Doing Business In Uganda

The Present Banking Environment

Investments
The Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) established by an Act of Parliament, the Investment Code 1991, is the body responsible for investment promotion and facilitation.

At the launch of UIA's publication "An Investment Guide to Uganda", Sanjeev Anand, the Managing Director of Citibank Uganda limited stated, "The Government of Uganda has built one of the most successful recent track records in the region in pursuing macroeconomic reform. Furthermore, its market-based policies have helped create an enabling environment for investors. If the present initiatives to address residual concerns in the areas of governance, infrastructure and regional stability are sustained, Uganda could become an important destination for much larger investment from local, regional and foreign sources."

Financial Sector
The country's financial sector comprises of the Bank of Uganda (the country's Central Bank0, 17 Commercial Banks, 8 Credit Institutions, 2 Development Banks and over 50 Forex Bureaux. Despite the great number of financial institutions, Uganda still suffers from tight credit and costly capital. Factors causing this situation are being addressed through policy initiatives. The performance of the country's financial sector has improved considerably following improvement in the supervisory capacity of the Bank of Uganda, the drafting of a new Financial Institutions Bill (FIS) 200, which among other things, seeks to rectify weaknesses in the existing legislation. In addition, Citibank's recent entry into the financial services market, joining the list of hitherto five major players, has made the sector more vibrant and competitive.