MAXIMISING tax revenues is not wrong, but hitting current taxpayers hard discourages economic activity and new investment, says Zambia Chamber of Mines (ZCM) president Nathan Chishimba.

Mr Chishimba said hitting hard the current taxpayers would not only discourage investment, but ultimately stunt future tax revenues.

This is according an in-depth article published this week in the Mining for Zambia.

“As a nation, we are inclined to view economic development and the eradication of poverty through the narrow prism of tax receipts and government expenditure… rather than through the wider perspective of economic growth and employment,”

“It’s not wrong to want to maximise tax revenues – after all, they fund the essential operations of government. [But] hitting current taxpayers hard discourages economic activity and new investment, and ultimately stunts future tax revenues,” he said.

Mr Chishimba also emphasised the importance of the Zambian tax authorities being able to monitor and collect all taxes owed.

“This is why we in the mining industry are now strongly supporting programmes designed to build institutional capacity and increase information transparency, such as the EU-funded Mineral Production Monitoring Support Project,” he said.

Meanwhile, the article showed that at a time when Zambia, and many other countries, were trying to maximise tax revenue from big foreign companies, Ireland was doing the exact opposite.

According to the article, country’s finance minister, Michael Noonan said his government would fight back when the European commission ordered Ireland to collect €13 billion in disputed back-taxes from tech giant Apple, which had operations there.

“We will fight it at home and abroad and in the courts,” he said.

The report adds that lower tax means higher economic growth: “Evidence based on a wide number of countries indicates that a 10 percent reduction in corporation tax could have anywhere between a 0.6 percent and 1.8 percent effect on economic growth rates.”

Source: Daily Nation

FINANCE minister Felix Mutati has challenged mining companies to be transparent and innovative in order to foster confidence among Zambians on the role they are playing in the economy as well as enabling them to meet new challenges with unique solutions.

And Mr. Mutati said Government would ensure that it created stable and predictable policy environment through dialogue as stability was key in attaining long-term positive outlook of the sector, saying macro-economic emancipation was only attainable if Government engaged with players in the sector.

Speaking during a meeting with stakeholders from the Chamber of Mines in Kitwe yesterday, Mr. Mutati said there was no justification in having multiple figures about what a mining company was producing and exporting as that created suspicion, adding that he did not expect disparities in information obtained by key institutions such as the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) on figures from the same institution.

“Transparency is important. Let us put figures on the table. Let us not have two parallel books. Let us all have one book, one balance sheet and that is the balance sheet of the people of Zambia.

‘‘We don’t want to get to a situation where we ask the Bank of Zambia, ZRA about the production levels and we get three different figures. Using IT, people must know what is being produced and what is being exported.

“There must be one figure and not many figures because that is transparency.

‘‘Multiple figures create multiple interpretations and multiple interpretations create suspicion and we are generating that ourselves and that is why an ordinary person on the street is doubtful of the role of mining and its contribution to GDP, employment and everything else because the figures are not consistent and so the issue of transparency remains key in engagement,” Mr. Mutati said.

He said that the current challenges in the sector could be addressed if Government and players in the mining sector worked together, adding that there was need for dialogue as Government was working on the 2017 Budget in order to prevent a repeat of the 2016 situation where projected revenue collection was in the shortfall.

“It is quite clear that the economic conditions we are going through are difficulty but not insurmountable. We are all clear that the global environment is also difficulty but it is not unusual. It requires thinking. It requires collaboration.

‘We are also conscious that our macro-economic stability will only be achieved if we work with you because you are key players in issues surrounding the exchange rate, the inflation and liquidity and that is why we came early to you because we are now constructing the 2017 national Budget’.

Source: Daily Nation

Zambia is one of the most accessible and investor-friendly countries in which to conduct real estate business in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is evident from the considerable number of foreign and Pan-African investors who have developed and invested in various large-scale projects across Zambia.

“The forum will be an excellent opportunity for investors to have a first experience of the Zambian retail market and for the country to market itself and attract foreign direct investment into the sector.”

“We have seen numerous transactions over the last 12 months, with companies such as Mara Delta, SA Corporate, Quantum Global, African Life, FQML and Primetime growing their portfolios in Zambia,” says Kfir Rusin, General Manager, and API Events.

“Despite the commodity slump and uncertainty surrounding the recently held elections, there has been substantial growth in real estate investment from both local and regional investors.”

One sector that has received special attention is the retail sector, with Zambia having one of the highest formal retail penetration rates in Africa.

