With
approximately 40 per cent of Canadian companies on Fortune’s Global 500 located
in Toronto, the
city is the centre of the country’s economy. It has thriving manufacturing and
service industries and is one of the country’s largest employment centres.
According
to the Toronto Annual Employment Survey of 2010, the City
provides more than 1.3 million jobs, nearly 48 per cent of which are in
the Office sector.
Manufacturing
accounts for 10.0 per cent of employment
in the city while Institutional, Retail and Service sectors are responsible for
16.7 per cent, 10.8 per cent and 11.6 per cent respectively.
The
Finance industry is of particular importance with 90 per cent of Canada’s foreign banks located there as well as numerous accounting and insurance
firms, while Toronto Stock Exchange is the third largest in North
America by dollar value traded.
The
city is also Canada’s
main centre for traditional media and is successfully developing its new media
industry. It also has a thriving Information Technology (IT) sector, with one
of the highest concentrations of commercial software companies anywhere in the
world. It is home to Canadian headquarters and research centres of Apple,
Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems.
For
these reasons, the Zambia High Commission in Canada
in conjunction with the Canadian Council on Africa (CCA) jointly held a
Zambia-Canada Investment Forum in Toronto and Ottawa from the 27th
September, 2011 until the 3rd October, 2011 respectively.
The objective of the Forum was two-fold. First
to present Zambia as an attractive investment destination and
secondly to market investment opportunities so as to generate interest in
Canadian businessmen in undertaking due
diligence for possible investment in Zambia.
Officially
opening the meeting at the Marriot Hotel, Zambia’s High Commissioner to Canada, Dr. Nevers Mumba said that the Forum was
part of the High Commission’s programme through the Zambia Development Agency
(ZDA) to encourage and assist the establishment of joint ventures between Canada and Zambia.
He noted that
the Forum could not have come at a better time as when economic groupings such
as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern
Africa Development Community and the East African Community (EAC) were planning
to form a single block.
The
Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) on its part presented a sample of investment
opportunities Zambia
has to offer in Agriculture, Tourism,
Mining, Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Health, Environment, Education and
Information Technology (ICT).
The
presentations showed that many investment opportunities existed in Zambia and that
these opportunities could provide good returns to investors.
In
order to allow for further review and follow-up by interested parties,
investment profiles were packaged by the ZDA and made available in hard copy,
DVDs and electronic format to any interested party.
The ZDA
Acting Director – Investment Promotion and Privatization, Mr. Henry Sakala at
this point took advantage to explain realities of doing business in Zambia.
He
noted that Zambia was named among the 10 most improved economies in the ease of
doing business in the world by the World Bank in 2011 and that the country was
ranked among the best five performing countries in Southern Africa.
Added
Mr. Sakala,” Zambia is
aggressively addressing the issue of reducing the cost of doing business in Zambia by
improving infrastructure such as roads and telecommunications and in Energy and
Water which are all embodied in the
Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP)”.
He
also pointed out that a favourable macroeconomic environment had been created
by the government through the Central Bank that had led to a downward trend in
the cost of borrowing to improve access to long term financing at lower rates.
Mr.
Sakala told his audience that there were continuous efforts being made to
streamline the licensing procedures by ensuring that only necessary licenses
were issued at a reasonable cost and with minimum bureaucracy.
The
Acting Director stated that there were 402 Canadian companies operating
in various sectors of the Zambian economy that were currently registered with
the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) and that of these, only 41 are registered with the
Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) holding investment certificates whose total
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to date is valued at more than US$2 billion
with 13,283 jobs created in various sectors.
Mr.
Sakala stressed that the levels of FDI and trade between the two countries
needed to be enhanced further considering the potential that exists in Zambia.
The
participants from the Canadian private sector came from a vast array of
sectors, including the following:
·
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT
CANADA (EDC), Canada’s
Export Credit Agency offering finance,
insurance and risk management solutions to help Canadian exporters and
investors expand their international business.
·
TFO-CANADA, a company that
provides information, advice and
contact for exporters in developing and emerging countries.
·
CPCS, an international consulting firm specializing in
private sector participation in the power and transport sectors
·
OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovations), a company
that offers economic development services.
·
MARCH NETWORKS, a company that provides high definition
video surveillance
·
BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, a leading company in Gold with 26
operating mines and a pipeline of projects located across five continents. In Zambia the company
is the owner of Lumwana Mine.
And from the Zambian private sector four companies participated in the Forum as
follows:
·
C.P ENGINEERING LTD, a Kitwe
based company that specializes in Turning, milling, line Boring and Light
fabrication. The Company is the largest stockiest of Bolts and Nuts.
·
DAMRU ENTERPRISES LTD, manufacturers of all kinds of paints
·
TEC-TRADE LTD who are suppliers of major mining spare parts
to Mining companies on the Copperbelt
·
PLINTH TECHNICAL WORKS LTD, a civil engineering and
telecommunications company.
Keynote speaker, Barrick Gold
Corporation Chairman and owner of Lumwana Mine , Mr. Peter Munk praised Zambia for fast economic growth,
good governance and maintenance of peace.
Mr. Munk, whose company has
invested US$7.8 billion in Zambia
observed that Zambians deserved to be congratulated for providing policies that
protect investors. The investment is the largest in any African country.
“Zambia
is a shining example of a country in Africa
and world -wide that has risen above political differences over the years to
safe guard peace. We urge the new government to attract major companies that
will create employment, develop the country and raise the living standards of
their citizens,” he added.
Mr. Munk said his company’s entry
into Zambia would send a
strong message to other multi-nationals about Zambia’s positive investment
climate. This, he said, would in turn
open the doors for billions of dollars of new spending across the industry.
At the end of the Forum
participants from Canada and
their colleagues from Zambia
generally agreed that there was need to expand
and
strengthen the already existing business
relations even further.
Against a background of
diplomatic relations which were
established 45 years ago in 1966, Zambia
and Canada
enjoy good bilateral relations. Canada
continues to partner with Zambia
to improve business opportunities.
In August last year, the Zambia
High Commission in Canada
organized the first Canadian Trade Mission to Zambia
on a ten day visit whose objective was to showcase the abundant business
opportunities that exist in Zambia.
The overriding purpose was to
identify opportunities for Zambia-Canada collaborations and projects of mutual
benefit and interest, especially in developing public sector capacity.
At the end of the tour, the
Canadian team had successfully signed three Memoranda of Understanding in
Education with the University of Zambia (UNZA), Copperbelt University (CBU) and
Mulungushi University in Kabwe.
The author Ben Kangwa
is Press Secretary at the Zambia
High Commission in Canada
but based in Washington DC.
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