RSS

Tag Archives: Tanzania business News

Fast Jet Toasts its 75,000th passenger

28 Feb

Source: The Daily News, http://www.dailynews.co.tz

FastJet has achieved what it calls a milestone in just two months since its inaugural flight to register its 75,000th passenger.

To celebrate the achievement, the first Pan-African low cost airline has named one of its aircraft after a customer, Veronica Chuwa.

The passenger, who came 75,000th, on the list of fliers with FastJet was to appear, from on Thursday, on one of the three Airbus 319s for the duration of the coming year.

Mrs Chuwa, who travelled last month was also presented with two complementary tickets to mark the 75,000 travellers and this has been termed as the best shortest milestone in history.

FastJet’s General Manager in Africa, Kyle Haywood, said the number of passengers booking flights with FastJet has been consistently high, with an average load factor of over 70 per cent.

“This is testament of the genuine demand for low-cost air travel among Tanzanians,” Mr Haywood, who is based in Dar es Salaam, told journalists.

The GM used the occasion to assure the public that the airline has a long vision in the country of hooking many non-airline travellers to fly by minimizing distribution costs in favour of passengers.

“We are happy to keep and see to it that the same passengers are coming back. We have also developed sales of tickets using M-Pesa to ease as much as possible distribution costs,” Mr Haywood said.

He said, M-Pesa ticketing totalled eight per cent of total sales. He said staring today the no-frill airline sales two new destinations tickets –Kilimanjaro-Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro-Mwanza — on daily basis and flight will be introduced on March 18.

“This is second phase of our business plan after being satisfied with smooth operation of the first phase.” Mr Haywood said, “the third phase is international destinations.”

Talking about Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) outstanding liabilities of 3bn/- inherited from Fly540, the Country Director said at the moment they are doing validation with taxman to quantify the actual amount prior to payment.

“First of all the debt would not jeopardize the operation of FastJet. We will pay the dues but we need to see supporting documents before we make the payment,” Mr Haywood said.

He added: “We are in dialogue with TRA and Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA) over these historical bills.”TRA Acting Director of Taxpayers Service and Education Allan Kiula said he was aware of the matter but should be given time to contact the relevant office, Ilala tax region, to ascertain the progress.

Regarding violating Air Operation Certificate (AOC) regulations that stated that the principal office should be in Tanzania and not Gatwick, London, the airline said its Africa operation hub is in Dar es Salaam and only top officers, such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operation Officer and Head of Marketing are based in London.”The rest are in Dar es Salaam, including myself and over 200 members of staff mostly Tanzanians,” he said.

About these ads
 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 28, 2013 in Tanzania News, Uncategorized

 

Tags: , , ,

Shilling makes ‘some headway’ against dollar

21 Jan

20130121-195032.jpg

The shilling made some headway against the dollar yesterday on the back of increased flows and declining corporate demand, with medium volatility expected in the near future.

Analysts said the shilling was bound to appreciate or stabilize further, thanks to favourable macroeconomics fundamental that are heading into the right direction.

Tanzania Securities Chief Executive Officer Moremi Marwa said given the last year fluctuation pace of about one per cent, the local currency was relatively stable and likely to remain so.

“It’s too early to predict on the shilling movement for this year as the current year’s parameters might not be the same as last year’s. “ H o w e v e r , macroeconomics fundamental are pointing to the right direction of the local currency stability in this year,” Mr Marwa told the Daily News.

The country’s letter of intent to International Monetary Fund shows that economic activities have remained robust with GDP projected to grow by 7 per cent last year and 6.7 per cent this year against the 6.6 per cent of 2011.

On the other hand, inflation eased to 12.1 per cent last December from 19.8 per cent of January same year.

Headline inflation is projected to continue easing in the months to come and return to single digit by the end of June. Standard Chartered Bank said yesterday that the shilling gained some grounds against the dollar on the back of agro-inflows and declining corporate demand.

“We anticipate the shilling to further appreciate today (Wednesday) with the low to medium price volatility expected in the market,” Standard Chartered Bank said on its Daily Market Report.

