caleb m fundanga : improved economic and financial developments in zambia opening remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the bank of zambia / deutsche bank workshop on capital markets, lusaka, 15 april 2010. * * * the deputy governor – operations at bank of zambia officials from deutsche bank officials from the ministry of finance and national planning distinguished resource persons colleagues from the bank of zambia ladies and gentlemen i am delighted to officiate at this important workshop on sovereign bond issuance. let me from the onset express my gratitude to our colleagues from deutsche bank who have demonstrated a desire and commitment to share with us their experiences in the area of international capital markets, particularly with respect to sovereign debt issues and ratings. i am particularly delighted that this workshop is a follow up to an earlier meeting with officials from deustche bank in december 2009. the willingness of the deutsche bank officials to come back four months later to further discuss the issues with a wider audience is truly heartening to us and commendable indeed. ladies and gentlemen, zambia like many other countries in sub - saharan africa is one of the countries that have for a long time relied on concessional funding and multilateral financial support in implementing her development agenda. whereas other parts of the world have enjoyed respectable growth rates supported by private capital flows, our region has lagged behind. several years of debilitating external debt, regional political instability, and doubtful macroeconomic management have all played a role in keeping private capital flows away from our economies. however, with endurance, progress in the region generally and zambia in particularly is certainly being recorded. a glimmer of hope is finally showing that we are once again being welcomed in the international capital market arena. as you are aware, the government has over the years set out programs to reform the country ’ s political and economic platforms. politically, zambia has been one of the most stable democracies in africa boasting peace since independence in 1964. on the economic front, zambia has made respectable progress in the area of macroeconomic management. over the recent past, the zambian economy has performed relatively well. this is reflected in positive growth rates of real gross domestic product ( gdp ), low inflation, relatively stable exchange rate, stable financial sector and improved banking services. in addition, zambia ’ s access to the highly indebted poor country initiative and the multi - lateral debt relief initiative resources drastically reduced the country ’ s onerous debt burden from around us $ 7

right time when our countries, which just a few years ago were clearly outsiders in the international capital markets, are also now taking financing decisions to fully participate in the international capital markets. i must admit that international financial markets can be a maze for new entrants, and so updating our skills by consulting others becomes a priority and adds a lot of value. i have little doubt that as you remain deliberating here, the sessions will be very interactive and will provide a lot of food for thought. i am certain that everyone here will find this event beneficial. ladies and gentlemen, with these few remarks i hereby declare this workshop officially open. i thank you for your attention.