Times Of Swaziland: SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE IMPRESSES KING

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE IMPRESSES KING
================================================================================
King's Office Correspondent on 04/07/2023 08:44:00


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 incentivised investment area, commonly referred to as a special
economic zone (SEZ). Eswatini has also designated similar spaces. The three
companies are Big Tree Beverages, Trade Kings Group and Twyford. The Big Tree
Beverages is a subsidiary company of Trade Kings Group, a wholly Zambian-owned
company established in 1995. This 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 (SADC)
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.
Jobs
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.