National Microfinance Bank (NMB) said demand for the hard currency mainly came from energy sector and traders as agro-inflows and the central bank’s intervention matching the same.

The bank said on its e-newsletter that the market closed at 1588/1609 with an upside risk in case of any significant demand days ahead. Mr Marwa has it that the shilling stabilising parameters are sound since the ups and downs that were experienced last year are expected to ease further in this year.

The shilling last year went off board to trade at over 1,600/- a dollar, following increased demand of oil to generate electricity and delays in disbursements of donors’ budget support that created huge supply-demand gap.

The government, through the letter of intent to IMF, said the exchange rate would remain market determined and the BoT will continue to participate in the foreign exchange market only for liquidity.

Source: The Daily News

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on January 21, 2013 in Tanzania News

 

Tags: , ,

Submission of VAT returns Electronically Starts this October

20 Oct

Tanzania Revenue Authority in modernizing its operations as envisaged in its Third Corporate Plan has developed a web-based application which is to be accessed and used in filing tax returns and statements. The web-based return e- filing System has been developed with the prime objective of easing documents filing by Taxpayers. The System offers the following benefits:

  • Taxpayers will      interact with TRA while at their houses or offices.

  • Elimination or      reduction of queues at TRA offices during return filing days.

  • E-filing will      result in fewer errors and creates simple and quicker processing of      documents.

  • Taxpayers can save their records in their e-mail boxes or print       hard copies for future reference

The requirements for filing VAT returns electronically will be effective October 2012 and all Registered Taxpayers are required to register for Electronic Filing in order to be able to use the e-filing system.

Visit http://www.tra.go.tz and click on the e-filing hyperlink to start the process.
 
1 Comment

Posted by on October 20, 2012 in Finance,Taxation and Investment, Tanzania News

 

Tags: , , ,

3 Ways You Can Evaluate Country Risk

14 Oct

For many investors, investing  internationally is an attractive way to gain additional diversification  and increased return for their portfolios. At the same time, however, many find  it hard to invest abroad due to lack of experience, unfamiliarity with the  foreign country and excessive amounts of information to analyze. To alleviate  some of these difficulties, we’ll look at a couple ways to help you more easily evaluate  the degree of risk in a country’s fundamentals.


Where  Does Sovereign Risk Fit? Analyzing sovereign  risk factors is beneficial for both equity and bond investors, but perhaps more directly  beneficial to bond investors. When investing in equity of specific companies  within a foreign country, a sovereign risk analysis can aid in creating a macroeconomic picture of the operating  environment, but the bulk of research and analysis would need to be done at the  company level.
On the other hand, if you’re investing directly into a  country’s bonds, evaluating the economic condition and strength of the country  with these methods can be a good way to evaluate a potential investment in  bonds. After all, the underlying asset for  a bond is the country itself and its ability to grow and generate revenue.

Often, the most common method used by  investors, with time or resource restrictions that don’t allow them to do the  analysis themselves, is to rely on experts who spend all their time doing that  type of analysis. Calculating debt  service ratios, import/export ratios, money supply changes and all those other  fundamental aspects of a country, and attempting to incorporate them all into  the big picture, requires a significant commitment if you do it by yourself.  Thus, it is recommended against in favor of a number of easy-to-understand  indicators. Sourcing these tools from organizations focused on analyzing country risk allows more energy to be  focused on investing.

Euromoney Country Risk The  first tool that can be used to evaluate sovereign and political risk is the  Euromoney Country Risk survey. The ECR survey covers 186 countries and gives a  comprehensive picture of a country’s investment risk. The rating is given on a  100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing virtually zero risk.

In  general, the calculation of the ECR rankings is split between two overall  factors – qualitative (70%  weighting) and quantitative (30%  weighting). The qualitative factors are derived from experts who assess the  political risk, structure and economic performance of the country. The  quantitative factors are based on debt indicators, capital market access and  credit ratings. The rating for the qualitative and quantitative factors are  available separately, so if you believe the weighting importance to be different  than 70/30, you have the flexibility to manually adjust the weighting  yourself.


