India and
China set to rule the world
Study Commissioned by CIA
says the 21st century belongs to Asian giants, not US
The rise of China and India as global players is heralding an Asian Century in
place of
a receding American Century, a US report says.
The CIA-commissioned report compared the rise of the two Asian giants to the
advent
of a united Germany in the 19th century and a powerful US in the 20th century,
and
said the event would transform the geopolitical landscape, with impacts
potentially as
dramatic as those in the previous two centuries.
The report, titled ‘Mapping the Global Future’, said: “A combination of
sustained high
economic growth, expanding military capabilities, and large populations will be
at
the root of the expected rapid rise in economic and political power for both
countries.”
The report is the third in a series of five-yearly forecasts of global trends
published by
the National Intelligence Council, a group of intelligence analysts who report
to the
CIA director. The forecasts for 2020 were based on consultations with more than
1,000
non-government experts at 30 conferences on five continents over the past year.
Expectedly, the 2005 report for the 2020 projection reflected the post 9/11
changes, but
it also contained a degree of certitude not seen in the two previous studies,
including
a more upbeat assessment for India. “Barring an abrupt reversal of the process
of
globalisation or any major upheavals in these countries, the rise of these new
powers
(China and India) is a virtual certainty,” it predicted.
But the rise of India also will present strategic complications for the region,
the report
suggested.
Like China, India will be an economic magnet for the region, and its rise will
impact
not only Asia but also to the north —Central Asia, Iran, and other countries of
the
Middle East.
As India’s economy grows, governments in Southeast Asia — Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand etc — may move closer to India to help build a potential geopolitical
counterweight to China, it said. At the same time, India will seek to strengthen
its ties
with countries in the region without excluding China.
However, the report says “the US will retain enormous advantages, playing a
pivotal
role across the broad range of issues — economic, technological, political and
military — that no other state will match by 2020”. But the analysts conceded
that the
Western world will see significant decline.
“Traditional geographic groupings will increasingly lose salience. A state-bound
world and a world of megacities will co-exist,” it said.
Korean Foreign
Minister visits EAC
Visiting
Korean dignitary says EAC-Korea co-operation set to expand
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Ban Ki-moon
visited the Headquarters of the East African Community on 22 January 2005. The
Foreign Minister is on a visit to the United Republic of Tanzania.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, United Republic
of
Tanzania, Hon. Jakaya Kikwete who is also the Chairman of the Council of
Ministers
of the East African Community accompanied the Foreign Minister of Korea during
the
visit to the EAC Headquarters.
In the Korean Minister’s delegation to the EAC were H.E. Dr Soon-chun Lee, the
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Tanzania, Mr Son Se-joo, Director General
of
Middle East and African Affairs Bureau and other senior officials.
The Korean delegation held discussions with the Secretary General of the East
African Community, Honourable Amanya Mushega. The EAC Director General of
Customs, Mr. Peter Kiguta, the Counsel to the Community Hon. Wilbert Kaahwa and
other senior EAC officials accompanied the Secretary General during the talks
with
the Korean delegation.
The EAC officials and the Korean delegation exchanged views on a wide range of
issues covering co-operation between EAC and Korea; and East African regional
integration process, in particular the recently launched East African Community
Customs Union.
The Korean Foreign Minister congratulated EAC on the launching of the East
African
Community Customs Union. He said Customs Union would boost production and trade
and attract foreign investment. This, he said, would help promote social and
political
stability in the region since economic stability contributed to a satisfied
citizenry. He
commended the EAC Partner States for their progress and achievements in the
regional integration and development effort. He described the EAC as an
impressive
initiative and role model which should be emulated by other African countries.
He
said Korea was looking into ways of doing more in EAC-Korea co-operation and
would consider new arrangements for increased co-operation. He expressed
confidence in the continued EAC-Korea co-operation.
The Secretary General thanked the Government of the Republic of Korea for the
technical assistance Korea has extended to EAC, particularly in various capacity
building areas for the EAC Secretariat. These include assistance in the areas of
information technology and transport facilities.
Community bank
holds the key
Tanga wants to establish
community bank
Nestory Ngwega,Tanga
Tanga region is aspiring to establish a community bank to provide loans to local
people in an effort to curb poverty.
The move was declared by the Tanga Regional Commissioner, Captain (retired) Jaka
Mwambi in an interview with this paper here.
He said one thing which he was now dealing with effectively, was the measure to
wave poverty in the community from the family level.
