The EconomicPost

  By: Esmarie Swanepoel Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A number of Australian juniors operating in Tanzania have emerged from the rubble of the recent legislative changes, largely unscathed. Several Tanzania-focused companies resumed share trading on the ASX on Friday, telling shareholders that the legislative changes passed by the Tanzanian Parliament earlier this week would not have any significant impact on operations.

Dar es Salaam: The Prime Minister of Tanzania, His Excellency Kassim Majaliwa officially graced the inauguration of His Highness The Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee with the Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Tanzania. At the Diamond Jubilee grounds in Upanga, Dar es Salaam, Prime Minister Majiliwa officially revealed the Diamond Jubilee motif to the Tanzanian public.

Gouvieux, France: His Highness the Aga Khan will mark his Diamond Jubilee, or 60th year as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the world’s Shia Ismaili Muslims.  This worldwide celebration brings together the global Ismaili community, partners of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), and government and faith community leaders in over 25 countries.11 July begins a year of milestone announcements by the Aga Khan for a global commitment to partnerships based on the principles of ethics in action, peace and pluralism. His Highness Aga Khan Over the past six decades, the Aga Khan has transformed the quality of life for millions of people around the world. In the areas of health, education, cultural revitalisation, and economic empowerment, he has worked to inspire excellence and improve living conditions and opportunities in some of the world’s most remote and troubled regions. In Islam’s ethical tradition, religious leaders not only interpret the faith but also have a r

The global economy is projected to increase to 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018, compared with 3.1 percent in 2016, supported by a rebound in growth in the advanced and emerging market economies . 

The quality of the banking sector’s assets in Tanzania deteriorated after the ratio of non-performing loans to gross loans (NPLs), recorded an increase of 2.6 per cent to 10.8 percent at the end of April 2017 from 8.2 percent recorded at the end of April 2016. The Bank of Tanzania monetary policy statement for June has said the central bank has continued to implement prudential measures to strengthen risk management practices in the financial sector and has directed banks with high NPL ratios to formulate and implement strategies to bring the ratio to at most 5 percent, and encouraged them to increase use of the existing credit reference system to reduce risks. The central bank has also directed banks to maintain capital conservation buffer and implement capital charge over operational risk, with effect from August 2017. During the period under review, clearing, payment and settlement systems continued to operate efficiently with general increase in access and usage. The stateme

Tanzania External debt stock increased by 3.4 percent to USD 17,802.6 million at the end of April 2017, from USD 17,222.8 million recorded at the end of June 2016. The Bank of Tanzania Monetary Policy Statement for June 2017 has said out of total external debt stock, 80.3 percent was public debt. 

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Graphite developer Walkabout Resources on Thursday told shareholders that it would review the definitive feasibility study (DFS) results for its Lindi Jumbo project , to assess the impact of the Tanzanian government’s legislative changes on the project economics.

Na Elias Mhegera Mjadala mkubwa unaoendelea nchini Tanzania kwa sasa ni kuhusu yaliyojiri kuhusiana na ‘mchanga’ wa dhahabu au ‘makinikia’ na pia athari zake baadaye kisiasa na kisheria pia. Watanzania wamechachamaa kwa hamasa kubwa, wakiwashambulia wabunge wao kwa kuruhusu mambo ya aina hii yaendelee kwa muda mrefu kwa sababu za kulindana na kutumia wingi wa wale waliokuwa wanaunga mkono. Wadau mbali mbali wanapendekeza kwamba mikataba yote ya madini ijadiliwe upya. Lakini pia wanataka sheria za mikataba zizingatiwe ili taifa ingie matatani na wawekezaji Wananchi kwa ujumla wanaona kwamba kuna miswaada ilipitishwa kwa hati ya dharura ka malengo mabaya. Na haya yote yaliwezekana kwa sababu ya mfumo mbovu wa kisiasa. Mjadala wa jambo hili ni mpana ipo ya kisheria, na kisiasa pia. Prof. Abdallah Safari ambaye ni wakili wa kujitegemea pamoja na kwamba yeye pia ni makamu mwenyekiti wa Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) anasema hili ni janga jingine. Anaiona hofu kwamba uam

