A group of Zambian mining services companies has signed a syndicated loan facility with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the PTA bank worth 50 million U.S. dollars, according to Times of Zambia.
At the same occasion, the Export Fund of Zambia also signed a syndicated facility worth 80 million dollars with the Afreximbank.
The signing ceremony of both deals was held in Lusaka Monday.
The proceeds of the deal involving the mining services companies would be used to purchase products and services requiredto perform mining service contracts with major mining companies operating in Zambia.
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) governor Caleb Fundanga said although investment in the mining sector required massive capital by large conglomerates, the majority of Zambians were increasingly being involved in the sector through the supply of goods and services.
Fundanga said the main challenge to the growth of the sector had been the availability of finance.
He said it was gratifying that the 50 million dollars facility signed in favour of the Zambian mining services companies would assist major players in the supplies and services sub sector of the mining industry to execute contracts with the mining companies.
The governor of the central bank of Zambia said the Zambian economy had performed relatively well and that was reflected in the overall macro economic stability that has been under-pinned by positive growth rates in the real gross domestic product (GDP), low inflation and relative stability in the exchange rate.
Fundanga said the signing ceremony was yet another indication of the growing investor confidence in Zambia's economy.
"We are glad to note that the country's total investment pledges rose more than 10 times over 1.9 billion dollars in 2007 from 115.6 million dollars recorded in the year 2001," he said.
He said strengthening the external sector performance had continued as evidenced by an improved balance of payments position.
He said the non-traditional exports had continued to record unprecedented growth over the years.
Fundanga said non-traditional exports rose by 63.4 percent to 924.4 million dollars in 2007 from 564.7 million dollars in 2005.
Afreximbank president Jean Lous Ekra said the conceptual bases of the banks mining services facility and the export fund was the belief that Africans must seize the moment presented by the tremendous opportunities in the commodities markets by ensuring that key sectors remained as enclaves with limited linkages to the overall economy of the host communities.
"We in Afreximbank analyzed and understood these facts and noted that the best way to break the export enclave is to remove the biggest constraint that makes African companies unable to offer competitive services to the mining and export companies," he said.
Source:Xinhua
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