Story of the Day:
In his recent budget announcement for the fiscal year 2021, Minister of Finance Dr. Bwalya Ngandu stated that Zambia had experienced a trade surplus during the year 2020. However, it’s not the trade surplus that many would have hope for. Covid-19 had done its part in disenfranchising domestic and global supply chains, therefore, impacting imports and exports into the country. Read more
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Zambia’s Eurobonds extended declines and its currency weakened to a record against the dollar after a group of bondholders rejected the government’s request for a six-month suspension of interest payments. The announcement on Wednesday, a day after the southern African nation held a webcast to try convince creditors to approve the freeze while it drafts a restructuring plan. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Konkola Copper Mines Plc (KCM) now owes Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) an outstanding US $150 million electricity bill, up from around US $144 million at the end of June, 2020. Read more: News Diggers
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see local authorities collecting base and withholding taxes on rental income on a commission basis. Read more: News Diggers
Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela has called on students to consider investing in domestic Tourism and hospitality. Mr. Chitotela said the tourism sector is now being considered more economical than the social sector because of the value addition chain involved. He added that government has exempted lodges and hotels from paying tax annually, making it easy for their businesses to thrive. Read more: ZNBC
The Zambia Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU) is elated by government’s decision to raise the pay as you earn tax exception threshold to K4000 from K3,300. Read more: ZNBC
Zambeef says Government’s move to increase import duty on livestock products will unlock local capacity, which has for a long time been hampered by the influx of imports. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
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Rolls-Royce has announced it will seek to raise £3bn to bolster its finances after a “sharp deterioration” in civil aerospace because of the pandemic. The plane engine maker will tap shareholders for £2bn though a rights issue and the remainder will come from issuing new bonds. Read more: BBC News
Some Instagram users will now be able to message their friends on Messenger, without needing a Facebook account. The move is the first step in Facebook’s plan to integrate Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, announced last year. The effort could effectively cement Facebook’s dominance over the messaging market for years to come, and arguably make it harder to break up the company, which is facing anti-trust scrutiny in Washington. Read more: CNN
Goldman Sachs is resuming layoffs after pausing them during the coronavirus pandemic. The bank confirmed that it plans to eliminate less than 1% of its workforce — about 400 positions. The job cuts will take place across the firm, the company said, which totaled 39,100 employees as of July. Read more: CNN
American Airlines and United Airlines will start furloughing more than 32,000 employees on Thursday after talks for a national coronavirus aid package failed in Washington, but both carriers say they are prepared to reverse course if a stimulus deal is reached. Read more: CNBC
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In 1,044 trades recorded yesterday, 82,004,168 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K10,660,542. Trading activity was recorded in CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,823.58 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,463,674,390 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,224,468,410 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: