LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – His Majesty King Mswati III visited three giant Zambian companies trading in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone on Sunday afternoon and was highly impressed.
This is an incentivized investment area, commonly referred to as a special economic zone (SEZ). Eswatini has also designated similar spaces.
The three companies visited by His Majesty are Big Tree Beverages, TradeKings Group and Twyford.
The Big Tree Beverages is a subsidiary company of TradeKings Group, a wholly Zambian-owned company established in 1995.
Trade Kings Group is a wholly Zambian-owned business, specialising in the creation and manufacture of innovative laundry and cleaning products, delicious sweets, confectionary, snacks, biscuits and reinventing both traditional and exciting new beverages.
It has invested over 250 million dollars (approximately E4.7 billion) and hired over 16,000 employees.
Twyford is a Chinese-led company specialising in the production of tiles of all kinds. It also sells its products across the Southern Africa Development Community and has indicated interest in establishing a branch in Eswatini.
His Majesty the King thanked President Hakainde Hichilema for allowing him to pay a visit to the Special Economic Zone, or Industrial Park, that is reserved for the establishment of all sorts of companies.
His Majesty thanked the companies for having shown interest and invested in Zambia, thereby creating jobs for the citizens.
He said he was impressed not just by the state-of-the-art equipment installed there but also by their first-world-standard products, which are also sold beyond the borders of Zambia.
“We say well done, and we have been pleased to move around in these facilities. In order to be successful, such facilities require a lot of commitment from all involved, including the workers, so that they can be in a position to meet their targets and objectives,” he said.
His Majesty said visiting the companies gave him and his entourage, which included Inkhosikati Make LaMagongo, Commerce, Industry and Trade Minister Manqoba Khumalo and Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Thulisile Dlamini, the opportunity to see what is being produced in Zambia.
“Now that we know what sorts of goods these companies produce, it has given us insight and when we get back home, we will see what we may require or buy from Zambia,” the King said.
In fact, in his deliberations during the tour of the companies, His Majesty the King encouraged the companies to consider opening their branches in the Kingdom as well.
E11.3 Bn INVESTMENT ATTRACTED TO SEZs
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – The Zambian Special Economic Zone, situated south of Lusaka, has attracted over E11.3 billion worth of investment.
This is according to Maxwell Zulu, the head of planning and compliance at the Lusaka-South Multi-Facility Economic Zone Limited.
He said more than US$600 million has gone into the investment, which currently provides more than 18000 jobs, while the completion of the factories currently under construction is expected to add over 15,000 more jobs.
Zulu explained that there were 21 companies operating in the economic zone, while 27 more were setting up. Zulu said 70 per cent of the companies were local and the rest international.
He said the SEZ became operational in 2015, with the first company starting to operate in 2017 after being attracted by the incentives the SEZ offers.
“We have tax incentives that allow companies to import machinery duty-free, and if an investor is exporting, the first 10 years the profits from the export will be zero-rated,” he explained.
He further revealed that from year 12 on, only 35 per cent of the profits are taxed, followed by 13 to 15 years, when 75 per cent is taxable. After 15 years, they are taxed on the full profits.
Zulu said they have accelerated depreciation on equipment and enjoy certain rebates on corporate tax
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