The Southern Times

16 Friday 07 - 13 December 2018 The Southern Times
■ BUSINESS
AFREXIMBANK
> From Page 15
rently stood at almost
US$500 billion and had
consistently been above that
figure until the commodity
price shock in 2015/2016.
“The continent also
had about US$800 billion
under management by pension
funds in the 12 African
countries where the market
was most developed,
with that figure forecast
to rise to US$1.1 trillion by
2020. In addition, Africa
received US$63 billion in
migrant remittances annually,
showing that the continent
had more than US$1
trillion that it could use to
finance the US$300 billion
of investment that is
required,” he said.
Oramah, however, said
the challenge was that the
reserves were sitting outside
Africa, earning little
or nothing and that when
African countries tried to
borrow the same money,
they ended up paying very
high rates.
“The continent needs to
look inward, to ask why
can’t we do something
about it? Why can’t we
recycle some of our money?
Why can’t we do what some
of the Asian countries have
done?”
He said Afreximbank
had attempted to answer
those questions by giving
itself an objective to raise
US$10 billion from Africa
in five years to support its
business.
The bank says it was
surprised when it raised
US$5.7 billion in the first
year. Oramah, further said
Africa had to find a way to
more effectively use the
migrant revenue that was
coming into the continent
and highlighted the need
to democratise investment
opportunities in Africa.
He added that people
should not look to governments
alone to make
investments but should
bring in private money, he
added.
Afreximbank was established
in Abuja, Nigeria,
in October 1993 by African
governments, African
private and institutional
investors as well as non-African
financial institutions
and private investors for
the purpose of financing,
promoting and expanding
intra-African and
extra-African trade.
The bank was established
under the twin constitutive
instruments of an agreement
signed by member
states and multilateral
organisations, as well as
a Charter. This confers on
the Bank the status of an
international multilateral
organisation. The charter
governs its corporate structure
and operations. The
authorised share capital of
the bank is US$5 billion.
Unitel International
enters Zambian market
› Former Angolan president Eduardo dos
Santos’ daughter, Isabel
■ Jeff Kapembwa
Lusaka -UZI Zambia
Mobile Ltd, a
subsidiary of the
Dutch-headquartered
and global Unitel International
Holdings BV, is set to
begin operations in Zambia
early next year as the country’s
fourth mobile service provider.
The commencement of business
by the company, initially
operated in Angola, has been
delayed from November this
year to allow the company to
secure frequencies, facilitate the
recrutment of over 40 staff and
formalise operating licences,
Misheck Lungu, Zambia’s permanent
secretary for communications
told The Southern Times
on Tuesday.
“UZI has indicated to us that
they will start full operations
in Zambia by the first quarter
next year. They initially wanted
to open up business in November
but they instead shelved to
January or February to finalise
a number of formalities, including
frequencies,” Lungu said.
The fourth mobile service
“
provider in Zambia comes as
a response to outcries by local
service end-users over the inept
services received from the existing
companies, Airtel, MTN
and state-owned Zamtel.
Last year, UZI Zambia won
the licence to enter the local
market after the telecommunications
regulator, the Zambia
Information and Communication
Technologies Authority
(ZICTA) floated a public tender.
According to economic
experts, the UZI Zambia investment
would contribute to the
growth and development of the
telecommunications sector in
the country through the implementation
of the latest LTE
technology to provide reliable
and high-quality products and
services through a national 4G
network, and investment in 5G
network in the near future.
“UZI Zambia Mobile will create
new jobs and opportunities
in Zambia and will focus on the
training and development of all
its employees as well as building
its relationships with the local
communities through its social
Isabel is believed
to own a stake in
UZI Zambia
responsibility programmes,”
John Kasanga, an independent
trade and economic consultant
said.
Earlier, a statement by UZI
Zambia stated that with the
addition of this operation to
those existing in Cape Verde
and São Tomé and participation
in NOS in Portugal, UIH
takes another decisive step in
its expansion strategy in Africa,
bringing highly innovative and
award-winning products and
services to the continent.
Two companies including,
Unitel, expressed an interest in
the licences, the Zambia Information
& Communications
Technology Authority said in
a statement.
During the first half of 2017,
active mobile-phone subscriptions
in Zambia increased by
3.4% to 12.4 million, according
to the finance ministry, compared
to a population of about
16.5 million.
Former Angolan president
Eduardo dos Santos’ daughter,
Isabel ‐ Africa’s richest woman
– is believed to own a stake in
UZI Zambia. According to commentators,
Unitel International
Holdings BV, in which Dos Santos
owns a 25% stake, had initially
pledged to invest more
than US$500 million through a
local unit to be called UZI Zambia
Mobile Limited instead of
the proposed US$400 million.
The investment would, however,
be increased based on the
expansion of the business in
the country, given the increasing
interest in mobile communication
services including
money transfer services being
maximised by the three service
providers.