CURRENCY DEALERS SEE RED OVER DOLLARS

SOME Bureau De Change in Lusaka’s Manda Hill and Arcades shopping malls are currently stuck with dollars following the appreciation of the Kwacha. e Kwacha strengthened against the dollar on Tuesday to close 12 ngwee high at K12.230/12.280, sustained by increased hard currency in ows and a drop in demand for importers. Mr. Paul Kalumba, president for

the Association of Bureau De Change explained that most of the bureau de change had reached their maximum capital base and could not buy any more dollars. Mr Kalumba however observed the need for the bureaus, particularly at shopping malls to have adequate capital base. He said this yesterday in an interview in Lusaka. “ e malls are high class places, you need to have a huge capital to be able to satisfy the demand. If the capital is not big, you will soon run out and whats happening now is a typical example. “When the rate is going up, we were around K12.1 and K12.2 for a long time, when the rate goes to 12.5 what we see in the market is that those holding dollars is an opportunity for them to get more,” Mr Kalumba said. Mr Kalumba said most bureaus currently had squeezed in liquidity. “ e bureaus are caught in a situation where they have a lot of dollars where nobody is taking and being in a business, they have nowhere else to get the Kwacha, they have to sell what they have. “We make our money from buying and selling money to the public. So if a bureau is gritty and is not buying from the public, then where is it getting the money it is selling? e law requires them to buy if you are selling.” e Kwacha is expected to add to its gains in the days to come on the back of wages and salaries Kwacha obligations.

When the rate is going up, we were around K12.1 and K12.2 for a long time, when the rate goes to 12.5 what we see in the market is that those holding dollars is an opportunity for them to get more,”

— Paul Kalumba