Post Newspaper
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
THE Securities and Exchange Commission country report states that Zambia's economic growth does not translate into even distribution of benefits to all sectors particularly, the youth.
And the report states that the Statutory Instrument (SI) No 81 which was passed to restructure SEC fees has created a conducive environment to attract Small and Medium Enterprises in the use of the capital markets in the economy.
The country report which was presented at the just ended 32nd International Organisation of Securities Commissions-African/Middle East Regional Committee (IOSCO-AMERC) meeting held at the Zambezi Sun Hotel in Livingstone stated that as of September, 2013, inflation remained above target at seven per cent following inflationary pressures largely associated with the removal of fuel and maize subsidies.
The report further stated that to address these inflationary challenges, the Bank of Zambia undertook aggressive open market operations to curb money supply growth.
"From January 2013 to December 2013, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Zambia expanded 6.5 per cent from the previous year. GDP in Zambia was worth US$20.67 billion in 2012. In recent years, Zambia's economy has been growing rapidly due to expansion of the copper mining industry and agricultural diversification. However, this economic growth does not translate into even distribution of benefits to all sectors of Zambia particularly, the youth," the report stated.
The report presented by Dr Wala Chabala, who is the secretary and chief executive of SEC, further added that the SEC was working with the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE) to introduce an alternative market for SME's.
"The SEC also approved rules developed by the exchange to facilitate the alternative market. Moreover, a team from SEC and the LuSE visited Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to engage to consult on the best market practices of operationalising the alternative market," the report stated.
In conclusion, the report added that with the global uncertainty, emerging and frontier markets were regarded to be the engines of global economic recovery.
"This presents an opportunity for emerging and frontier economies to grow by tapping into opportunities created by global investors seeking high returns associated with emerging and frontier economies," the report stated.
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