Investment authority woos Chinese investors

Kampala

Uganda Investment Authority has called on Chinese businesses to invest in Uganda’s textile, construction and pharmaceutical sectors.

While meeting a delegation from China in Kampala recently, the UIA acting Executive Director, Mr Tom Buringuriza said although some advancements have been made in the three sectors, a lot is still needed for Uganda to compete favourably with other countries in the region.

“Our work is to show you where to invest and with your technology, we think the three sectors can benefit from you significantly,” he said

One-stop centre
He said UIA established a one stop centre at it headquarters where investors can easily register their companies, know about tax payment and process employee work permits.

Last year, UIA named China as the leading investor in Uganda's economy, displacing the United Kingdom that topped previous Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) records for at least a decade. According to the annual investment report for the year 2009/2010, UIA licensed 31 Chinese projects worth Shs553.3 billion.

Need for facts
Mr Jiao Kui, who led the delegation, said more Chinese were willing to invest in Uganda but needed facts about the sectors where they have interest. He said that a team of 100 businessmen from China will participate in this year’s Uganda International Trade Fair to establish contracts with their local counterparts.