Zambia woos Japanese investors to establish vehicle manufacturing plants

The Zambian government has invited Japanese investors to consider establishing a vehicle manufacturing plant in the country.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga, stated the availability of both local and regional markets through SADC, COMESA and the broader continent during the Japan-Zambia investment promotion webinar.

Mulenga highlighted government’s priority to transform Zambia’s economy through strategic partnerships, according to a statement issued in Lusaka by Faith Chilube, the First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

He stated government’s policy aimed to accelerate the creation of a diversified economy driven by value addition to raw materials such as copper, nickel and manganese.

Additionally, he said opportunities existed in assembling light industrial equipment, processing timber into furniture, processing hides into leather and manufacturing textiles and garments.

Sectors open for investment included agriculture, agro-processing, mining, and the Electric Vehicle Battery value chain.m, he noted.

He added that to promote value addition, the government had implemented fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and promoted Special Economic Zones.

Mulenga also highlighted incentives for investments in rural areas and the need for private investment to improve the energy mix, given the country’s reliance on hydropower.

Zambia’s Ambassador to Japan, Dr. Tobias Mulimbika, noted Japan’s revised mineral resources diplomacy, positioning Zambia as a strategic partner.

ZDA Director-General, Albert Halwampa, pointed out that country’s potential to become an EV battery and assembly hub, leveraging agreements with DRC on critical minerals.

The webinar, marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, was organised by UNIDO, the Zambian Embassy in Tokyo, and the Japanese Embassy in Zambia.

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