Bank of Tanzania Launches Sovereign Yield Curve as Securities Market Hits TZS 32.3 Trillion

The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) officially launched the Tanzania Sovereign Yield Curve on 7th August 2026, at a ceremony held at its headquarters in Dar es Salaam.

BOT developed the benchmark in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, the Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA), and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), with technical support and training from the US Treasury Department.

The benchmark covers Treasury bill and bond maturities from under one month to 25 years and will be published daily, alongside a pricing calculator that converts yields into prices for investors.

Governor Emmanuel Tutuba linked the launch to Tanzania’s broader capital-account reforms, saying: “We have now achieved full liberalisation of the capital account.”

The value of outstanding Tanzanian government securities has grown from TZS 499 billion when Treasury bonds were introduced in 2002 to TZS 32.291 trillion (USD 12.19 billion at prevailing rates) today, while the number of registered investors has risen from 897 in 2016 to 32,631 currently.

DSE Chief Executive Officer Peter Nalitolela said the benchmark would help investors, particularly small-scale ones, avoid unnecessary costs and price disparities when trading securities: “The system will serve as an important benchmark for pricing short-term loans issued in local currency.”

DSE has also integrated government bond holdings into its upgraded mobile trading platform, letting investors track both the face value and the daily market value of their holdings.

Tanzania’s Government Securities Market Reforms

The launch follows the Foreign Exchange (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, gazetted on 17th July 2026, which opened Tanzania’s Treasury bills and bonds market to non-resident investors of any nationality for the first time.

BOT’s February 2026 auction of 15-year and 25-year Treasury bonds drew bids of TZS 2,778.1 billion (USD 1.05 billion) against a combined tender of TZS 399.5 billion (USD 150.75 million), a bid-to-offer ratio of 6.95, underscoring strong investor demand at the long end of the curve.

Tanzania Stock Exchange Brokers Association (TSEBA) Chairman Godfrey Malauri said continued public education on financial markets would be needed alongside the new benchmark, noting that investor participation, while growing, remains low relative to Tanzania’s population of nearly 70 million.