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ABOUT ZAMBIA |
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Zambia – overview, key investors & industries |
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Located in south-central Africa, Zambia is the continent’s biggest copper producer and is a peaceful and welcoming nation. The independent republic is landlocked and its capital city is Lusaka. Despite English being the official language of the country, over 80 languages are spoken by the inhabitants of Zambia. The population numbers around 10 million in a country which is half the size of Europe which gives Zambia one of the lowest population to land ratio’s in Africa.
Zambia is led by Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front who won presidency in the elections in September 2011. This was significant for a nation which had seen the Movement for Multi-party Democracy hold power for the last 20 years. Zambia has a fine reputation for political stability and transparent government. Whilst its stock exchange is not said to be relatively large in size, it is active and operates in Lusaka with the Kwacha being local currency. The international time zone for Zambia is GMT +2 and the international code for dialing Zambia is +260.
Zambia can be reached through many airlines such as South African Airways and British Airways whilst a number of airlines have branches in the capital Lusaka such as Air Malawi, Air Zimbabwe, British Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Inter Air, Kenya Air and South African Airways respectively. The main airport is Lusaka International Airport but there are other main airports across Zambia.
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Zambia is the home of the stunning Victoria Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Victoria Falls can be found along the Zambezi River and possesses UNESCO World Heritage Status. However, the Victoria Falls is not the only natural delight to be found in Zambia and tourism has grown with the variety of natural sights and wildlife in sizeable game parks which have enticed greater visitors to experience the stunning views in Zambia.
Since the 1990s, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has played an increasingly important role in the country’s economy, rehabilitating the copper industry and boosting production and exports of non-traditional products and services. A key country in FDI in Zambia is China.
In 1964, Zambia was the first African nation to sign diplomatic relations with China. Since that time, Chinese investors have become increasingly prominent players in Zambia’s key economic sectors. Many Chinese enterprises have come to Zambia in the last two decades, injecting energy into local economic and social development through aid projects and investment. These Chinese enterprises have worked in tandem with Zambian people and businesses resulting in growth for the enterprises concerned whilst also playing a key role in driving the local economy |
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China’s investment in Zambia topped $2 billion by the close of 2010 which was impressive considering only South Africa and Britain were ranked higher for Chinese foreign financial investment. The main areas of investment in Zambia are mining, telecommunication, tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, trade, technology and energy supply. The benefit of this according to data sourced from the Zambian Investment Center is jobs. Chinese investment has created over 25,000 jobs for local Zambian people.
Furthermore, Chinese investment is stable and can be counted on for long term benefits. As other investors understandably withdrew from Zambia during the global economic crisis, Chinese companies were steadfast in maintaining production and investment whilst retaining local workers.
Exports continue to be important to the Zambian economy and countries such as China, Japan, South Africa and Saudi Arabia are recipients of copper, cobalt, zinc, emeralds and maize.
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