The investment of Chinese companies in Tanzania has hit the $ 1b mark over a period of one year.
According to the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Mr. Lu Youqing the investment of their companies have moved China from 6th to 2nd position as the main foreign investor in Tanzania.
He told East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam during the launch of 'Huawei ICT Star program for Tanzania education.'
"I would like to inform you that by September 2011, the accumulated fund from China invested in Tanzania has reached $1bn, for just over a period of one year," Youqing said.
Youqing added the Chinese investments have created more than 80,000 jobs as well as grooming large number of technical personnel.
He added increased Chinese investments have stimulated in strengthening the friendship between the two countries as well as maintaining a sound momentum of development.
"When economic crisis hit the world many global companies decreased their oversea investments to seek investment protection, but Chinese firms overseas have never given up, never down sized," he said.
And he added, instead, the Chinese companies were worked together with the respective countries to face challenges, to find mutual benefiting way of development as part of social responsibility.
In their projects across Africa, he said Chinese companies have focused on increasing value addition of the products locally, enhancing local staff training, increasing local purchase ratio of materials, and strengthening development capabilities.
The have done this through technical skills exchange and management experience sharing in order to realize practical contribution to social and economic development of the country.
According to him Huawei, which is one of the Chinese firms invested in the country has now reached 65% localization in Tanzania.
"Huawei localization is not only a motivation for its future growth in this country, but also it gives a good example of how a Chinese company increases local employment, local tax collection, local skills development," he said.
Commenting on 'Huawei ICT Star program for Tanzania education' the Huawei Tanzania's Managing Director, Mr Bruce Zhang said the ICT education program will foster ICT development and ICT talent training in Tanzania.
"This program will be in partnership with the government of Tanzania and it will work with students starting from primary to university level," Zhang said.
Zhang said that the program which will be known as 'Huawei ICT Star for Tanzania Education' will support primary and secondary schools as well as universities, to develop ICT interests, which will contribute to the development of ICT industry in the country.
For the primary and secondary schools, the program will contribute in improving the learning infrastructure that gives a better learning environment for the students in their earlier stage, he said.
Source: East African Business Week
