By 
Zambia has improved its score by five points in the macroeconomic environment and transparency pillar as measured by the Absa Africa Financial Markets index (AFMI) 2023 released this month.
This progress was linked to the decline in Zambia’s external debt.
Zambia’s score was pegged at 74 on macroeconomic environment pillar owing to a stable inflation environment among rising price pressures globally on account of widening external shocks.
It was believed that the country’s consumer price index regardless of being out of the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) target band of six to eight percent was still on target for a year and only started to rise more lately.
Scores under this pillar rose in the majority of countries as economies started to stabilise following recent external shocks, with Zambia improving by five points.
Read more: AfDB report projects Zambia as one of five top performers in Africa
Key findings from the AFMindex 2023 indicated that almost all countries scored highly for the timeliness and transparency of their economic data and policy decisions.
The AFMindex 2023 showed that the outlook on this front was improving in a handful of countries, with Zambia improving its score by five points in this pillar, linked to the decline in its external debt.
“After defaulting in 2020, this year Zambia’s government reached an agreement with lenders to restructure US$6.3 billion of debt, which paved the way for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
“One survey participant mentioned ‘progress made on the debt restructuring front stands to support positive market sentiments going forward’,” according to the AFMindex 2023.
Most countries also scored higher in pillar five, as macroeconomic conditions have generally stabilised following shocks from the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Zambia was also fairly positioned on the market transparency pillar rated 74 out of a 100 which it had been fairly resilient on given some of the key developments in its market such as adoption of green listing rules as most African nations started to factor sustainability in their financial markets.
WARNING! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.
Comments