Tanzania Opens Government Securities Market to All Foreign Investors.

Tanzania’s central bank said it has scrapped foreign exchange restrictions that limited access to its Treasury bills and government bonds, opening the market to investors from any country for the first time.

The Bank of Tanzania announced the move on Thursday, August 6, ending rules that had previously confined participation in the government securities market to residents of the East African Community (EAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and members of the Tanzanian diaspora.

Investors from all jurisdictions can now buy the debt instruments directly, the central bank said, marking one of the most significant liberalizations of Tanzania’s domestic debt market in recent years.

The central bank said the change is intended to broaden the investor base, improve liquidity in the domestic debt market and support the development of Tanzania’s wider capital markets. The goal, it said, is to position the East African nation as a more attractive destination for international capital.

The liberalization comes as President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government works to diversify its funding sources at a time of declining financial support from some international development partners.

By widening access to Treasury bills and bonds, Tanzanian authorities are seeking to draw in more foreign capital, strengthen public financing options and reduce the country’s reliance on traditional external funding sources, according to the central bank.

Tanzania’s decision brings it in line with several other African markets that have already opened their government securities to non-resident investors.

Kenya, whose bond market is the most liquid in East Africa, has for several years allowed non-residents to invest in its Treasury bills and bonds through a nominee account opened with a local commercial bank or brokerage.

Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt have also opened their domestic debt markets to foreign capital at various points, though the degree of access has fluctuated with periods of currency pressure in each country.

Tanzania’s move places it within a broader wave of sovereign bond market liberalization across the continent, as governments look to diversify funding sources in the face of declining international aid and rising dollar-denominated external borrowing costs.

The opening of the government securities market forms part of a broader liberalization of Tanzania’s financial sector, the central bank said and is expected to strengthen the country’s appeal to international portfolio investors seeking exposure to East African fixed-income markets.

The Bank of Tanzania currently issues Treasury bills with maturities of 35, 91, 182 and 364 days. Treasury bonds are issued across several maturities, including two, five, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years under the government’s current issuance programme, both are used by governments to raise financing while offering investors a fixed-income instrument.

The central bank’s securities framework sets minimum investment amounts for domestic investors. Treasury bills have a minimum bid of 500,000 Tanzanian shillings, in multiples of 10,000 shillings, while Treasury bonds have a minimum bid of 1 million shillings, in multiples of 100,000 shillings.

The Bank of Tanzania conducts government securities auctions through competitive and non-competitive tender systems. Securities can also be traded in the secondary market after issuance.

The central bank’s issuance calendar for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year shows regular Treasury bill auctions alongside government bond issues. It includes new and reopened bond issues with maturities ranging from five to 25 years during July, August and September.

Recent auctions illustrate the range of yields available in the market. The Bank of Tanzania’s published results show a 9.5% two-year Treasury bond auction on July 29, an 11.25% 10-year bond auction on July 22 and a 12.25% 20-year bond auction on July 8.

For investors seeking Tanzania government bonds for foreign investors, participation still requires registration within the Bank of Tanzania Central Depository System, or BoT-CDS, according to the central bank.

Registration is carried out through approved Central Depository Participants, including banks licensed by the Bank of Tanzania and broker-dealers licensed by the Capital Markets and Securities Authority.

The reform follows previous central bank data showing Tanzania’s economy grew 5.4% in 2024, and comes after the Bank of Tanzania held its key lending rate at 5.75% in its most recent quarterly policy reviews.