Story of the Day:
ZCCM IH has announced that it will be working with registered gold mining cooperatives in Rufunsa, Vubwi, and Lundazi in gold recovery and exploration activities according to CEO Mabvuto Chipata. Read more
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With K1.5billion of market liquidity as measured by interbank aggregate current account balances, there was adequate purchasing power in Thursday, 07 May treasury bill sale. With K950million of assets on offer the central bank in Africa’s copper producer Zambia, sold 40% above its offer benchmark raising K1.33billion of a total appetite of K1.8billion in bids observed. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Finance Minister Dr Bwalya Ng’andu says there has been low uptake by Businesses of the K10 Billion Stimulus Package set aside by the Bank of Zambia for economic recovery amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Dr Ng’andu says the lack of information on the stimulus package among the intended beneficiaries has led to few of them accessing the facility from Commercial Banks. Read more: Lusaka Times
Lusaka City Council under collected revenue by 52% during the first four months of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. LCC Public Relations Manager George Sichimba says the Council planned to collect K132 Million during the period under review but only collected over K63 million. Read more: Lusaka Times
Government owes mining firms in the country in excess of US$1.5 billion in unpaid Value Added Tax VAT refunds. Chamber of Mines President Goodwell Mateyo has disclosed the development to Diamond TV. Read more: Zambian Observer
The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has injected K393 million in the market on the back of open market operations (OMO) to help the economy remain afloat. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Government says it will not suspend the implementation of Employment Code-No. 3 of 2019. Labour Minister Joyce Simukoko says government will not entertain calls to suspend the Employment Code as it was enacted following wide consultations. Read more: ZNBC
The Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) has issued guidelines in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. PIA Communications Manager Doreen Silungwe says in view of the impact of COVID-19 on the national economy and the insurance sector requires all claims to be settled. Ms. Silungwe says the Authority will not reject claims due to delayed reporting or challenges that may arise due to COVID-19 related directives issued by Government. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
Top officials from the U.S. and China held a phone call late Thursday Eastern time to discuss trade matters including the “phase one” deal that was signed in January. Read more: Al Jazeera
The Bank of England has warned that the UK economy is heading towards its sharpest recession on record. The coronavirus impact would see the economy shrink 14% this year, based on the lockdown being relaxed in June. Read more: BBC News
Uber lost a staggering $2.9 billion in the first three months of this year, the company reported Thursday. Read more: CNN
A rally in bitcoin led the cryptocurrency market higher ahead of a major technical event for the digital coin and as industry participants report an increased interest from institutional investors. Bitcoin crossed $10,000 on Friday morning Singapore time, the first time it has hit that price since February, according to data from CoinDesk. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 8 trades recorded yesterday, 11,631 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K13,623. Trading activity was recorded in AEL Zambia, Copperbelt Energy Corporation and Lafarge The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 4,145.44 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K56,862,470,987 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,623,265,007 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: