Country Insight - Tanzania

Tanzania: The Government plans to issue local infrastructure bonds to finance railways, ports and airports within the current or next fiscal year but the amount of the bond issue is yet to be determined. The Government also plans a Eurobond issue of at least USD 500 million, but does not yet have a sovereign rating. One of the biggest projects the country seeks to fund is the rehabilitation and extension of its main railway line from Dar es Salaam to Isaka in the North and onward to Rwanda and Burundi, which would cost USD 2.8 billion.

Vodacom, the country’s largest mobile phone operator, expects the number of users to grow by 22% to 9 million by the end of this year. It also targets more mobile banking services, increasing the number of active users from the current 0.5 million to 2 million by the end of this year.

South Africa's Standard Bank Group announced the launch of its first Islamic banking product - the Shariah law-compliant savings and current accounts - in Tanzania and is awaiting regulatory approval to offer similar services in Nigeria.