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Zambia mull policy to compel mining firms list on stock market
Last Updated(Beijing Time):2012-02-08 16:26

The Zambian government says it plans to put in place a policy that will compel mining firms to list on the local bourse to enhance citizens' participation in the country's mineral wealth, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Tuesday.

While emphasizing that the government will negotiate with mining firms so that they list on the Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE), Ministry of Mines and Natural Resources Permanent Secretary Victor Mutambo said it will compel other companies that will not be willing to do so by way of a policy.

"Other mining companies have shown interest to list on LuSE and we are ready to negotiate with others as well. What I think should be done is to start forcing others to do so in order to improve on citizens' participation in the sector," he was quoted as saying by the paper.

Last week, an umbrella body of local businesses- the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI)- called on the government to compel large scale companies in key sectors such as the mines to make it mandatory to list shares on the stock market.

ZACCI president Geoffrey Sakulanda told local media that the listing of large firms will empower both the citizens and the companies by raising additional capital from the stock market.

The call comes in the wake of reports that few Zambians hold large-scale mining licenses with the majority owned by foreigners, an indication that Zambia's participation in the mining sector is minimal. As at December 2011, about 90 percent of the 748 small- scale mining licenses were held by Zambians while only two out of the 29 large-scale mining licenses were held by Zambians.

Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia include Canada's First Quantum Minerals, London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc, Glencore International Plc, Barrick Gold, Brazil's Vale and Metorex of South Africa.

Source:Xinhua 
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