local buyers, who are more familiar with rmbs, and offshore buyers, most obviously in europe, who are more familiar with covered issuance. corporate issuers in many respects, the corporate segment has been the quiet achiever of the australian debt market over the past few decades. the stock of bonds on issue from australian entities grew solidly from the mid 1990s until the financial crisis. although the significance of market - based funding as a share of total debt funding for australian corporates has fluctuated somewhat, over the long run, debt market funding has grown in line with the funding needs of the corporate sector ( graph 6 ). as i just noted, the investment - intensive composition of growth over the next few years is likely to see continued strong corporate issuance by australian names, particularly resources companies. for more details see debelle ( 2010 ), “ the state of play in the securitisation market ”, address to the australian securitisation conference 2010, sydney, 30 november. bis central bankers ’ speeches graph 6 non - resident issuers – kangaroos and australian dollar eurobonds the fastest growing segment of the australian capital market over much of the past decade, and certainly in recent months, has been australian - dollar issuance by non - residents – the market of most interest to the audience here today. initially, much of this issuance was offshore in the eurobond market, but increasingly issuance has moved to the onshore “ kangaroo ” market ( graph 7 ). graph 7 in addition to the shift in the location of market activity, an important compositional shift is occurring with new issuance increasingly dominated by aaa - rated names ( graph 8 ). this probably reflects the increased risk aversion of investors in the post - crisis environment. bis central bankers ’ speeches graph 8 growth in the aaa - segment of the market has been underpinned by rapid growth in issuance among the supranational and sovereign agencies ( ssa ) group. ssa issuance in all currencies has grown rapidly in recent years, as these borrowers have responded to the large fiscal demands stemming from the impact of the global recession on public budgets in a range of jurisdictions. in addition, ssa issuers have displayed a growing tendency to issue in australian dollars over recent years. last year, australian dollar issuance accounted for more than 8 per cent of ssa issuance in all currencies ( graph 9 ). graph 9 this greater tendency to issue

have been introduced and continue to be introduced in line with the growing global trends. these developments have not only increased competitiveness in the financial sector, but also improved financial access and inclusion across the country. you may also wish to note that the bank of zambia, as the financial sector licensing authority, continues to receive numerous applications from institutions seeking to establish themselves in zambia. ladies and gentlemen, zambia ’ s economic prospects for 2014 remain strong with a projected growth of over 7 percent. this growth is expected to be mainly driven by agriculture, manufacturing, construction and mining. manufacturing and mining are expected to benefit from increased capital imports which should increase capacity utilisation, particularly among most mines. high construction activities are expected to be sustained in 2014, mainly in roads, commercial structures and housing estates. with increased output in the growth sectors, zambia ’ s external sector is projected to improve supported by continued growth of nontraditional exports. inflation is expected to be low at 6. 5 % at the end of the year. given the foregoing, the medium to long - term economic growth prospects for zambia remain bright. the country is expected to continue attracting foreign direct investment inflows as it grows. as a result of this robust economic performance and bright future prospects, the zambian economy recently obtained a us $ 1. 0 billion eurobond, reflecting continued investor confidence in the country. i am also proud to state that recently, the imf rated bis central bankers ’ speeches zambia as one of the fastest growing african economies with growth projected above 7. 0 percent in 2014. ladies and gentlemen, as the economy grows and as the business environment remains attractive, the need for accurate, current information and news about the domestic economy and financial markets, the region and wider global market becomes ever more critical. it is imperative, therefore, that your reporting is understandable, relevant, reliable verifiable, and comparable. this, in our humble view, requires the conveying of economic, business and financial developments, including the interpretation and expression of complex figures and technical jargon into simpler language for the easy understanding and assimilation by large sections of the population. to help you achieve this all important task, the bank of zambia has found it necessary to continue to engage you through this forum. distinguished colleagues, the favourable performance of the economy is partly attributed to prudent monetary and fiscal policy and appropriate regulatory framework. in light of this, the seminar seeks to also re - emphasise the role of monetary policy in