By Shapi Shacinda

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's vice president denied media reports on Thursday that President Levy Mwanawasa had died, saying he was in a stable condition in a Paris hospital.

"The president had (a) satisfactory night at the Percy military hospital in France. The news reports ... are not true," Vice President Rupiah Banda said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, South Africa's Talk Radio 702 reported Mwanawasa had died, quoting a Zambian High Commission spokesman.

South African President Thabo Mbeki told reporters he had been informed by the executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that Mwanawasa was dead.

Mbeki called for a minute's silence while attending a remembrance ceremony in Pretoria for victims of a recent wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

South Africa's Foreign Ministry then issued a statement saying there was a misunderstanding and Mbeki wished Mwanawasa a speedy recovery.

"The South African Government has been informed that President Mwanawasa has not passed on," said the statement.

Mwanawasa, 59, an outspoken critic of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, was rushed to hospital on Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after suffering a stroke just before an African Union summit.

He was later transferred to Paris for treatment.

"The doctors attending to (Mwanawasa) are happy with progress he has made so far and his condition remains stable. He has continued to receive treatment for hypertension in the intensive care unit and there are no new developments," Banda said.

The Zambian leader is a favourite of the International Monetary Fund and other Western donors, who extended billions of dollars in debt relief after he cracked down on government spending and launched an anti-graft drive.

Mwanawasa also chairs SADC, which has been mediating between Mugabe and the opposition to try to end a political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

His illness sidelined one of Mugabe's chief regional critics during an African Union summit at which the veteran Zimbabwean leader suffered unprecedented condemnation from some of his peers, including another neighbour, Botswana.

Zimbabwe's neighbours have been flooded with refugees after the once prosperous nation suffered economic collapse.

Mwanawasa suffered a mild stroke in 2006 but said before being re-elected that year that he was fit to stand for office.