The Economist Intelligence Unit The next popular credit rating information source is the  Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The EIU is the research arm of The  Economist and one of its best offerings is its Country Risk  Service ratings. These ratings cover over 100 countries, with an emphasis  on “emerging and highly indebted“  markets. The rating analyzes factors similar to the ECR rating, such as economic  and political risk, and provides a rating on a 100-point scale; however, unlike  the ECR rating, higher scores mean higher sovereign risk.

A benefit of the EIU ratings is that they  are updated on a monthly basis so trends can be caught much earlier than other,  less frequently updated methods. In addition, the EIU format offers investors  more analysis and provides an outlook for the country as well as two-year  forecasts for several key variables. So if you want to get a sense of the  direction a particular country is headed in for in the near future, this may  prove to be a useful tool.
Below is an example of the EIU ratings of a  handful of high-risk countries in early 2011.

Data source: http://www.eiu.com, August 2012

Country Credit Survey (Institutionalinvestor.com) The third  method, the Country Credit Survey, is also a rating service based on a survey of  senior economists and analysts at large international banks. The uniqueness of  this approach is appealing because it surveys people from companies that are at  the ground level, lending and providing capital directly to these countries. In  a sense, this adds a degree of credibility to the ratings because major  international banks typically do a significant amount of due  diligence before exposing themselves to certain countries.

Similar to  the other approaches, this rating is based on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100  being virtually risk-free and zero being equivalent to certain default. For  example, in March 2011, economists and analysts surveyed at major banks and  securities firms assessed that Norway was the country with the lowest  probability of default, with a score of 95.2. Meanwhile, they also assessed that  Somalia had the largest probability of default, with a score of  3.9.


The Bottom Line is For investors  who have limited time and resources but want to diversify internationally, these  methods can be a great help to create a short list of countries that you may  want to invest in. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses, but it might be  best to use a combination or all of these popular data sources for country risk.  Each method can provide a unique perspective for the  investor.

 
3 Comments

Posted by on October 14, 2012 in Finance,Taxation and Investment, Tanzania News

 

Tags: , , ,

Excerpts of Budget 2012/2013

21 Jul

Excerpts of Budget 2012/2013

Tanzania Budget Speech 2012/2013

 

World EconomyAccording to International Monetary Fund, the world economy grew by 3.9 percent in 2011, compared to 5.3 percent in 2010. the low growth was due to the economic crisis in the Euro area caused by financial fragilities, particularly, losses in the banking sector, rising fiscal deficits and instabilities in the Arab countries.

Africa’s economic growth slowed down to 2.7 percent in 2011 compare to 4.6 percent in 2010, mainly due to political unrest in the North African countries. Growth in the Sub-Sahara  African countries slowed to 5.1 percent in 2011 compared to 5.3 in 2010.

 

 

 

National Economy

The real GDP grew by 6.4 percent in 2011 compared to 7.0 percent in 2010. The slowdown in growth is largely attributed to drought conditions in some parts of the country which adversely affected agricultural production. Electricity outage contributed to low performance in manufacturing and other economic activities that rely on electricity. Despite the slowdown in overall growth, communication, financial intermediation, construction and education sub-sector recorded higher growth rates ranging between 6 percent and 19 percent.

The growth rate of the agriculture sector, which employs about 75 percent of the labour force declined from 4.2 percent in 2010 to 3.6 percent in 2011, whereas population growth rate continued to be high at 2.9 percent.

In the 2011 the GDP was Tshs 37.5 trillion at current prices. With an estimated population 0f 43.2 million people for Mainland Tanzania in 2010 and 44.5 million people in 2011 per capita income for 2011 was Tshs 869,437.3 compared to Tshs 770,464.3 in 2010 equivalent to an increase of 12.8 percent in per capita income.

The annual average inflation rate rose from 5.5 percent in 2010 to 12.7 percent in 2011.

The annual inflation rate which excludes food and energy for the year ended April 2012 rose to 9.0 percent compared to 5.7 percent in April 2011. This is attributed to the rise in the price of oil, transport costs and imported inflation from the trading partners particularly China and India. The annual inflation rate for food increased to 24 percent in the year ended April 2012 compared to 9.2 percent in year ended April 2011. The annual inflation rate for energy increased from 22.1 percent registered in year ended April 2011 to 24.9 percent in April 2012.

