Maravi

Your money will be safe, Levy assures Indian investors

Your money will be safe, Levy assures Indian investors
By Noel Sichalwe
Tuesday January 29, 2008 [03:00]

PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa yesterday assured Indian investors that their money would be safe if they invested in Zambia. And India’s High Commissioner to Zambia, River Wallang, said the Ministry of Finance’s request to work on the Itezhi Tezhi Hydro Power project was receiving priority consideration of the Indian government.

Receiving a delegation of Asian business people at State House, President Mwanawasa said India and Zambia enjoyed cordial relations for a long time at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

“I say this as a way of assuring you that in Zambia you can feel totally at home and you are safe,” President Mwanawasa said. “Already, this country hosts some major Indian investments.

An example of this is the largest mining company in this country, Konkola Copper Mines, which is controlled by Vedanta. I, therefore, encourage you to bring in your investment without any fears. As you will learn, there is a law in this country which makes it very hard for the state to expropriate people’s investment.

Expropriation in Zambia, if any, requires the approval of Parliament and even then, it may only be done with full compensation. You can, therefore, rest be assured that in Zambia, your investments are safe.”

President Mwanawasa said Zambia admired the determination and resourcefulness of Indian and its people which had suddenly catapulted them into the present major world economic powers.

He said the reason for India’s economic growth was the unshackling of the entrepreneurial spirit of its people. “We are doing the same in Zambia.

So Zambian entrepreneurs together with their foreign counterparts like yourselves can exploit the vast resources of this country and create wealth and jobs for the country,” he said.

President Mwanawasa said in 1991 Zambia had undertaken major economic reforms and that the external debt which a few years ago was a major problem has since been wiped out to insignificant levels.

He said the government has since moved to the next stage of reforms which focused on simplifying the process of starting and running businesses and that it was paying off.

“I believe that Zambia is now at a step of making a big leap forward in her economy and I invite private sector participants from all corners of the globe to make their profits here and push our economy forward,” he said.

“I am therefore, happy that you all responded to our invitation to come to Zambia and look at the opportunities available.”

President Mwanawasa also thanked the Japanese government for the co-operation received and the investment flow in the country from Asia in the spirit of South to South co-operation.

President Mwanawasa was happy that Zambia was taking practical steps to realise the goals of TICAD and that he had made it a habit to invite investors to Zambia whenever he had a foreign trip.

Speaking at the same function, High Commissioner Wallang said the Indian businessmen’s visit was a demonstration of a big commitment to deliver and allow more foreign direct investment in Zambia to improve the economy.

He said he was much involved in the triangle project in strengthening the relationship between the two countries.

High Commissioner Wallang said he was happy to see the response materialising from the Indian businessmen who had decided to visit Zambia to explore the investment possibilities.

He said Zambia should expect more from India not only because of India’s diverse economy but also the strong relationship between the two countries.

“We have high expectations from this group and through their efforts to spread the word around India that Zambia is a destination for investment as well as an attractive business partner,” he said.

High Commissioner Wallang also said the request by the Ministry of Finance for the Itezhi Tezhi Hydro Power project was receiving priority consideration of his government
Japanese Ambassador Hideto Mitamura said Japan was looking at the Japan-Africa Summit to find a way of improving the African economy.

He said he was proud that the Japanese government through JAICA had made contributions to the triangle of hope.

Zambia Development Agency ((ZDA) chief executive Glyne Michelo said the visit by the Indian business people was a beacon in the triangle of hope. He said this was a good gesture as the country was trying to revive the economy through increased investment.
Group spokesperson Dr J.S Rajakumar was optimistic that their investment would contribute to the growth of the economy. He was happy that ZDA had been helpful in providing useful information about investment opportunities in Zambia.

Dr Rajakumar said he was scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding with government for the construction of a modern hospital in Lusaka at the cost of about US $20 million.

Labels: FDI, INDIA, MWANAWASA

posted by MrK @ 10:02 AM