The Zambian Government has recently announced that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) net inflows to the country has risen from USD 1.8 billion in 2013 to USD 3.2 billion in 2014, marking a growth of 88.24% in one year after merely growing 4.60% between the years 2012 and 2013.
The announcement was done by Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Governor, Dr. Denny H. Kalyalya, whom hosted the 8th Cycle of Foreign Private Investment and Investor Perceptions Survey’s dissemination workshop in December, 2015, that aimed at discussing the magnitude, types, sources, direction of FDI and investment climate in the country.
The robust growth in FDI is the result of appropriate implementation of economic reforms proposed by President Lungu, who has been correctly promoting private sector-led growth to foster employment and support sustainable development, Dr. Kalyalya explained.
In addition, preliminary analysis of data for the first half of 2015 showed that FDI net inflows have scaled up more than the amount recorded in the same period in 2014, reason why the 2015 is expected to close even higher despite the economic challenges due to the government’s commitment of maintaining economic stability and addressing cost of doing businesses to improve international competitiveness, Dr. Kalyalya added.
To keep and improve the compilation of FDI data, the BoZ has created a Foreign Private Capital Flows (FPCF) Unit, meant to accelerate data capture, enhance monitoring of FPCFs and asses their impact on the country’s economy.
This is line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, the Coordinated Direct investment Survey (CDIS) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which provide the guidelines for recording foreign affiliates’ trade around the world.