“Retail development in Zambia will continue to flourish, but I think it will evolve and that opportunities will be in secondary cities and smaller nodes around Lusaka,” says Victor Sodala, CEO, Pylos Zambia.

Local investors, especially institutional investors, are also playing a key role in development and acquisitions, he says.

The ZamReal Property Forum being held on 28 September at the Radisson Blu, Lusaka, will bring together local and regional property stakeholders to discuss these rising sectors in the most beneficial forum to date.

Key topics and sectors to be covered will include the business of real estate in Zambia, retail opportunities, logistics, housing and infrastructure, as well as discussions surrounding the growing commercial office sector.

“The country’s liberalised economy and well-developed legal framework sets Zambia apart from its neighbours. The holding of this forum in Zambia goes to underscore its attractiveness an investment destination of choice in Sub-Saharan Africa,” says Mpangwe Mutwale, Commercial Property Finance Specialist, First National Bank, Zambia.

“The forum will be an excellent opportunity for investors to have a first experience of the Zambian retail market and for the country to market itself and attract foreign direct investment into the sector.”

ZamReal will be a one-day forum featuring both local and regional industry leading speakers and participation from real estate-focused companies, including Heriot Properties, Pylos, Aflife, Knight Frank, Pam Golding, FNB Zambia, JLL, Sishima Holdings Limited, Liege, Novare, Jumia, FNC Legal, Profica, JHI, Thebe Investments, FQML, Mara Delta, Madison, Afritecam, Phatisa, Union Gold among others.

Source: Property24

The global refined copper market for June showed an apparent production deficit of around 83,000 mt, mainly due to strong Chinese apparent refined copper demand, the International Copper Study Group said Tuesday.

When making seasonal adjustments for world refined production and usage, June showed a production deficit of about 47,000 mt, the ICSG said in its monthly report.

The refined copper balance for the first half of 2016, including revisions to previous data, indicates a production deficit of around 306,000 mt, and a seasonally adjusted deficit of about 227,000 mt.

That compares with a production deficit of around 54,000 mt (a seasonally adjusted surplus of about 27,000 mt) for the same period of 2015.

For the first half of 2016, world apparent refined usage is estimated to have increased by around 5% (570,000 mt) compared with the same period of 2015, mainly due to strong Chinese apparent demand, the ICSG said.

Factoring in estimated changes in Chinese bonded warehouse stocks, the world refined copper balance indicates a production deficit of around 151,000 mt for the first half compared with a surplus of about 16,000 mt for H1 2015.

“Chinese apparent demand increased by around 11% based on a 20% increase in net imports of refined copper from the lower net import level in early 2015 and consequently lower apparent demand,” ICSG analysts said. Excluding China, world usage remained essentially unchanged.

On a regional basis, refined usage is estimated to have increased by 5% in Europe and 7% in Asia (when excluding China, Asia usage declined by 2%) in H1 2016, while declining by 17% and 4% in Africa and in the Americas, respectively, and remaining essentially unchanged in Oceania.

World mine production is estimated to have increased by around 4.5% (430,000 mt) in the first half of 2016 compared with production in the same period of 2015, the ICSG said.

Concentrate production increased by 6% while solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) declined by 1%.

“The increase in world mine production was mainly due to a 50% rise in Peruvian output that is benefiting from new and expanded capacity brought on stream in the last two years,” ICSG analysts said.

A recovery in production levels in Canada and the US, expanded capacity in Mexico and a ramp-up in production in Mongolia also contributed to world growth.

But overall growth was partially offset by a 5.5% decline in production in Chile, the world?s biggest copper mine producer, and a 10% decline in Democratic Republic of Congo output due to temporary production cuts.

On a regional basis, production rose by 7% in the Americas and 6% in Asia during the first half, but declined by 4% in Africa while remaining essentially unchanged in Europe and Oceania, according to ICSG data.

World refined production is estimated to have increased by about 3% (320,000 mt) in the first half of 2016 compared with refined production in the same period of 2015: primary production was up by 2.5% and secondary production (from scrap) was up by 4.5%.

The main contributor to growth was China (+6%), followed by the US, where production increased by 16%. Output in Chile and Japan, the second and third leading refined copper producers, increased by around 2% and 3% respectively.

Refined production in the DRC and Zambia declined due to the impact of temporary production cuts, the ICSG said.

On a regional basis, refined output is estimated to have increased in the Americas (6%), Asia (5%) and Oceania (18%) in the first half, while declining in Africa (-15%) and in Europe (-4%).

Source: S&P Global Platts