Overall the average lending rate charged by commercial banks decreased slightly to 14.21 percent in December 2011 from 14.92 percent in December 2010.

Exchange rates

The value of the Tanzanian shillings in 2011 declined by 10.3 percent to an average of Tshs 1,579.5 per US Dollar compare to Tshs 1,432.3 in 2010. At the end of December 2011, the exchange rate was Tshs 1,587.6 compared to Tshs 1,469.9 in December 2010.

By March 2012 the exchange rate stood at Tshs 1,588 to 1 US Dollar.

Foreign Direct Investment

In 2011, the value of  Foreign Direct Investment increased by 97 percent to USD 854.2 million compared to USD 433.9 million in 2010. This increase was attributed to large investments on exploration of gas in Mtwara and Coast Regions amounting to more than USD 300 million. Sectors that received large number of foreign investment projects were manufacturing, tourism, commercial building and transport.

Population

Based on the Population and Housing Census of 2002, the population of Tanzania in 2011 was estimated at 44.5 million as compared to 43.2 million in 2010.

Electricity

As for electricity projects, resources have been allocated for construction of natural gas pipeline (Mtwara – Dar es Salaam) and power generation plants at Kinyerezi (150 MW & 240 MW). In terms of transmission, funds have be allocated for the construction and  strengthening of transmission  lines (220kV North – West Grid, 400kV Iringa – Shinyanga and 132kV Makambako – Songea). in addition, resources have been allocated for promoting rural electrification.

Revenue

During the period of July 2011 – March 2012, total domestic revenue collections (including collections from LGAs) amounted to Tshs5,180.6 billion, equivalent to 98 percent of estimates of Tshs 5,217.2 billion for the period. Out of that, tax revenue collections amounted to Tshs 4,765.5 billion, equivalent to 104 percent of estimates of Tshs 4,585.5 billion for the period. The increase in Tax revenue collections was a result of administrative taken by Tanzania Revenue Authority.

During the period July 011 – March 2012, non-tax revenue collections reached Tshs 272.1 billion equivalent to 57 percent of estimates of collecting Tshs 473.5 billion. Collection by LGAs amounted to Tshs 143 billon, equivalent to 60 percent of estimated of Tshs 237.8 billion for the period. The underperformance of non tax revenue was due to low contribution of executive agencies, regulatory authorities and institutions to the Consolidated Fund. The Government intends to review non-tax collection by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies in order to improve collection o this important source of revenue.

Expenditure

Government expenditure for 2010/11 amounted to Tshs 9,439.4 billion, equivalent to 87.0 percent of estimates. Total expenditure for the first three quarters of 2011/12 (up to March 2012) was Tshs 8.676.8 billion, equivalent to 97.5 percent of the period estimates of Tshs 8,895.8 billion.

National Debt

The national debt stock increased to Tshs 20,276.6 billion during the period ending March 2012 from Tshs 17,578.9 billion during the corresponding period in 2011, equivalent to an increase of 15.4 percent. Out of that, Tshs 15,306.9 billion was external debt, of which Tshs 12,342.5 billion was public debt and the remaining amount was private debt. As of March 2012, domestic debt amounted to Tshs 4,969.7 billion compared to Tshs 4,496.5 billion.

Macroeconomic targets and assumptions for 2012/2013

Attain real GDP growth of 6.8 percent in 2012 and continue to grow persistently to 8.5, by 2016.

