ZAMBIA
BY ALEXANDRA BURGER
Mining investments
Leading Growth
Understand how to capitalise
Z
ambia, richly endowed with natural mineral
deposits, fertile agricultural lands, scenic
sites and rich culture, has been attractive to
foreign investors for some time.
Unfortunately, political instability and economic
mismanagement in the past have resulted in
unpredictable levels of interest rates, inflation rates
and exchange rates. Interest rates reached a high of
12% in March 2014.
Outlook
Recent developments on the political front have
positively impacted macroeconomic equations in
favour of income growth and investments.
Zambia is a member of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), the Cotonou
Agreement and COMESA, and it is an AGOA
beneficiary country and a party to the China Special
Preferential Agreement. There have been increased
investments from China and South Africa over the
past few years.
Mining investments are leading growth and Zambia
is the second largest copper exporter in the world. The
economy has had a positive growth story since 2007
and has aided its growth with mining concessions
and zero VAT for tourism business. In 2010, the
World Bank named Zambia as one of the world’s
fastest economically reforming countries in the world.
Zambia launched two USD 1 BN bonds for energy
28
Offshore Handbook 2014
and transport infrastructure, the first in 2012 and the
second in 2014, and both were oversubscribed.
The Africa Development Bank has conf irmed
the economic outlook for Zambia as favourable,
underpinned by growth and single digit inf lation.
The World Bank projects GDP growth at 7.1%
in 2014.
Real estate
Consequently, there has been much interest in
industrial, commercial and residential property.
There are two categories of land in Zambia, State
land which accounts for only 6% of the total land, and
Customary Land. Zambia operates a Deeds Registry
to record each piece of land and ensure accuracy and
security of title.
Land can be owned individually, jointly in undivided
shares and through companie