$10M PUT IN EUROBOND SINKING FUND

Government has set aside 10 million dollars in the sinking fund toward offsetting the 750-million dollars Euro bond scheduled for 2022.
Finance Minister, Margaret Mwanakatwe says government has enough time to raise the 750 million dollars hence the decision start to raising the funds early.
Addressing the media in Lusaka, Mrs. Mwanakatwe noted that the sinking fund will be used to settle the other two Euro bonds.
She had however noted that the depreciation of the Kwacha will increase debt servicing because government has to buy dollars to pay its debt obligations.
The Minister added that she will soon be travelling to China to engage the government on debt restructuring.
And Mrs. Mwanakatwe has revealed that Gross Domestic Product-GDP- growth estimates for second quarter of 2018 increased from 3.9 percent compared to 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
She says the iincrease was supported by positive performance in mining, manufacturing, construction and stable supply of electricity.
She says expenditure in the third quarter in line with fiscal consolidation was below the target of 9.4 percent.
The Minister has also projected a 7 percent fiscal deficit at the end of the year lower than the projected 7.4 percent.
She revealed that government paid out 5.1 billion Kwacha towards debt servicing adding that domestic arrears as at end of second quarter stood at 14.7 billion Kwacha compared to 13.9 billion Kwacha recorded at the end of first quarter of 2018.
Mrs. Mwanakatwe has since projected stable macroeconomic fundamentals, single digit inflation rate, growth of 4 percent and continued implementation of austerity measures at the end of the 2018.
And JICA Resident Representative who spoke on behalf of corporation partners Hanai Junichi commended government for stable macroeconomic fundamentals.

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