But producers have also gained because price stability helps them to plan ahead. Lower inflation and confidence in central bank policies have, in turn, reduced uncertainty about future price developments. The lower inflation risk premium is allowing even industrial economies to grow at lower real interest rates than in the past. And, finally, an unambiguously beneficial consequence of the new international monetary order is that it allows for more efficient distribution of capital. At the same time as the current polarisation of exchange rate regimes has come into being, financial globalisation has intensified. Capital controls are being lifted in a growing number of developing countries. In the 1970s, net flows of private capital to the world's poor countries amounted to a little over 1% of host-country GDP. 3 By the end of the 1990s, this percentage figure had grown by a factor of three. Today, there is a broader acceptance of the benefits to be derived from financial liberalisation. Indeed, the gains expected from a free market for international capital are substantial. Global finance allows for a better allocation of world resources, enhancing the prospects for growth of all nations. For richer countries of the world, there are new investment opportunities to finance the expanding needs of their aging populations. Younger and poorer nations obtain access to capital to realise their high potential growth. This is the basic teaching of the theory of international capital flows.
Denny H Kalyalya: Expansion of Zambia’s banking sector Remarks by Dr Denny H Kalyalya, Deputy Governor-Operations of the Bank of Zambia; at the official opening of Bank of China’s new premises, Lusaka, 9 December 2008. *  *  *  • Honourable Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP; • His Excellency – the Chinese Ambassador to the Republic of Zambia; Mr. Li Qiangmin; • Managing Director of the Bank of China (Zambia) Limited; Mr Du Qiang; • Distinguished Invited Guests; • Ladies and Gentlemen. I am greatly honoured for having been invited to speak on the occasion of the official opening ceremony of Bank of China’s new premises. Ladies and Gentlemen As part of the on-going Zambia-Chinese relationship, the Bank of China was established in 1997. Since then the Bank has recorded tremendous progress. Distinguished Invited Guests During the past 8 years, the overall financial performance and condition of the banking sector has been satisfactory. The sector has continued to expand and we anticipate increased economic and investment activity in the period ahead. Banks are expected to continue to provide the required level of finance to consolidate the economic gains registered so far. The Bank has achieved tremendous growth since its inception in 1997. During the last eleven years, total assets have increased by 325% to K507.9 billion in October 2008 from K13.8 billion in December 1997. Regulatory capital increased by about 1,000% to K41.9 billion in October 2008 from K3.8 billion December 1997.