Story of the Day:
In the final week of 2020 trading on the LuSE, Friday’s equities trading was the best performing for the week. Eight companies’ securities recorded trades. Trading activity was recorded in Airtel, CEC Zambia, Lafarge, Bata, Puma, Madison Financial Services, Shoprite Zambia, and ZCCM. Read more
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Indo Zambia Bank’s half year after tax earnings reveal an aggressive sprint to the top two bracket after the indigenous bank posted after tax earnings of K111.8mln a 48.9% year on year and a 103% growth quarter on quarter. Indo Zambia generated the highest after tax profit for the second quarter at K74.0mln. Read more: The Business Telegraph
About 72% of businesses in Zambia are not able to raise funds for expansion due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, a research released on Tuesday showed. Read more: Daily News Egypt
Top cement producer, Lafarge Zambia has confirmed the increase in its cement prices on the market by about 20% and has attributed the increase to the current macro-economic factors that the country is facing which have been exacerbated by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more: Zambian Business Times
The Presidential Empowerment Initiative Fund (PEIF) says it will provide entrepreneurship opportunities to the youth and women groups. National Coordinator Clement Tembo says youths are a priority target for the PF Government because they hold the key to the country’s economic development. Read more: ZNBC
In an effort to provide cheap internet services, Huawei is ready to partner with mobile operators and regulators to expand information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in Zambia. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Zambia’s leather industry has not been spared from the negative socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 health crisis, which has restricted movement and ultimately demand for items like shoes, the head of a leading company in the sector said on Wesdnesday. Read more: IOL News
International Business and Finance
Gold has topped $2,000 an ounce for the first time as traders look for havens amid the pandemic. Investors have moved cash into the precious metal as Covid-19 cases rise in the US and more money is pumped into the global economy. Read more: BBC News
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating how Kodak received a a $765 million loan from the US government to help make drug ingredients. Last week’s surprise announcement sent Kodak’s shares soaringas much as 2,757% and sparked heavy trading volume for the largely forgotten company. Read more: CNN
The Trump administration wants to remove “untrusted” Chinese tech apps like TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Wednesday, detailing a new five-pronged “Clean Network” effort aimed at curbing potential national security risks. Read more: CNBC
Activity in Kenya’s private sector rose at its fastest pace in a year last month on the back of a gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, a survey showed on Wednesday. The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) jumped to 54.2 in July, from 46.6 in the previous month. Read more: Reuters
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There were no trades recorded yesterday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,865.40 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,645,209,233 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,406,003,253 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: