Story of the Day:
During the week, bonds of total face value of K99,736,000 were transacted in 25 trades, yielding a market value sales of K67,776,000. The third week of Corporate Bond trading was the best thus far for the month of February as it recorded the highest Total Face Value, number of Trades as well as Market Value Sales. Read more
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Interest rates on loan facilities could still rise despite the Bank of Zambia’s (BoZ) decision to maintain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 11.5 per cent due to the elevated cost of funds, says Bankers’ Association of Zambia (BAZ) chief executive officer Leonard Mwanza. Read more: News Diggers
An American investor, Railnet International, is in the country to invest over US$11 billion in the rail transport system in the country. Railnet International Chief Executive Officer Don Kress says the rail system will connect Zambia to the rest of Africa. Read more: ZNBC
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) created over 4,000 jobs through its agriculture, agro-processing and renewable energy projects in some parts of the country between 2017 and 2019.
Minister of Finance Bwalya Ng’andu said the 4,370 jobs were created at new enterprises through direct investments and partnerships with the private sector. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Kabwe offers investment opportunities in different sectors which the locals could take advantage of, a business executive, Tabonga Kalabi, has said. Mrs Kalabi, who is proprietor of Kwitu Cakes, said an assessment of the economic and social profile of Kabwe shows that the Central Province capital is a lucrative investment area. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
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A system and a concept called the ‘Internet’ intended for the good of humankind is now being used as a tool to propagate hate and perpetrate crimes. Has this great invention turned against its inventors? Has it brought more harm than good? Read more
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Ajay Banga, who led Mastercard during nearly a decade of double-digit annual revenue growth and a soaring stock price, will step aside as the payments company’s chief executive at the start of 2021 and move into the role of executive chairman. The group’s chief product officer, Michael Miebach, will become chief on January 1st. Read more: Financial Times
Microsoft is the latest major company to warn of a disruption as China grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. The tech giant said because its Chinese suppliers were shutdown, manufacturing operations have been affected. This delay could hit sales of its personal computing business including Surface laptops and tablets, Microsoft warned. Read more: BBC News
Glencore, the brokerage and raw materials extraction company, has agreed to supply Samsung with 21,000 tonnes of cobalt over the next 5 years. The agreement will see the Swiss firm send the equivalent to 45% of its 2019 cobalt production, or about 63% of its expected total output in the DRC for 2020 to Samsung. Read more: Mining
More than 100 IMF members have pledged to provide $334 million in debt relief for Somalia, which then will unlock fresh funds to help the country, the International Monetary Fund announced Wednesday. Read more: Yahoo Finance
South Korea’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, dashing expectations for a cut, even as the rapid spread of the coronavirus in Asia’s fourth-largest economy threatened to derail growth. Read more: CNBC
Standard Chartered on Thursday posted a 45.5% rise in annual profit, weathering the economic fallout from global trade tensions and political protests in Hong Kong with revenue growth in its main markets. The bank, which makes the bulk of its revenue in Asia, posted a pretax profit of $3.71 billion, up from $2.55 billion in 2018 and slightly below the $3.94 billion average of analysts’ forecasts compiled by the bank. Read more: Reuters
South Africa will cut its public sector wage bill to contain a rising budget deficit, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown with trade unions who threatened protests if pay was touched. Read more: Reuters
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In 2 trades recorded yesterday, 5,000 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K3,172. Trading activity was recorded in Standard Chartered Bank Limited and Zanaco. A share price loss of K0.01 was recorded in Standard Chartered Bank Limited. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 4,246.75 points, 0.09% down from its previous close of 4,250.58 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,303,524,174 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,064,318,194 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: