Happy peasants' day

Just want to wish you all a very happy and pleasant "Nane Nane" (Peasants' day)

Treasury Bills Auction Summary - 6/Aug/2008

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Taxation in Tanzania's Mining Sector

Many thank yous to an esteemed member of the forum by the name of Al who suggested this topic. The topic is open for discussion; we hereby kindly welcome all members to give us your views.

Please read the following Abstract from PWC

Mining & Taxation - Where to from here?
East Africa is emerging as a new frontier for mineral exploration. Leading the way is Tanzania which has seen significant investment following the introduction of a new mineral policy and tax regime in 1997 and 1998, and is now Africa's third largest gold producer. In Kenya a major titanium project is being developed. Against this background there is increasing focus on the question of taxation of mining. The presentation below given at the Eastern African Mining Industry Convention 2006 by David Tarimo, a Tax Partner in our Tanzania office, addresses issues relevant to the taxation of mining in the region.

The Full article can be found here (pdf)

Real Estate Developments in Dar

A 25-storey residential cum business building is to be constructed in Downtown Dar Es Salaam. According to reports, the building whose miniature scaled model is pictured below, will be called Uhuru Heights isbeing developed by Cosmos Group of companie and will be located on Bibi Titi Mohammed Road, near the intersection with Ali Hassan Mwinyi Road. The building will accommodate various facilities including shopping malls, food courts, hotels, offices and apartments.

---

On another story, it is reported that the City of Dar Es Salaam plans to build satelite towns around the City so as to deal with the problem of congestion and traffic jams especially in downtown Dar Es Salaam. Fore more on this please read DAILY NEWS

Cost sharing grant to benefit entrepreneurs

DAILY NEWS Reporter
Daily News; Wednesday,August 06, 2008 @00:04

Matching Grant Programme (MGP) has introduced a cost sharing grant scheme to match business expenditure by half for businesses in the country to expand. The MGP Manager, Mr Mike Brennan, said in a statement issued by the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) that the programme will reimburse 50 per cent of the cost of agreed elements of implementing an approved business plan.

More...


[SOURCE: DAILY NEWS]

Dar es salaam bank IPO oversubcribed by 350%

Ok, I know this story is a few weeks old, but frankly it just came to my attention, I missed it before. Anyway, I thought it might be worth sharing it with the rest of the forum
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Mnaku Mbani

The initial public offering (IPO) of the Dar es Salaam Community Bank (DCB) has been oversubscribed by more than 350 per cent.

However, it is unlikely that shareholders who bought shares during the IPO will be refunded.

DCB board chairman Paul Rupia said Sh5.2 billion was recorded from the offer to the public between early last month and last week.

DCB wanted to raise Sh1.5 billion to implement its five-year strategic plan (2007-2011).

More...


[SOURCE: THE CITIZEN]

Remarkable skill boost for insurance industry

2008-08-04 09:24:08
By Perege Gumbo

The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and the Institute of Finance Management (IFM) have launched new insurance courses targeting rarest skills currently facing the industry.

Speaking in an exclusive interview over the weekend, the Commissioner for Insurance, Israel Kamuzora said that while IFM pioneered risk management courses, the UDSM would from this year�s intake launch a degree programme in actuarial sciences.

Commencing of the new courses has come in the wake of acute shortage of indigenous specialised skills in insurance industry.

Actuarial experts often study trends of insurance business for a certain period, in the end determining possibilities of future scenarios, especially the nature of risks.

Their basic business role is to ensure that management of each insurer is provided with expert advice on the value of its insurance liabilities so that it can make decisions on the value of those liabilities in an informed manner.

�With such training measures, we expect that within two to three years from now, we should be able to reduce the shortage of skilled staff in the insurance sector by using human resources developed by our own colleges�, Kamuzora said.

He linked prevailing severe shortage of skilled manpower in the insurance sector to firstly; the historical background, particularly hinged on past socialist economic policies which placed little value on competition.

Subsequently, economic liberalisation has brought with it increased number of insurance companies, enlarged range of competitive products and services; all these putting demand on new skills and education culture.

``This is not only a challenge to the insurance sector alone, because new players in the hospitality industry such as hotel would like to employ a worker whose qualifications and standards are comparable to global benchmarks,`` he added.

Kamuzora had earlier on Thursday last week officially opened a one-day seminar on `Business Interruption Insurance`, which he said was essential for the survival of the industry.

He told insurance stakeholders from various companies that ``gaining knowledge on insurance products would help consumers to understand whether the policy one was buying was really what one requires``.

�Good knowledge helps the insurer and brokers make sure they have explained all aspects of the policy they negotiate to consumers, as they are duty bound to provide explanations on various aspects of any policy to respective buyers� he said.

On his part, the Managing Director of Tanzindia Assurance Company Limited John Pulinthamam, said the theme under scrutiny was ``one of the least known and understood, but yet a most useful insurance cover in contemporary businesses and industries``.

Actuarial services in Tanzania are mostly imported from across Kenya, at a premium.

[SOURCE: GUARDIAN]

Celtel (T) rebrands as Zain

By Bethuel Kinyori

Celtel Tanzania has joined its sister companies in Africa and the Middle East in adopting the brand name Zain as part of rebranding the entire African operations from Celtel.

Before the rebranding exercise that came to a close yesterday, the Kuwait mobile operator was trading in 14 African markets as Celtel International.

More...

[Source: THE CITIZEN]

Economist conference in Tanzania

First Business Roundtable with the Government of Tanzania
Building on success ¡V maximising Tanzania's business potential
October 6th-7th 2008 - Kilimanjaro Hotel Kempinski, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Translating growth into business opportunity
After a decade of strong growth, Tanzania is emerging as East Africa's most promising new business prospect. Economically stable, mineral-rich and without the tribal tensions that have shaken Kenya, the country is attracting significant business interest.

Will the government now speed up reforms and give a much-needed boost to the private sector? Will it be able to take full advantage of Tanzania’s potential as a hub for East African business?

Gain a unique insight into Tanzania's plans
We're inviting you to discuss how the country can build on its economic track-record and encourage greater investment at the First Business Roundtable with the Government of Tanzania. We'll be considering issues such as:

• Can Tanzania tackle its infrastructure bottlenecks to support faster growth?
• Does the workforce have the skills needed to meet the growing demands of business?
• Is the government doing enough to tackle corruption?
• How do new investors from China and India see Tanzania?
• How will the country meet its growing energy demands?

This exclusive event provides a high-level, off-the-record forum for government ministers, international and local business leaders and experts from the Economist Intelligence Unit to discuss the future for business in Tanzania.

His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, President of Tanzania will give the keynote address.

Registration:
Register before August 15th to save €200. For more information, please contact Tamara Joseph at emeacustomerservice@economist.com or on 43 1 712 41 61 21.

Download conference programme and registration form (.pdf)

Venue information:
Kilimanjaro Hotel Kempinski
Nnaite Chiledi
Banquet Sales Executive
Kivukoni Street
P.O.Box 9574
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: +255 22 2131111
Fax: +255 22 2120777
Mobile: +255 784 282995
E-mail: nnaite.chiledi@kempinski.com
Web: www.kempinski-daressalaam.com

Source: THE ECONOMIST

Inflation takes over as public enemy

2008-08-02 09:47:38
By Theo Mushi

The inflation rate now stands at 9.7 percent up from 9.4 percent last month and nearly double what it was in 2006 at 5.7 per cent.

The food inflation is above 11 per cent and in the near future it will rise even further.

In 1995, headline inflation was above 30 percent and a combination of tight monetary policy and fiscal discipline brought down the inflation rate to 4.5 per cent in 2004.

With stable exchange rates, low and stable prices, it made business planning predictable and hence the improvement of the investment climate.

A better investment climate and a combination of business friendly bureaucracy, better physical infrastructure and investment promotion were expected to increase local and foreign investment.

[Source: GUARDIAN]

Africa IPO Summit in SA to attract investors

2008-08-03 09:58:59
By Imani Lwinga

South Africa will next week host the first Africa Summit to focus on the pipeline of African IPO opportunities and transactions that would allow investment professionals, capital markets experts and corporate leaders to engage each other on a subject that is going to determine the growth in regional equity capital markets.

The Africa investor IPO [Initial Public Offer] Summit scheduled to take part next Wednesday is held in association with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and has received record level interest and participation from institutional investors, advisors and companies listing on African Exchanges

More...

[Source: SUNDAY OBSERVER]