He said, currently Tanga residents as was the case to all residents in the
country are
eagerly looking for an opportunity to abandon the current abject poverty they
are
leaving in come to other side with presitigious economic foothold.
He said the only way for them to come to the full swing of wiping out poverty,
was
necessary for them to establish development projects together with hard working
spirit.
He said, nowing that business or any development project needs money as a
capital
to establish, then the regional leadership had come with the idea of forming a
community bank for Tanga people.
He said that the bank on its operations ,would provide loans to local Tanga
community at very low interest in order for them to do business and inturn could
help
in curbing poverty.
Explaining how the initial money could be gained as a foundamental capital for a
bank to start, the regional boss said that wananchi would countribute through
buying
shares as it is done in other banks or companies.
Local company
supports investment
By Timothy Kitundu
Good Opportunity and Development Company Limited (GODCL) handed over a Tsh. 90
million project to Mkombozi Company over the weekend as part of the MILIKI
programme.
The aim of the programme is to empower local Tanzanians to participate in
investments.
According to the Mkombozi Board Chairman James Njoolay, the company established
following President Benjamin Mkapa’s plea, Tanzanians should form and coordinate
companies that conform to the policy for the alternative empowerment of the
people.
“As shareholders of Mkombozi, we now feel inspired as we are now directly
participating in the process of owning the economy,” he said.
“The company has so far given loans to a total of 645 clients,” said Njoolay.
TanCert aims
at international certification
By Timothy Kitundu
The Tanzania Organic Certification Association (TanCert) is working
towards
developing cooperation agreements with accredited international certification
organisations to enable TanCert to manage a one stop service centre in Tanzania
for
international organic certification.
TanCert is the sole body that provides services for inspection, certification
and quality
assurance for organic products in Tanzania. Through her member organisations, it
can draw on experience since 1898 when the first organic garden was established
at
Peramiho, South of Tanzania.
TanCert Manager, Leonard Mtama told The Express in Dar es Salaam Monday that
under such cooperation arrangements, TanCert together with international
certification organisations will enable operators access not only international
certification but also markets for their produces.
“By letting the certification arranged through TanCert, organic producers can
benefit
far more from logistic coordination and a package deal with the international
certification organisations than any direct individual arrangement made with
international certifiers,” he said.
According to Mtama, in line with this, TanCert is now working hard towards
getting
accreditation to the European Union (EU) and the International Federation of
Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM)
For this service, Mtama added, TanCert is presently registering individuals and
companies that would like to access international certification through TanCert,
pending the agreements made by TanCert with one or more international
certification
organisations.
He said, the local inspectors are recognised by and working with international
certification bodies which has attracted the Institute for Marketcology (IMO) to
work
with TanCert, and in collaboration with Environmental Human Rights care and
Gender Organisation (ENVIROCARE), to train farmers on organic certification.
He cited other significant achievements as the provision of Inspection and
Certification Services to non-EPOPA funded organic projects and identification
of nine
new self sponsored organic production projects which are in the process for
certification.
“So far TanCert has been able to successfully establish a functional inspection
and
certification system in Tanzania and a registered a LOGO known as Hai for
organic
products from Tanzania,” he said.
In collaboration with Kenya and Uganda, TanCert initiated formation of East
Africa
organic certification system and logo, participated in BioFach in Nuremburg
which is
the world’s largest exhibition for organic products and attended and displayed
its
activities at the World Organic Coffee Conference held in Uganda last year.
EU
Ambassador reaffirms support to Tanzania
Roads, improving the water supply, trade and agricultural development were
identified as the key areas of support by EU Ambassador to Tanzania, Frans Baan
when he paid a courtesy call to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and
International
Cooperation, Jakaya Kikwete, last week at the Ministry's offices in Dar es
Salaam.
Baan said that the EU would continue to build upon the longstanding relations
between the EU and Tanzania cemented over 20 years since the signing of the Lome
Convention in 1975.
Baan mentioned Tanzania as a shining example of bilateral cooperation
particularly
with reference to its record on budget support and the management of funds. He
said
that the EU contribution increased substantially over the past years and now
averages
between 100 and 160 million Euros in disbursements annually (equivalent to
between
Tsh. 140 and 220 billion). This represents a considerable achievement based on
mutual trust.
On his part, the Minister said that the EU continued to be a valued development
partner and that Tanzania would do everything possible to strengthen relations.
