TANZANIA continues to see a rise in registered investment projects as it recorded 490 projects worth about $4billion in the first seven months of this year, with China taking the lead.

The Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) said this in its latest data released on Tuesday.

According to the TIC, 490 investment projects were registered from January to July, with agriculture leading with the number of registered projects, creating 163,356 jobs in total, compared to 267 projects worth $2.6billion registered during the similar period a year ago, with 39,230 jobs created.

The projects were on agriculture, construction of commercial buildings, energy, economic infrastructure, financial institutions, human resources, manufacturing, mining and petroleum, services, telecommunications, tourism and transportation, said the TIC.

China continued to lead in the top 10 foreign investment countries from 1997 to 2024, with 1,360 projects worth $11.5 billion, creating 155,596 jobs. It was followed by the United Kingdom, the United States, Mauritius, India, Kenya, Vietnam, Australia, Egypt and Nigeria, according to the TIC.

Tausi Kida, permanent secretary in the President's Office responsible for Planning and Investment once said that China remains one of leading sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tanzania, which significantly contributes to the country's development.

Kida said the top five sectors for the projects were manufacturing, commercial building, agriculture, transportation and services.

Angelina Ngalula, chairperson of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) also said that .Tanzania has made significant strides in improving investment climate, culminating in tangible achievements, including attraction of more than $11billion in projects led by Chinese investments, creating more than 114,726 jobs.