Maravi

Kanyama deems by-election a factor in future investments

Kanyama deems by-election a factor in future investments
By Anderson Mazoka Jr and Constance Matongo
Saturday September 20, 2008 [04:00]

ECONOMICS Association of Zambia (EAZ) national secretary Chibamba Kanyama has said the October 30 presidential by-election would be a major factor in determining future investments in Zambia. And Kanyama said today’s business news has taken a new dimension with regard to its readership. Addressing trainee journalists at Post Newspapers in Lusaka yesterday, Kanyama said a country’s political stability was a major factor in upholding investor confidence.

“In such a situation, many investors are on a wait-and see-mode. By wait-and-see mode, I mean investors will not commit resources until elections are over to see if there will be changes in policies, Kanyama said.

The two types of investors that are likely to be impacted by policy changes are the foreign direct investors who have long-term physical investments such as farmers and mining corporations, and portfolio investors who are overnight investors. These (portfolio investors) take advantage of the stock market.”

Kanyama however said the issue of investor confidence was not a big factor in Zambia owing to the country’s political stability and the fact that major political players were in support of upholding late president Levy Mwanawasa’s legacy, which is mainly the fight against corruption.

And Kanyama has attributed the change in business news readership to the liberalisation of the economy from the stringent laws under the one party state to democracy.

“Ten years ago, a business story was not exciting 20 years ago it was the responsibility of the journalist to inform the people on business news,” he said.

Kanyama said the increasing need for business news today is necessitated by people’s desire to know the current and future economic stability of the country.

Labels: CHIBAMBA KANYAMA, EAZ

posted by MrK @ 4:39 AM