Chinese firm to invest $3.6bn in mining activities

COMMENT - What exactly is in this 'investment promotion and protection agreement'? Is it just another secretly signed 'development agreement'?

Chinese firm to invest $3.6bn in mining activities
Written by Katwishi Bwalya
Thursday, July 23, 2009 4:22:17 PM

THE Zambian government and Zhonghui Guohua Mining Company have signed an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) that will see the Chinese firm invest more than US $3.6 billion in mining activities on the Copperbelt and North Western provinces.

During the signing ceremony in Lusaka on Tuesday, commerce minister Felix Mutati said the investment by Zhonghui was one of the highest in southern African region in a private sector.

Mutati said the investment was welcome because Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had gone down by 50 per cent hence the decision by the government to become more creative by attracting more foreign investors.

He said one of the strategic plans by the government was to attract Chinese investors.

“As government, our main emphasis is to ensure that we bring in more investment because the FDI has gone down, the FDI investment is increasingly becoming shy and competitive both regional and globally,” he said.

Mutati said the government had already put up measures to protect foreign investment as evidenced by the political and economic stability.

And Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) chairperson Luke Mbewe said the investment agreement was welcome because it would create more than 34,000 jobs.

And chairman of Zhonghui Guohua Mining Companies Wang Youhui said the company was looking forward to investing in Zambia.

He said the company would be conducting mineral explorations in Mwinilunga and that the local people would benefit greatly.