ground breaking ceremony of the new barclays bank zambia plc head office speech by dr. denny h. kalyalya governor – bank of zambia thursday, june 6, 2019 lusaka, zambia ground breaking ceremony of the new barclays bank zambia plc head office funded by the absa group limited, speech by dr. denny h. kalyalya, governor – bank of zambia – 6 june 2019 the absa group ceo, mr rene van wyk ; the director, bank supervision department, boz, ms. gladys mposha ; the director, economics department, boz, dr. francis chipimo ; the deputy group ceo and ceo absa regional operations, mr peter matlare ; deputy ceo, absa regional operations & chief operating officer absa cib, mr temi ofong ; the barclays bank zambia board chairperson, ms chishala kateka ; the barclays bank zambia managing director, mrs mizinga melu ; executives from absa group ; representatives from sunshare ; staff from boz ; management and staff of barclays bank zambia plc ; distinguished invited guests ; and members of the press. it is my great pleasure to officiate at this ground - breaking event of barclays bank zambia plc new head office. distinguished guests, the construction of the new head office for barclays bank zambia plc, which will be rebranded as absa bank zambia from next year, is a demonstration of the efforts and commitment by absa group limited to become a pan - african organisation, that is interested in the sustainable development of the financial sector and the economies of the countries they operate in. ladies and gentlemen, this event, also marks a new chapter for one of zambia ’ s oldest banks. barclays bank zambia has been in the country for over a century having opened its first branch in june 1918. today, the bank has a widespread presence across the country with 41 branches, 103 atms, and other digital service delivery channels. it employs in excess of 800 staff. distinguished guests, barclays bank zambia is one of the biggest banks in the zambian banking industry and plays a significant role in the market through the various products and services as just indicated. it is our expectation that absa group limited, the parent company of barclays bank zambia plc, will continue to build on the foundation and heritage that has been established over the last century. the bank is expected to remain a committed partner in driving financial sector development and supporting the country ’ s

the crisis and evaluating the efficacy of the various measures that are being implemented. impact of the global economic crisis on zambia the zambian financial sector has so far not been directly adversely affected by the credit crunch as reflected in the continued stability of the banking sector with most banks being adequately capitalized and the inter - bank market operating as before. this is mainly due to the sector ’ s limited integration into the international financial markets. further, our financial sector had no exposure to toxic assets, which led to the credit crunch in most developed markets. however, the current global financial crisis, with the subsequent global economic recession, has adversely affected zambia, like most global economies, mainly through : reduced revenue earnings from mineral resources ; job losses, particularly in the extractive industry ; lower foreign capital inflow ( both foreign portfolio investment ( fpi ) and foreign direct investment ( fdi ) ) ; rising domestic inflation driven by pass - through effects of the depreciation in the exchange rate of the kwacha against major currencies ; and declining number of foreign tourists. revenue earnings from mineral resources as you may know, your excellencies, zambia, like many african countries, relies heavily on commodity exports. this has made the country more vulnerable to the global downturn. the global financial crisis and the plummeting commodity prices on the international market have negatively affected government revenue. the global economic recession has resulted in a reduction in world demand for copper, which in turn, has led to the precipitous fall in copper prices. copper prices at the london metal exchange ( lme ) fell from highs of us $ 8, 980 per tonne in july 2008 to as low as us $ 2, 812 per tonne in december, 2008. the dramatic decline in the price of copper has entailed reduced earnings from copper exports by mining companies and subsequently reduced earnings for the government from mineral royalties and corporate taxes from this source as well as falling income taxes from employees in the mining and related sectors. the reduced earnings for the mining sector may translate into lower investments and production. further, some mining companies, which were carrying out exploration works, have suspended these activities. ultimately, all this lead to job losses in the country ’ s extractive industry, leading to lower income tax revenue. in addition, the downturn will reduce government ’ s capacity to develop the much needed infrastructure as it may have to scaledown its capital expenditure in line with lower realized revenue. loss of employment in the