UIA issues 286 investment licenses

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Investment Authority-UIA issued investment licenses to 286 companies in the last financial year, with a promise that they would invest at least US$ 1.3billiion (Shs 4.7tn) in the country.

This was a slight improvement from the 247 companies that were offered permits in the 2017/18 financial year.

The Acting Executive Director UIA, Lawrence Byensi, says the improvement was as a result of the faster online processing of permit applications.

Byensi was reading the authority’s performance report for the 2018/19 Financial Year report at Uganda Media Centre on Monday.

Byensi said most of the companies were foreign, with up 75% of the investments being brought in by foreigners. Domestic investors will only cover 25%.

Chinese lead the pack of the people asking permits to invest in Uganda. Ugandans came in second.

UIA estimates that these companies might create 59940 jobs when their investments finally take shape.

Manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and Transport sectors were the leading investment sectors.

Last financial year’s, licensing is still lower than the highs that Uganda experienced between 2014/15 and 2016/17 financial year. In 2014/15, UIA issued 327 licenses, 353 in 2015/16 while 512 were issued in 2016/17.

Meanwhile, UIA revealed they developed guidelines on how long an investor can hold government land before government takes it back because of lack of development.  Byensi said they expect a company to develop land given to them within five years.

Uganda still lacks below Rwanda and Kenya in the region in the World Bank’s doing business report.

UIA says at least thirteen agencies that facilitate business licensing and registration have set up at UIA offices at Twed Towers off Lumumba Avenue to act as one-stop center for all those that business people that want to be facilitated.

This, Byensi said, should help business owners get what they want in one roof instead of having to move from one agency to another around town.

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