. Chanda
ZAMBIA expects to clinch US$1 billion in Chinese investment and loans at this week’s China-Africa summit in Johannesburg, a presidential spokesperson said yesterday.
Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations, Amos Chanda said that the government for the Southern Africa’s mineral-rich country was expected to conclude deals with China in infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, power generation as well as agriculture.
Mr Chanda said Zambia and China were also likely to sign an agreement for the construction of two modern hospitals.
“These deals should add up to over $1 billion,” he told Reuters. Chinese firms have invested heavily in mining and other sectors in the southern African nation over the last 10 years with investment exceeding $3 billion in 2014, according to latest Chinese embassy
estimates.
An electricity shortage and weaker copper prices have put pressure on Zambia’s mining industry, threatening output, jobs and economic growth in Africa’s second largest copper producer.
China plans to invest a further $900 million over the next five years in an economic zone, where firms would be exempted from some taxes such as customs duties.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Zimbabwe on Tuesday en-route to South Africa on Wednesday, where he will meet President Jacob Zuma and later co-chair the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit.
China is Africa’s largest trading partner and the trade volume between them amounted to $220 billion in 2014, according to China state news agency Xinhua.
Its investments in Africa amounted to $32.4 billion at the end of 2014, according to London-based BMI Research.
Some African countries may seek to renegotiate repayment of existing debts to China as a way of helping their economies hit by lower crude and commodity prices.
Other countries will also seek more Chinese investment in factories manufacturing goods for export, in addition to roads and railways on a continent long seen as a major commodities and energy source for China. REUTERS/BUSINESS REPORTER
