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(TIMES) State ponders ZME for metal sales

State ponders ZME for metal sales
By SHAMAOMA MUSONDA

THE Government is considering establishing a Zambia Metal Exchange (ZMX) to enable the country sell metals within the country.

Currently, the metals are shipped to Europe and Asia where they are priced and sold. Speaking during the London Metal Exchange (LME) education workshop in Lusaka yesterday, Commerce Minister Bob Sichinga said plans are there to establish a Zambian Metal Exchange.

“We have to derive ideas that will help us improve our local capital and commodities market and eventually enable us set up the first ever Zambia Metal Exchange linked to advanced international markets,” he said.

He said it was appropriate that Zambia was hosting the LME workshop, the world’s largest metals and commodity market, whose experience in the trade would help the country establish its own metals exchange market. Mr Sichinga said the Government was set on exploring all other minerals apart from the predominant copper and cobalt.

The minister said the Government would encourage industries that would add value to the minerals so that the country could earn more revenue from the finished metals for exports. And Mines Minister Wilbur Simussa said the establishment of the ZMX would help ease Zambians' access to copper in order to help grow the value addition to copper.

He bemoaned that only five percent the copper produced in Zambia was being used locally. Mr Simusa said with the local metals exchange, that proportion would increase and boost the value addition sector in the copper industry. He said his ministry attached great importance to the establishing of the local metals market by having senior officials in the ministry at the workshop who would have to produce reports on the possibilities of an exchange.

“Its my desire that this workshop prompts Government to set up either through public private partnership (PPP) or our own Metals Exchange that would operate to ease the local companies access to copper for the development of the value addition industry. “Having institutions like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) is further testimony that a local metals exchange could be developed by taking advantage of the expertise of these organizations,” Mr Simusa said.

Labels: COPPER, LONDON METAL EXCHANGE, ROBERT SICHINGA

posted by MrK @ 3:23 PM