MINISTER of Commerce, Trade and Industry Felix Mutati says Government is targeting to attract more investments worth about US$1 billion from China to increase Zambia’s capacity to produce finished and value-added products in order to compete favourably on the international market.
Mr Mutati said Government will take advantage of President Banda’s visit to China to entice about 10 companies to multi-facility economic zones that are being created in Zambia.
President Banda is next week scheduled to lead a delegation of ministers and business people to China at the invitation of that country’s President, Hu Jintao.
Mr Mutati was speaking during the launch of the Zambia Export Catalogue under the auspices of the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and Market Access, Trade and Enabling Policies Project (MATEP), a project under the USAID.
“When we travel to China, we are targeting to attract investments worth about a billion dollars. We want to attract 10 companies to enter the multi-facility economic zones. We are taking Zambia to a competitive level,” he said.
He said while in China, the government delegation is also expected to conclude deals in the energy and tourism sectors, among others.
Mr Mutati said China also has a contract with the ZDA to market Zambian products hence the need to increase production capacity of value added products, which can be floated on the world’s biggest market.
“We expect to conclude a major bio-fuel investment deal, two medium-sized hydro-electric plants and hotel development in Livingstone. And beside, these deals, there is already a contract with ZDA to market products because information has been the missing link in increasing our exports,” he said.
Mr Mutati has, however, urged Zambian entrepreneurs to take advantage of the regional market in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola, among others, to export agricultural produce.
He said Zambia will soon conclude negotiating bilateral trade agreements with the DRC government to make that country one of Zambia’s biggest markets.
Mr Mutati disclosed that ZDA has funds available for Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) wishing to expand as part of the export strategy.
Speaking earlier, ZDA director of exports Glyne Michelo observed that the export-led policies by Government have contributed to enhancing the performance of Zambia’s non-traditional exports which have expanded from US$68 million in 1987 to over US$1 billion in 2009.
Mr Michelo said Zambia’s export revenues in 2009 reached nearly US$4 billion, 70 percent of which constituted revenues from the export of mining products.
“Our non-traditional export revenues only represented 30 percent of our total export revenues but have been growing at a sustained level over five years at growth rates in excess of 18 percent per annum. We are beginning to remarkably reduce our dependence on copper,” he said.
He said the ZDA has so far recorded a total of 18 projects and investment pledges amounting to over US$648 million and that over two thousand jobs will be created once the investments materialise.
Mr Michelo said the catalogue is an added instrument of the ZDA to provide the business community with the desired information to help improve Zambia’s exports.
“It (Catalogue) is made to be a reference for would-be investors, exporters and importers. It is a torch-bearer in making informed choices.
It is an invitation to exporters, importers, administrators and anyone who has a bearing on export trade to provide us with information that would help us improve our exports,” he said.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Mr. Mutati is making it sound all nice but when you read between the lines, you will find that investments like these eventually just put us in the position of economic dependency. Why does’nt he talk about things like what will happen AFTER the investors have left having made enough profits?
We cannot continue to rely on other nationalities to develop our resources and boost our economy, we have to generate our own momentum. This is the only way to ensure that we still have control over our resources in the future.
hi darling nine chale? mwaaah deuces:)>-
I concur with #1. We seem to have a very shortsight on important matters like this. If only more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for Zambia.:-?
Nine Chale
I absolutely disagree with your comment. There is nothing wrong with outsourcing. In fact, outsourcing in this global environment is part of day to day business activities. People outsource almost everything they cant provide for themselves or can find cheaper by outsourcing.
LusakaTimes also outsources its news reports from ZANIS, QFM, REUTERS just to name a few and concentrate mostly on providing a state of the art medium for interactive interaction (if that makes sense).
A simple economic model is something like SAVINGS -> INVESTMENT ->GROWTH.
Zambia has low savings, therefore we can solve this problem in two ways, go for the expensive route of borrowing to finance investment which leads to growth or the less expensive route of outsourcing…
cont. from #4
or the less expensive route of outsourcing investment through FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT. FDI is also one of the attributing factors to China’s growth. FDI will help Zambia grow its economy as it will add more money into the treasury which will be used for other investments. FDI will also provide people with jobs and the ability to pay taxes which will also add more money into the treasury.
This is why I support FDI more especially in this global environment. FDI will lead to greater benefits for Zambia than costs associated.
Time to relax borrowing laws in zambia is now Bo Mutati. Some of these investors come wiht grandiose plans but end up borrowing from the local banks to finance their operations, this means very little direct investiment comes and what ever goods they make the reap profits and extenalised 100% to their countries. Zambians with ability ought to be encouraged not through rhetorics.Now the investors coming, they should not come with too many of their locals including labourers. Zambia is the only country at peace with institutions that claim to monitor such but does the opposite.
#1 you are correct…..no amount of FDI or chinese infestors will bring good to this nation…… all businesses exists because of Profit… no one cares about the national development… The gvt needed to deliberately stimulate the local zambian situation by coming up with policies that will encourage zambian investors to become creative and not competitive ,, we need cheap capital, we need ideas like the Mpongew ideas….bravo kaunda…… we need to open up farming blocs in these zones, electrify them with roads and give it to the zambians, we need to traing our zambian farmers in various international standards so that they could be able to grow value crops and not cabbages and chibwabwa….we need to think big for our country and not thinking give away mentality….china ???
the more mpongwe development projects, small holder farming blocs the more revenue, the more forex, the more jobs , the more food, the less the tax, the more sustainable will be- copper or no copper we will survive, we will contain the exch rate….commom leaders of yesterday woke up……….. we know you are being paid contract moneys by these infestors that is why you can not think , you can not change , u u can not listen…….please bane ……….let us CHANGE THIS ROT IN THIS COUNTRY…..