  • Reduce inflation and maintain it at single digit in the medium term.
  • Increase domestic revenue collection as a ratio of GDP to 18.0 percent in 2012/13 from the likely outturn of 16.9 percent in June 2012.
  • Contain the growth of M3 to the tune of 18.0 (percent by June 2013 consistent with GDP growth and inflation targets.
  • Maintain official foreign reserves sufficient to cover a minimum of 4.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and non-factor services.
  • The ratio of export of goods to GDP in 2011/12 is projected at 23.1 percent and further up to 24.3 percent of GDP in 2012/13.
  • Reduce interest rate spread.
  • The growth of credit to the private sector is projected at 20.0 percent by June 2013.
  • Maintain a market determined exchange rate

Key national strategic investment projects

Major strategic projects that will be implemented include construction of the Kurasini Logistical/Trade Hub and strengthening the Central Railway Line. In additional, funds have been allocated for finalising a feasibility study of railway construction in strategic area namely Mtwara-Mbamba Bay/Mchuchuma and Liganga railway line, Dar Es Salaam-Isaka-Kigala-Keza/Geita-Msongati railway line and the Tanga (Mwambani)-Arusha-Musoma railway line.

As for electricity project, resources have been allocated for construction of natural gas pipeline (Mtwara- Dar es Salaam) and power generation plants at Kinyerezi (150 MW & 240 MW). In terms of transmission, funds have been allocated for the construction and strengthening of transmission line (220kV North-West Grid, 400kV Iringa-Shinyanga and 132kV Makambako-Songea). In additional, resources have been allocated for promoting rural electrification.

For the road sector, strategic projects include construction of roads which open up economic opportunities, link Tanzania with neighboring countries and reduce traffic congestion in cities as well as construction of bridge and ferries.

With regard to agriculture and industry, projects that will be implemented include cultivation of sugarcane and paddy in Wami, Ruvu, Kagera, Kilombero and Malagalasi basins, projects under SAGCOT, ASDP and other irrigation projects. Projects in industry will include Mchuchuma coal and Liganga iron ore, completion of Biolarvicide Plant at Kibaha, Soda ash in the Engaruka Basin and development of Special Economic Zones and Export processing Zones (SEZs and EPZs).

Other Projects

Priority projects in the education sector will include construction of lecture rooms, libraries and hostels at Dar es salaam, Sokoine, Dodoma, mzumbe and Ardhi Universities, MUCCOBS, DUCE and MUCE, development of vocational education training colleges (VETA), construction of Muhimbili University campus at Mlonganzila, facilitating implementation of Secondary Education Development Programme (SEDP), rehabilitation of infrastructure in five teachers’ training colleges and rehabilitation of Dodoma regional library. Further, the Government will provide for training in specialized fields namely gas and oil, and uranium.

In the health sector, programmes and projects that will be implemented include, the health sector management plan, facilitation of reduction of maternal mortality, construction and rehabilitation of health facilities including Muhimbili National Hospital, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Cardiac centre at Muhimbili National Hospital and rehabilitationof Mtwara, Lindi and Mara regional hospitals.

For livestock and fisheries, priority programmes and projects in2012/13 will include continued implementation of ASDP, establishment of livestock identification and traceability framework and implementation of environmental management for marine organisms in coastal areas.

For forests and wildlife, projects that will be implemented include promotion of investment in value-addition for bee-keeping products, wildlife and forests products and building institutional capacity for management of carbon emission.

For energy and minerals, projects that will be implemented are construction of the regional mining offices at Mtwara, Dodoma, Geita and Arusha, construction of the Tanzania Mineral Audit Agency, Rural Electrification Agency offices and strengthening of exploration and mining research institution.

Forelands, housing and human settlement, projects that will be implemented include development of Kigamboni Satellite City, whereby Government will compensate land and properties and establishment of the land bank for agricultural activities particularly food production.

For air and marine transport, projects that will be implemented include rehabilitation of Kigoma, Mafia, Tabora, Songwe, Mpanda, Arusha and Bukoba airports, development of berth number eight on Lake Tanganyika and maintenance of Government aircrafts. Moreover, in the area of weather forecasting, activities that will be implemented include purchase of equipment and radar for the Tanzania Meteorological Agency and provision of modern equipment to the meteorological information centres.

For technology and innovation development, projects that will be implemented include promotion and innovation of farm implements through strengthening of the Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation and Rural Technology (CAMARTEC) and strengthening capacity of Tanzania Industrial Research development Organization (TIRDO) for quality and standards of products needed in the market.