By Mnaku Mbani The Treasury Bills floated by the Bank of Tanzania yesterday were oversubscribed by more than 150 per cent, which indicated an increased investors’ appetite on government debt instruments. According to the auction summary published at the central bank website, a total of Tsh357.2 billion were tendered in all maturities against Tsh139.5 billion on offer.

LONDON: TerraPay, a mobile-first international payment network, today announced that it has successfully obtained regulatory approval from the Bank of Tanzania to launch International Money transfer services to mobile wallets in Tanzania. This is the first-of-its-kind license in Tanzania which allows TerraPay's partners across the world to send money directly to mobile wallets in Tanzania. Furthermore, the company has also been licensed by Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority for mobile based domestic payments in Tanzania. Through a partnership with Selcom, the leading mobile money aggregator in Tanzania, TerraPay can send money to all the prominent mobile wallets in Tanzania.

By Mnaku Mbani Tanzanian economy grew by 6.2 percent, in the third quarter of 2016 compared with 7.3 percent in the corresponding quarter in 2015, the quarterly economic bulletin for the fourth quarter of last year published by the Bank of Tanzania has said.

By Mnaku Mbani The 13.5 per cent seven year Treasury Bond floated by the Bank of Tanzania on Tuesday was oversubscribed by about 130 per cent, which indicate an increase appetite for government securities. The auction result published by the Bank of Tanzania shows that a total of Tsh166 billion were tendered against an offer of Tsh70.5 billion, which indicated an over subscription of Tsh96.3 billion.

WASHINGTON: The World Bank is forecasting higher prices for industrial commodities principally energy and metals, in 2017 and next year.  The World Bank in its April  Commodity Markets Outlook  is holding steady its crude oil price forecast for this year at $55 per barrel, increasing to an average of $60 per barrel in 2018. Rising oil prices, supported by production cutbacks by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC states, will allow markets to gradually re-balance. These oil price forecasts are subject to downside risks should the rebound in the U.S. shale oil industry be greater than expected.

GENEVA, NAIROBI - At an event on the eve of World Malaria Day in Nairobi, WHO called today for accelerated scale-up of efforts to prevent malaria and save lives. In sub-Saharan Africa, which shoulders 90% of the global malaria burden, more than 663 million cases have been averted since 2001. Insecticide-treated nets have had the greatest impact, accounting for an estimated 69% of cases prevented through control tools.

BOA-TANZANIA Marketing Manager, Research and Development, Mr. Muganyizi Bisheko By Mnaku Mbani BANK OF AFRICA has launched an exciting savings campaigns dubbed “Weka AkibaUzawadiwe” in all its branches across the country, to celebrate with customers its 10 years of operation and providing quality financial services in Tanzania, while deepening a smart savings culture. The “Weka AkibaUzawadiwe ” campaign includes a cash prize of 3 million each month to the customer with the most savings and will see a total of TZS 9 million awarded to customers over the course of 3 months stating from 3 rd April 2017.

NAIROBI — Chinese engagement is helping create an infrastructure boom across Africa, giving rise to a motley of mega-projects that create jobs and boost economic growth while cushioning an economic slowdown the region faces. In its latest World Economic Outlook released Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast the sub-Saharan Africa's economy will only grow 2.6 percent in 2017, well below its global growth forecast of 3.5 percent.

DAR ES SALAAM: In less than eight years, there has been extraordinary progress in bringing the majority of Tanzanians into the mobile money revolution, mostly by adopting an efficient, low-cost mobile money transfer system. Doing more to support the much larger, formal financial system is now critical for the growth of the country’s business sector and its ability to mobilize savings and gain access to affordable credit, according to a new World Bank Group report, “Money Within Reach: Extending Financial Inclusion in Tanzania .”

By Mnaku Mbani The treasury bills floated by the Bank of Tanzania yesterday were oversubscribed by more than 250 per cent, which indicate investors’ appetite on government securities. The TB auction results published by Bank of Tanzania has shown that the government wanted to borrow Tsh139.5 billion but Tsh506.6 billion were tendered.

By Mnaku Mbani The Tanzania annual headline inflation rate for the month of March, 2017 has increased to 6.4% from 5.5% recorded in February, 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics has said in its March report published today.The Annual Headline Inflation Rate for the year ending March, 2017 explains that, the speed of price increase for commodities in the year ending March, 2017 has increased as compared to the speed of price increase recorded for the year ended February, 2017.

Kennedy Komba In Tanzania, access to financial services for the unbanked expanded drastically when convenient and relatively cheaper options became available to receive and send money through simple feature mobile phones.  

NAIROBI: Funding commercial property developments with a mix of hard and local currency provides an innovative mechanism for Africa’s commercial real estate sector, to mitigate currency volatility and liquidity risk says Standard Bank.  Operating across 20 markets in Africa means that Standard Bank is acutely aware of how endemic, persistent and volatile local currencies are - as well as, “just how high the risk is of markets running out of hard currency,” says Gerhard Zeelie, Head, Real Estate Finance, Africa regions for Standard Bank.

By Mnaku Mbani Dar es Salaam region has emerged the dominant region with a leading number of employments in Tanzania, according to the formal sector employment and earnings survey, 2015. Distribution by region shows that Dar es Salaam continued to dominate with the largest share of 30.6 percent, followed by Morogoro with 11.5 percent. The shares of Dar es Salaam and Morogoro regions had decreased from 33.6 and 12.1 percent attained in 2014 respectively.

Adoption of contract farming (CF) is proving to be the best solution to farmers’ constraints in accessing quality cotton inputs.Contract farming can be credited to improving cotton farming looking at of increased cotton farming area, seed uptake, levels of distribution of pesticide and service provision to farmers.

By: Natasha Odendaal JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Kibo Mining is adopting a diversified production strategy for the Mbeya coal mine, in Tanzania , which could potentially result in production starting earlier than planned. This followed a “careful study” of the Mbeya coal -to- power project (MCPP) integrated bankable feasibility study (IBFS), which showed the move to be feasible and as having the potential to significantly enhance the economics of the Mbeya coal mine.

By Mnaku Mbani In an effort to create conducive environment for turning it into an industrial economy, Tanzania is finding the way to copy the western mode to accelerate its idea of making it an industrial hub. Tanzania, the second East Africa largest economy, is targeting to become a middle income country, driven by industries by the year 2025, which is seen as crucial for inclusive economy.

DAR ES SALAAM: A mother of two, Mwanaidi Mrisho has been a fishmonger for the past decade. Each day, she commutes from the Magogoni Fish Market, at the western-most end of Dar es Salaam, to Kimara-Mwisho, about 20 kilometers outside the city. The onerous daily commute has taken its toll on her well-being and her livelihood. “It used to take me up to three hours to travel from Kimara to Magogoni and back every day due to traffic jams,” explains Mrisho. “I would aim to be on the road by 5:00 am at the latest in order to make it to the fish market before 8:00 am.”

The first ever Tanzania and Zambia trade forum scheduled today will be held at Radisson Blu in Lusaka, Zambia. The forum will seek to engage and empower Tanzania and Zambia business people to venture beyond boundaries, provide networking opportunity for the various stakeholders within these two counties, but also this forum will seek to provide capacity building to local entrepreneurs from Rukwa, Songwe and Mbeya so that they can effectively be able to do business with their Zambian counterparts.

Geneva, Switzerland: Building on the success of last year’s inaugural search, the World Economic Forum has started the process to select the top female tech innovators in Africa, who will be invited to share their experience and engage with leaders at the Forum’s regional meeting this spring. The search is open to any female entrepreneur whose business is less than three years old, uses innovative technology or business models, and has at least one year of revenue generation. The business must also be able to demonstrate social and economic potential.

By Mnaku Mbani A total of 36 Tanzanian entrepreneurs have been nominated among 1,000 African Entrepreneurs selected for the 2017 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme. They join  2,000 alumni from the 2015 and 2016 rounds. The selected entrepreneurs wrote their business ideas on agriculture and agricultural business, manufacturing, waste management, fashion, education and training, consultancy and commercial/ retail activities.

BADEN BADEN, Germany: — Following a meeting with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today announced a record $57 billion in financing for Sub-Saharan African countries over the next three fiscal years. Kim then left on a trip to Rwanda and Tanzania to emphasize the Bank Group’s support for the entire region. The bulk of the financing – $45 billion – will come from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s fund for the poorest countries.

By Mnaku Mbani The government of Tanzania borrowed Tsh1.6 trillion during the year ended in January 2017 to TZS 10,468.2 billion at the end of January 2017 from Tsh8.8 trillion recorded in January 2016. According to Bank of Tanzania Monthly Economic Review for February 2017 has said that on month-to-month, the debt increased by TZS 14.0 billion from the preceding month. However, the profile of domestic debt by instruments remained almost the same as in December 2016.

By Mnaku Mbani Tanzania’s current account narrowed to a deficit of USD 1,796.6 million In the year to January 2017compared with a deficit of USD 3,809.6 million in the corresponding period in 2016. The Bank of Tanzania Monthly Economic Review for February 2017 indicates that the reduction in the deficit was on account of an increase in export and a decrease in import. During the year ending January 2017, exports of goods and services increased by 5.1 percent from the corresponding period in 2016 to USD 9,342.1 million. The improvement occurred in exports of gold, traditional crops and travel receipt.

By Mnaku Mbani The seven year treasury bonds floated on Wednesday by the Bank of Tanzania were undersubscribed, which indicated the movement of investors from securities to equities. The Bank of Tanzania auction results shows that a total of 85 bids were received but only 37 were successful. The Bank of Tanzania planned to collect Tsh138 billion from the sale of the bonds but only Tsh96.9 billion were tendered. At the end of the auction, and only Tsh15.56 billion were successful.

By Mnaku Mbani Total number of employees in the formal sector in Tanzania Mainland increased to 2,334,969 in 2015 from 2,141,351 recorded in 2014, this is an increase of 193,618   over a period of one year, which is lower than that recorded in 2013 and 2014 (282,382). According to the formal Sector employment and earnings survey 2015, Tanzania Mainland published by the National Bureau of Statistics total number of employees in the private sector (1,568,165) is nearly twice that of the public sector (766,803).

BLOOMBERG: S INGAPORE – Gold ’s feeling the strain. Bullion’s being tugged back down toward $1 200/oz in the worst losing run since October as positive US economic data reinforce expectations that interest rates will probably be raised several times this year, starting with a hike next week. Bullion for immediate delivery lost as much as 0.4% to $1 203.98/oz, the lowest level since February 1 and traded at $1 204.39 at 6:47 in London , according to Bloomberg generic pricing. It’s lower for a fourth day, while yields on ten-year Treasuries up for a ninth session.

By Mnaku Mbani Acacia Mining share price gained by 6.90 per cent yesterday at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange after falling for almost one week. The DSE market price has shown that the company share price went up to Tsh12,400 on Wednesday from Tsh11,600 recorded earlier this week.The increase of Acacia mining, which has the highest market capitalization at DSE has also pushed up the market capitalization.

Vodacom Group Limited’s Tanzanian unit will begin an initial public offering today, the first in a series of listings expected on the domestic exchange that may spur mergers and acquisitions, Managing Director Ian Ferrao said. The company plans to raise 476 billion shillings ($213 million) in an offering of 560 million shares at 850 shillings each, according to a prospectus issued to brokers on Tuesday and confirmed by Ferrao. It expects to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange on May 16.

By Mnaku Mbani Consumers in Tanzania spent more to obtain goods and services last month following an increase of inflation rate. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported yesterday that the inflation rate for February increased to 5.5 per cent from 5.2 per cent recorded in January this year.

By Mnaku Mbani Acacia Mining shares fell by 16.5 per cent today at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) following an announcement by the government of Tanzania to ban copper concentrate. The DSE reports today has shown that the decrease of Acacia shares has also affected the market capitalization as it has fallen to Tsh18.8 trillion today from Tsh20 trillion recorded during the end of last month.

By Mnaku Tanzania Producer Price Index for the third quarter of last year for all industry (overall index) recorded a decrease from 116.2 for the third Quarter (July-September 2016) to 115.1 for the fourth Quarter (October-December 2016). According to the Producer Price Index published by the National Bureau of Statictics (NBS), the main activities that lead to the decrease in price for the fourth Quarter of year 2016 were mining and quarrying which recorded a decrease of (6.8) percent and Manufacture of tobacco products (5.1) percent.

By Mnaku Mbani After falling for almost two weeks in row to the lowest level of seven per cent, the lowest in fourteen months, the Tanzania Inter-bank rates has started to edge up. The Bank of Tanzania inter-bank money market report for today shows that the rates has edged up to 8 per cent today from 7.35 yesterday.

J OHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The proposed sale of dual-listed Kibo Mining ’s northern Tanzania -based gold assets, Imweru and Lubando, to London -listed Opera Investment , is one step closer to completion, after the projects ’ resources were upgraded. The two companies in September signed a heads of agreement for the unloading of Kibo’s wholly-owned UK subsidiary Sloane Developments for 61-million Opera shares of 1p issued at a price of 6p apiece.

By Mnaku Mbani The two years Treasury bond floated by Bank of Tanzania yesterday was oversubscribed by Tsh80 billion which indicates an increased liquidity in the market. The Bank of Tanzania auction results shows that a total of Tsh209.2 billion were tendered against Tsh128.5 billion offered.

By Mnaku Mbani Liquidity levels on financial markets have continued to improve after the inter-bank rates stabilized to seven per cent over the last two weeks. The bank of Tanzania reports have shown that the inter-bank rates fell to the lowest level of seven per cent in February 23, the lowest in fourteen months. Analysts in financial markets say the slow of inter-bank rate was the result of improvement of liquidity level, which have also seen in other financial markets including equities and government securities.

(Dar es Salaam) – More than 40 percent of Tanzania ’s adolescents are left out of quality lower-secondary education despite the government’s positive decision to make lower-secondary education free. The 98-page report, “‘ I Had a Dream to Finish School’: Barriers to Secondary Education in Tanzania ,” examines obstacles, including some rooted in outmoded government policies, that prevent more than 1.5 million adolescents from attending secondary school and cause many students to drop out because of poor quality education.

Yahoo.com: The iPhone SE has been a quiet hero for small-handed folk ever since it launched in March of last year. The body of an iPhone 5 with an iPhone 6s’s guts was a good proposition in 2016, but with an all-new iPhone 8 expected this year and Samsung stepping up its game, the iPhone SE needs some help to stay relevant. The latest signs all point to Apple changing things up in a rumored March event. According to  MacRumors , Target began returning iPhone SE models to Apple this week, which is a big hint that something new could be just around the corner.

By Mnaku Mbani Formal manufacturing in Tanzania has grown significantly in the last decade, which indicates that there has been an improvement of Manufacturing Value added ((MVA). According to the working paper on Industry in Tanzania published by United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) last year, between 2000 and 2010, manufacturing value added (MVA) more than doubled in real terms from US$894 million to US$1,992 million.

