Investing in Zambia

Formal investing in Zambia is supervised mainly by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zambia, known as SEC Zambia. The SEC licenses and supervises dealers, advisers and fund managers under the Securities Act No. 41 of 2016, as amended by Act No. 21 of 2022. The Lusaka Securities Exchange, or LuSE, provides the exchange for listed securities. The Lusaka Central Securities Depository, or LCSA/CSD, records securities electronically, supports clearing and custody, and processes corporate actions. The Bank of Zambia, or BoZ, provides government-securities channels, while the Zambia Revenue Authority handles tax matters. Pension-fund investment is regulated through the Pensions and Insurance Authority. Common formal investments include LuSE shares, Zambia Government Treasury bills, government bonds, corporate and green bonds, collective investment schemes such as unit trusts, real estate investment trusts, and pension funds. Treasury bills have maturities of less than one year, commonly 91, 182, 273 or 364 days. Government bonds generally run for more than one year. A collective investment scheme pools investors' money under a professional manager, with a trustee and custodian. A real estate investment trust gives an investment structure linked to property. Zambia has an established regulatory framework for exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, but current retail availability must be checked against official product lists before relying on a specific ETF. A retail investor can usually invest through a licensed broker, fund manager, authorised custodian or CSD participant. Government securities can also be accessed through the BoZ Investor Portal or a registered commercial bank. A LuSE account commonly requires a National Registration Card or passport, proof of physical address, two passport photographs, bank details and Know Your Customer information. A broker may set a minimum deposit. Residents and non-residents can generally access government securities, subject to the applicable account, identification and transaction requirements. Government securities can be bought through auction. A non-competitive Treasury-bill bid starts at K1,000 and can extend up to K499,000. A competitive bid requires at least K500,000 and lets the bidder specify a price or yield, while a non-competitive bid accepts the auction cut-off result. Treasury bills may be sold or rediscounted under the applicable rules. Investors can generally seek an exit from bonds before maturity through the secondary market, but the available buyer, price and timing are not guaranteed. LuSE trading normally takes place from Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays, between 11:00 and 14:00. An initial public offering or new issue belongs to the primary market. Buying or selling an existing security belongs to the secondary market. The broker should provide a contract note showing the transaction, fees and settlement date. Equity trades generally settle on T+3 and debt trades on T+1. A LuSE equity purchase or sale is subject to a published charge of 1.375% in the standard case: SEC 0.125%, LuSE 0.25% and broker commission 1%. Large transactions may have negotiable broker charges. Fund management, subscription and redemption fees vary between collective investment schemes, so the total cost should be compared before investing. A BoZ government-securities handling fee of 1% may also apply. Tax treatment depends on the instrument, investor status and current rules. A BoZ public notice dated 26 September 2025 reported 20% withholding tax on government-bond coupons and Treasury-bill discounts for residents and non-residents. ZRA materials list dividends and interest among withholding-tax categories; a 2024 practice note recorded 0% dividend withholding tax for listed LuSE shares. The current rate and status should be confirmed with ZRA for the specific product and transaction date. Listed LuSE shares are shown as exempt from property-transfer tax, while other qualifying share transfers may carry an 8% rate under the applicable rules. A portfolio should match the investment goal, time horizon and ability to tolerate losses. Treasury bills and bonds can support income planning, while shares and property-linked investments can provide longer-term growth but usually carry greater price or liquidity risk. Diversification across issuers, sectors, maturities and currencies can reduce concentration risk. Emergency money should remain separate from invested capital. Investors should keep statements, units, International Securities Identification Numbers, income records, tax documents and notices about dividends, interest, voting or rights issues. Securities are normally held in electronic book-entry form through the CSD. Delivery-versus-payment arrangements link transfer of the security with payment. Recognised sub-custodians include Standard Chartered Bank Nominees and Stanbic Bank Nominees. Dividends, interest, rights and voting actions are administered through the relevant custody chain. Money held for clients should remain separate from a broker's own funds. Pledging securities does not remove ownership immediately, but default can lead to liquidation and a loss, especially where margin or borrowed money is involved. Direct property, private business, agriculture and mining placements exist mainly through fragmented private or informal arrangements rather than a standardised retail capital-market product. They can be illiquid, difficult to value and harder to exit. Claims of guaranteed or unusually high returns are warning signs for fraud, especially when the provider cannot be verified in the SEC licensee register. Digital or crypto products are not an established equivalent in the reviewed Zambian evidence and should not be treated as part of the formal investment pathway without product-specific verification. The main risks include price declines, interest-rate changes, inflation, Kwacha or foreign-exchange movements, issuer or sovereign default, limited liquidity, operational and custody failures, tax changes, regulatory changes and unlicensed schemes. LuSE describes the corporate-bond market as underdeveloped, so a corporate bond may be harder to sell than expected. A complaint normally starts with the licensed firm in writing. The firm should acknowledge it within five working days and provide a substantive response within 30 working days, subject to the applicable extension rules. Unresolved complaints can proceed to SEC, alternative dispute resolution or court. A compensation fund can address qualifying default, insolvency, fraud or misfeasance by a licensed dealer or adviser; it does not cover ordinary market losses or poor investment performance.