With the regards to good governance, activities that will be implemented in 2012/13 include provision of infrastructure and working facilities for the Ethics Secretariat and PCCB, building legal sector professional capacity and improving the working environment and procurement of facilities for institutions of maintaining law and order.

The Government will continue to register Tanzania citizens and enable them to acquire national identity cards.

In relation to labor and employment in 2012/13 more support will be given to micro credit schemes to better enable them to advance soft loans to youth, women and special groups and so foster opportunity for self employment.

SOURCE: Tanzania 2012/2013 Budget Speech –   Related Link

 
1 Comment

Posted by on July 21, 2012 in Finance,Taxation and Investment, Tanzania News

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Kutoka Bungeni: Serikali kufuatilia upatikanaji sukari‏

21 Jul

Dodoma

SERIKALI imesema kuanzia sasa itafuatilia mwenendo wa upatikanaji wa sukari yote inayozalishwa na inayongzwa nchini mpaka kwa mlaji.
Akiwasilisha bungeni makadirio ya mapato na matumizi ya fedha ya Wizara ya Kilimo, Chakula na Ushirika, Waziri wa Wizara hiyo Christopher Chiza amesema, hadi tarehe 23 mwezi uliopita bei ya rejareja ya sukari katika mikoa yote nchini ilikuwa ni kati ya shilingi 1, 900 na 2,500 kwa kilo.
“Hali hiyo kwa kiasi kikubwa ilichangiwa na upungufu wa suka katika nchi jirani, kukosekana kwa uaminifu wa wafanyabiashara na mfumo wa udhibiti na usambazaji,” amesema Chiza bungeni leo( Ijumaa) mjini Dodoma.
Waziri Chiza amesema, hadi tarehe 31 Mei, 2012 jumla ya tani 155,972 za sukari ziliingizwa nchini na kwamba hadi tarehe 23 mwezi uliopita tani 29,960 zilikuwa bandarini ambapo pamoja na jitihada hizo bei ya sukari imeendelea kuwa juu.
“Katika mwaka 2012/ 2013 uzalishaji wa suka unatarajiwa kuwa tani 300,906. Kiasi hicho cha sukari pamoja na albaki ya tani 82,911 zilizokwenye maghala ya wafanyabiashara na viwanda kinatarajiwa kukidhi mahitaji ya sukari ambayo ni tani 378,000 kwa mwaka,”alisema.
Amesema, kwa kuwa nchi inazungukwa na nchi zenye upungufu  wa sukari, sukari inayotarajiwa kuwepo inaweza isitosheleze mahitaji. Kutokana na hali hiyo, wizara itaendelea kufuatilia kwa karibu upatikanaji wa sukari nchini na kama upungufu utajitokeza, serikali itaruhusu uagizaji sukari kutoka nje nchi.
Kuhusu kilimo cha wakulima wadogo ambacho ni cha kujikimu, Waziri Chiza alisema ili kukibadilisha kilimo hicho kuwa cha kisasa na cha kibiashara ushiriki wa wakulima wakubwa na wa kati wenye mitaji, tekenolojia na ubunifu ni muhimu ili wakulima wadogo waweze kunufaika na ubia utakaotokana na ushirikiano huo.
“Hivyo ushiriki wa wakulima wakubwa na wakati hauna lengo la kuwafanya wakulima wakubwa kuwa mbadala wa wakulima wadogo. Lengo ni kujenga uhusiano kati ya wakulima wakubwa, wa kati na wadogo katika kutumia fursa zilizopo ili kuongeza ufanisi katika uzalishaji wa mazao na upatikanaji wa masoko,” alisema Chiza.
Waziri huyo wa Kilimo, Chakula na Ushirika alisisitiza kuwa katika ubia huo wakulima wadogo hawatanyang’anywa mashamba yao ili kuwapa wakulima wakubwa.

Wizara ya Kilimo, Chakula na Ushirika imeliomba bunge liidhinishe Shilingi 237,624,575, 000/=

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 21, 2012 in Tanzania News

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

 
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,695 other followers

%d bloggers like this: