Private Sector welcomes FQM listing

[bingogo]

By Mutale Kapekele
Wed 15 June 2011, 11:20 CAT [29 Reads, 0 Comment(s)]


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THE intentions of First Quantum Minerals to list on the Lusaka Stock Exchange will result in Zambians having sustainable investments in the mining sector, says the Private Sector Development Association.

On Monday, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) announced its intentions to list its Zambian depositary receipt on the LuSE by next month.

Each depositary will represent a fraction of a common share of the company and can be purchased only through Zambian stockbrokers by institutional and retail investors.

FQM has appointed the Bank of New York to administer depository receipts.
In an interview, Private Sector Development Association chairperson Yusuf Dodia said FQM?s decision to list on the LuSE was good for Zambians that want to invest in the mining sector.

?It allows Zambian ownership to grow in the mining companies which should result in sustainable investments in Zambia,? he said.

And commenting on the just-ended African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum that Zambia hosted, Dodia advised the private sector in the country to follow up on the business links that it acquired from the meeting through a trade mission to the US.

?The AGOA Forum was a good endorsement by the Zambian government and the USA government to commit to promoting, supporting, and facilitating trade between Zambia and the USA,? he said. ?Both governments will have discussed the barriers to trade such as the Pest Risk Assessments (PRA) and the Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Inspections (SPS) that are crucial to opening trade routes to the USA.

All the bottlenecks will have been discussed and solutions identified. The way forward now is for the private sector to organise a trade mission to the USA to meet with American importers and distributors that can buy Zambians products.?

He said after the trade mission, the private sector can then negotiate with the banking and the insurance sectors to facilitate the levels of production that will meet the demands from USA importers.

?In addition, the Zambia Bureau of Standards and the Zambia Weights and Measures Agency and other statutory bodies can support and facilitate quality controls to ensure acceptable exports to the USA markets,? said Dodia.