And the latest country to announce plans to set up a new sovereign fund is... Tanzania!
According to press reports, President Jakaya Kikwete announced that he was going to set up a new SWF to ‘ring fence’ expected earnings from a series of major gas discoveries in the Indian Ocean. The country anticipates an increase in revenue of up to $3 billion per year from gas exports alone. The President wants to be sure that the new revenue is used as a catalyst for development and not wasted, and he sees a new SWF as being quite useful in this regard.
Tanzania thus joins a growing list of African countries currently in the process of launching new SWFs, such as Nigeria, Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, Zimbabwa, Angola, Mozambique, Liberia, Mauritania, Sudan, STP, and even Rwanda. So if you're interested in finance, you'll definitely want to pay attention to Africa. There's so much going on!
Anyway, welcome, Tanzania, to the rapidly expanding SWF club!