Since late last year, foreign investors have been stuffing themselves with kwacha.
Though it may sound to some like an exotic fruit, the kwacha is in fact the currency of Zambia, now seen by some investors as one of the more promising economies in Africa.
According to a report this month by the International Monetary Fund, foreign holdings of Zambian government securities  primarily by hedge funds  rose from a “negligible amount” to $150 million during 2005, mostly in the last quarter. By May of this year, that figure had risen by 50%.
This influx has strengthened the currency and sent Zambian interest rates tumbling: Bond yields have fallen by half from average levels of more than 20% last year.
The sudden interest illustrates a broader theme in emerging markets over recent years: the constant hunt by bond investors for extra yield and their willingness to seek it in ever-more-far-flung places.
Lately, the search has often led them to countries benefiting from the current commodities boom. Zambia, a major copper producer, is one example, though debt forgiveness and growing confidence in the government’s management of the economy have also helped it to attract foreign money.
Then there is the less exotic, disparate group sometimes known as the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China. The four are very different, but their size gives them the shared potential to dominate the global economy.