By Mnaku Mbani Domestic investors made a comeback this week at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) after disappearing from the market since the end of last year. The market report has shown that since the start of this week, number of domestic investors has growth fast, which indicate an increased investors’ appetite for equities.

Jacquiline Ntuyabaliwe MFONOBONG NSEHE , Forbes Magazine : Weaving in and out of Dar es Salaam’s grating midday traffic in her chauffeured white Mercedes S550, Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe, a svelte 38-year-old beauty, is transfixed by an image of a dining set on her phone. With a slim, elegant finger, she prods her cellphone screen to show me the picture she’s looking at. “This is one of our pieces,” she says, pointing to the picture of a 5-piece dining set. It’s one of the items produced by Molocaho by Amorette , the furniture-manufacturing firm she recently founded. “This set was handcrafted from timber which was reclaimed from old cargo boats from the Indian Ocean along Tanzania’s coastline,” says the entrepreneur earnestly.

Poor performance of rains during the current agricultural season has affected the livelihood of farmers and pastoralists.The Famine Early Warning System now reports that many parts of the country have experienced food shortages associated with a depletion of maize stocks which is the major stable for many Tanzania. Maize prices have increased across all markets with Dar es Salaam having seen an increase of over 40 percent compared to the same period last year. In January, the Government conducted an assessment on food and nutrition security in the country.

Tanzania wants a study conducted on the impact of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union on the East African Community, ahead of the Summit of Heads of State scheduled for next month.The demand reiterates Tanzania's position that Kenya and Rwanda should not have signed the EPA last year and, given the inadequate time before the summit, there won't be much progress on the matter before April 1, when the EU expects the EAC to sign up to the accord.

By Mnaku Mbani The East Africa pension funds and insurance companies across the sub-region have nearly doubled their portfolio assets in recent years, from $10.7 billion in 2011 to about $19.1 billion in 2015. While only a small percentage of the total populations of these countries have access to pension and insurance products, these industries are growing, and these local investors will almost certainly play a significant role in how the EAC’s capital markets develop in the coming years.  

Cattle at Pugu market/ Photo by Internet By Mnaku Mbani Prices of live cattle at the Pugu Livestock Market increased last week when compared with the previous week. The weekly livestock market summary published by the ministry of industry, trade and investment has shown that an average sale per day fell by 7.4 per cent to 932 last week from 1006 recorded the previous week.

By Mnaku Mbani The Tanzania mortgage market registered a decline of 16 percent during the third quarter of year 2016 compared to a growth rate of 29 percent recorded in Q2 2016. Likewise, the number of mortgage accounts declined from accounts 3,627 reported in Q2 2016 to 2,981 accounts as at end of Q3 2016. According to the Bank of Tanzania mortgage report for the third quarter of last year, the decline was mainly attributed to correction in reporting by the banks where some commercial property loans were removed to only report residential mortgage loans.

BY MNAKU MBANI Foreign investors are continuing to dominate trading activities at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) which has also helped to improve the market turnover. The DSE market reports have shown that foreign investors are currently accounting for more than 90 of the market activities, mainly on the buying side, while local investors are leading in selling their shares.The DSE has reposted that during January and February this year, number of foreign investors a total turnover of Tsh31 million were recorded, but Tsh30 billion were from foreign investors’ involvement.

J OHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed Kibo Mining has terminated joint venture (JV) activities with Metal Tiger at the Pinewood and Morogoro mines, in Tanzania . The companies will also relinquish the mine licences back to the local authorities. The miner explained in a statement on Friday that both companies had experienced considerable success in other projects , which has led to these interests becoming the absolute focus of each company.

Feb 24 (Reuters) - An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 struck the southern area of Lake Tanganyika early on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.1, was in a national park area in northern Zambia close to Lake Tanganyika.

