During the UK-Tanzania Trade & Investment Summit 2014 that took place in London on 31st March, 2014 a number of CEO’s of UK companies currently operating in Tanzania provided very positive feedbacks about their experience in investing and conducting business in Tanzania.
The summit was organised by the British High Commission in Dar es salaam, the Tanzania High Commission in London, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Tanzania Investment Centre and the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority and saw the participation of more than 150 attendees, including Presidents, Vice Presidents, Chief Executive Officers, Managing Directors, Directors and Managers of several UK firms.
Nick Cooper, Chief Executive of Ophir Energy, an oil & gas exploration company with assets in five blocks in deep waters off the coast of Tanzania, commented that the firm was thankful for the opportunity to invest in oil & gas sector in the country.
The company recently announced that Tanzania’s first planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal could be expanded after the project partners discovered more gas than expected.
Brad Gordon, Chief Executive of African Barrick Gold, Tanzania’s largest gold producer, told the forum that the company has been operating in Tanzania for 15 years.
He explained that the firm is a major employer in the country with estimated total employment impact of around 100,000 people.
According to him the Government support has been an important factor in their successful investments in Tanzania and noted that due to this African Barrick Gold expects to continue investing in the country for the next 30-40 years.
On his part Ed Winter, Chief Executive of Fastjet, Tanzania’s first low-cost airline, indicated that Tanzania was chosen as its first operating base in Africa because of support received from the Government.
In just 14 months Fastjet which is traded in the London Stock Exchange has established flights to Mwanza, Mbeya and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, as well as to Johannesburg in South African and Lusaka in Zambia, flying 500,000 passengers.
United Kingdom is the main source of investment for Tanzania.
Between 1997 and 2013 Tanzania Investment Centre registered a total of 1,099 projects from UK valued at USD 5,827.33.
From 2006 to 2012 investments with UK interest accounted for 36% of value of all registered projects, making it the number one source of investments for Tanzania.
