Story of the Day:
Over the past two years of implementing its 2018-2023 strategic plan, ZCCM IH made some notable achievements which included consistent dividend pay-outs to shareholders. Since the 2015 financial year, the group has paid approximately K537 million to shareholders as dividends. Except for 2016, investors were paid a dividend every year as shown in the table below. Read more
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A Brazilian Company has expressed interest to partner with Zambia in boosting the aquaculture industry in the country. Easy Development Investment Company, that works with African countries in managing fish farming on a larger scale has chosen Zambia as one of the investment destinations looking at the Zambian Government’s efforts in promoting the aquaculture industry. Read more: Zambia Reports
Zambian High Court on February 26, ruled against an energy statute pronounced in 2020 declaring the state power utility as carrier of carriers. Energy Minister, Matthew Nkhuwa had signed a Statutory Instrument No.57 making ZESCO Ltd a ‘carrier of carriers’ in a move that was seen as disadvantaging Lusaka Securities Exchange listed Copperbelt Energy Corporation. Read more: The Business Telegraph
President Edgar Lungu urged the private sector to use the renewable energy feed-in tariff strategy, which is an initiative aimed at accelerating private investments in small-and-medium sized renewable energy projects, in order to increase the number of players in the electricity sub-sector. Read more: ZNBC
President Edgar Lungu has described price hikes on some products as an act of Sabotage because they cannot be explained. President Lungu says there must be a good explanation for hikes in prices of commodities like Cement. He says government is concerned with high Prices of commodities and has assured citizens that something will be done about it. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia’s honorary consul in Istanbul on Sunday said Zambia and Turkey have established mutually beneficial relations that have continued to grow in recent years. Bülent Göktuna said Turkey regards Zambia as a strategic partner both in the Southern African region and the continent as a whole, according to a statement by the Zambian Embassy in Ankara. Read more: Daily Sabah
International Business and Finance
East Africa, celebrated as Africa’s growth hotspot in the past decade, is facing challenges, and now West Africa is rising as the continent’s fastest-growing region despite debt concerns in Ghana and political instability in Nigeria. Read more: Ghana Web
Chinese investment in Australia plummeted 61% in 2020, the lowest number in six years. The drop in investment comes amid a growing diplomatic rift between the two countries. The Australian National University’s Chinese Investment in Australia Database (CHIIA) recorded just over $780m in investment. Only 20 Chinese investments were recorded in 2020, well below the 2016 peak of 111. Read more: BBC News
China’s factory activity expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in February, as weak overseas demand and coronavirus flare-ups weighed on output, adding pressure on the country’s labor market, a business survey showed on Monday. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.9 last month, the lowest level since last May. Read more: CNBC
The Vice-President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has given the crypto community some hope about cryptocurrency following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to ban cryptocurrencies from Nigeria’s financial ecosystem. In his keynote address, he urged Nigerians to act with knowledge and not fear while emphasising the need for monetary authorities to rethink their stand on cryptocurrencies. Read more: Business Insider
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There were no trades recorded on Friday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,983.90 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,665,804,485 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,432,033,300 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: