•PASCALL

By ANTHONY MULOWA –

A COMBINED group of 33 global investors, among them Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and others with portfolios running into trillions of dollars last Thursday flew into Zambia to assess the increasing attractiveness of the nation as an investor haven.
Top of on their list was the US$2 billion under-construction Sentinel Mine at Kalumbila, 150 kilometres west of Solwezi where Philip Pascall, First Quantum Minerals (FQM) chairperson and chief executive officer and Clive Newall, FQM President took them on an on-spot check of the progress of construction.
“This visit by the word’s top analysts and fund managers signals greater investor confidence in Zambia. They have an interest in FQM and the rest of Zambia, and represent investment portfolios running into trillions of dollars.
“The visit will enrich them with knowledge of the fundamentals that Zambia has put in place to attract greater foreign investment
“Of course the key criteria are stability and predictable fiscal policies,” Mr Newall said.
This is according to a statement released in Lusaka yesterday by FQM Public relations consultant Davis Mulenga.
Mr Newall assured the investors FQM will be on course for commissioning of Sentinel Mine in the second quarter of 2014, indicating that the tax revenue the Government would earn from the new mine will be in the same order as Kansanshi Mine that has paid $2 billion in the last five years.
He also observed that the $100 million Enterprise, a Nickel deposit can be accelerated once the market conditions became attractive.
“A key consideration is the remove of the 10 percent export duty as the deposit is too small to justify investment in a smelter.We are engaging government on this issue as the benefits are mutual,” he said.
Invesco vice-president Norman McDonald, who was among the 33 investors observed that FQM practices in Zambia were consistent with balancing the trade-offs between investor interest and responsibility to Zambians.
“We have observed that FQM has done well in balancing investor interest and responsibility to host communities and Zambians
That is a key driver for investment to flow coupled by a predictable tax regime,” Mr Mc Donald said.
Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs,Citibank, UBS and Fidelity were among the delegation of investors.
Others were Credit Suisse, Scotia, Threadneedle, Exane BNP Paribas and Bank of Montreal.