Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, which together have boasted one of the strongest recent growth trends in FDI to developing countries, are the subject of three new publications highlighting the investment opportunities of the East African region. The publications come amidst an ongoing process of regional integration launched by the three countries that will create new opportunities for foreign investment. The process will eventually create a market of some 100 million consumers. A customs union with a common external tariff came into force on 1 January 2005. The proposed date for a common currency is 2009, and for a new political federation, 2013.
An Investment Guide to Kenya, An Investment Guide to Tanzania and UNCTAD´s first regional guide, An Investment Guide to the East African Community, are being published to help bolster the upward trend in FDI by making the region more widely known.
The guides note some of the assets of the region as a whole that would appeal to many investors (political stability, a mostly English-speaking workforce and a strategic location). They also highlight those specific to individual countries (a skilled and enterprising workforce in Kenya, exceptional natural assets for tourism in Tanzania and one of the most liberal African economies in Uganda). The guides describe areas of opportunity (horticulture, tourism, mining) and feature brief accounts of the experiences of successful foreign investors in these and other fields. At the same time, they identify some of the difficulties investors may face, such as corruption and inadequate infrastructure.
The investment guides, produced as part of a joint venture by UNCTAD and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), are intended as practical aids for investors. In addition to covering such matters as taxation, labour regulations and investment protection, they include appendices listing major foreign companies in the country and the principal laws affecting foreign investment.
The guides were launched in East Africa on 29 September and 3 October and will be presented in Stockholm, Sweden on 20 October. Copies can be requested from investmentguides@unctad.org. The guides can also be downloaded from the UNCTAD website at www.unctad.org/investmentguides.
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Figure
FDI flows to the East African Community (EAC),comprising Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
Source: UNCTAD
