MEASURES BEING TAKEN BY GOVT TO STABILIZE LOCAL ECONOMY MAY NOT YIELD IMMEDIATE RESULTS

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia says measures being taken by government and the Bank of Zambia to stabilize the local economy may not yield immediate results in the short-term.

Giving the bank’s 2023 results and 2024 outlook at a media briefing in Lusaka this morning, Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sonny Zulu says these actions may only be seen in the medium or long term especially in the mining sector.

Mr. Zulu has explained that mining is a long-term initiative and that benefits from the measures that have been taken now may take long but notes that some immediate benefits may be seen from the direct investments that are coming into the country.

And Mr. Zulu has outlined some of the factors that will continue impacting the exchange rate in 2024 such as mining, whose contribution has slowed down due to the nonfunctioning of some key mines thereby affecting the flow of foreign currency in the country, oil importation and continued importations which will put the local currency under pressure.

Meanwhile, Mr. Zulu has disclosed that the bank in 2023 posted an income of K1.52 billion representing a 27 percent growth year on year while profit before tax was at K918 million representing 145 percent growth year on year.