Business discussion participants highlighted areas of investment including green economy, blue economy, trade, tourism and cultural opportunities.