Story of the Day:
Between 1996 and 1997, the Government of the Republic of Zambia introduced a home empowerment scheme for employees of the Government and public entities which permitted groups of employees to purchase houses. Under this policy, the eligible employees were those who were sitting tenants during the course of employment and had not yet been paid their termination benefits. Read more
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The odds of Zambia’s long awaited International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout package are widening as the Washington based lender gears up for a fortnight of virtual deliberations in April. The IMF will be in virtual talks with Zambia for an Extended Credit Facility (ECF) commencing 30 March 2021 and continue into the first two weeks of April 2021. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Zambia’s central bank sold K797.7million ($35.5million) worth of treasury bills in an undersubscribed auction shy of the K1.3billion of assets of offer. This was the last T-bill sale of the quarter. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Government has started the exploration process of oil and gas in different parts of the country. Mines and Mineral Resources Minister Richard Musukwa says government is in a hurry to discover the oil and gas for the country’s economic development. Read more: ZNBC
A consortium of Ugandan business executives is on the Copperbelt to explore investment opportunities in the manufacturing sector, with an initial investment capital of $5 million. Delegation leader Musa Mugeere says they intend to establish their business in the province because of the good investment landscape. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
With each passing day, the closed Suez Canal in Egypt is costing an estimated 9 billion dollars’ worth of goods that should be passing through the water way, according to famed shipping journal, Llyod’s List. This could result in higher costs for consumers in the future. Read more: Africa News
Britain and the European Union agreed a new post-Brexit financial services pact on Friday that will allow them to co-operate on regulation but does little to improve the City of London’s access to the bloc. Read more: Reuters
US President Joe Biden will separate his spending plan to upgrade the nation’s infrastructure into two separate pieces that he will unveil weeks apart, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday. Read more: CNBC
The U.S. isn’t ready to lift tariffs on Chinese imports in the near future, but might be open to trade negotiations with Beijing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. Read more: Wall Street Journal
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In 1 trade recorded on Friday, a volume of 1,000,000 shares were transacted resulting in a market turnover of K700,000. A share price gain of K0.14 was recorded in Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 4,021.07 points, 1.15% up from its previous close of 3,974.75 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,838,837,980 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,594,197,206 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: