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Scotland gives Zambia £1 million
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Bank of England set for 12th straight interest rate hike
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ZAFFICO recorded a gross profit of K288.6 million compared with K251.1 million in the prior year representing a growth of 15%
Story of the Day
Zambia’s premier medical facility held a successful second annual health week which tackled a plethora of issues important to the medical and health economy of Zambia and the World at large. A spot survey conducted by Financial Insight Zambia of some of the delegates who attended this years event, revealed that many participants were pleased with the assembly of top thought leaders in various aspects of the medical field with a majority of them indicating that they would be attending next years event. The theme of the two-day conference forum held by Medland Hospital on April 27 and 28, 2023, was “Healthcare Alphabet: It All Begins with an A,” based on Medland Hospital’s vision of 8-5-3 and its triple-A approach to healthcare, which focuses on accessibility, agility, and affordability. Read more
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Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has arrived safely in Paris, France, ahead of a crucial meeting with His Excellency, President Emmanuel Macron. The meeting will focus on issues related to debt resolution and trade and investment opportunities between Zambia and France. France is a key player in Zambia’s debt restructuring program as it sits on the Paris Club of Creditors and the G20, which have been discussing Zambia’s debt situation under the Common Debt Treatment Framework. President Hichilema expressed his commitment to finding a solution to Zambia’s debt crisis and thanked the public for their continued support. President Hichilema is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Stanley Kakubo and Minister of Finance and National Planning of Zambia Situmbeko Musokotwane. While in France, President Hichilema is expected to hold high-level bilateral talks with President Macron. The outcome of this meeting is crucial in accelerating Zambia’s debt restructuring process. Read more: Lusaka Times
South Africa’s Tourism Minister Patricia De Lille has called on African governments to harmonise their visa processes in order to grow tourism across the continent. Ms. De Lille said African must have a harmonised visa regime to make it easier for visitors to move from one country to another. She said the continent must also simplify the e-visa application process and reduce visa costs to make Africa a more attractive destination for both Africans and international travellers. She was speaking when she opened the 2023 edition of Africa’s Travel Indaba (ATI) in Durban on Tuesday under the theme, “Unlimited Africa”. Zambia is represented at the Travel Indaba by Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba and officials from the Zambia Tourism Agency. Read more: Lusaka Times
Scotland has given Zambia one- million pounds International Development Investment to establish a state-of-the-art research facility. This was confirmed today in Edinburgh when President Hakainde Hichilema held a bilateral meeting with Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousef. At the meeting, Mr. Yousaf said Scotland is committed to strengthening ties with Zambia in areas such as inclusive education, equalities and renewable energy. And, President Hichilema said education is the best investment a country can make. He added that Scotland’s history as a global leader in education and economics is well known. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) has approved the proposed construction of a specialized hospital in Lusaka West at a cost of US$40 million, which is equivalent to K720 Million. In a statement, Agency Acting Director General Maxwell Nkoya said the specialized hospital will be constructed through the Zambia Medical Association Cooperative. Mr. Nkoya explained that Environmental Assessment Committee approved a total of 75 projects from the 87 considered projects during the second sitting for April 2023, and the total investment value for all considered projects is over K2 Billion. Read more: Money FM
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 18.1498 | 18.1948 |
GBP | 22.8342 | 22.8981 |
EUR | 19.8649 | 19.9215 |
ZAR | 0.9813 | 0.9839 |
In International Business News
The Bank of England is expected to hike interest rates for the 12th consecutive meeting on Thursday as inflation continues to run hot, but the summit may be drawing near. The U.K. economy has held up better than expected so far this year, though GDP flatlined in February as widespread strikes and the cost-of-living squeeze hampered activity, while the labor market continues to look resilient. Annual headline inflation remained stubbornly above 10% in March, driven by persistently high food and energy bills, while core inflation also remained unchanged, highlighting the risk of entrenchment. The Bank expects it to fall rapidly from the middle of 2023 to reach around 4% by the end of the year, however. Read more: CNBC
Goldman Sachs will pay $215m (£170.5m) to settle claims that it discriminated against women, offering female staff lower pay and fewer opportunities. The agreement comes a month before the long-running class-action lawsuit was due to come to trial. It resolves claims from about 2,800 female staff who worked at the bank in the US. Goldman will work with outside experts to analyse its pay patterns and methods of promotion as part of the deal. Read more: BBC News
Airbnb on Tuesday reported strong revenue growth and a new record for bookings during the first three months of the year, in a sign that demand for travel remains strong despite lingering recession fears. The company reported revenue for the quarter grew 20% to $1.8 billion, just beating Wall Street’s estimates. The company said nights and experiences booked on the platform hit a record high of over 120 million last quarter. “More guests are traveling on Airbnb than ever before,” CEO Brian Chesky said on a call with analysts Tuesday. “We’ve seen our highest number of active bookers ever, despite continued macroeconomic uncertainties.” “During the quarter, we also saw guests booking trips further in advance, supporting a strong backlog for q2,” he added. “We were especially encouraged by the continued recovery of Asia Pacific as nights booked in q1 increased more than 40% year over year.” Airbnb also reported net income of some $117 million, compared to a net loss in the same period last year. Read more: CNN
China’s imports contracted sharply in April, while exports rose at a slower pace, reinforcing signs of feeble domestic demand despite the lifting of Covid curbs and heaping pressure on an economy already struggling in the face of cooling global growth. China’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter thanks to robust services consumption, but factory output has lagged and the latest trade numbers point to a long road to regaining the pre-pandemic momentum at home. Inbound shipments to the world’s second-largest economy fell 7.9% year on year in April, extending the 1.4% decline seen a month earlier, while exports grew 8.5%, easing from the 14.8% surge in March, customs data showed on Tuesday. Economists in a Reuters poll had predicted no growth in imports and an 8.0% increase in exports. Read more: CNN
According to official government data, Kenya’s manufacturing industry continued to grow slowly in 2022 as a result of high production costs and rising competition from low-cost imports. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey 2023, the sector’s growth decreased to 2.7% in 2022 from 7.3% in 2021. This presents a hazy image of the industry’s participants and the government’s lofty goal to have it contribute up to 20% of the GDP and provide at least one million jobs yearly by 2030. Low agricultural output, particularly of food crops, which serve as the primary inputs for agro-processing, has been partly blamed for the decelerated development in the previous year. The manufacturing industry in the year under review also tried to push on despite complications brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the fact that it was an election year, there was less economic activity since investors continued to be cautious. High manufacturing costs, fierce rivalry from imported goods, and the shilling’s devaluation versus the major trade currencies all continued to be important obstacles for the industry. Read more: Business Insider
ZAFFICO’s gross profit for the year was ZMW288.6 million compared with ZMW251.1 million in the prior year representing a growth of 15%, while the gross profit margin in 2022 was 75% compared with 69% in 2021. The increase in gross profit margin was due to the improved efficiency in the production of treated poles and the lower revalued pine stumpage based on the latest forest inventory results. The net profit for 2022 was ZMW2.5 billion compared with ZMW1.8 billion in 2021, the profits in the two comparable periods were largely driven by the gain from the fair valuation of the Corporation’s biological assets. Read more
In 17 trades recorded yesterday, 9,253 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K92,759.50. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, CEC Zambia, Zambia Breweries, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 8,150.79 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,410,598,978.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,627,913,538.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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