By Natasha Odendaal JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Edenville Energy is embarking on the next phase of development at its Rukwa coal project, in western Tanzania, as it acquires a coal washing plant and crusher and appoints a wash plant engineer. The start of the process to ship and assemble the wash plant, in anticipation of starting coal production, will follow the company’s March 17 annual general meeting, during which resolutions to complete the acquisition will be sought.

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti will resume dividends after lower operating and interest costs helped it nearly double free cash flow to $278-million on lower production. In the 12 months to December 31, AngloGold Ashanti produced 3.6-million ounces of gold across its 17-mine portfolio at a total cash cost of $744/oz, compared with the higher 3.8-million ounces at $712/oz in the prior year.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu with Magufuli By Mnaku Mbani Tanzania’s intra-SADC trade declined by 15.5 percent to USD 1,697.3 million in 2015 from the amount recorded in preceding year. The Bank of Tanzania Economic Operations and annual report for the year ended in June 2015 published mid this month this development was attributed to a decrease in both exports and imports.

By Mnaku Mbani Tanzania’s intra-EAC trade declined by 12.6 percent to USD 1,139.7 million (Tsh2.4 trillion) in 2015 from the preceding year, largely on account of a fall in imports. According to Bank of Tanzania Economic and Operations annual report ended in June 30, 2015 published mid this month, exports to Kenya increased to USD 729.8 million from USD 446.0 million, while imports decreased to USD 238.1 million from USD 654.7 million.

By Mnaku Mbani The Interbank money market rates fell to an average rate of 7 per cent yesterday, the lowest in fourteen months. This has been translated into an increased financial liquidity in the market as the rate fell from the highest rate of 17 during the end of last year.The Bank of Tanzania data shows that the rates started to fall early January at the rate of 10 per cent from 14 per cent recorded at the end of December last year.

By Mnaku Mbani The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) All Shares Index (DSEI) closed at 2,273.06 yesterday, down by 18.60 per cent when compared with Wednesday. The fall of the DSEI, which calculate the performance of all locally listed and cross listed companies was a result of fall of some share prices including East African Breweries Limited which dropped by 3.39 per cent, KCB Limited by 3.70 per cent and NMG price which fell by 2.14 per cent.

By Mnaku Mbani Barclays Africa group, the financial service group with operations in twelve countries in Africa today reported a third consecutive year of earning growth. Presenting the financial results through video conference from Johannesburg, Barclays Africa Group Chief Executive Maria Ramos said the headline earning for 2016 increased by 5 per cent to R14.9 billion.

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania said on Monday it needs $46.2 billion in investment over the next 20 years to revamp ageing energy infrastructure and meet soaring demand for electricity. Investors have long complained that a lack of reliable power is an obstacle to doing business in east Africa's second biggest economy.

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania's current account deficit narrowed 48.8 percent to $2.05 billion last year, on the back of fewer imports and a rise in tourism earnings and gold exports, the central bank said. Tanzania, which has a population of around 50 million, is Africa's fourth-largest gold producer after South Africa, Ghana and Mali.

Coming in at around $86 billion, Bill Gates has ridden his Microsoft MSFT, -0.20% fortune straight to the top of the Forbes list of the world’s richest men. Then again, the business magazine doesn’t take into account the world leaders and “dictators who derive their fortunes entirely as a result of their position of power.” If it did, there’d likely be a new top dog, according to reports that revisited the idea that Vladimir Putin’s net worth, virtually impossible to measure, tops $200 billion. International Business Times triggered the latest round of speculation when it resurfaced various guesses as to the degree of Putin’s riches. One source said it’s only about $40 billion, while another put it up near $70 billion. Then there’s Bill Browder, a former fund manager in Russia. “I believe that [Putin is worth] $200 billion,” he once told CNN. “After 14 years in power of Russia, and the amount of money that the country has made, and the amount of money that hasn’t been spent