• COMMERCE Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe (centre) with Zambia Development Agency director general Patrick Chisanga (left) during yesterday’s official opening of the Zambia-China Jilin Investment and Trade seminar at the Lusaka East MFEZ. Picture by KENNEDY MUPESENI.

By KENNEDY MUPESENI
CHINA has called for further relaxation of permit acquisition and processing procedures to help increase its investment in Zambia.
Chinese Embassy to Zambia economic councillor Chai Zhijing said it is important that some of the regulations that hinder increased investment are relaxed so that his country could increase investment in Zambia’s economy.
“Zambia should consider relaxing some procedures, especially in the area of permit for investments and employment to attract more Chinese investors,” Mr Chai said.
He said Zambian investors should also consider investing in Jilin Province as most Chinese like Zambian products and further consolidate cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Chai said this in Lusaka during the Zambia-China Jilin Investment and Trade seminar held at the Lusaka East Multi-Facility Economic Zone (LE-MFEZ) on Wednesday officiated by Commerce Trade and Industry Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe.
Ms Mwanakatwe called for joint ventures between Zambia and Chinese entrepreneurs to increase value addition activities in all the sectors of the economy.
She challenged investors from both countries to come up with viable and strong partnerships that would provide opportunities for value addition.
“I would like to challenge participants to forge partnerships that will provide opportunities for value addition to the abundant raw materials in the country. It is through joint ventures that Government
will be able to improve the livelihood of our citizens in line with the objectives of industrialisation and job creation strategy,” she said.
The seminar whose theme was “Promoting Trade, Investment and Value Addition through the Zambia-China Business Cooperation”, attracted representation from local companies and business organisations as well as more than 10 companies from China’s Jilin Province led by deputy director general of commerce department of Jilin Province Han Yingzhen.
From 2006 to 2014, China’s investment in various sectors of the economy was more than US$9.6 billion resulting in the creation of 34,979 jobs for Zambians.
Ms Mwanakatwe urged Chinese companies from Jilin Province to increase investment in Zambia especially in the MFEZs where Government and private partners had already provided basic infrastructure.
Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) director general Patrick Chisanga said the agency would continue promoting investment into the MFEZs as a way of stimulating growth and development of the country.
“We will continue promoting investments in the economic zones to create new and productive investments that bring about value addition, wealth and job creation in all the sectors of the economy,” Mr Chisanga said.