THE Tanzanian Ambassador to China Mr Mbelwa Kairuki has cautioned local companies and traders engaging in online procurement of goods with foreign companies to observe guidelines that would help them minimize the risks of being conned.
Mr Kairuki said that last year, some Tanzanian companies purchasing goods online faced some challenges of being conned by a few unscrupulous companies.
“The companies made some payments through telegraphic transfer (TT) but some of them never received their products while others received goods which they had not ordered,” he said.
“The embassy would like to caution Tanzanians who want to engage in business with Chinese companies which they have known through online platforms to take all necessary measures in order to minimize the risks of theft or being conned,” he said.
He said among the steps to be taken by the companies included secure correct names of Chinese companies they want to trade with.
“They should ensure that they are provided with Chinese names since the Chinese company registration system identifies Chinese names only.”
“The envoy added that Tanzanian traders should demand to be provided with full Chinese names of a person they are communicating with and his “wee chat ID, he said.”
He further said Tanzanian traders should also do “due-diligence” on the presence of the respective companies and their financial capability.
“Tanzanian companies in need of the service can communicate with our embassy in China through [email protected] or economic and trade representative at the embassy,” he said.
After confirming the company capability in doing the business, the envoy said, it was important to enter into a business contract with the respective company and make payments through ‘Letter of Credit’ in order to be on safe side such as suspending payments if the Chinese company will breach the contractual terms.
He noted that traders should also include “Pre-shipment Inspection” section in their contracts if the procurement of goods exceeds USD 20,000 to ensure delivery of correct items.
According to latest reports, the bilateral trade volumes between Tanzania and China is at the tune of 9.1 trillion, equivalent to $3.976 billion.
The Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Wang Ke, said last year at the Tanzania-China High-Level Investment and Business Environment Dialogue that her country has been Tanzania’s largest trade partner for three consecutive years.
She said China’s total investment in Tanzania had exceeded to $7 billion which makes the Asian economic giant the largest foreign investors in the country. However, she said it should be noted that there are some challenges facing China-Tanzania trade and economic cooperation.