The Minister expressed his interest for the EU to continue supporting the
important
sectors of education, infrastructure as well as identifying solutions with
partner
organizations in Tanzania to raise the standard of living and alleviate poverty
in the
rural areas.
“80 per cent of the population live in the rural areas and they account for 60
per cent
of the gross national product. We need to do something to assist agriculture
take off in
the country,” the Minister said.
Ambassador Baan who also expressed interest in rural development promised to
look
into the sector and put more efforts into “helping farmers limit risk and become
more
productive in their day to day activities,” he said.
Target higher
growth, business community tells govt
By Angela Mazula
Entrepreneurs in the country are demanding fundamental changes in
the economy
with more emphasis on macro economic reforms.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam this week, Elvis Musiba the President of Tanzania
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) said that fundamental
changes to the current macro-economic and economic policies will determine the
fate of the nation in the near future.
He said the country needs leaders who can maintain uniform policies practised
which
should support growth and poverty eradication.
“We had reasonable success in maintaining the GDP to six per cent which is
higher in
the region but there is little room for complacency,” he said.
Musiba, who is also the Chairman of Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF),
said
that next the government should target a growth rate of 10 per cent.
He added that anything short of that would lead to problems in attaining vision
2025 of
making it a middle income economy in 20 year’s time.
“We in the business community expect peace and tranquility during the election
as
these are the basic prerequisites in promoting trade and attracting investment,”
he
said.
He explained that new leadership should be one whose vision will be to enable
the
country counter the challenge for globalization.
DSE
improves annual performance
By Timothy Kitundu
The market performance of the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) for
the year
ending June 2004 was impressive as it recorded a total turnover of Tsh. 15.68
billion
from the total of 14.66 million shares traded in 3,673 deals. There was no
delisting
during the year.
According to the DSE 2004 Annual Report, there was no new equity listing during
the
year. In terms of bonds, two corporate bonds were listed; these securities were
issued
by the PTA Bank and the BIDCO Oil and Soap Limited with a total value of listed
bonds amounting to Tsh. 25 billion.
The report further indicates that with auctions currently done four times a
week, the
DSE has facilitated continuous price discovery of listed securities thus
providing
exiting mechanism through selling of shares.
While the liquidity ratio at the end of June 2003 was 0.33 per cent, the same
declined
to 0.008 in June 2004. Six broking facilitated secondary trading during the year
whereas the total number of sessions conducted during the year were 178, while
the
trades concluded were 847.
The report further reveals that there were no deals in EADB, PTA and BIDCO bonds
during the year due to the fact that the bonds offer superior returns compared
to other
alternative investments. As for Treasury bonds, no secondary market transaction
was
recorded.
During the year, the report shows that there was no company that raised capital
at the
DSE through issuance of shares; however, the DSE fulfilled the objective of
providing
a market for securities for shares listed which are in float.
In terms of settlement systems, the DSE operates in a settlement cycle of T+5
which is
fully supported by Central Depository System (CDS). During the year under
review,
brokers complied with the requirement of all securities are deposited in the CDS
before executing trades in the trading floor.
The report adds that there were, however, few delays in the payment led of
settlement cycle arising from the late crediting of some of the broker’s
accounts by
settlement banks, but the amount involved was not significant.
EU
reviews trade agreements
By Timothy Kitundu
The European Union (EU) has announced that it would set up a review
mechanism for
regions negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to ensure that the
EPA
follows development goals.
EPAs are the trade agreements that the EU is negotiating to replace the
agreements
on terms of trade between the EU and developing countries of which Tanzania is a
member.
The agreements that are to be replaced are six EPAs with regional blocks within
the
Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries established by the Cotonou
Agreement
which expires at the end of 2007.
EU Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson told European NGOs and CBO
representative in a communiqué availed to The Express that he would put
development at the heart of EU EPAs with the ACP countries.
“EPAs are a key tool for building the capacity of developing economies … in the
past,
the poorest countries have not got their fair share of the benefits of global
economic
integration,” he stressed.
According to Mandelson, EU wants EPAs to be tools of trade and development;
building regional markets, strengthening regional producers and integrating
those
markets into the global trading system.
Akiba’s
annual profit out
The profit made by Akiba Commercial Bank in 2004 reached about Tsh. 898 million.
According to Managing Director Tom Kore, the bank has about 39,000 customers
compared to 21,000 in 2003. The target is to serve more than 70,000 customers by
the
end of this year.
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