By HELEN ZULU –
THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is in the process of acquiring 76 per cent of shares in Superior Milling Company Limited as part of its mandate to enter into strategic industries in the country.
The IDC has identified Zambia Forestry and Forest Industry Corporation (ZAFFICO) for listing on the Stock Exchange this year.
IDC chief executive officer Mateyo Kaluba said the corporation was in the process of acquiring 76 per cent shares in Superior Milling Company.
Mr Kaluba said the Government mandated IDC to take over a diversified portfolio with interests in various sectors.
He was speaking when he appeared before a Parliamentary Committee on Parastatal Bodies chaired by Msanzala Member of Parliament, Peter Daka in Lusaka.
“Superior Milling has challenges with working capital. Part of the mandate given to us was to ensure we were in strategic industries and milling is that industry so we looked for a brand which is well-recognised and whose extent was something we could handle without too much funding.
“Our intention is to acquire 76 per cent shares, the management has agreed to that, this will help ensure food security in the country,” Mr Kaluba said.
He said the corporation would be listing profitable companies on the Lusaka Securities Exchange to raise new capital and facilitate ownership by citizens and identified ZAFFICO for listing this year.
“If all goes according to plan, we will be listing ZAFFICO on the Stock Exchange this year, this is meant to assist the companies to raise the required capital,” Mr Kaluba said.
He said a situational analysis conducted by the IDC revealed that eight out of 22 parastatal companies were technically insolvent while seven were making losses.
The analysis, conducted in 2016 further revealed that only four parastatals out of the 22 were currently profit making while three were reliant on Government subvention by way of grants.
Mr Kaluba said the unprofitable companies were not operating optimally largely due to under capitalisation and restrictive business models that did not position them to maximise opportunities in the sector they operated in.