By HELEN ZULU –
FINANCE Minister Felix Mutati has said over 30 German companies have expressed interest in investing in various sectors of the economy.
Mr Mutati said the companies had shown interest in investing in various sectors of the economy like Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and energy.
He said this demonstrated that Zambia was becoming the best destination for investment following the favorable investment climate and was open to receiving  foreign investors.

MUTATI

Mr Mutati was speaking yesterday at the first German- Zambia Business Forum in Lusaka.
“At the first ever Africa -German summit held in Nairobi, Kenya last year,  I had a meeting with 15 Germany companies who are not only interested in looking at Zambia but have also shown interest in investing in Zambia and are beginning to take some concrete steps to realise their plans to invest.
“This demonstrates that the shyness that has been associated with German investors is beginning to go away and they are beginning to break ground in Zambia in different initiatives,” he said.
German ambassador to Zambia, Achim Burkart, said there was an increase in German-Zambia business cooperation with more than 25 German companies already present in Zambia.
Mr Burkart observed that Zambia had raised an increased interest from the German private sector, especially from the field of renewable energy and agriculture.
He said Germany was an energy transition pioneer phasing out fossil fuels and increasingly incorporating renewable into the country’s energy mix.
Mr Burkart said Zambian private sector could benefit from Germany’s dramatic renewable energy transition.
Commerce, Trade and Industry minister Margaret Mwanakatwe, urged the German investors to take advantage of the conducive investment environment.
Ms Mwanakatwe said Zambia was among the best destinations for investment and that the country was open to receive investors.
Ms Mwanakatwe said Government looked forward to more initiatives where Zambian and German entrepreneurs could meet and share common areas of interest.